The next morning was blissful. Instead of getting breakfast, I was thinking of how to get out of the house unnoticed. The least I could do was to get out of their hair. I tiptoed out. On my way out I’d crashed into Sheila or rather she’d crashed into me, but that was a different story.

Milai and her aunt were in the kitchen. The old man and Dune weren’t here. I couldn’t see anyone else, so I succeeded. Thankfully, the front door didn’t creak.

I went outside and found myself in a breathtaking village. Being a city folk, I never got to see such scenery before. I was watching this from the window of my room but I still couldn’t believe this. Everything was so colorful, so real. The green, the houses, the birds. Everything!

Dune had given me a shirt last night. It looked dull and felt weird to wear, but it was better than nothing. (So yes, I wasn’t running around naked and covered in bandages.)

The clear streaming pond was the heart of that village. Greenery was soothing my eyes. People didn’t seem paranoid about what was outside the walls. People walked by the road like nothing was wrong at all. It was like a medieval village but perhaps still of the twelfth century standard. I didn’t see any tech whatsoever. But honestly, this was probably for the best. I mean, the scenery was so beautiful that I didn’t really feel the need for tech anyway.

One thing did concern me though. The people weren’t paranoid, but they had this dejected looks on their faces. And the number of people was low too. But since this was a village, maybe I was imagining things.

There was a clear rule in the village that no one was to leave the village walls or so Dune had told me. The village itself was one of many in these regions. Most of the villagers were self-sufficient, having enough to live by. So going outside wasn’t something anyone wanted in the first place.

As soon as I put my feet on the muddy road, I was immediately stopped by Dune. Just when I thought I wouldn’t get caught! How the hell did he know? And where the hell did he come from anyway?

He tossed a piece of bread at me. “Come with me.”

I put the bread in my mouth and followed him: the bread’s taste was worse than my grandmother’s Jell-O.

We went around the village. He showed me shops, houses, and even the church. It was really a village. There was no such thing as modern technology here. I saw children and elderly a lot but something felt a little off. There weren’t many adults. Shouldn’t it have been the opposite? Maybe adults were sent to the army or something? All of a sudden I was afraid of asking questions.

Most of the houses were wooden but some were made from stones. However, when we passed through the church, something caught my eye. The backyard of the church had strange trees perfectly aligned.

“What are those?”

He didn’t look at me. He didn’t say anything. He just walked on.

I didn’t press him. I didn’t have the luxury to. I could at least imagine things: almost no adults, grave stone shaped trees, and behind the church. Yup, I could totally imagine things. And I really hoped that it was just my imagination.

We went into- what seemed like a weapons shop. For some reason Dune insisted that I take up a sword.

“Please, Daarc! Every night our casualties increase. Lately, the undead have become restless. We just can’t keep up with the roaming undead. Besides, we…” He paused.

I got the picture. No wonder he saved me and kept me in his house. The church treated the wounded and had separate rooms, so keeping me in his house was uncalled for. And now I knew why.

I couldn’t stand his silence. Something was clearly wrong. “What’s wrong?”

His expression changed. He ground his teeth, made a fist, and glared at me. “They’re dead…. The villagers are mostly dead. All the people who could fight are dead. Only seven of the guards are still alive. And three of us are injured. If we can’t protect the wall, everyone will die.” He didn’t scream. But his words pierced my soul. His eyes shimmered.

It pained me that my imagination came alive. “So the trees behind the church…” I didn’t finish. I couldn’t finish. Everything was real yet it felt surreal. I spent most of my days locked indoors. I read books, watched movies, played games. There were often plots for tragedies. But nothing hit this hard. When I was actually faced with a real situation, all I could do was shiver.

His voice deepened. “Those were the graves…”

“…” I knew it. I knew it yet I couldn’t say anything.

“As long as you plan to stay here, please lend us a hand! Just an extra pair of hands-” He stopped. He couldn’t force me if I didn’t want to, and he knew that.

I knew where this was going. I never did anything in my life and I wasn’t some guy who was going around saving people either. I wasn’t that type. But a good deed deserved payment and for just this once I felt something. Something changed in me. It wasn’t that I wanted to save them; it was just that I needed to save them. For their sake and for mine. I somehow wanted to prove this world wrong. If this world was cruel and wanted to take away everything from me then I wanted to stop it with all my might.

I needed to return the favor. And though he had ulterior motives for saving me, he still saved me, provided me with food, and gave me shelter. I couldn’t just turn my back now. I just couldn’t abandon them. “I don’t plan to stay here long. There is something which I must do, somewhere I must go. And I only managed that out of desperation. I’d need to learn how to wield a sword first. ” I didn’t sugarcoat anything.

I still had to find out why I came to this world and how to return to mine too.

“That is okay! Just, please help me defend the village. And when you’re ready you can leave, I won’t stop you.” Dune was very persuasive and he was almost insane. The gravity of his words was heavy.

I guess I should return the favor. I picked up the sword. It was heavy but I could lift it. I didn’t have to pay. I didn’t even know if money was a thing in this world or not. So being a college freshman didn’t really help.

“I’ll be blunt with you. I have no idea how to use this thing…” I still tried to make him understand that everything was luck.

But the guy never got the picture. He just assumed I was a novice who couldn’t use it properly. “To be honest I can’t use it properly either. However, I know the basics and I’d be happy to share. You’re more of a knife person, right?”

That doesn’t sound very convincing. How the hell have you people been surviving? Since it wasn’t going through to him, I gave up. “Sounds good to me. Well, I can kind of use knives. Just kind of.” I used to cook for myself a lot, so I did know how to handle a knife.. But to fight with it? That was a different story.