Awakening

It was me, Tara, Genevieve, Stephon, and my buddy Brian. We were at the portal in Glimmerbrook. I remember asking everyone if they were ready to go through the portal. Me and Tara decided that we'd go together first. Genevieve, Stephon, and Brian were excited and cheering us on. I don't know what it was, but I just had this strong urge to go through the portal that day. It was as if the portal was talking to me and pulling me towards it. I just couldn't resist the temptation. Anyways, it was time... Me and Tara approached the portal. I turned back to face everyone. I told everyone that we'd see them on the other side, and then me and Tara entered through the portal...

I was lying on the ground barely conscious. I heard Tara's voice, "Wake up, Richard. Wake up."

I focused my eyes, and there I saw an older-looking Tara with her midnight blue eyes staring down at me. Her light brown hair was tied up in a ponytail.

"Are you alright?" Tara asked.

I closed my eyes and then opened them again, and I was still looking at the same older-looking Tara.

"Tara, is that you?" I responded.

She nodded her head, "Of course it is, Richard. You've been unconscious since we got here."

Tara planted herself on the ground and placed herself closely up against my body and hugged me.

"Do you remember when we went through the portal, Richard? Do you remember what the voice said while we were floating in what looked like space?" she asked.

I grabbed her hand and nodded, "I do, Tara. I remember it all. I remember the voice telling us that it was the keeper of time. It insisted that I was some kind of a time traveler from the present but that I was living in a world built upon the past. It also said some other stuff about how my existence and reality was threatened. It felt as if we were drifting through time."

I looked at Tara with a bit of confusion and continued to talk, "One thing that really confuses me, Tara, is that the voice said that you were of the past, that we met before, but you never made it to the present."

I guess that explains why I've been feeling that me and Tara have met before because according to the voice we did meet at some point in time. What did the voice mean though when it said that Tara never made it to the present? It just sucks that I can't remember much about anything after moving to Willow Creek. How the hell did I even get to Willow Creek?

"Do you know what the voice meant when it said that you never made it to the present?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, Richard, but I'm not sure. I only have memories of my life in Willow Creek. Everything else seems to be a blur. I don't even remember meeting you before we met at the Oasis in Willow Creek," she replied while she looked into my brown eyes.

I was examining myself. I ran my fingers through my slicked-back dark brown hair, and then I ran them through my beard. I looked at my body, and I noticed how much bigger I seemed to be.

Although I couldn't see my own face, based on what my body looks like right now and how Tara looks, I would guess that we've probably aged about 15 or more years.

I continued to examine myself, and that's when I realized I was naked!

"Where the hell are we, why do we look older, and where are my clothes!?" I asked Tara while I sat there trying to cover my lower area with my hands.

Tara smiled, and then she kissed me on the cheek, "I don't know, but because of our older-looking appearances and based on the events that happened after entering the portal, I can only assume that we're probably somewhere in the future. As for your clothes, you were already naked when we arrived here," she explained.

As I was sitting there naked, Tara was smiling and winking at me as she had her eyes locked onto my nude body. Man, this was so embarrassing. We haven't seen each other naked before.

I was looking at Tara and just thinking how messed up all of this was. We're in the middle of a desert in the middle of nowhere, and apparently, it appears that we've somehow managed to travel through time. Was what that voice said true? Am I really a time traveler?

A thought then came across my mind. Where was Genevieve, Stephon, and Brian? They were right behind us just before me and Tara entered the portal.

"Tara, I wonder what happened to Genevieve, Stephon, and Brian? Weren't they just behind us before we entered the portal?" I asked.

"They were, but I only recall me and you traveling through that space-like place while hearing that voice. There was nobody else with us," she said.

She was right. I don't recall seeing any of them with us either. I don't remember anything that happened after the voice finished speaking.

Me and Tara both got up from the ground. I was looking around at the desert scenery.

"What happened when we first got here?" I asked Tara.

"I woke up in this desert, and you were just lying there unconscious up until now. We were spotted by what appeared to look like two scoundrels. They were waving their knives and yelling in a different language," she explained.

I was lost in deep thought trying to take everything in, and then my focus went back to Tara, "Continue on!"

With a concerned look on her face, Tara continued to explain to me, "Well, it gets pretty frightening actually. As the aggressors were running towards us, I was getting ready to try and fight them off. Of course, that was until a giant vulture-like creature flew down from the sky and then flew off with them in its claws."

Monster vultures!? "Damn, this place is something," I thought to myself.

"I think that maybe we should take a look around the area to see if everyone else is here," I suggested to Tara.

"I agree. If they went through the portal and ended up here as well, how far could they possibly be from us?" she said.

Me and Tara were looking deep into the desert and examining the area. I then grabbed and held her close to me. I kissed her and asked, "Which way do you wanna go?"

Tara brushed her head up against my chest and continued to examine the area.

"Let's try north," she said.

"North it is then," I replied.

I don't know what to think about this place, but hopefully, me and Tara will find some answers soon. As for violent scoundrels and giant vulture monsters, I guess we better be prepared for the unexpected. Who the hell knows what kind of danger is lurking around here.