The Battle

I must have dozed off, but I honestly don’t remember even closing my eyes. Rain sometimes does that to me, makes me sleepy without realizing it. I awoke to find myself leaning against a completely dry stone, wearing completely dry clothes, but feeling utterly chilled to the bone. The rain must have stopped a while ago, and I glanced at my watch to see how long I had been asleep. Apparently, my watch was not waterproof. It had stopped ticking and the face was full of liquid.

“Teaches me to buy electronics at a discount store,” I grumbled as I rose to my feet.

I spun around in a circle to try to get my bearings and realized I was completely surrounded by forest. I couldn’t even hear the sounds of cars on a nearby road, or see electrical wires overhead. There wasn’t even any litter on the ground! This place looked untouched by human hand, but I thought that was impossible. The forest near the bus stop was full of intertwining nature trails for avid hikers, unlike myself. There was no way this particular spot should be deserted, but it was, and I was lost.

“I guess if I keep walking, I’ll get to a trail,” I told myself as I shouldered my bag and set out in a random direction.

I walked for a long time. It felt like hours but it couldn’t have been that long. I was wearing a black skirt that absorbed the head of the sun and left my legs exposed to long braches and thorns, and a white short sleeve blouse that was muddy and stained from my dash through the rain. I could feel the tangles in my shoulder length blonde hair, and I knew that even if I made it to work, I’d be turned out for looking like a bum.

“Looks like I gave myself the day off,” I said aloud as I stepped over a fallen tree.

To my delight, the forest appeared to be thinning and I could hear something in the distance. It didn’t sound like traffic, but I thought perhaps it was a gathering of hikers or park rangers. Whatever it was, it was a sign of civilization and hopefully a way home. I smiled and tried to smooth out my hair, but I was pretty sure it didn’t work. I glanced down at myself and realized what a mess I looked, but I could always us it as a cry for sympathy. I began to walk faster, when reality hit me full force in the face.

What was I supposed to tell these strangers? I was waiting for a bus when a blue monster stole my umbrella so I chased it into the forest, got lost, and fell asleep? Yeah, that was believable. I should just tell them I saw Bigfoot or was abducted by Santa Claus. No, I’d better make up a convincing lie. I was knocked out as I was walking to the bus stop and left in the forest, but not robbed, for some reason, or injured. Damn. That wouldn’t work either. I momentarily contemplated breaking my own arm to give my lie credibility. I sighed. I’ll just tell them I had no idea how I ended up in the forest, and the last thing I remember was waiting for the bus. It’s close enough to the truth. I took a deep breath and pushed my way through the last of the underbrush.

I swallowed the air I was holding as my eyes widened in complete astonishment. I was out of the frying pan and into the fire, or out of the forest and into the battlefield. The forest opened up into a huge meadow that might have at one point been farmland. The ground was churned up by the hundreds of armoured men and horses fighting on it, transforming the grass into a misshapen field of mud and dirt. The sun was high overhead, and it glinted off the metal shields and swords as they were raised and lowered. I took a step backwards, feeling sick to my stomach as I saw a man lose his head to an axe and another scream in agony as his arm was hacked off. I felt my breakfast rising in my throat and clamped my hand over my mouth, but I could not take my eyes off the carnage. This was no historical re-creation. I saw men die, I smelled the blood and sweat, and I heard their last cries. Spinning, I darted back into the forest.

This was not real. This was not real. The words echoed meaninglessly through my mind. I had chased a demon and found a war. I was supposed to be at work, mindlessly typing on a keyboard while waiting for the end of the day to come. I was not supposed to be running through a forest with the taste of vomit in my mouth and the smell of blood on the wind. This was not real!