"Dedicated to those who walked before, leading those who walk after".

  Victor

  I hit someone. Shit.

  Hi, my name is Victor Alexander Kirkland - no relation to the Costco dude. I'm just your average American guy, born and raised in Texas. I spent my childhood in San Antonio where I attended high school - our mascot was a mule which, while cute, isn't a very exciting animal. As far back as I can remember, I'd always loved working on cars and other machines. Autoshop was my favorite subject, and whenever I was in middle school I was already taking apart and putting back together lawnmowers. I was also in the boy scouts, went on several camping trips, and even made it all the way to Eagle. The moment I turned eighteen I enlisted in the United States army as a ninety-one-alpha; that is, a tank mechanic. I made a few good friends in the army, including a man named Syd Sedjiwaski who'll be important very soon.

  Anyway, after my service was up I spent four years at university. Being young, dumb, and full of you-know-what I picked a college known for partying: Chico State, out in Cali. Yeah, that place where they once made the friggin' Terminator governor. Well the food wasn't half bad and the parties were just what I needed to relax after all of those drills; I did manage to visit Yosemite and Mount Shasta while I was out there, and another of my army buddies was from San Francisco so I dropped in on him a couple times but I only made the mistake of driving directly to his house, up a damn hill, once. After graduating college I went back to Texas where I was able to set up shop - I made my living as a part time bartender and mechanic, and I was doing pretty well for myself.

  Then one day, July the 12th, 2020, ol' Sedjiwaski called me up to invite me on a hunting trip and an opportunity to make some scratch; there was a bounty on wild hogs down in Louisiana. It dawned on me that I'd never actually been there, somehow, and New Orleans was on my bucket list. I told the old stank-ass that it was on, and drafted my plans for a road trip. Well as it turned out none of the other guys besides me could make it, but it's all right, me and Sedjiwaski could make enough of a ruckus for all of us! Two days later I packed up what I needed, including twelve bottles of my own personal home brew beer for Sedjiwaski to try, and hit the road! The plan was to meet up in New Orleans, get drinks, eat some fried alligator and gumbo, and then join up with the rest of our hunting party up north.

  So there I was minding my own business - driving along the great I-10 in my 1967 Cadillac de Ville; it had been handed down to me by my grandpa, who'd raised me since my folks passed on. With a full tank of gas and some classic rock playing on the stereo I was rarin' to go. The landscape of Texas was zooming by as I made my way east, towards Houston and beyond. I smacked my lips. Yeah. I knew what lay ahead - Luling, a paltry pittance of a town known for one thing: hosting a branch of a certain large gas station, which shall remain nameless, where I was fixin' to refuel and get myself a brisket sandwich. Just thinking about it was enough to make my stomach growl like a wild cat; I had skipped lunch that day and refrained from purchasing anything more edible than an energy drink from the last gas station. It started raining. Of course this being Texas in the middle of July this didn't surprise me - I'd come prepared for wet weather with my waterproof duster, broad-brimmed hat, and sturdy hiking boots. A bolt of lightning screeched across the sky, and then another. A third bolt struck near enough to where I could see the point where it touched the ground through my peripheral vision.

  "That one was a bit close," I thought. Then something happened that would change the course of this road trip, sending it completely off the rails. There was a blinding flash right in front of me, and the clash of thunder accompanied by what sounded like a spastic tesla coil. Then I felt a sense of airtime in my balls, and just whenever my eyes stopped looking like television static I felt an abrupt jolt on my rear end and a rumbling beneath my feet. Was that a scream I just heard? Once I could see I had enough time to register that there were trees right in front me and that the momentum of whatever Dukes of Hazzard maneuver I'd just done was still in full effect. I gave a yelp, executed a drift turn and slammed on the brakes - I had stopped close enough to the trees where I could have touched them. I breathed a sigh of relief.

  "Damn," my heart was still racing, and I thought "what the hell just happened?"

  I looked around. I was in some sort of clearing surrounded by tall trees - white bark, broad-leafed. Sycamore maybe? Out of my passenger-side window I saw the streaks from where my tires had torn up the ground. It was at that point that I realized that at the starting point of those tire marks there were four shadowy objects with a distinct shape: a human shape. My heart dropped as full realization dawned upon me: I just hit someone.

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  "Shit."

