Paradise with Closed Eyes

Chapter One- Rain's Awakening

Truthfully, everything is still a bit fuzzy. I guess because of all the times I've been slapped around. Of how my whole life was literally dumped upside down and my very life inside out. Everything does have a beginning though, and mine was very wet, and actually quite calm until I began recovering from the head trauma I might or might not have had at the time...

:::

The wetness of rain slapping my cheek was what roused me. Slowly opening my eyes, I instinctively went for the large blanket I thought I had, to pull over me. Actually realizing that I didn't have such privileges of the modern American, I sat up, a quizzical expression on my face. It was dark, and the cold winds lapping at my bear arms was comforting; it was hard to actually make me feel anything less than cool. Rubbing my tongue on the roof of my mouth, I felt how dry my mouth was.

Yep. I dehydrated from my great ability to be too lazy to drink water.

But, where was I?

Standing up off of the wet ground, I jumped in fear as a metallic clang rang out, louder than rolling thunder. Looking by my feet, it was hard to miss the large, slightly rusted mace on the floor. Even more confused and worried I had been kidnapped and forced into the gladiatorial games, I swung my head around, scanning the room. Or, fortress main hall.

The stone walls were mossy, and I scrunched up my nose, smelling a putrid odder in the air. Wet dog. And I knew it wasn't me smelling like that. Moonlight was illuminating my surroundings, beams breaking through the clouds ever so often as I paced the ruins of my current location. I tried to draw forth the memories of my past, but all I was getting was a fuzzy image of a girl with wavy, dark night blue hair.

"Freakin'… watchin' too much anime…" Opening my eyes, I inhaled through my nose, letting the crisp, morning air fill my lungs. My chest was feeling tight again, and I struggled to take a few deep, raspy breaths. Looking back up towards where the ceiling should have been, I closed my eyes again.

What the hell is going on?

Finally giving up on remembering how I got to this place, I looked for a door. Passing the mace and shield, I walked a few more feet, before stopping. "Should i…?" Looking back, I gave the weapon and armor a hard look, before shaking my head. Suddenly my left eye went blind. "GAH!" Yelling, I swatted madly at my face, smacking the thing off my eye with a wet, messy, slap. It came back, and this time I grabbed it. My head screamed in protest, and I gritted my teeth.

… the fuck?

I stroked my head, and gapped with a mortified face.

My hair.

It was straight.

And blackish-blue.

And before it was a red brown,

And curly…

"What the hell is going ON!?" Flapping my arms wildly, me, the seventeen year old teenaged man I am, I screamed. Doing this for good two or three minutes, I collapsed in a heap by the mace, gasping for breath. Damn asthma.

This was like some horrible, b s book or anime. I seemed to be having an amnesia problem. Totally cliché. And apparently my hair was an inhuman shade of blue black! The rain helped calm my nerves as I lay on my back. The moon was a ruby red color.

"Might as well go with it…" Muttering to myself, I pulled myself up. Whatever type of place this was, it had to be medieval. Who the hell puts a kid in a fortress with melee weapons? Or, however I got in here…

My hands laced around the cold leather grip of the mace. Strangely, it felt familiar, and also calmed me a lot more. Odd. I never handled a weapon much other than those… those…?

I froze.

Those swords my parents used to collect from the renaissance fair in PA. The memories were somewhat faded, if that makes any sense you, but I remembered. My family, my friends, the town of Virgin Valley I lived in, of the WORLD. I looked around with rekindled curiosity.

So what's my name, and where the hell am I?

I took the shield, and unconsciously pulled my left arm through the strap. I frowned. Why was it as if these things where habits of mine. Hell, I barely had a wooden sword; my Mom took it away because I was grounded for bad grades. I knew I wasn't dumb though, I was just overly lazy unless something exciting happened. This was happening at the moment.

Taking a few, more cautious steps, I was conscious of how my footsteps echoed on the stone floor, my skater shoes' sole tapping rather heavily on the floor. I was always kind of naturally flat footed. If I hadn't been like that, my sneaking would have been one much like some amazing badass ninja pirate. Trying as hard as I could to ignore the swishing bangs as they moved like a pendulum over my right eye and nose, I spotted a door at the far end of the vast room.

What luck. I always seemed to have great luck when I really needed it. Other than that, however, my knack for catching on to things quickly was what kept me going most of the time.

Moving towards the door a little faster, the hairs on the back of my neck tensed. I was in the processes of turning to see what I felt, when a heavy forced flung me painfully into the air. Slamming into the cracked and unattended cobblestone flooring, I flopped on the floor, and bounced twice more, all the while gritting my teeth and trying to curl into a ball to minimize the damage my body underwent when I slammed into debris on the ground that had once been the roof of the fortress. Skidding into a wall close to the door, which was only a few yards away, taunting me with the thought of escape, I let out a wheezy "oomph!". Through the rain, I tried to focus my eyesight on the lumbering shadow approaching me on all fours.

Snapping out of my trance, I realized that I, in fact, didn't want to see what had just sent me hurtling about half the length of a football field. Staggering up with the support of the wall behind me, I noticed that my hand was numb; the death grip I had on my new found mace unbelievably strong. Loosening the shield off of my back, I went to shove my hand through the arm guard, and found instead, the searing pain of jabbing my hand into bent metal. Looking at the disc shaped bronze and iron with a crazed expression; I swear I must have drawn my head back with surprise, seeing the large dent in the hardened plate.

Swinging my head up, I saw the biggest dog known to man barreling at me with the speed of a dump truck hell bent on ending my life.

I guess this is where I could have shat myself.