– Chapter Two Orientation or Dementia

Alex awoke thrashing so violently that he fell out of the small cot that he had slept on. Quick sidelong glances alerted him that he was not aware of his surroundings. A mere few seconds ago, he was being ripped apart by a demon-like creature, and now, thankful to be alive, he was struggling to get his bearings on his new environment.

He must've screamed when he awoke, because he heard shuffling outside the small cabin that he awoke in. He could see early rays of sunlight beaming in thin streaks through the only window next to the entrance of the hut. It reminded him of a summer vacation cottage; he pictured a row of these side-by-side, with surfboards leaning against them and towels hanging from the front banisters drying after a fun day at the beach. He sat up and looked around the cabin. It was modest by any standard. The walls were solid wood slats and had virtually no furnishings on them, with the exception of the occasional bear trap or exotic-looking metal tool hanging from them. There was one small dresser near the cot, with an oil-burning lantern on it.

There was a simple fireplace carved out of the stone that climbed the wall and turned into

the chimney in one corner.

"Where the hell am I?" he asked himself. It felt as if he had had too much fun the night before. He couldn't remember any of it.

His hands were dirty and calloused, and as he looked down at himself, he realized that he was dressed for the part as well. He had a white shirt on that tied at the neck, with a leather vest over it. He wore black drawstring pants, and a pair of tied-up-from-the-bottom deerskin boots.

"Are you EVER going to get up?" He knew someone was standing there, but the

shape was silhouetted in sunlight, and it hurt too much to look at them.

"What time is it?" Alex asked. "It's time to get up, lazy!" came the reply.

"Give me a minute?" He rubbed his eyes hoping that they would somewhat adjust

to the environment. Who was this girl? She obviously knew him. She huffed and he heard

her footsteps travel away from him.

As he tried hard to remember something, ANYTHING, his thoughts began to scramble in his head, and the dizzying nausea came so suddenly he couldn't stop the vomit from shooting out of his mouth.

She was beside him in an instant, rubbing his back. His fit of heaving lasted

only a moment more. He thought to himself that he'd give up drinking after this. He

looked up at her with a quirky look of apology and intrigue at the same time. He had

never seen her before in his life. She was absolutely the most beautiful girl that he had ever met. She had sun-kissed olive skin with light brown hair, and ice-blue eyes that felt like they could read his every thought by boring into his soul with one glance.

"You weren't kidding when you said that you weren't feeling well. I'm sorry. I

didn't mean to press you. If I had known…here, lie back

down." She tried to ease him back in the bed.

"No, really…I feel better…" He pushed against it. He had too many questions,

and he wasn't lying. He did feel much better. He was just completely confused. She was

being awfully nice to him, and she hardly seemed dangerous. Even in his state, he could

knock her over easily and escape. If this is some kind of kidnapping, then there must be more than one person involved.

As she went to fetch a towel and some water, he took the opportunity to stand up

and go to the doorway.

He was not prepared for what he saw when he poked his head out of the cabin. All around him, villagers were bustling, all dressed similarly, all with responsibilities to keep the village going. He was right about the cottages, too, except instead of being in a row, they circled around the perimeter of the village center, where there was a larger common house and gathering area in the middle.

So much for being deserted in the middle of nowhere…this place was bustling with women silently going about their chores, and children playing in a designated area off in the distance. The aroma of burning wood and roasting meat, bacon he thought, was like a snake charmer calling him from his basket. A woman walked past him carrying a bushel of corn ears.

"Feeling better, Alex?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am, much better. Thanks." Hmmm. She spoke to him using a tone like

she had known him for years; not at all as if he were a new guest to this village. What

was going on? He figured he'd be friendly to these people nonetheless, as nothing up to

this point had actually threatened him. The only exception was his own active

imagination, perhaps.

The beautiful girl arrived from around the side of his cabin with a pail and some cloth.

"Why don't you go and see Pina while I clean up? She may be able to give you

an herb or something to settle your stomach," she asked.

