Restart Again: Volume 1 by Adam Scott (pocket ebook reader TXT) 📕

ring of metal. Staggering at first, I made my way towards the signs of civilization, following a dirt road to my right.

When I approached the gate, I saw that there was a crowd of people just inside, looking out down the road. They fell silent as I entered, all of them staring at me with hard looks. I stared back in stunned silence. Many of the people in the group looked...strange. Some had tails and ears, like those of a dog or cat. One man had a small set of wings protruding from his back. “You...you aren’t real.”

It was the only thing I could think to say. Obviously, what I was seeing was wrong, somehow. Everything about this was wrong: the pain, the blackness, the flashing lights, and now, this crowd of impossible looking people. “Am I...dead?”

“Dead people aren’t as loud as you!” A woman shouted from the back of the crowd, drawing a laugh from those around her.

“Alright everyone, show’s over. Just another vagrant passing through.” Another voice from the crowd. The people began to disperse, giving me one last glare as they went on their way. Now that I had passed through the palisade, I saw that I was in a small village. Houses lined the main street, mostly made of wooden planks and logs. Ahead the road encircled a large well, where another group was gathered, carrying buckets or walking with baskets.

“No, wait…” I reached out weakly in front of me. “I need help, I need...something…” Shuffling forward, I watched as the remaining few people scurried away, sending worried glances back over their shoulders at me. In the distance I could see people pointing at me from the well, and before I knew it, the main street was completely empty. “No, please, I’m not...I just need some help!” I called out to the empty street.

My body began to tremble again, and I leaned up against the corner of a nearby house for support. I slid down into the dirt holding my head in my hands. “No, no, no...this isn’t real...it was all just a dream.” I didn’t believe what I was saying, but I was trying my best, and failing, not to fall into a complete panic. “No, no, no, no…”

“Are you alright?” a soft voice spoke out to me. Startled, I skittered backwards, bouncing my shoulder hard off the corner post behind me as I moved. Looking up I saw the voice had come from a young woman standing in the middle of the road. She had long, golden hair and wide purple eyes. Two rabbit ears protruded from the top of her head, folded slightly under their own weight at the top.

“I...I’m not...I don’t…” I trailed off, certain that I was not alright in any sense. Looking at her helplessly, my vision blurred as I began to cry. I shook my head meekly. “No.” A single, choked sob escaped my lips. “No, I’m not.”

She approached slowly, bending down to put a hand lightly on my shoulder. “Come with me. We can help you, I’m sure of it.”

“How?” I didn’t believe that she was real. She must have been a hallucination, a true indicator that I had snapped. “Where?”

The woman tilted her head to the side and smiled. “Home.”

---

I felt as though I was floating in darkness. I had fragments of at least fifty different memories, all half formed and out of order in my head. My body ached from head to toe, and for a moment I was unsure as to whether the whole thing was still together or not. Somehow, I felt as though I could move my arms and legs if I wanted to, but there was just no need. It was at that moment that I realized I wasn’t lying in the dark, but instead lying on the ground with my eyes closed. I was in a loose-fitting pair of pants and a thin shirt, neither my own.

It took a significant amount of effort to open my eyes, which I found disconcerting. Directly above me was a ceiling of wooden boards filtering down a hazy light. The walls and floor were cobbled grey stone, unadorned and ill-kept. All around me, the ground was stacked with crates and barrels all marked with a similar sticker labeled in an unfamiliar language. I could feel cracks over my lips, and my mouth was extremely dry. With a mighty grunt, I slowly stretched my arms and legs, drawing a dull ache from my left shoulder. My hand grazed something as it moved, and I heard the clatter of wood on stone.

Rolling to my side, I saw that I had knocked over a pitcher of water which now spilled out over the stone floor. It slowly seeped towards me, soaking into the thin bedroll I was laying on. Where...am I? A small gasp caught my attention, and I looked up to the entrance of the room to find a woman standing in shock. In her hands she held a tray of food and a similar pitcher to the one I had knocked over. Her hair was straight and black, with small grey rounded ears protruding from the top of her head and a puffy dark tail curling around behind her. I couldn’t place why, but her features looked...familiar somehow.

Without a word, she turned and quickly ascended a flight of wooden stairs in the next room. I heard her footsteps pass over the wood above me, stopping somewhere close by. A second set of footsteps joined her hurriedly, moving back to the staircase. She reappeared, and Lia followed close behind her. When she saw me sitting up staring vacantly at them, a huge smile spread across her face.

“Lux!” Lia ran into the room, sliding down onto the floor beside me to dive into a headfirst embrace. The force knocked me back to the floor, winding me, but I was happy to see her. She pulled back a second later having realized that the hug had become more of