Less than two days ago, Victor was quite irritated by all these changes. He was dragged into a white void, where he was told he had to complete something called a tutorial. He had a choice of style, but he didn’t like being told what to do. But he couldn’t argue. Standing a few meters away from this being, he knew that it didn’t follow the same laws that people were used to. His irritation didn’t last long, however, as he realized that this situation didn’t only represent unpredictable variables, but also unfathomable potential.

  He was a forty-two-year-old man with short, black hair, a well-groomed beard and an impressive figure. For as long as he can remember, he’s moved up the career ladder, reaching the top at a relatively young age. So he knew how to recognize an opportunity.

  He considered the choice given to him, trying to calculate the most effective approach. It was likely that life around the world would change fundamentally after this event, so he had to ensure that his position remained intact. Yet, seeing that terrifying being a few meters in front of him, he pondered how he could achieve this. Thinking that other than its voice, sound didn’t exist in this place, he assumed that this being would not be willing to discuss. However, that did not mean that this would be the case in the future.

  If other creatures of this type appear on Earth in his life, he will no longer be able to maintain his position at the top, regardless of his means and connections. But that doesn’t mean he should suddenly act like an ordinary nobody. He will prepare as best he can, and even if this kind of existence comes into the world, at least he’ll represent some value. Perhaps he will even manage to form some kind of alliance with them, which would undoubtedly put him above other people.

  Victor knew, however, that he wouldn’t be looked at, unless he stood out, which he intended to do anyway, even if some kind of higher power never entered his world. So, after thinking about it, he decided to pick all the styles that were defined outside of production; his people would do the creating.

  He was also considering abandoning the combative option. Until now, security has accompanied him at all times. However, in this situation, where nothing was certain in the world, he decided to take care of his personal strength as well. This choice proved useful quite quickly, as he encountered strange green creatures shortly after starting the tutorial.

  It was an early evening. Victor was sitting on the body of the first man he murdered with his own hands. He’s had the opportunity to take care of other people before, but he’s never had to interfere more than by issuing orders and throwing money. Victor knew he wasn’t a good man, but he didn’t see himself as some kind of evil. After all, he only used tools that came to him virtually by themselves. For a small fee, he could get rid of any obstacles or potential difficulties, keeping his hands clean. Only a fool wouldn’t take advantage of that.

  But this time, he had to act personally. Victor didn’t have a lot of backing in this place yet, and the guy he killed today was trying to compete with him for leadership in this tutorial, leaving no room for negotiation. He seemed pretty competent, so it’s a shame he had to have this accident to happen to him.

  The sun, or its equivalent, slowly moved toward the horizon. Victor thought about what excuse he could find to explain the disappearance of one man. It was helped by the presence of all sorts of strange creatures that could be encountered here and there in this place. After inflicting further wounds on the legs and tearing up the clothes of the dead man, he pulled the bodies of several green monsters from his inventory. He knew they’d come in handy at some point. Left in place, they showed signs of gradual decay, but if he picked them up early, it turned out he could keep them intact. He prepared the place to look like a battlefield and planned how to present the situation.

  In his version, a dead guy shielded him from lurking green creatures. He spotted them first and heroically jumped in to act as a shield. He took the first surprise attack and after a long fight they managed to defeat them, unfortunately he died from numerous hemorrhages.

  Victor, nodding to himself, decided that this would be a suitable story.

  ***

  Orion stood still, frozen in the knowledge that he had seen another human in this place. After a while, however, he hid behind a rocky peak, not wanting to be seen. Hiding was his automatic reaction, but after thinking about it, he considered the possibility of an interaction.

  While having someone else close to him could be dangerous in itself, he had to admit that he probably wouldn’t survive here alone. So far, he’s been as careful as possible, but he couldn’t have eyes around his head. Although he didn’t know how long it had been since he woke up here, he assumed it was around noon, but he couldn’t confirm that because of the lack of sun. Up until now, moving below, through this forest of rocks, has been rather stressful. These stone structures obscured his view, providing a perfect cover for any predators. Orion slowly began to feel something resembling hunger, but strangely, he felt no thirst.

  He also had to admit he was worried about his mental health. The monotony of walking through these unknown areas, with a constant sense of potential danger, was something entirely different from the solitude he valued so much. In his previous life, even though he was mostly alone, he always had the option of talking to someone online, on the phone, or just meeting someone in the city. There was always the possibility, but here, this dim figure could be his only possible companion.

  After some thought, he decided to try to initiate contact. However, he would try to maintain a safe distance and remain cautious. It was a bit saddening to him that if he saw a non-aggressive beast here, he would probably approach it with more trust than another human. Drawing a plan of action in his head, he began to descend from the rock. After about thirty minutes, he was on the ground. So he took his favorite broken piece of rock and headed towards his meeting.