In that split second that he thought to say 'who's Pina?', he caught himself. He didn't

want to give anything away by asking the wrong questions. He would have to figure this

all out on his own, at least for now.

"No, thanks, really," he replied, "actually the roasted meat seems to have brought

back my appetite."

"I knew it," she smiled. "Even an upset stomach wouldn't stop you from chasing

down that roasted boar. It's not all the time that we get to have it, and I know that's your

favorite."

He stared at her for a moment. Two locks of her thin, shoulder-length, brown hair

were pulled back behind her head and met somewhere in the back. Her bright blue eyes

lit up her face like blue flames dancing in the grates of a wood stove in complete contrast

to her light mocha complexion. She was dressed in adventurer's clothes, which weren't

very flattering to the figure that he imagined lay beneath. He looked at her thick, pouty

lips and decided that he has already fallen in love with her. He didn't know what it meant, but he felt the strong connection to her. Just as he was looking away, fantasizing about her kiss, she leaned in and kissed him on his cheek.

"I'd kiss your lips, but after that episode…" she looked over to the entrance of the

cabin. "No offense," she smiled.

"None taken. I'm going for a walk, is…that okay?" He threw the test out there to

see where the boundaries were with his imagined 'captivity'.

"Sure! The last perimeter scout party left about 15 minutes ago. If you cut across

the village, you may be able to catch them. Don't be long, though. The boar will be ready

soon.

As he began to walk off the porch, she said, "Alex!" He stopped and turned to her.

"Your SWORD!" She said, surprised with a touch of condescension.

She pointed to a large scabbard leaning against

the outside of the cabin wall while looking at him in disbelief. An ivory and pewter handle showed itself over the edge of the leather. An extended handle that was all to familiar to the recently lost Alex.

"Oh, ahh, yeah! You bet. I can't wait," Alex replied. "See you soon."

"I love you, Alex." She looked at him deeply…in that split second trying to figure him out and sensing something was not exactly right. He just smiled at her. At that moment, he was the luckiest man alive.

He picked up the bulky sword and threw the belt strap over his shoulder

temporarily. He would examine it a little more closely later to verify what he expected to be the sword from his dream. He just had too much to think about right then.

He stepped off the porch and walked toward the village center, where the meat

was roasting and a few women were preparing various breads and vegetables for the

feast. He watched as one middle-aged woman stretched out bread dough into a flat disc,

dusted it with flour and ground corn, and placed it between two rocks in the fire. Alex

watched in amazement as the woman flipped the flatbread; how quickly it cooked and

how tempting it looked…he pictured some fresh pork with that bread wrapped around

it…

"What's the occasion?" Alex dared to ask the women.

"Alex, are you all right?" One woman looked at him sternly. "We, including

yourself, have been working for the last three months for the winter preparations…and you don't think of THAT as a good enough reason to feast?" He felt sheepish for asking. It was now obvious to him that figuring this whole thing out would be much more difficult than he thought. He had too many questions, and no one to ask. That is, of course, no one who wouldn't think he's crazy. He had seemingly been here for quite some time, yet he remembered none of it.

The other two women noticed his uneasiness, and quickly came to his defense.

"If anyone in this village deserves a straight answer, it's him," the youngest of the

three said. "Today the storage barn is full. After the trade with the passing caravan for the

cured meat and ale, and the potatoes that we just brought up from the garden yesterday,

the village is ready for winter."

"Fantastic!" Alex said, looking to the trees at foliage. "And with a few weeks to

spare!"

"You said that exact thing yesterday after you personally inspected the potato bins

before placing them in the barn…" the stern woman remarked.

"Abigail! He's not feeling well!" The older of the two maidens helping whispered

from the side of her mouth.

Abigail eyed Alex suspiciously. Their gaze stayed fixed on one another for an

uncomfortably long time.

A shrill from a child playing in the Children's Field snapped both of them out of

the trance.