Foreign World

A sharp intake of air jolts Nox awake, he rolls over to his side. He wince as a stabbing sensation shoots his ribs. He takes a sniff before realizing that he's lying in piss.

He reached for his rib, it has completely healed, but he's still tired.

Nox placed his hand on the wall as he got up. He's cold, naked, and hungry. He looks around—he's in a dark dank alley. He glanced up, checking how far he fell—it's at least sixty meters from here.

He shrugged off the thought. He keeps walking like a zombie as he crosses the street, he squint as he tries to navigate in the dark with only the illumination coming from a single street light.

His foot touches the cold concrete and it helps in keeping him awake. He cranes his neck to the right and notices the three dummies fashioned in clothes, their grey, plastic skin is illuminated by a bright light.

He steps towards the large pane of glass and shatters it with his fist. It takes a few minutes for him to find the clothes that fit his figure before sprinting towards the street, away from the blaring noise from the store.

Two orbs of light catch the corner of his eye—getting bigger and bigger, until... CRASH!!

Nox skids further down the street as he gets hit by a hard object. He groans in pain, everything hurts like hell—again.

His vision becomes hazy as he tries to raise his head, only to see a silhouette approaching him. He hears the silhouette shouting something inaudible as his vision gets darker.

A woman of Hispanic descent steps out of her car, she flicks a raven lock over her shoulder, her long, curly hair sways as she hurriedly moves towards the person she hit. The headlight illuminates her olive complexion.

"Oh d*mn," she nods, checking out the person's fine rear before snapping back to reality. "I mean, sh*t," finally she curses. "Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t."

She walks over to the person who's on his belly, donning expensive clothes. She pokes the person's side with the tip of her foot, a reassuring groan causes a sigh to escape from her lips. Relieved that she didn't kill someone, and she's sure as hell that she's not calling for help.

After all, she's a nurse.

A kleptomaniac and an impulsive nurse who was driving while texting.

She cautiously turns the person over, shedding light to his unconscious face. She nods once again. "God d*mn, he is cute." She shakes her head as guilt takes over. "What the hell am I doing?" She chuckles.

Wrapping her hands around the unconscious person's arms, she grunts as she drags the victim over to the backseat of her car, hoping that the unconscious beauty didn't sustain any injuries.

She enters the vehicle and places her hands over the wheel. "Sh*t, what do I tell Scarlet? Oh, this? He's clearly a runway model whom I hit with my car, no big deal." She sighs. "No…big deal."

The engine roars to life as she drives into the night.

A few minutes later

She parks in front of her apartment, briefly glancing at the window, she knows that her roommate—Scarlet—is still awake.

She glances through the rearview mirror, how is she going to explain the stranger in her backseat? It would've been fine if he was merely unconscious, however, he is n*ked.

She'll just tell Scarlet the truth, and hopefully, the unconscious stranger survives the stairs until they reach the third floor, because the elevator is out of order.

She grunts as she drags the stranger towards the stairs, a few minutes of grunting and sweat later, she finally reaches her room.

"I'm back!" she greets cheerfully as she drags the unconscious body into the room. Her flushed face rivals the color of her long curly locks that tumble over her shoulders like lava. Her green eyes widen as she covers her mouth with her hand.

The redhead's brows shoot up, her jaw drops as her gaze dances between her roommate and the body in her friend's hands. "Oh m-my god! Selena, did you murder him?"

"What? No!" Selena pauses. "Well, almost," she proceeds to drag the stranger towards the couch.

Scarlet flings her hands in the air, panicking at the situation. "What do you mean 'almost'?"

Selena averts her gaze, shifting uncomfortably. "I…may have hit him with my car."

"Oh my god, you ran him over?"

"No! I said I hit him," she looks over at the n*ked stranger. "He's still alive…I think."

"Why didn't you call for an ambulance?" Scarlet folds her arms.

"Scarlet, I'm a nurse!"

"Exactly!" The redhead pinches the bridge of her nose. "Were you texting while driving again?"

she shifts guiltily. "I may have, yes."

"Well, what do we do with…" she walks as she gazes at the stranger's n*kedness. "Him?" Then blushes at the naughty thoughts.

"Fortunately, I have medical tools that I borrowed—"

"Stole," cuts Scarlet.

"Borrowed indefinitely," she winks. "We can patch him up," she gestures at the stranger.

"You make it sound so simple!" Frustrated, Scarlet stomps out of the room. Leaving the worried Selena all on her own.

The wafting smell of food causes Nox stomach to grumble. He stretches his limbs, yawning as he ready himself to rise. Beams of sunlight spill through the curtains, hitting his face.

He sits upright on a long sofa made out of a soft material, cushioning the sudden shift of his weight. The fragmented memories which he is certain aren't his don't help with his confusion either.

Everything feels so hazy, he's in an unfamiliar shelter, albeit cozy, this could be the enemy's. How did he get here? And who put these baggy but comfortable, and uncomfortably bright, pink clothes on him?

"Oh good, he didn't die," someone mumbles.

