I woke up with the fresh ray of sunlight beaming on my face. The day looked bright and beautiful, with birds chirping around the beautiful blue sky. Next to me was the dead wolf rotting in broad daylight.
I could clearly see its features now. The wolf was pitch white in colour and was fairly huge for a normal wolf.
Its ribs were showing, and the body looked frail, indicating malnourishment. The wolf looked like it had starved for days, and that was quite worrying.
I looked at the two pups snuggling around my lap. Both of them had clear, pristine blue eyes but varied body colours.
One of them was white like the mother while the other was black. Both looked to be male and, for some reason, gave off a very unique vibe.
I petted them for a while before getting up and settling my memories in. I was working overtime and trying to complete the daily meeting overview. It was already my tenth coffee, but then I heard someone?
'Hmm, my memories are jumbled with this body. I already noticed this isn't my body. He looks like someone between twelve to fifteen years. What was my name again?? Roy?? Hmm… Roy Lark. His name sounds quite.....different.'
My thoughts were scattered when the pups attached onto my legs, slightly sulking. I didn't know if they knew I was their mother's killer. They seemed to have understood that their mother was not going to return.
SIGH…
I picked up the two and began walking away from the corpse. The already dead body was going to attract a lot of scavengers and other wildlife.
I was surprised it had been left unattended for a full night.
I quickly covered the pace with my legs, not wanting to remain in this place longer. Each passing moment increased the likelihood of me not coming out of this ALIVE.
To understand what exactly happened and how I ended up in this hellhole—I have to live.
GURGLE... GURGLE...
The sound of a stream caught my ears. This was definitely a water stream heading towards a larger water body—possibly a river.
This was good news because there would be human settlements along the riverbanks. I also had to wash up by any means.
I quickly sped up and reached a small stream flowing downwards. The water looked insanely clear, and only the area surrounding the water was green. The rest all was decayed and destroyed. I removed all my clothes and observed my bony body. I was clearly skinny—extremely skinny, if I may.
I looked dehydrated and even like a corpse, by the looks of it.
Without wasting time, I dived into the water and cleansed myself neatly. The wounds from yesterday's battle hadn't healed, and there were several claw marks. My ribs were broken, and I could hardly walk.
I bent down and saw the face of a black-haired kid, somewhat in his early teens.
He had deep blue eyes just like the pups and was somewhat white-brown in colour.
'Hmm, what's with this fcking body? How the hell can someone's conscience end up in a different body?? Haa... I want to go home.'
My body was already dreading the thought of living with such abominations daily. My thoughts were broken apart by the pups barking at me.
I finished up my washing and came towards their place, petting them. They kept barking towards a certain direction. I could not see any movement or any sort of indication that someone might be watching us.
"Seems like you sensed something quite ominous. Come on guys, let's get moving. Do not bark—I'm in no position to fight," I said, picking them after dressing up.
GRRR...GRRR...
They were growling at the small, tiny bushes. Seeing their reaction, my heart started to beat fast. I could not afford another fight—not here, not now.
I slowly picked up a sharp-looking rock from the riverbed and began to move backwards slowly.
Rustle... Rustle...
Without wasting any time, I threw the rock like a throwing knife.
Shing... Plip...
'That sound... it was deflected. Deflected by something metallic.'
Keeping the pups behind a huge rock, I quickly got into a fighting stance. "Whoever you are, come out... We mean no harm. We've been abandoned and are searching for a place to live," I said.
A figure came out of the bushes, holding what looked like a dagger. His features looked similar to mine, and he had covered his entire body completely—top to bottom.
His black clothes and black mask gave out only one answer: "An assassin."
He didn't speak. Just looked at me with his strange violet eyes. My instincts were screaming danger, but I didn't move first.
Despite being my age, he looked quite dangerous—and it's best to gauge the opponent.
I was about to speak when he suddenly lunged at me.
'Fck!' I cursed, sidestepping away from his field of attack. I held his palm, twisting it before punching his gut.
He seemed quite nimble, dodging the attack by a hair's breadth.
He suddenly disappeared and appeared right behind me, swinging the blunt side of his blade.
'Bastard… is he even human? Who moves with such insane speed?' I thought, jumping away from him.
Instead of coming at me again, he studied me and took off his mask. He beamed a big smile before uttering something shocking.
"Roy... Do you know how long we've been searching for you? We thought you were dead, for god's sake!"
"Wh... What is going on? You know me??"
"...Roy... Roy, it's me, Jack. Roy, look at me... Do you not remember me?"
I didn't answer but tried to remember something about the person in front of me from this body's memories.It was a complete mess — intertangled between mine and the person who originally was born.
"I... I... No. I don't remember. The first thing I know is being attacked by two huge centipede-like creatures and then the wolf attacked...Wait... You... Can you understand me?"
"Roy. Are you alright? What are you talking about? Did you lose your memories??You... OK, are you really Roy?"
I couldn't answer him properly. My mind was in a haywire — the potency of the current situation, the dilemma I was stuck in...
I was in a huge predicament, and my mind was completely fried.
"I don't know," I said, picking the pups up."I don't know who I am."