In No Man's Land

Escaping

John was patiently waiting for Ozenzo to answer all the questions that have been bothering him. He glanced at Ozenzo, “I am still waiting for you to answer me.”

He wasn’t sure how he got in this world that is different from his world but he’s definitely sure there’s a way back to his world. ‘Every building has an entrance and exit door and if I have entered into this weird world, they should be an exit as well.’ His thoughts have never failed him in the past and will not fail him now. All he wanted now was to return home and where he is right now is nothing like home.

After waiting patiently for Ozenzo to speak to him, he glanced at Ozenzo once more. “Why are you silent? You need to tell me how I got here and how to leave,” he said.

“Getting to a place you do not want is easy but getting out is difficult.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“It’s late John, why not get some bed rest and we will talk tomorrow.”

The pale crescent moon shone like a silvery claw in the night sky. The night is upon them and this is the very first time John was sleeping outside New York City. He didn’t like the response he got from Ozenzo. His countenances changed and he fired back at Ozenzo. “You must be a s**t hole. All I just wanted are answers.”

“I believe you aren’t cursing me, are you?”

“It doesn’t matter if I curse you.”

Ozenzo glared at John. He doesn’t like being cursed. He grabbed John by the throat and lifted him above the ground. “I hate being cursed.”

John started squirming. “Let go of me now,” he cried out.

Ozenzo releases John and lets him slump to the floor. “Poor thing,” he mutters. Turning to face the first and the second creature, he ordered them to take John to the chamber meant for the guest.

As the two creatures walked up to John, they helped him to his feet but John pushed them angrily, “Let go of me,” he said.

“You must be a very angry young man,” Ozenzo said as he approaches John. He brought his face closer to John’s face and then said to him, “If you must survive in 'No Man’s Land', you need us.” After saying this, Ozenzo disappeared and was seen no more by John.

“Where the hell did he go?” John cried out as he continued looking around in search of him. “Where is he?”

“He’s gone! You can’t see him again,” answered the first creature. “You must follow us now.”

“I am not going anywhere with you two. Not until you tell me how my ass got here.”

“Mysteries can’t be revealed in one night. You have heard the warlock lord say you need to ‘get some bed rest.’”

“I don’t f*****g care what the warlock lord had said. I am leaving.”

“I am afraid; we can’t let you do that.” The second creature quickly grabbed John and started dragging him to the guest’s chamber.

“I have rights! Unhand me at once,” John cried out.

The second creature kicks open the wooden door of the chamber and pushed John inside the room, hastily he slammed shut the door and locks it from the outside.

“Let me out!"

"Let me out now, I am ordering you!” John beats against the door.

He had started losing strength. He can’t remember the last time he had something to eat. He began to feel the rumbling noise of his stomach calling him to eat. He looked around the chamber; he saw a table beside the bed, with a bowl on top of it filled with different kinds of fruits.

The bed was dressed in red sheets throughout. The curtains were red too and the candles affixed to the walls of the chamber were also red. He didn’t pay much attention to the way the chamber looked. He ignored the creepy pictures on the walls of the chamber and made his way to the table.

The pictures attached to the wall of the chambers were paintings of a headless naked woman, a man holding the head of a monster with an eye on his forehead, and a doglike creature with fangs and claws.

As he got to the table, he picked an apple and quietly sat on the bed as he enjoys himself.

After he has had his fill, he noticed one of the windows of the chamber was widely opened as the night breeze hallowed through the window. He quickly jumped to his feet and headed to the window. Looking through the window, he realized the guest chamber was only 6ft to the cobbled floor outside the castle.

Without thinking twice, he quickly jumped down the window and landed on the cobbled floor outside the castle. Looking around, there was no one in view. The cobbled floor has a path that leads to the woods but with a small wooden gate made from an oak tree.

He quickly made his way to the wooden door and lifted its wood lock. “I can’t be stuck in ‘No Man’s Land.' I am going back to New York City.”

John made his way into the woods with no source of light. He was scared at first but decided to continue since he doesn’t know what he will be facing at Ozenzo’s castle. He took his chances and continued his journey although he knows nowhere around ‘No Man’s Land.’

While he was a kid, he was a member of the Boy Scout and he could remember those days his scoutmaster took him and the other scout boys into the woods for camping. They were taught how to make a campfire. To start a fire without matches or lighter fluid, you'll need a certain type of rock and steel. The type of rock most commonly used in fire starting is a flint or any type of rock in the flint family, such as quartz, chert, obsidian, agate, or jasper. Other stones also have been known to work

He’s getting tired and needed a place to rest his head but certainly, he’s not thinking of going back to Ozenzo’s castle. He gathered some tree branches and a few rocks. Those memories of him being a scout boy came back alive as he lit the tree branch by just knocking two rocks together.

As he was about laying a few paces from the campfire, he caught a glimpse of an extremely large and enormous three-headed dog, at least 28ft tall, with thick black fur.