Chapter 2: Character Building

I can't see anything. Where am I? And… what happened?

Oh, that's right… I was stabbed and…

Shit! I died!?

It's alright. This isn't the time to panic or be upset. Besides, the only time I lost my cool was when I crapped my pants in grade school… Well… and the time I caught my roommate stealing from me… Uhhh… then there was the moment the 'ex' asked for the divorce…

Damn it! What was I thinking!? I don't have a great track record keeping calm in situations like this!

Okay, chill out Gabe. Just think this through. So… I was stabbed, and then… I don't… hurt anywhere. I'm not hot nor am I cold.

My eyes… won't open? I can't see anything! My hands… my feet… I can't feel them. My body… I can't move! I have no sensation of any kind.

I'm defiantly dead then… Figures! Death by stabbing, all because I never chambered a round. What a chump way to go out.

So, is this the afterlife? I thought heaven would be a bit… brighter. It's certainly not hell. I don't' smell BBQ. I know I wasn't a saint, but I should've qualified for either or, right? But if it's not heaven or hell then…where am I? It's just… black… nothingness…

What was it that wizard said in that blockbuster…? "Darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time. Stars whirled overhead, and every day was as long as a lifetime of the earth," or some such? At least that old geezer had a view! I'm stuck looking at the blank canvas of creation! There wasn't even a light or a tunnel! What gives!?

Wait, so… maybe I'm not dead. That would mean I'm in the hospital… Did the ambulance arrive on time? Am I in a coma and this is the inside of my mind? Roomier than I expected. If this was where I'm expected to wait while they resuscitate me then shits about to be exceptionally boring! Forget "a lifetime of the earth" Gandalf. I get bored just sitting and watching Netflix!

No answer… just silence… uhhh… I guess there's nothing for it but to wait… Too bad my mind doesn't have the Lifetime channel. I'd love to see what's going on outside my body… if I still have one. I wonder what happened to Kyle and Megan… damn, I hope he wiped that hard drive…

…Something was different. The blackness felt less oppressive, like a sheet being draped over his face. Light pierced the veil of consciousness. Gabe's disembodied mind suddenly felt heavy… as if he were waking from a deep sleep.

He tried waving off the sensation, but gravity held his extremities in place… wait… he could feel his body? Am I alive? He tried moving his hands and feet, but they refused to obey. At least they were there to be obstinate. So… silver linings?

There was no tell-tale beep of medical equipment. It didn't feel like he was laying on a bed either. Crisp clean air suddenly filled his lungs. It was as if he hadn't breathed in ages and just remembered how. He could taste moisture in the air along with an…earthy scent. The air held no antiseptic taste he normally associated with ERs.

Where the hell am I?

Gabe tried to focus, but the blackness refused to yield. White shapes crisscrossed his vision against a field of shadows. They moved with every sigh of the wind. Wood clacked on wood, sparking his mind.

Are those…trees?

His hand flexed and fingers brushed against something paper-thin but moist. Is that… some kind of leaf? Gabe grabbed the plant, clinging to the sensation. The texture seemed to anchor him, preventing the shadows from returning. Everything felt weird. Not just his environment, but his whole being as well. The feeling was like… putting on a fresh pair of socks except the sock was his body. No that's not right! It was like… the first hot shower after three weeks in the field. No, that ain't it either! Gabe needed to focus and take a mental inventory, that was the only way he could figure out what was…off about himself. But to do that Gabe needed to…

"Ive, wake up!" someone shouted.

Consciousness exploded through his mind and body. It was like a bucket of ice water and a taser hitting him all at once. Everything came into sharp focus. Swearing he covered his eyes. With each pulse of his retinas, his head throbbed uncomfortably. Gabe massaged his temple, doing his best to abate the migraine, but his ears wouldn't stop ringing. It was like he'd been standing next to a speaker while Steve Vai played a guitar riff.

"You're finally awake," a voice called out, relieved. It was the same one that had ripped him kicking and screaming to full consciousness. It was small but exceptionally loud. His head gave another painful pulse, while his eyes still struggled to adjust. "How're feeling?" The voice was accompanied by the tinkling of…crystals? The headache must be messing with his senses.

"Hungover," Gabe groaned, still unable to see the person speaking. Did his voice sound an octave higher? No, he was definitely hearing things.

Somewhere to his left, there was a flutter of fabric accompanied by the tinkling sound. "I'm sorry?" the voice, obviously female, replied in confusion. It reminded him of the barista, possibly younger. When did hospitals start employing teenagers? Wait… I'm not in a hospital… so who's talking?

Gabe cracked his eyelids only to slam them back shut at the bright sunlight. The voice made a comment, but Gabe ignored it in favor of rubbing his head. Another flutter of fabric and the tinkling sound briefly increased before fading. It felt like a light mist sprinkled his head. The pressure in his skull suddenly eased, and the ringing faded. Eyes no longer aching with every movement, Gabe slowly began to open them.

He was… outside? Well, that explained the trees and smells, but how did he get there. Wasn't he just bleeding out in a parking lot? Gabe glanced down at his side, but rather that a large bloody patch or even a hospital gown, he saw a dark green… tunic?

"What the…!" he exclaimed. These weren't his clothes. Hell, they weren't clothes at all! He was wearing stuff you wouldn't see outside of a renaissance fair, only less fancy. Thick leather boots, and trousers, the tunic and…armor!? Armor was a generous term. It was more like metal plates riveted to leather.

Gabe would've shot to his feet if he still didn't feel groggy. The world started to spin, so he clutched his head. He realized it wasn't just his clothing that was out of place. At first, it was the length of his bangs but as he followed the scalp, he realized his high and tight was now down past his shoulders. Gabe wished that was the only surprise he discovered.

What the fuck is up with my ears? Running his fingers along the lobe and upward he didn't feel the rounded curve he associated with normal ears. Instead, they came to a three-inch point. Giving them a pinch and tug, Gabe winced. Yep, they're real. The pain also ruled out having a lucid dream.

Oh, how he wished it was a dream!

It's okay… Everything's okay… Heart hammering in his chest Gabe repressed the urge to hyperventilate. His deep-seated anxiety was in competition with his rational mind to see which could drive him to panic first. I just woke up in a strange forest…wearing cosplay… with pointed ears… Gabe's pulse started racing again and his stomach started to get in on the action.

Oh god, what happened to me!? Torn between screaming and crying, Gabe instead took several deep calming breaths. He needed to relax if he had any hope of wrapping his head around his current… situation. Gabe wasn't doing himself any favors by having a mental breakdown.

Breathe… just breathe… Once he centered himself, he could start addressing what happened then he could assess what to do-

"Umm… Ive, are you okay?" the female voice asked. There was that tinkling sound again, and Gabe became aware of a presence standing in front of him.

"I'm fine," he replied rubbing his eyes. Looking up he attempted a cordial smile. "Just a little…" the next words died in his mouth along with the calm he'd barely managed to cultivate.

It was a young girl… but that's where the similarities abruptly ended. She was short. Not even two feet tall. Lime colored skin, flowing hair as red as her eyes, and clothing that looks like leaves sewn together. To top it off a pair of teal-blue butterfly wings stretched out from her back.

Gabe blinked several times just to be sure he was seeing what he was seeing. Unfortunately, the image didn't change. He watched enough Peter Pan as a kid to know exactly what he was staring at. That still did nothing to soothe his state of mind. Pointing at the thing, Gabe stumbled a stuttered before saying, "Y-y-you're… a Fairy!"