"Time to wake up."
Greg blinked his eyes open. The room was still dark, but the darkness was lighter near the window. He had been in a half awake state for awhile, falling in and out of sleep. Not knowing the time, it could have been midnight or almost dawn. He now guessed dawn.
"We leaving?" he mumbled, getting his bearings. Arms readied themselves to push his body upward. He didn't see Aada around, which was probably good. The figure of Tiana stood in the open doorway, already dressed for the day in a halter top and skirt, along with a belt and scabbards. That was new. Her face was dark and blurry.
"As soon as you're dressed and fed."
He nodded. He could handle that.
****
It was still pre-dawn when the van pulled onto the main road. Greg was by the passenger door this time, Tiana getting the middle seat. If one was paranoid, you could guess that she knew about last night (or early this morning) and wanted to separate the pair. More likely, it was so he'd be less visible to any car passing them.
That was how he chose to view it.
The road was empty. So, too, it looked like most of the houses they passed were as well. Perhaps it wasn't luck or fate that gave them a place to sleep, so much as whatever had hit this area. His mind tried to take it all in.
"Why is no one here?" He didn't bother looking at Tiana. His gaze went to another home, thin but three stories tall. "I mean, everything looks OK."
"They feel safer in town." Aada spoke, voice quiet. "People don't like to live out here."
"It was the same at home," Tiana added. "It's a small village, but those with room let people from farms stay with them. Made for longer walks in the morning."
Greg shot a quick gaze at both of them. Yet they had chosen to travel alone, out between these pockets of civilization.
Interesting.
****
As expected, Aada took them around the town, not through it. Greg could see some of the outer buildings from a distance, three or four story structures which made themselves known above the horizon. Like the houses they passed, they looked human. Nothing he couldn't have imagined, if he was still sticking with the "it's a dream" idea. At the moment, that was more an internal joke than anything else. Let's hear it for the unbeliever!
"Do we know where we're going?" He didn't expect a meaningful answer, and hoped his voice expressed that. His eyes stayed on the passing scenery.
"For the next part, yeah." His eyes flicked over to Aada. Her gaze stayed on the road as she spoke. He appreciated that. "The best path to the island has changed."
Tiana scoffed.
"The safest path, that is. We can still go up the main road if we really want to."
"Is there a main road to this island?" Greg's mind had two images of a holy place, discounting the dream which he didn't trust. One was a secret, out of the way place forgotten by all but the loyal few. The other was the large tourist trap, designed to suck money from the trusting faithful. Each had their reason to avoid them. Especially if gods were real here.
"You could get close," Tiana said. "The last few miles you walked."
"Real pilgrims walked all of it. Came from the north, if they could. We'll do the same." The car made a sudden move to the left. The road was not was well paved here, the shoulder overgrown. "It'll take awhile, especially on roads like this."
Greg nodded. It was out of his hands, so not his problem.
****
The van slowed as Aada turned them onto a large patch of grass sitting astride the road. Break time. And/or pee time. He internally checked his bladder, and decided the side of the van would do just fine. He'd aim for the grass next to a wheel.
"Cane's right here." Tiana turned her upper body, grabbing his cane from behind her. Unable to help himself, Greg watched as her halter rode up, almost but not quite bringing the bottoms of her breasts into view. When an item of clothing seemed designed to "accidentally" reveal something, it seemed impolite not to look. Moving against the closed door to avoid being jabbed, he took the cane as the van rolled to a stop. Aada opened her door.
"We'll be back, Greg. Gotta water the flowers."
"Avoid the bees." He spoke without thinking, opening the door beside him. He sensed them stop as he swung his right leg out, focusing on each movement. Was he getting better at this? Hard to say. Certainly, that he could do it was the important thing. He heard the others exit the other side as both his feet touched ground.
He could feel his urine banging on the doorway, trying to get out. No time for fancy movements. Even as he saw the girls heading for the trees past the front of the van, he shuffled down the side, left hand on the vehicle. Picking a spot, he stopped and shoved his shorts down one handed. Piss shot out as the waistband cleared his balls. He let out a sigh of pleasure.
