Piper remembered glimpses of the crash. She remembered the explosion and the fire in front of her pod. She remembered being tossed around before her pod was knocked loose. Then she remembered falling and watching the ground come up to meet her. What a strange way to die, not that anyone would ever find her.
The next thing she knew was the brightness of the sun shining down on her as she woke up again. Miraculously, she had survived her fatal fall with her pod mostly intact. However, this time when she went to move, the pod didn't restrain her. She pushed on the metal as it gave way, and she fell to her knees onto the dirt.
Relief flooded her as she dug her hands in the soil and grass that she knelt on. Once she felt more grounded, she stood and glanced over herself. She had suffered no injuries, and her clothes were still intact. Her jacket and jeans were a little dusty, but nothing was torn or burnt. However, her purse and its contents were missing, which was going to make it difficult to find her way home.
Piper looked around her to find herself in a forest near a river. She could see the wreckage over the ridge where her things most likely were. Even if the craft was on fire, she might be able to find something to use. Maybe it would attract someone close by, and she could use their phone to call someone to pick her up.
Following the smoke and burnt smell, she climbed through the foliage. She took note of a few more recognizable bushes and flowers, hoping to figure out what region she had landed in. There was a good chance that she had been taken thousands of miles away from her home, but at least most of the plants she knew. It was a similar climate at least.
Once over the ridge, she saw the mass of the craft and she just stared. It was clearly larger than a football field, and larger than any craft she had ever seen. The smell of burnt flesh mingled with the acidic and metallic scents as she swallowed. Wreckage would be an understatement regarding the state of the ship. The thing was mangled beyond repair as the remnants blazed. Any hope she had of finding her things vanished instantly. Even if she knew where the alien put them, she wouldn't be able to pinpoint where that would be.
Past the ship she could see a larger river, which meant that she could most likely follow it to a nearby town. No one had come to see the wreckage from what she could tell, or they had left long before she had woken up. Walking around the wreckage, she stumbled across a few bodies. At first, she believed that the these were more victims of the alien abduction, but as she drew close, the body proportions were off.
Each body would have been between three and four feet high, and they had elongated, pointy ears and clawlike fingernails. Their skin was greener than she would expect, even for a corpse. They were also armed with bows and daggers. She pulled the knife from its sheath and looked at it. It was mostly rusted and chipped, but it was better than wandering the forest unarmed. She tucked it into her belt as she continued down to the bank.
The bank was worse than she thought it would be. The smell of rotten and burnt flesh was stronger with hints of fish and mildew. She covered her face with her jacket as she took in the gruesome sight. Bodies were littering the bank, most showing signs of impact trauma. Some she barely recognized as bodies as they had pancaked against the ground.
Even worse, this bank was a dead end with a cliffside on one end and the wreckage spilling into the river on the other. She could try to swim around the wreckage, but she didn't want to think about getting her clothes wet without an option to change into dry ones. Nights in the forest grew cold fast, and she wasn't going to die of hypothermia after surviving an alien space crash.
Feeling a little defeated, she went back over the ridge to leave the ship behind. She could at least start to make camp near the pod she landed in. At the very least, it was familiar and was covered by the trees. Plus, the sun had started to set over the horizon, and she didn't want to wander in the dark for too long.
Once she returned, Piper pushed over the pod, so it laid against the ground in a more bed like fashion. She thought about trying to start a fire, but she didn't know where to start without a match or lighter. And the light would attract unwanted attention.
Climbing into the pod, she pulled the metal ribs close to her, and she laughed. Something that had caged her now made her feel safe. It wasn't warmer in the pod, but it would at least it would be a better shield from predators than sleeping on the ground.
Sleep eluded her as she recounted her predicament. She had never felt so alone in her life. Never in her wildest nightmares would she expect to be literally abducted by aliens and taken right off the street. Now she had some kind of parasite in her, and she was lost in the woods. A silent sob choked out of her as she realized just how alone she was. The only people she came across were dead and gone with no sign of where they came from. The next town could be a hundred miles away, and she couldn't even begin to figure out a direction.
Eventually, morning came, and she didn't feel any more rested. Her stomach growled as she pushed the ribs away. She needed to find someone or something before she starved. She stretched as she stood before making her way to the stream nearby. She crouched and drank from it. The water was clear and running, which meant it was the safest to drink without having anything else. At least she wouldn't die of dehydration.
Picking a direction at random, she started to walk through the forest. She wasn't sure if it would be better to stay put or to try to look for help. If people knew she was missing and knew where she could be, she would've stayed put. However, it was likely her friends and family probably thought that she was dead. Which meant that staying put wasn't going to help her situation. So, she started walking away from the wreckage, keeping close to streams the best she could.