  Meaning to dial 9-11 I had unlocked my cellphone and discovered that I had no reception. My next thought was to check and make sure the car was still drivable - it might still be possible to get a doctor out here if I could make it to a payphone. I stepped out and sized up the vehicle - I heaved a sigh. No damage, miraculously, well that was it - I supposed that I should render first aid, and then drive somewhere where I could call the paramedics. I popped the trunk, fished out the first aid kit I had stashed and dashed towards the spot where I had struck those poor folks. I leaned down to check the pulse of the closest one, a man by the look of it, and found nothing - he was dead. My vision clouded, and I staggered - I had to hold onto my forehead and steady myself. Shit. Huh? I heard a cry and looked up. There was a woman, cowering against a large tree with tears in her eyes - quite a looker too, actually. She appeared to be in her early twenties. Her shoulder-length golden hair was arranged in a "ponytail with bangs" style, and the irises of her eyes were of a bright green, easily mistaken for the lustre of an emerald. She was wearing a forest green cloak clasped with a silver broach, a short green skirt, black hiking boots, and a dark brown leather corset (which accentuated her already somewhat impressive bosom, might I add). But her most distinct feature was the pointed ears protruding prominently from behind the tresses that framed her fair cheeks.

  "Huh?" I blinked in confusion, "pointy ears? Am I seeing things? And what's with her outfit? For that matter-"

  I looked down at the fallen men, and realized that they were likewise dressed strangely. A black hooded cloak, black mask, black boots, black pants, and a belt with an empty sword sheath attached. One had a sword held in a death grip, and I saw at least two more swords lying nearby in the dirt-blood slurry that covered the ground.

  "-when the hell did I end up at a cosplay convention? Or is this some kinda LARP group playing in the woods?"

  I groaned, slapped my palm to my forehead, and cried aloud, "this just don't add up!" I swept my arms to the side, "where did those trees come from, anyway? Where's the freeway?" I raised my arms and my face to the night sky. I was all but certain it was only around 5 o'clock, so of course this, too, frustrated and confused me, "when did it suddenly become the middle of the night, and why are there two moons in the…wait. What?"

  Sure enough, there, hanging in the sky, wasn't the expected white-gray celestial object, shaped like a half-eaten pizza this time of the month, that I was used to. Nor did I see Polaris, or the three stars making up Orion's Belt - I may not have been an astronomer but I could always usually pick out those ones. Instead, there were two moons up there - one, a reddish-orange orb, and another glowing with a pale blue light. I gazed upon them with awe, silently, unsure of what to make of this. From behind me I heard the clearing of a throat - I turned around and saw the woman who had been leaning against that tree. Huh? She was smiling. Didn't I just flatten four of her friends? Oh wait, I corrected myself, six - there was another one a few feet in front of the car and one beneath it. Judging by the latter's position he must have taken a direct hit. But who was this gal and why was she so calm?

  Placing a hand on her chest she bowed lightly and said something in a language that I had never heard before - when she spoke it was almost as though she were singing. I'd never heard such a melodious voice before, or was that the nature of the strange language she was speaking, or some combination thereof? She sure was beautiful though - those ears of hers did a lot to enhance the cute factor. No way those were real, is what I would liked to have said, but seeing them up close made it obvious that they were in fact made of the same supple flesh as her face, and what I saw when I looked up at the sky got me thinking…well, braid my hair and call me Dorothy cuz I don't think I'm on Earth anymore. Bathed in the two-toned radiance of the moons she gave off the impression of an ethereal otherworldly beauty glowing in the pale light.

  But then I realized I was being rude by gawping, so I gathered my wits, bowed, and said "howdy, ma'am. I am terribly sorry for what just happened."

  She seemed confused, tilting her head to the side. I couldn't help but notice how cute that expression was. Judging by her body language it appeared as though she were asking me a question. Then she said something else, still in a quizzical tone, in a completely different language - it felt more rustic than the language she'd started out with.

  I scratched the back of my head and laughed, awkwardly, "I um. I'm afraid I don't understand a word you're sayin', ma'am. I only speak English and a little Spanish, though I wouldn't call myself fluent."

  Her eyes widened, and she struck the palm of her hand with the heel of her fist. All of a sudden she closed in and reached out her hand, and before I knew it she was touching my cheek. Damn, she has warm hands. Huh? She started saying something again, more rhythmic than melodious, like she was chanting. There was a bright green glow adjacent to my face and I felt a slight tingle - her hand was glowing and there was the strange sensation of something flowing into me.

  A moment later she stepped back, placed her hands behind her back, smiled, and said "can you understand me now?"

  I blinked, and nodded. What was going on?

  "Yeah."