He also ignored the sound of urine hitting the van.
Greg closed his eyes. Pissing felt good. He knew one of the "design" flaws of the male human body was using the same part for waste removal and reproduction. However, it did allow both systems to share a function. Both required it to be pleasurable when things exited. He learned this was true even for catheters. There was discomfort and pain (at first) getting them in, but removing them felt good.
Still hated the things.
His urination paused. There was a sound.
The flatbed vehicle came around the corner at what Greg guessed was full speed. Certainly, it couldn't go much faster and still have riders able to cling onto the cargo area. The driver seemed surprised to see the stopped van, hitting the brakes in a rather unsafe way. It skidded to a stop maybe fifty feet past him.
Monkey people armed with swords jumped onto the ground.
His body started urinating again. Either his piss was literally being scared out of him, or his body was just finishing up its business without concern. Well, either way it wasn't helping. He began shuffling down the van towards the back, right hand on his cane as the strangers came towards him. Aada and Tiana had gone into the trees beyond the truck, so would have the advantage of being behind the attackers. If they noticed them in time. He pulled up his shorts as he came to the back. Having them low would hinder him more then getting them wet. His body seemed to understand, as the flow stopped. A moment later he mentally corrected that. It reduced to a dribble.
He focused on the newcomers. They were grey and brown furred, close to his height. There was no standard uniform, just a mix of outfits no different from what Tiana had bought for him. Part of him was glad he wasn't going to stand out fashion wise. All had swords of various lengths. No guns that he saw, nor any other distance weapon. Good. He could hit one on the head before they cut him down.
Pushing off of the van, he staggered backwards away from it. He needed room. Having his back to the thing wouldn't help, as they'd probably climb onto the roof. He had been to African Lion Safari once, so knew monkeys could do that. Feeling himself losing control, he shoved his cane into the ground, hoping it would help stop him as he tried to set his legs in a stable position.
Sound exploded outward from where his cane hit the grass.
He could see the circle of air move outward, like something from Mythbusters' high speed camera. It washed over him, continuing backwards, speeding up. Immobile, he watched as the leading edge hit the attackers as they reached the van. They seemed to fly backwards, landing on their backs. A few in the rear had the sense to drop to the ground, letting it wash over them as well. Gaze going beyond, he saw both Aada and Tiana prone on the ground. Good, they were here. Greg looked at the cane. He had no idea how he did that, or if he could do it again.
His hand opened and closed on the cane handle. There were no buttons he could feel, physically or mentally, although with the latter he didn't know what to look for. Maybe it was the act of shoving the thing into the ground, although he had done that countless times before. He moved sideways away from the road. After a few steps, seeing the attackers start to get their bearings and stand, he shoved his cane into the ground again.
Nothing.
Maybe it was powered with piss.
Well, he wasn't going to test that now. Running was pointless. So, too, was standing and fighting. He'd try anyway. The girls were standing up again. Maybe they'd get to him in time, or draw the swordsmen's attention. Tiana had done a good job defeating the ones who attacked before, but this group was larger. Even as he thought that, five turned to face Tiana, spreading out to deprive her of movement options. The rest came towards him.
He thought of yelling to them, requesting help in a calm, heroic way. Stupid idea, the kind of thing a writer would put in a first draft (and a good actor could make work if it made it into the shooting script). They could see what the situation was. No sense them putting themselves in danger doing something risky.
The first attacker was almost in sword range. Damn it, girls, do something risky!
There was a flash. His eyes caught lightning coming from Aada, stretching from her outstretched arm to one of the males approaching her. The attacker screamed, drawing the attention of those approaching Greg. His elation quickly vanished when Greg saw how tired Aada looked even from this distance. Tiana took the opening and leapt at the attackers. Her two swords slipped inside their defenses and cut one down, swiftly changing focus to the next man.
Greg's eyes returned to those before him. They, too, began to spread out. surround him. He tried the cane again. Nothing. Nothing to do but try using it was a two handed sword. He shifted his feet, feeling his stance improve. He grasped the cane with both hands, lifting it. The curved handle was now a nuisance, its ergonomic shape counterproductive. He did his best, trying to remember all the bad samurai films he had seen.