  Along the way, he had to partially climb on another rock to make sure of the direction. He also wanted to confirm from a shorter distance whether his eyesight was correct, and perhaps assess who he was dealing with. Orion still didn’t want to reveal himself, so he peeked out, only sticking his head out. At that moment, he clearly saw a curled up human. They had long black hair, but their figure was obscured by the rags they were wearing. At that moment, he couldn’t tell neither their age nor gender, but he thought that it didn’t really matter.

  When he finally reached the structure where the human was, he started to climb. At first, he’d intended to simply walk up to the ledge and call out, but making a louder sound here might not have been wise. He decided to go up high enough to make eye contact and start a conversation from there, while making sure he had an easy escape route. While his approach so far may have been perceived as cowardly, it’s better to be cautious. Only a fool would act recklessly here.

  As he climbed to the top of the rock shelf, he tried not to make any sound. He made up a plan in his head for a possible way out, then he went around the rock, finally seeing the person who was stuck here with him. She was sitting curled up, her head resting on her knees and her hands wrapped around them. If she’d lifted her head, she’d have seen him.

  “Hey, can you hear me?” he asked. It took a moment for him to get a reaction. He was about to speak again, this time a little louder, but he saw her slowly raise her head. Now he could tell that there was a fairly young woman sitting here, however her gaze looked like she was half dead. Which is actually still possible, he thought.

  The woman stared at Orion clinging awkwardly to the rocks for a moment, but the moment she realized what she was looking at, she reacted. It was a reaction that Orion had not expected at all. Her face took on an expression of extreme panic. The woman immediately put her hands behind her and tried to scramble backward, never taking her eyes off him.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  “I’m not going to hurt you. I haven’t seen a single human since I woke up here, and...”

  “Don’t come any closer!” she interrupted him in a pleading tone.

  Orion did wonder what could have caused another human to be here with him. But it didn’t occur to him that this human might also be going through some kind of trauma, which, judging by her reaction, was likely. He should’ve thought about it earlier. Instead, he prioritized figuring out how to stay safe. He didn’t know what she was going through, but now it was possible that she had experienced something like him. Maybe she was even in the same building he was being held in. As he thought, the woman stood up and walked to the edge of the ledge, still not taking her eyes off him.

  “If you come closer, I’ll jump. Just leave me alone.”

  “It’s okay, I’ll go,” he replied, adding after a moment. “Instead of talking here, I’ll climb on the next rock. There’ll be more distance between us. Should it be okay to talk then?”

  The woman didn’t answer, but he seemed to see a gentle nod. So he started to come down off the rock, still watching for any sign of an attack. Although her behavior seemed genuine, and he didn’t see her carrying anything that could serve as a weapon, he still feared it might be an act. On the way down, he had a few minutes to think about the situation. He didn’t want to be pushy, but regardless of the possible advantages of traveling with another human, he could tell that leaving her alone in this state would be a death sentence for her. That is, if this state was real.

  People scheme. People lie. People hurt. People are heartless, he reminded himself as he descended. Although the sight of her had briefly triggered an instinctive urge to help, he was now determined not to let himself be fooled into any games. He will approach this conversation with a clear head.

  It took about twenty minutes to get down from this rock and partially climb up to the next one. The climbing at the bottom was definitely easier, and the closer to the top, the more difficult and dangerous it was. Finding a suitable place to put hands and feet, while still keeping in sight the ledge, where the woman was standing, took a while.

  ”Can you hear me from here? I don’t want to shout unnecessarily, either.” he said. The neighboring rock wasn’t that far away, just a few, maybe a dozen or so meters. However, sound here seemed to work a little differently, and in the background, there were still strange squeaks, scrapes, and constant humming.

  The woman, seeing Orion’s precarious position, went back to the edge of the shelf and squatted again. She still didn’t look calm, and was even a little shaken, but no matter what he would hypothetically try to do, she was safe from him from there.

  “Thank you,” she replied after a moment. “And I’m sorry for my reaction. You look like you wouldn’t last long in that position.”

  “It’s alright. I’ll be fine for a while. Let’s start from the beginning, okay? My name is Orion, my friends call me Ori.”

  “Ei…” she started to answer, but interrupted. After a moment, she said. “Martha.”

  Martha stopped looking at him. Her gaze was fixed on the ground. Looking at her for a moment, Orion sighed.

  “Looks like you’ve been hurt somehow, too.” he said a little more quietly, drawing her gaze back to him. “Before I woke up here, I thought I was dying. I’m still not sure if that didn’t happen, though. And I’m sorry, too. For coming on so suddenly. I think my empathy might be a little crooked right now, and I can.... I can be a little weird.”

  Martha’s eyes widened slightly at the mention of his situation. She also couldn’t be sure of her own condition. If she was going to bet, she’d say she’s dead now and living her afterlife.

