Our Destiny: Bearers of the Dagger

Landing, Part 1

Charlie groaned.

How long had he been out? An hour? A day? He couldn't tell.

The sound of a nearby swash tickled his ears and a series of gentle waves crashed on the nearby shore.

The beach. That was where he was. Charlie opened his eyes.

The sun was so bright that he had to squint and turn away, lifting up his hand to blot out the rays. God, his arm felt so heavy. In fact, he was exhausted all over. He felt like his body was being crushed by infinite tiredness, like he hadn't slept in weeks. He could barely lift his head off the ground and any effort was a strain that he just lay there resting while basking in the bright sun. Damn it was warm. Warmer than any summer he had ever experienced. He could feel beads of sweat trickling down his face.

Charlie lifted his other hand to mop his brow and felt lots of tiny things patter on to his cheeks. Stones? No. Too small.

Wait.

Sand?

He looked to his right and saw a sand bar stretching for what seemed like miles into the horizon. He immediately turned left and saw it was the same again. And this place wasn't some dreary dune with a grey ocean, it was a beautifully white beach, pristine and spotless, the kind you would find at tropical islands. It looked like paradise.

But that didn't make any sense.

Charlie forced himself to sit up, feeling every bone in his chest creak like an old hobby horse. He was so tired, but that didn't matter. How he felt didn't mean a damn thing anymore, all that he could think about was this beach.

Groaning again, he turned himself around and gazed up to the top of the sands. There were trees, bamboo trees and ferns, that got denser and closer together until he realised it was a real jungle before him. His eyes strained to see how far the forests spread but all he could see was a sea of green, perched at top of this spectacular beach.

But that was all beside the point. The point was simple and frightening and despite how warm it was, there was a very real shiver running up Charlie's spine.

'Where am I?' he murmured.

This wasn't Reyvon Lodge. Not even close. There was no pier, no stupid grit. Not even a boathouse or two. It was just this wide tropical beach and nothing else for as far as the eye could see.

This is not where he was.

So how did he get here?

Charlie could feel panic in his body. His breathing was getting faster and his stomach felt sick.

He clumsily stood up, stumbling a little as he fought for balance on the dunes. His body felt like it had been bedridden for days. His muscles stung as he forced them to hold himself, fighting the urge to collapse. And his slowly growing hysteria for his situation didn't help matters, that rising fear causing his knees to buckle somewhat.

No, he told himself. Don't fall over. This isn't the time to fall over.

Charlie started hyperventilating. He took a deep breath, gasped for air and tried again. He bent forwards, focusing on breathing while his eyes danced across the beach once more.

He found himself staring at the jungle before him, the slowly encroaching forests of bamboo and palms that didn't cease as far as he could tell. Charlie stepped backwards, thinking he might see something beyond, but there was nothing except more forests, perhaps inclining on to hills but he wasn't sure.

This was definitely not Reyvon Lodge.

His fear took over him again.

Charlie started back stepping once more, treading away from that jungle of unknown, moving as far as he could without stopping to see where he was going.