In No Man's Land

Captured

John Willie can’t say he’s a dude of much luck. He just ran out of lucks. He lost his IT job with WIC Company, and broke up with his girlfriend; oftentimes strangers on the street hauled insults at him.

On his way home from the bar, he caught a glimpse of a white sheet of paper lying by the bus stop. He has been standing by the bus stop for a while waiting for a cab to drive him home.

He had his fill at the bar and staggered towards the white sheet of paper lying by the bus stop.

Picking up the sheet of paper, it was written boldly on it, ‘you care for a ride?’

Though he was drunk, he was able to identify the WIC Company’s logo as it was attached to the top left side of the paper.

“A ride to where?” He muttered still staggering.

Not quite long a cab finally arrived. Hastily he staggered and boarded the cab. “12th Avenue.” He said in an unstable tone.

Getting home he went straight to his room and threw himself on the bed which was covered in a bedsheet with WIC's logo. The bedsheet was given to him last year by his girlfriend who recently broke up with him because he lost his job. She worked under the HR department of WIC Company.

That’s the only thing he has of WIC Company and that’s the only thing he has ever received from his girlfriend. She has called him all manner of names and slammed the door against his face.

He was still asleep when a violent shaking suddenly awakened him.

The white sheet of paper he picked from the bus stop was lying on the floor beside his bed and a bright light shone out from the paper. The rays of the bright light lit his darkroom.

“What the hell?” He cried out embracing his pillow.

Within the twinkling of an eye, he found himself in a strange land. He was still carrying his pillow.

“Where the hell am I?”

He dropped the pillow and started looking around continuously. He can only see trees from where he was standing. He can hear the sound of the flowing river, branches creaking, wind whistling around the leaves and the birds singing.

As he turned to head towards the flowing river, he was knocked out from behind.

A few minutes later, he was awakened by the thunderous voice that yelled.

"Bring the human here!"

He turned to see who it was that spoke with a voice that can bring fear.

His eyes caught up with a tall man, muscular and imposing, with long dark gray hair with a gray-and-black beard.

"What is happening and where I'm?" John enquired with a quivering voice.

He looked around and realized he is inside a brick mansion. The walls of the mansion are well decorated in precious stone and affixed to the walls were flaming torches.

John began to draw back in fear as he was being approached by men dressed in a red flowing robe. Their eyes were glittering and around their waist was a small dagger. Around their neck was a flowing cape, like that of a knight. 

"Stay away from me," John cried out.

As he was about turning around to run, the two men seized him and dragged him to the tall, muscular man seated on a high throne. The throne was made with gold.

The tall man gave John a wide-eyed gaze and then open his mouth to speak. "Do you know who I am?"

John was at first spellbound but after a while, he opened up his mouth to speak. "Forgive me, I don't know where I'm."

"That has not answered my question." roared the tall muscular man. His voice sounded like that of thunder. In his anger, the ground began to shake.

Without hesitation, John fell to his feet and cried out in a loud voice, "Please don't kill me. Have mercy on me and forgive me. I'm just an innocent IT guy that recently lost his job, spare me."

John Willie was not able to make any sense of what is happening around him. The last thing he remembered was seeing a flash of light that came out from the white piece of paper he picked from the bus stop. The people in the brick mansion look strange and weird, especially the one that spoke to him in a thunderous voice.

The tall muscular man was endowed with precious stones all over his robe. His eyes began to flash lightning terrifying John the more. John swallowed a lump and spoke in a quivering voice, "Please sir, spare my life. I just want to go back to my room."

Making his way to John, the man brought his face closer to John's and grinned, "You must be a long way from home, aren't you?"

"I don't know where I'm right now but I live in New York City. 12th Avenue precisely."

"You don't know where you are, do you?"

"No sir," John replied putting his head down.

He had a long day which he later ended up in the bar. But he can still recall he picked up a cab and made his way to his apartment at 12th Avenue. He can remember paying the cabman with a $20 note but what he can't set right now was, if he was dreaming since he can recall lying on his bed as well. 

"You humans know how to poke around our dwelling and think you will go free always. I will make a scapegoat out of you and see what will be the fate of other humans." The tall muscular man lifted John off the ground.

"I'm sorry." John cried out as he struggles to free himself from the man's strong hands but the man was too strong for him to fight back. Indeed he wasn't a dude of much lucks and doesn't know what he has gotten himself into but it's now clear to him he's nowhere close to home.