There was a cry from his right. It didn't sound like a kid in a bamboo baby cart, but he could hope.
The stranger leapt in among the men, screeching like Bruce Lee. She, and it was a she, struck at them with a quarterstaff, weapon and arms a blur. Greg blinked. Some of the blur was just his vision acting up, but still, she was fast. Her body was tall, lean, obviously not the same race as Tiana. She was covered with short, tan fur, arms and legs long, as was her tail. Her breasts were...
Greg blinked again. A silver chainmail bikini covered her breasts, a similar loin cloth attached at her waist. Certainly, this one had never been to the web site "women in realistic armor".
Head starting to hurt again, Greg moved away from the fight. He trusted the newcomer could draw all their attention. He glanced again at Aada and Tiana. Aada had obviously used magic again, a second man running with his fur and clothing on fire. The short woman was on one knee, panting. Tiana was in a duel with the last of that group of attackers, two others on the ground not moving. Good. Maybe he could inch his way over to them...
The burning man fell on the ground beside the flatbed truck. The grass caught fire, swiftly spreading under the vehicle.
It exploded.
Greg was on the ground, face covered. There was the heavy sound of metal impacting metal, the feel of heat on his bare arms and legs. A male voice called for a retreat. He heard no female one yell to follow. Mind swimming, he forced his head up. Aada's van had a piece of steel jammed into its hood, a smaller one having obviously gone through the windshield. The truck was a burning hulk.
He dropped his head, eyes closing.
Great. More walking.
****
"Are you OK?"
The voice was female. And new. That narrowed things down, unless he had been transported someplace again. He wasn't going to rule that out quite yet. Moving quickly, before his body realized what he was doing, Greg pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. His right hand felt around for the cane.
"Can you help me stand?" He looked up after saying that. It was the stranger kneeling beside him. Good. He only had a 50% chance of this being a bad idea. If she was part of some second group trying to kill him, there would be little chance of his damaged brain sorting this thing out.
His eyes focused again on his cane as he felt strong hands on his arm. Greg rose quickly, her strength surprising. Sorting his stance out, he glanced at her again.
She was glowing.
"Not you too." What he could make out of her face showed surprise as he shook his arm free of her grip and placed his left hand on his forehead. He didn't need this.
"Not me what?"
"Not you glowing, probably." Tiana was coming closer, one arm around Aada's waist as the smaller woman leaned on her. "He's on quest, and he sees possible companions."
"Wait a minute." The amazon monkey was no longer glowing when Greg glanced at her. She was shaking her head as she spoke. "I'm the one on quest."
"As were we," Aada said, shaking free of Tiana and standing a few feet away. "Yet, it's obvious that he's setting the goal, and our paths overlap. I'm Aada, by the way." She bowed slightly. "This is Tiana. And that, " she motioned, "is Greg."
"He's from another world," Tiana said, "just showed up in the rain one night."
Greg needed to sit. There were two bodies, one on top of the other, near by. He walked over and sat. Greg wondered if they were really dead, a staff more likely to disable than kill, but he saw both the belt knife sheathed at the stranger's waist and the cut throats of the men. That took care of that.
"I'm Vina." With a well practiced move, the staff went onto her back. It took till then for him to notice she was damned tall. Easily towering over him by a foot or more. Her face, unlike the others, was free of fur, as were her hands and feet. The revealed skin was light brown, nails either naturally black or painted that way. "Where is he questing?"
"A dream from the Lady told him to go to the Island." Tiana looked at the van. "So much for all that cargo room. Let me get my packs."
"The Island? Good luck with that!" Vina shook her head. "I'm from that way, and it's chaos."
Greg furrowed his brow. Shouldn't the chaos still be far away? Especially if this was just the first part of a long Quest.
If it was a Quest.
"Can we get away from the dead bodies?" he asked. "We can discuss this later." All three were looking at him. "I mean, there might be another truck full."
"Good idea", Aada said slowly. "You coming Vina?"
Her gaze stayed on him.
"For now.”
Next Chapter