She was glad that at least the landscape as mostly flat with a few hills and ravines, letting her cover more ground without wearing herself out. She went up an incline to find an old, cobbled road, and she nearly cried as she felt the stone beneath her feet. It led to a short bridge which had an old broken wagon with barrels and trunks strewn about. She thought it was odd before she saw fruit near one of the barrels. There were a few apples and pears, slightly bruised and soft yet not rotten. She fell to her knees as she grabbed the apple and bit into it ravenously.
The juice exploded in her mouth as she sighed with relief, leaving nothing but the seeds and stem behind before chomping into the next one. She moved and sat cross legged against the broken wheel, letting her head fall back as she chewed her meal. Hope started to return to her heart as she closed her eyes. If there was somewhat fresh food, that meant that people were at least nearby. Although the broken wagon wasn't a great sign that there would be a place to use a phone, she could at least get help and maybe directions.
Once Piper had finished off the fruit, she stood again and looked around for signs of people or a town. She thought she could make out some sort of building through the trees when she heard a shout in the opposite direction. She stiffened, ready to run at a moment's notice when she heard nothing else. The shout itself sounded urgent, but not panicked or scared. She guessed surprised, which meant that it was her best chance at finding something out in the wilderness.
Piper started towards the shout, watching her back in case it was some kind of ambush. Just because she was alone didn't mean that she was that desperate. She could hear the beginnings of conversation, just murmurs in the wind, and she hoped that she wasn't just hearing things. She listened closely as she continued, but soon the conversation died down. They must be walking away from her, which made her pick up the pace.
After a few minutes of following, she came across a dirt path with clear footprints treading along it. She tried to continue along their path when she felt something cold and sharp against her neck. Piper froze immediately before her attacker pulled her backwards, sending them both to the ground. She scrambled as she grabbed their wrist holding the dagger, hoping to keep it away from her throat.
A man's voice growled in her ear in a language she had never heard before. She slowly turned to face him. He was a striking man with white hair and fiery red eyes, angrily staring her down. He repeated the phrase as she swallowed, fear gripping her heart. Again, he repeated himself, growing frustrated. She struggled against him as he tried to get a better grip on her. He moved his arm away from her neck just long enough for her to strike and bite him hard on his arm.
With a shout, the man ripped his arm away from her mouth as her teeth bit down on nothing. Piper scrambled to get away as she heard two more people, a feminine and a masculine voice calling out to her and her attacker. She went to run again before the man tackled her to the ground, shouting at the other two in the same language. Piper clawed at the ground, trying to get away. She didn't know what he wanted, but it was clear that the other two were with him, and she didn't want to be around to find out what they were up to.
The man holding her down on her stomach shouted at her this time as she tried to push him off her. It was the same damn phrase he kept repeating at her, as if she would magically start to understand what he was saying. She lifted her head and glared at him, her fear turning to bravery as she gritted her teeth.
"I don't fucking understand you!" she shouted before doubling her efforts to get away. The man eased a little, but not enough for her to escape. She huffed, trying to kick her legs to get some traction. "Get off of me!"
The second man stepped around them and stood in front of Piper's face as she glared up at him. This man had a kinder face with long hair and deep brown eyes. He held a long staff in his hands as he knelt closer to her. She flinched, moving away from him as the woman behind him scoffed. She was gorgeous with an ebony braid and a silver circlet atop her bangs. Still, Piper struggled underneath the pale man as the bearded man some strange words in a second foreign language. A soft light emanated from the staff as Piper stilled a moment. She tried to figure out the second man as the first man spoke again.
"Are you done now?" the pale man asked his companion sarcastically, startling Piper.
"Oh, now you can speak English?" Piper spat, equally surprising the man. "Would you get the fuck off of me?"
"Not until you tell me what the fuck you did to us," he growled in the same tone as before.
"I don't know who you are, what would I have done to you?" she shouted, now trying to roll over underneath him to maybe roll him off.
"I saw you on the ship, too, and you are wearing some awfully strange clothes to conveniently be a victim," he snarled. The second man rolled his eyes.
"I didn't do fucking shit to you! I was abducted right off the street and put into a fucking pod-" Piper exclaimed before a blinding pain shot through her skull. She saw a vision of a skulking man in the alley, then a vision of a woman in a strange ritual, and then an ethereal couple communing among the stars. She barely recognized the people before the visions snapped away, leaving her panting in relief.
"Godsdammit," the pale man hissed before rolling off her. Piper scrambled to her feet, still feeling unsteady.
