A powerful shudder shook him out of his decrescent slumber, jarring him into a panic. Though, there was nothing actually wrong; he was still stuck in the tiny cockpit of airplane, behind the pilot. The very one that was taking him to the other world. The pilot was still doing his piloting, snacking on Pringles. The pilot apparently did not notice his passenger's discomfort, or maybe he did. As he was straining to snag that last chip, the sky darkened, and a reverberating bellow shook the vehicle. The pilot put forth a grunt and began grasping the dials and gauges, in attempt to troubleshoot what was causing the engine to sputter into decline and their altitude to plummet. The passenger figured this would happen, they were going to another world, after all. He came prepared.
After the our descent had stabilized, the passenger, Eric prepared for the next step in his plan by retrieving his things from the cranny behind his seat. While the pilot was occupied with the controls, Eric swiftly unlatched the cockpit and lifted himself out. They had slowed enough for him to fall out, but it was harsher than he had expected; the wind caught him right in the abdomen, extinguishing the air from his lungs. He quickly recovered, issued forth his parachute, and examined his surroundings as he fell: a forest below him expanded for miles, a mountainous region belonged to the west, to the east was a sea that wrapped this land all the way to the south as far as the eye could see. In the north was the setting sun, an abnormally large red one at that.
Once he was low enough, he cut his parachute and landed in a small clearing. Thankfully he hadn't caused too much of a ruckus, or at least he hoped he hadn't; he had no idea what kind of things lived in this forest. Now that he was here, though, he didn't have any solid direction. He swung his backpack around to recount his supplies only to reveal a long gash in the back of it; it was empty.
*It must have happened when I was launched back by that wind gust as I was exiting the plane,* thought Eric.
Now he was really screwed. He could only rely on luck now, he would have to scavenge in this forest for food then he could explore. He was already weak and tired from being cooped up in that cockpit for so long, he hoped he could last long enough to survive.
Carefully through the forest he stumbled, heading towards what he thought was north, though he could not tell from where he was because of the thickness of the plant life. This place was rather eerie, he hadn't come across any other living being: no small rodents, no deer, no insects even. Sure this was another world, but a forest is usually occupied by creatures. He still hadn't come across anything remotely edible and wasn't yet enhungered enough to chew on grass or tree bark, and he wasn't foolish enough to gamble with herbs or fungus. In fact, his weakness had faded, and his hunger had withdrawn, though he wasn't aware of when this had happened.
#thwang#
He jumped, unable to react as the bolt of a crossbow shattered the tree behind him. He stood still hoping not to aggravate the extreme force that threatened him. He turned back to see an old man aiming at him. The old man, keeping aim, said something in a language Eric could not understand. Eric made a confused gesture and said as much. The cold stare of the old man sent chills down Eric's spine. Then he settled down his crossbow and in a swift motion threw his hand in a strange position to the side of his head then pointed at Eric.
Eric, of course, was confused, but suddenly he felt something invisible rush into him, causing him to lose his footing.
The old man began to speak. Eric still could not understand the words, but somehow knew what he was saying.
"How did you get past the barrier? You should've disintegrated, and if not that then you should have been weakened by the aura of the black forest and been absorbed" said the old man incredulously
"I don't know where I am, or how I got here. As for the barrier, I have never heard of that either" replied Eric.
"You have stumbled into the most horrific place in this world, If I don't kill you, then It will; but have no fear, we have longed for a guest, there being no one else left in this devil-forsaken place."
And so, the old man invited Eric to his home.
*****