Chapter 1
The Unexpected Journey
Rhys's POV
"What the...?! How did I get here?!" I exclaimed, looking around in disbelief. He found himself standing at the top of a very dark and dense placw, surrounded by towering trees and strange creatures he had never seen before. Luckily they didn't seem dangerous.
"Ahh! This FLUFFING book! I knew it was bad news, why did I still accept it? This is insane!" I say, staring at the old leather-bound book lying on the ground. The book suddenly opened, and a bright light enveloped him.
When the light faded, I found myself in a completely different world.
"How the hell did I get here?? All I remember is falling after playing Phil's stupid games"
He looked around quickly but found himself to be completely alone but that only made things worse in this cold,dark and dreary atmosphere.
"I KNEW something was wrong with this book but I only thought it was just the messed up of life of the villains and the hero. This isn't good AT ALL. What am I going to do now? How will I get home? I knew I should've never trusted Phil, that dude was ALWAYS sketchy for a reason. I've really done it now", he began to pant, aggressively hyperventilating as the world seemed to close up on him. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself then thought to himself
'Ok, wallowing in self-pity won't do anything, I need to think about how to survive here. Since this book is about the lives of the main characters, all I have to do is find them, everything else comes later. Since they're important,it means that they won't die, they might suffer greatly in their lives but they won't die which is what I'm after right now. I need to find them,and get them to protect just until I find a way out of this hellhole. They must be kids right now so the best time to manipulate them is now."
He began to walk steadily down the mountain he had suddenly appeared on after being transported. It was a very slippery slope but he was able to make do,only stumbling at every other turn. Luckily for him,there weren't any seriously dangerous animals which was a miracle in itself seeing as they normally operate in the night but he'd count his blessings as they came.
He eventually reached the bottom of the mountain after experiencing a very nasty fall halfway through, but luckily only his keg was somewhat twisted but he was in an overall good condition seeing his current situation.
He walked across the neighbourhood of what seemd to be a desolate town making sure to be especially quiet seeinyas his attire isn't from around here and be wouldn't want to draw suspicion to himself.
" So the first order of business is to find appropriate clothes to wear, these clothes would bring more trouble than they're worth so it's better to dispose of them. Oh thank heavens! There seems to be a shed over there but it seems to be over that fence. Getting it might be tricky but what other choice do I have?"
After psyching himself up for about 3 minutes, he gathered momentum and rushed at the fence before scaling it mostly unharmed.he did snag his leg on the top half of it but it was minor injury overall.
It's a good thing he participated in all those extracurriculars because he wouldn't have been able to pull it off otherwise.
As he walked towards the shed, he saw 3 boys huddled together, looking scared and dirty. Their eyes were sunken, and their clothes were tattered. They were across the street right beside a garbage bin. He decided to ignore them for now and focused on his task of busting open the shed but the lock seemed to be rusted for the most part so getting it off wasn't really a hassle. After prying open the door. He looked down and noticed some farmer clothes that stunk and turned up his nose in disgust.
"I'm desperate but not THAT desperate", he muttered in distaste before hastily closing the shed to prevent the smell from escaping.
He looked around a bit before noticing a clothes line in another compound but thankfully the fence wasn't really high so he was able to scale it easily before heading straight for the line. After looking around for a bit, he noticed some shorts that would be able to fit him and picked a random shirt to match. He then noticed a pair of children's clothes and thought of the kids by the dumpster and decided to pick 2 pairs of clothes each before leaving there.
He looked around before spotting the kids still beside the bin, he walked to them slowly yet warily
'Yeah they are kids but this is still a fantasy world, I can't afford to be careless'
"Hello there, are you okay?" John asked, approaching them cautiously.
The boys looked up at him with a mix of fear and skepticism. "W-who are you?" one of them asked, his voice trembling.
"I'm Rhys. I'm here to help you," I replied, trying to sound reassuring.
The boys exchanged doubtful glances, but Rhys's gentle tone put them at ease. They introduced themselves as Hermes, Damon, and Ares. I learned that they had been living on the streets, struggling to survive.
Rhys's heart went out to them. "That's truly rough buddy but you're safe for now. I'll take care of you," he promised, his voice filled with conviction..... meanwhile....
'Yeah, this is perfect. That's the way to go about it. I gotta make these kids feel indebted to me because they won't betray me for now. Obviously I don't trust anyone here but at least they'd be useful in helping me get the hell out of here'
"But before that, y'all have to cleaned up. You look and smell disgusting, no offence.", I say with a slight frown
They looked embarrassed after I pointed out their sorry state.
"Follow me and let's look for a place to change, bathe and hopefully sleep for the night"
As they nodded, Rhys saw a glimmer of hope in their eyes.
'Yeah! Just trust me,love me, rely on me . I'm gonna be your saviour so you better be useful. I don't need baggage'
"Let's get out of here and find a safe place," I say , gesturing towards the forest.
The boys nodded, and together they set off, me leading the way. As they walked, I realized that these boys had been through unimaginable hardships, but I was determined to use them for all they're worth for the short period he would be with them not knowing this decision was going to be the most unfortunate turning point in my life.
