10,09,2021
Sunny High School, Texas, USA.
"Hey! Have you played the game that came out two days ago? I have, it's so rad." Said a boy who looked about fourteen years old. He had fair skin and blond hair tied into fringes. His name was Jack. Jack Heathrow. He attracted a lot of attention, not because of what he looked like, but because of what he was doing. He was sitting on another boy as if he were a chair.
"Hey David, do you even know what we are talking about here?" asked Jack of the boy he was sitting on.
"No, I do not." Replied the boy named David, but his voice dropped, and he continued, "Although I'd like to know how to beat you up." David had a flawless face marked by bruises, silver-white hair that shone with sweat and golden eyes that were tired. That was exactly why he was being bullied by Jack because his looks surpassed Jack's. He had meant to whisper the last sentence, but it was heard by all. He was not as quiet as he thought.
"What did you just say?!" said a beet-red Jack and his voice rose. "You do not talk bad about me and get away with it!"
The whole class had gone quiet, intimidated by Jack. Jack stood up and kicked David in the face, sending him reeling. David felt his face burning up. Jack had hit David several times before, but always when they were alone. The whole class had watched this spectacle and his eyes dropped to the floor, especially because a certain person was also watching.
Grace Wood was literally an angel. She had brown auburn hair and a pretty face, and among her myriad admirers, David took a seat. The fact that she was watching made it even more embarrassing. Jack walked up to David. Jack squatted down and was at eye level with David.
"You know you are not better than me. You know you are trash. You know you will continue to be my chair. So why are you trying so hard to insult me? It's not that I don't like it. I could use a punching bag to release my stress." Said Jack as he lifted David by the collar.
David glared at him with his eyebrows joined. If looks could kill, Jack would already be dead. When Jack saw this, he let go of David and threw his arms in the air.
"I can see the hatred in your eyes. I am defenceless. Hit me if you have the guts to do so. " Taunted Jack.
Jack knew David could not hit him. David did not have the guts to do it, but Jack was wrong. When a rabbit is cornered, it will do anything to survive. David made a fist and looked at Jack. David would do anything to knock the smile off his face. With one swift movement, David swung his arm at Jack and hit him. David hit Jack's ear and Jack was disoriented. Jack's legs had turned to jelly and he was on his knees. Jack could not believe it, even David thought he was dreaming. How could he have the guts to hit him? When David turned around, the class did not cheer. In fact, they looked scared, even terrified. Something was wrong.
"That hurt," someone whispered behind David and his stomach sank.
Half an hour later...
A bloody mess was what was left of David. He barely had the strength to move. His face was stained with dry tears and his mouth tasted like copper, probably because of the blood. His clothes were torn, his lips were swollen and his nose was bleeding. He went to the school's first-aid room and was patched up.
"Why do you look for trouble?" Asked the nurse for at least the twentieth time.
"I do not. Trouble seems to find me." Retorted David.
As he walked back, he realised how much he hated his life. No one cared about him. He had no power or money, both of which Jack had. His parents did not come to visit him when he was in the hospital for two days. That was a disaster he thought, as bloody memories surfaced. He only had a nurse to keep him company.
He stopped as he approached a grey, two-storey building that was on the verge of decay. He climbed the creaking stairs and stopped in front of a black door that seemed to have been there for at least thirty years. He knocked on the door. The door opened and he sniffed smoke. His mother was smoking again.
She had short black hair that reached her shoulders and dark shadows under her eyes.
"Come in. It took you long enough, and clean up the paint your father spilt." Said his mother in a hoarse voice, clearly affected by smoking.
"Yes, mum. My day was fantastic." He replied in a dazed voice.
"I did not ask you."
He sighed and went upstairs to his room. It was a small room with a futon folded neatly in the corner of the room. There were piles of manga and novels on the desk. The walls were painted by him. It was a painting of a blue-black swirling wind. Something about the painting looked very familiar to David. He took a deep breath and remembered the events of today. He pursed his lips. He changed out of his uniform and went to clean the dirty floor. The sight only made his blood boil with anger. There was a stain, but it was not big. It was just a red blob of paint. He took a cloth in his hand and wiped it away. He was bullied at school and at home. What a wonderful life.
"It is all cleaned. You can come back now." He said.
"Good." She replied.
He went back to his room and laid down. At the moment, he was very envious of the manga characters who had been transported to another world. With these thoughts, he slowly drifted off to sleep.
David woke up in the middle of the night and his eyes widened. It was dark. His bed had disappeared. There was nothing in here. If there was a here. He did not know where he was anymore. He was not in his house. This did not seem to be Texas either. Where was he?
In the darkness, he could make out a keyhole. It had the shape of a hand. Above it was an inscription that said "only thou magic born shall open thy keyhole". It was not written in English - the only language he knew, but strangely, he could read the inscription. Instinctively, his hand moved to the keyhole and it fit perfectly. A bright light filled the whole room. His breathing quickened. He was in danger of suffocating. When he felt the light dim, he opened his eyes and saw something spectacular that made his jaw drop. It was a whole new world - full of greenery and strange animals. He was sure now that he was in another world.
He was as excited as he was frightened. David had no family or friends here - not that he had any before, but this environment was still new to him. He found himself in front of a beautiful forest. The trees were all of different shapes and sizes. A rabbit with wings and an animal that resembled a baby elephant without tusks.
David felt his innate adventurer take over and went into the beautiful forest. But this was a mistake. The moment he entered it, the scenery changed. What was a beautiful forest with cute animals and trees was replaced by a ghostly sight. The blue sky was hidden by century-old huge trees and ghastly-looking trees that screamed so loudly that his ears hurt and the animals were nowhere to be found except for a few bats scurrying around. It was as if he had fallen into a haunted forest.
David began to tremble. He just wanted to stay near the edge of the forest until help arrived, but his gut told him to go deeper. He passed numerous 'screaming' trees and he had not seen a single soul yet, but he kept going.
Soon, he came across a group of people gathered around a campfire. They were armed with different kinds of weapons. He walked up to one of them and asked, "Excuse me, sir?"
The group was immediately alarmed and unsheathed their weapons. Killing intent swept the whole area and an unknown force pressed him down. When they saw David, they relaxed and their expressions softened.
"What are you doing in this dangerous land, young boy?" Asked a man with a heavy build.
"I do not know, sir. I just stumbled into this forest by mistake and could not get out." David replied.
"My name is Mavian, but what time was it outside?" Asked the burly man called Mavian.
"It was around morning, maybe 9:00."
"That explains it. The witch who lives in this forest cast a spell that prevents us from leaving the place when it is morning outside. You came in around late morning, so it must have taken you five hours to get here. If you leave in an hour, you should be able to leave." Said Mavian.
David sat with the others around the campfire and asked them about this place. David was currently in a world called Megaloprepis, where mages and swordsmen were a common sight. There were many kingdoms, and they were currently in Fior. An hour quickly passed and it was time to leave.
"Thank you for helping me and keeping me company in this dark and desolate place," said David.
They said their goodbyes and David went back to where he had come from. He reached the outskirts, took a deep breath and stepped outside, afraid of what was about to happen. The moment he stepped outside, the scenery changed. It was night outside, but it was not as uncomfortable as it had been in the cursed forest. Mavian had given him twenty gold coins for his journey to Fior.