If I hoped that I’d suddenly awaken more remarkable with more power that hope was dashed. I ached and was tired. Breakfast was just as boring and bland as dinner. Which totally set the tone for the day. Yeah, it seemed like it was gonna be another magical day. Sarcasm aside I somehow felt lonelier in this world than my previous one.

  As the last person to awaken everyone had known everyone else longer. Making the situation worse it wasn’t like I could join any of the fighting or scouting groups I’d just be a liability. So I was ignored and left to do whatever which was to continue to build stuff and learn what my power could do.

  Exiting the warehouse where most people were sleeping now I looked out and around. So far I had constructed an outhouse, the warehouse, and a hut. The hut was occupied by a couple whose names I hadn’t bothered to learn at that time.

  I headed out towards where the forest became much thinner and decided I’d thin it further and do some testing. My powers were strange which is a thought I had on a great deal many occasions. I knew things I shouldn’t have known. Like someone had suddenly shoved a masters degree worth of architectural knowledge and know-how into my brain. I could calculate things that people needed calculators for in my head as if it were nothing. Well almost nothing I had a slight headache.

  Enjoying the pleasant breeze I took a break and sat down in the grass. The ground was soft and a little muddy but I wasn’t terribly worried after all my clothes would wash themselves. The detritus of my experiments building various different structures lay scattered about. I could have enjoyed the moment a little bit longer but something was heading toward me. Something that upon seeing it I knew I had only one choice of what to do, run.

  Where I came from there were things called action stars. These guys did seemingly impossible things like jumping off buildings, surviving impossible crashes and fiery explosions. However in my mind only one of them sticks out for their distinctive run and that’s Tom Cruise. Almost every film he is in has a shot of him running heroically towards or away from something. I didn’t look like Tom Cruise at all. I more resembled Buster Keaton as I ran from the horrific looking creature behind me.

  This creature wasn’t fast but it was pure nightmare fuel. It looked like what would happen if you armored an emu and gave it horns and a tale. The creature didn’t have feathers or scales, just flesh which was terrifying as it opened it’s wings revealing a fleshy membrane. I ran for the building which I was incredibly far away from. Then I tripped.

  This was lucky as the faster creature had leapt to do me in like Joust. It landed right in front of me and kept running. Opening a wing wide it made a nearly impossible turn and was charging me down. So I ran up towards the hill hoping the slope would make this chase harder. It just made me slower.

  Suddenly I felt claws digging into my flesh and a huge weight as I tumbled into the ground. If the ground hadn’t been nice and squishy the fleshy emu would have killed me right there. Here is where I get lucky twice. The rain had turned the slope a little muddy thus the pursuing nightmare slipped instead of finishing me off. The second was the appearance of a wolf or rather a small pack of wolves. They streaked out of the woods and charged towards the creature about to tear me apart.

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  Since I’m alive you can guess what happened next, they killed it. The wolves attacked, taking turns lashing out and striking. The slimy nightmare emu let out a shriek of defiance and began running away. To my surprise the wolves gave chase. The creature running fast opened up a wing and whipped around super fast. It jumped and was on top of one of the wolves super fast. This was a nightmare come to life and I was stuck here.

  Dinner was awful overcooked mystery meat that had no seasoning as herbs, spices, and salt still hadn’t been discovered. I ate it though and watched as the others ate. We were all outside sitting on the original cots. Dinner was cooked on top of the ever burning glowing brazier. It was mostly likely some sacred monument thing that we were defiling.

  “I’m telling you we were summoned,” Guitari the Lizard Wizard said.

  “How did you arrive at that conclusion,” Timothy inquired coolly.

  “Simple. The fire and the beds. It’s all too convenient and coincidental for it not to be a summon,” Guitari stated.

  “Why aren’t the people who summoned us here to greet us,” I asked. “I could accept we are summons gone very wrong but I am more inclined to believe this is a magical reincarnation.”

  “So we died,” Rinn stated.

  “We don’t know what happened, we just know we are here and we must survive,” Timothy remarked calmly.

  “These aren’t our bodies,” I heard the armoured person say.

  “I’m aware but panicking, worrying, and guessing aren’t going to help us. Food, shelter, safety, then answers. This is how it must be done in order to survive,” Timothy declared. The tension produced by the brief conversation coalesced into a feeling that was ominous and foreboding. The feeling was so intense it was as if the very mood had a noticeable energy to it. It wasn’t good.

  After dinner Helen found me as I headed toward the warehouse that everyone was sleeping in. “Dooley,” she called out to me. I stopped and turned around looking at her.

  “Helen, are you turning in for the night,” I asked.

  “Yes, so what do you think?”

  “About,” I questioned, confused.

  “The whole body thing,” Helen asked.

  “It’s a good argument for why this isn’t a whole looking glass type situation, or summoning. In both those scenarios we’d have our bodies. Here we are like completely different people. I know I’m late to the party but I cannot understand why people aren’t still hung up on that detail,” I remarked.

  “I think we all are but we're not talking about it,” Helen reflected. “Kinda like how you only told Timothy you were attacked today.”

  “Dude, bogus,” I exclaimed. Helen giggled which sounded like a beautiful melody.

  “He’s telling everyone to be more careful by telling your story. Like I will tell you I like my new body and it’s okay to like yours.”

  “Ah, thanks dude. Anyway I’m gonna get some sleep,” I said and headed into a corner in large empty building to sleep on the hard stone floor. This place, this world, was bogus, I hated it and I wanted to go home.