Chapter 1 – Lost in the Storm

...so I landed here. A huge storm was raging in the sky. There was only forest and nothing else. Palm trees blocked my view and I couldn't look up at the sky. The rumbling storm shut down all my electronics. There was no communication. From the map, I couldn't see how there could be land in the middle of the ocean at all.

Too many questions. And so few answers.

I didn't want to spend all my time in the cramped cockpit of the Harrier, so I reached into my emergency bag with my survival kit and a loaded SPAS-12 shotgun and set off.

As I raked through the leaves and branches that clung to my helmet, I found a path. That made me happy. There was a chance to find the locals. But... Is that a good thing? What if they're wild and I'm just an unclean meat carcass to them? I didn't want to think about that. But I kept walking.

Soon I saw the silhouette of a hut with the light of a lamp pouring out of it. It didn't look like a campfire. So I dared to approach. Carefully, without any noise, I reached the door. There were no cracks in it. I couldn't see anything through the window either. My only option was to open the door. But what if the guests wouldn't welcome me? Maybe they're already asleep? Or is there no one in the house? At least I didn't hear any noises coming from there. Overcoming my fears, I decided to open the door.

Inside I saw a wooden table with something sitting at it. It was a rabbit, a goat, a cat with white fur, sitting peacefully with a pen in his hand and looking at a blank sheet of paper. I decided to observe and ended up not being able to take my eyes off it. Too much detail and such interesting fauna... But suddenly he noticed me and I immediately closed the door.

I started to get worried and got my shotgun ready. Standing on the receiving end of the door I was ready to shoot. I had no guarantee that he was friendly. Just then the door opened. A large black eye with a white pupil peered out of the crack. A little later, the door opened and the white creature looked up at me.

He didn't seem to understand anything. And indeed: this was the first time we had seen our kind.

He held out his hand. I didn't understand the meaning of the gesture, but then I thought that maybe it meant a greeting, just like ours. I gave him my hand, taking off my glove, but he led me straight into the house. I was extremely surprised. He pointed out my dirty shoes and clothes, to which I responded by cleaning my pants and taking off my boots. He enjoyed this. He set a lot of beautiful fruit on the table, but I, for reasons of safety and modesty, decided to decline. He saw that I was tired, so he showed me to the bed. When he came to me and took my hand, I felt a slight rush of strength, then he looked at me and asked:

- Who are you?

Honestly, I was in complete shock. An unknown shit who was seeing me for the first time, whose house looked like a medieval hut in a couple of moments already knew my language! I'd never seen anything like it. It was too difficult for me to say anything. But the owner of the house quickly interrupted my doubt. He nodded his head back as if to say that he was waiting for me to visit. I didn't refuse. After all, no one wants to stand in the rain.

When I entered the house, I took a quick look at the interior. Everything looked like European medieval style. And yet it was extremely cozy. I stood at the threshold, trying to dry off as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, the white fluffy man had gone into the other room, and from the sounds of it, he was trying to find something. Finally, he brought me a basket with some fruit in it. I didn't want to eat much, so I politely declined. Besides, I didn't know if the fruit was bad for me.

The creature asked me to sit down at the table. I behaved very modestly and tried not to touch anything. He left again to another room and returned with another quill and parchment. On his sheet he wrote the following words:

- Hello. I don't know who you are or how you got here, but you don't seem to be very happy with your situation. I can help you, but right now I want you to tell me as much as you can about yourself and your people. In return, I'll tell you where you ended up and who I am.

I took a pen from my pocket, showing that it was easier for me. I began to describe everything about myself in great detail. About the storm that brought me here, about my jet being malfunctioning and without fuel, about humanity and my family. About my job and my way of life. I tried to reinforce the text with little sketches so that the reader could get to know me and humanity in general better. Finally, I finished the work. White Fluffy took the parchment and rolled it up. Then he stood up, took my hand, and led me into a room of some sort. There were a lot of bags. He made a kind of bed out of them and showed me that it was very comfortable to sleep on. A lamp lighted the room, creating a pleasant effect of warmth, which gave protection from the oppressive atmosphere of the storm. I stripped off my unnecessary bags and put away my weapons and tools. Finally, I settled down on my makeshift bed.

Meanwhile, the owner of the house came into the room again and brought me a blanket and a glass of water. I accepted the gifts with a big smile in my soul and looked into his deep black eyes. He came up to me and with an unusual accent of speech said:

- I will lie down soon. If you need anything, look for me at the table in the very first room. And also... Good night.

I blew out the candle and went to bed. Thoughts kept me awake, but I tried to restrain my curiosity. All these events were very strange. Maybe it was just a dream. Maybe I'm just a concussed man lying in a coma in a hospital somewhere. Maybe I'm such a lucky person, who was in the most realistic dream. Thoughts flew by, answers and questions flew by, and I couldn't hold on any longer. I started to fall asleep without feeling the time. Suddenly I felt something. The door opened and the clatter of hooves flew quietly from the wooden floor. I didn't move and perfectly pretended to be asleep. Finally, I felt a nudge in the sack. Apparently, he sat down next to me. It was a little scary, but there was a shotgun lying next to my hand. I was ready to grab it, turn around and shoot. But I waited. I waited for the right moment. And at the most intense moment, when he got close. His arm came around me.