Nox jerks on to his feet, scanning the room…only to see two strangers eating breakfast. One of them went from pale to pink as he lock gazes with her. What did the red haired know? Beside her is her friend, Nox presume. The raven haired horks her food.

The redhead glares at her companion then turns her attention to Nox. "I believe we haven't had a proper introduction," she kicks her friend under the table.

The raven haired swallows before speaking. "Hm? Oh, Selena Garcia, sorry for hitting you with my car," then she gestures at the redhead. "And this is my clumsy roommate, Scarlet Conaire."

Scarlet clears her throat. "And you are?"

"Confused." Nox says, his brows knit.

Selena coughs, looking a little guilty. "Yes, I'll explain later—"

"No, you will tell me what happened," Nox stepped forward. Although his clothes make him look less threatening. "Now."

"So…what do we call you?" Scarlet asks innocently.

"Nox."

"Just Nox?"

"Yes."

"Okay then," Selena leans closer to her friend. "And I thought you were weird."

She gets a light punch on her arm.

Nox have new memories. Not his. They're from someone else, a fragment of modern languages…and some other things that he's quite uncertain about. It's as if he's trying to clear murky water by throwing rocks at it.

"Where am I?"

Confusion clouds Scarlet's brows. "You're in Odonsa."

"Odonsa? This room? This building? What is Odonsa?"

"Yes," Selena nods. "Odonsa City."

What a strange and unfamiliar name. "On which continent is it located?"

They both glance at each other before snapping their attention back to Nox. "This is a massive landmass artificially built, located East of Central America."

"You don't get out much, do you?" Selena says softly.

"No, I was held captive."

"By your parents?" Selena's face creases with sympathy.

"My parents are long dead." Not exactly a lie, Nox suppose.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Do you know what age is it?" Nox ask.

"Uh…Sunday?" Selena gets a swift smack behind her head. "What was that for?" She pouts at Scarlet.

"He means era, you idiot." Scarlet said.

"Well, he could've just said so."

Scarlet shakes her head, then sighs. "It's the Iroas era, 2100."

"Where the tech business is booming, heroes are legalized to do what they do, and best of all—bread," she says enthusiastically.

"Bread?" ask the confused Nox.

"Bread and pastries are in demand," Selena says in a matter-of-factly tone.

"I see," Nox don't care about bread. "Do you still worship gods?"

"What a strange question," Selena says.

"Still a question, nonetheless."

"No…we don't. I'm sure there are some tiny parts of the world where people worship things, but the majority of religions have died out."

That is a relief…at the same time, it bothers him. He no longer has a purpose to walk the earth.

"What do you want with me?"

"To get you home safe," the redhead says in a soft tone.

"I do not have a home."

"Ah, I see," Selena has finally connected the dots. "You got evicted from your apartment?"

Or perhaps he was wrong. "No," Nox shook his head. "I was in a lab."

"Oh, a test subject," she snaps her fingers before turning to her friend. "You get paid a lot of cash by the pharma."

And perhaps he was wrong in her capabilities in the thinking department.

"No, he said he was held captive." So it's Scarlet who has the bigger brain among the two.

"Holy shit! You got abducted?" Selena spews out a black liquid which she drank from her cup.

"Something like that."

"We have to contact the authorities," Scarlet says.

"No, we don't," Selena whispers, and Nox is barely able to hear it. "What if he's some brightburn junkie who participated in an orgy, then ran away without his clothes because everything went south?"

"Your story seems far-fetched," the redhead gives her a deadpan stare.

"Think about it."

"I don't want to."

"A hot, n*ked stranger running in the middle of the night—"

"Ran over by a nurse," Scarlet interjects.

"I hit him, actually. If I ran him over, he would've been dead."

"And you're proud of it?"

"To spite you? Yes," Selena grins. "And you seem to be hot and bothered by the thought of him being n*ked."

"I AM NOT!"

Nox brows shoot up at Scarlet's reaction, a splash of red appears on her face.

Nox notice a thin, square-shaped object. Its edges are sleek and black, but what catches his attention is the man inside it. He approach it cautiously. The man continues to ramble on about something. How does he fit in there?

Nox peak behind the object and see no extension of a space, which means this sorcerous device must've trapped this man for Selena and Scarlet's entertainment.

In one fluid motion, he kick the device, sending it flying towards an open window. The sound of chair legs skidding the floor dominates the room after the loud ruckus outside the window. It seems he have angered the two mortals.

"What the hell was that?" Asks an angry Scarlet, tears begin to well from her eyes.

"You trapped a man for your own entertainment, so I set him free."

"Do you live in a cave? Were raised by wolves?" Scarlet's hands ball into fists. She's about to cry. "That was a television, I worked hard for that!"

"Hey, take it easy," Selena tries to comfort her friend, but the redhead stomps out of the room.

"That was…a TV, you see. The man wasn't trapped inside it, he's safely working in a studio—a room where he works—and his actions are being projected in the TV through long distances," Selena explains.

"I see," Nox say thoughtfully. What a strange world he is in, and it seems Selena understands him now.

"You should probably apologize to Scarlet, she cries easily, and it's true that she worked hard for that."

"Yes, as soon as she returns."