  “Don’t worry about it. And as for our condition... after what you said, I don’t think... I think we’re dead,” she said. “I was drugged up, and even though I couldn’t think straight, I’m pretty sure I was strangled.”

  “Hey, quite likewise here! I think they drowned me,” Orion said cheerfully, only realizing after a moment the tone in which he replied. “Oh, and here’s the strangeness I mentioned. Sorry.”

  Martha was clearly not amused by his cheerful tone, her face expressing nothing but a slight surprise at his answer. She chose to ignore the tone and focus on what he was saying. After a moment of awkward silence, she finally answered.

  “Looks like everybody’s got their own baggage. Tell me. What do you think about this situation?”

  Orion was quite embarrassed by his outburst, and her moment of silence lasted far too long for his liking. He thought she was going to tell him to piss off, so when he heard her answer, to his surprise, he sighed gently with relief.

  “It doesn’t have to be the afterlife, but given our similar situations, it’s quite likely. I’m not certain about our condition, but I think it’s still more reasonable to assume we’re alive. Better to try to survive than to die stupidly because we thought we were dead…” he replied.

  “I guess you’re right, but I admit... I have to admit that I don’t know if I want to…”

  “If you want to live?”

  “Mhm.”

  This time, Orion needed a moment of silence for himself. He understood her. Ultimately, for the past year he wanted nothing more than liberation through death. But after his awakening here, he wanted to find a way out of this place and return to his family. He wanted to make sure they were safe. Despite everything, he also wanted to explain that what they had heard about him was all lies. He couldn’t explain it to himself logically, after all, he had never cared about what people were thinking about him. But now he didn’t want to be remembered as the worst. And… He had to admit that he wanted a chance to avenge what happened to Byton, too.

  “I understand. Before I woke up here, all I wanted was death. But I still... have things to do,” he said. “It’s kinda funny, you know? I used to love being alone. But now I want to be with my family, with people I care about. Somehow keep them safe from what happened to me... what happened to us, I guess.”

  They talked for a while about this place and the possibilities of what it could all mean, but soon Orion began to feel tension in his limbs. He was still in a rather uncomfortable position, and he knew he couldn’t hold out much longer.

  “While traveling through this strange land, I saw you and thought it would be safer to travel with someone. But I won’t insist. I’ll leave you alone. Despite everything, it was nice to meet you, Martha.”

  As he prepared to descend, Orion couldn’t help but notice his sadness at the thought of leaving alone. But he knew the urge to give up too well, to feel okay persuading her to fight for survival. To a struggle that could have been meaningless all along, and that could have brought more suffering. In this place, the journey itself was exhausting, and he couldn’t guarantee that it would do any good. As if that wasn’t enough, they only talked for a moment. They were strangers to each other, and in her place, he probably would have preferred to be alone, too.

  Martha, although she had spent most of her time since waking up here feeling sorry for herself, couldn’t help but notice the unnaturalness of this place. She couldn’t imagine daring to go down and wander this land alone. But now, seeing this strange man in an even stranger bag, simply letting go, she couldn’t bring herself to remain silent.

  “Wait, I... Where do you want to go?” she asked, sticking her head out so she could see him. While he was talking earlier, she had her head down, and it was only now that he saw her tears.

  “Forward.” he replied simply, adding after a moment. “I’m going to find a way out of this place.”

  “Do you still want me to join? I doubt I’ll be of any use...”

  “If you want? An extra pair of eyes could be a lifesaver, you know... if we’re actually still alive. Besides, at least I won’t have to sing myself songs.”

  “What?”

  Martha had a bit of a hard time coming down, but as mentioned earlier, the rock texture made it quite easy to find places for your hands and feet. She still needed about half an hour, and finally, being at the same level, she looked at Orion with still visible fear in her eyes. As Orion initially decided, he wanted to keep some distance between them, which in this case proved helpful not only for him.

  “Thanks,” he said, giving her some time to catch her breath. “I’m glad you decided to join. I think traveling alone through an environment like this is not only quite dangerous, but also mentally difficult.”

  “Okay. After you said you’d leave me alone, I thought...” she started to say, but stopped for a moment. After taking a deep breath, she continued. “I thought I didn’t want to be alone anymore. I’ll trust you... I’ll just need some time. And I hope you won’t betray that trust.”

  “I can guarantee I won’t try to hurt you or anything, unless you attack me... But then I’ll probably just leave. I’m not a fan of causing suffering. But I can’t guarantee that this trip will be safe, though. I don’t know if there are any predators lurking here.”

  “Are you saying this now?”

  “I’m sorry. Do you want to climb back up to your rock?”

  “Shut up.”

  Orion smiled gently. He felt as if he heard those words addressed to him for the first time in his life.