"What the fuck was that?" Piper asked sharply as she held her head. The pain started to fade away as the second man carefully stepped closer.
"It's the tadpole, it connected us," he explained before holding out his hand. Piper glared at him and his hand before shaking it. "My name's Gale, that's Shadowheart, and the man who tackled you is Astarion. We were also abducted by the mindflayers and infected, just like you were."
"You mean those aliens took you too?" Piper clarified as she shook her head.
"Yes, exactly. We're actually trying to find someone who can take care of this, if you would like to join us. Better odds, I say," Gale answered with a smile. Piper took a deep breath, but she nodded. "What's your name?"
"You can call me Piper," she answered carefully, side eyeing Astarion, who was brushing off his gaudy jacket. Each of these people were dressed rather strangely. Gale wore a long purple robe and Shadowheart wore chainmail armor. "Um, where am I?"
"We're not quite sure. None of us recognize the landscape," Gale replied as Shadowheart walked on ahead, complaining about wasting daylight.
"Love that for us. Do you have a phone or something I can use? I need to reach my parents, so they know I'm not dead," Piper wondered. Gale gave her a quizzical look before shaking his head.
"I don't have anything of the sort, I'm afraid. I'll keep an eye out for something you can use, if you'd like," he offered as Piper nodded.
"Thank you," she whispered before Gale gestured to her to follow Shadowheart. Astarion sighed loudly as they continued.
"Are you going to pick up every stray we come across?" he complained.
"I'm guessing you would have preferred to have stabbed me then, since I'm such an inconvenience to you," she snapped at Astarion.
"You just don't look the outdoorsy type, darling. I'm not sure you can keep up."
"Says the man with the immaculate hair," Piper retorted. Astarion smirked, preening with the slight compliment.
"Immaculate, you say. I'm so glad you noticed," he sneered with a false grin. She narrowed her eyes before rolling them.
They continued along the path towards what Shadowheart suspected was a settlement. Piper kept pace with the other three, taking in the landscape as they walked. If they knew her language that well, then that meant that she was somewhere where English was taught. However, that hardly narrowed it down, and she had no idea what language that Astarion was using before Gale stepped in.
"So, we're looking for someone to get these parasites out of our heads?" Piper wondered, striking up a conversation with Gale.
"Yes, hopefully we'll find someone knowledgeable enough so we can get them removed. I'm not sure that this settlement will have that ability, but they might know someone who does," Gale offered with a small smile.
"Maybe they'll have a phone I can use," Piper whispered with a sigh. Gale replied, but in the same language that Astarion had used before. She stared up at him, confused and surprised. "Gale? Are you alright?"
Again, Gale said something in the language she didn't recognize, but he frowned when he saw her face. Astarion caught up to him, almost laughing at the situation. He seemed to get quite a kick out of their confusion. Gale searched through his pack and retrieved a book. He flipped through the pages before shaking his head.
"What's going on?" Piper asked, earning a glance from both men. Shadowheart waited patiently at the top of the ridge as Gale went through his bag again.
Astarion replied in slow foreign words, as if she would be able to understand if he slowed down the language. Piper flipped him off, to which he tilted his head in confusion.
"Why can't you just talk to me? You were just speaking English," she pressed, starting to get worried. Then Gale pulled out an old looking parchment and started to read off the paper.
The scroll started to glow before the light expanded and covered her skin. Piper yelped at the strange sensation, trying to rub off the odd rose glow that covered her. However, it soon seeped into her skin and the glow was gone.
"What the hell was that?" she shouted, turning to Gale, who exhaled in relief.
"Just a Tongues spell scroll. I thought the last one I cast would last all day, but it seemed to only last an hour. This will at least last until you fall asleep. We'll have to figure out something for tomorrow," Gale explained as Piper shook her head, her mouth slightly open.
"A spell scroll? Like as in magic?" she clarified. Both Astarion and Gale nodded, staring at her like she had four heads.
"Exactly like magic," Gale affirmed as Astarion stepped towards her.
"You don't speak common, and you've never seen magic before? You're certainly an odd one," he mentioned, glancing over her. "Where are you from? Clearly not from around here, I'm guessing."
"I was taken from Portland, in Oregon," Piper answered.
"I haven't heard of that town or region. Where is it located?" Gale wondered. Piper glanced between them as Shadowheart came back down to see what was going on.
"On the west coast?" Piper replied, unsure about this line of questioning.
"I say we make camp, and I'll pull out a map and you can show us if you'd like. I'm certainly interested in where you came from," Gale suggested. Shadowheart groaned but agreed that they had done a lot of walking for the day.