Primal Saga Volume 1: The Queen of Silence

Chapter 1: From the Nexus

Weightless.

That feeling a person gets just as they are about to drift off to sleep only to be pulled back to consciousness in a quick, violent jolt.

I felt this same feeling when my world was torn away from me in a flash of light. My senses were assaulted with an array of bright colors as I fell in space for what felt like an eternity. In reality, though, this experience only lasted mere seconds. After those few seconds were over I was plunged into darkness. I was then met with a peaceful feeling - like a dream. This dream that began the day when I stepped off the edge of reality, that dream never really ended. Because nothing could have ever prepared me for the when I woke up. The day I woke up on a different Earth.

"Donovan? Are you with me," said voice that sounded like it was in an echo chamber. It then began to talk to someone else. "He is starting to wake up. Keep the lights dim. Let his senses adjust. Listen to me, Donovan. You came through the nexus and we have had you in stasis for twenty-four hours. Your body is going to feel a bit tense and you could also feel...."

My stomach heaved. It was then that my vision began to adjust and I realized someone was holding a plastic bin in front of me - catching the sour bile my body had just rejected.

"Don't worry. It doesn't last very long. Give it a few more minutes and your body will begin to adjust."

Through the grogginess, I saw who was speaking to me. It was a man roughly in his forties. His bald head was flanked by greying hair on the sides. He had a kind gentle face underneath his bushy eyebrows. He looked like a doctor.

"I'd shake your hand, but we are not supposed to touch you until you have had your vaccinations. We kept you under for about a day to monitor your condition and make sure you were disease free. Your a bit malnourished but healthy as far as we can tell," said the man. "Doctor Edward Cutter by the way. My friends call me Eddie," he said as he disposed of the plastic bin. "Bonjour, Guten Tag, uhhhhh, jó napot, hello, I am going to keep saying greetings in different languages until I get a response from you," Eddie said with a chuckle.

"My friends called me Donnie," I replied in a weak voice.

I looked down and noticed I was wearing a skin-tight blue jumper. Then, in a flash,  it all came back to me. They loaded me in a pod. Then the pod was shot through the a tube like a bullet leaving the barrel of a gun. The pod was nowhere to be found. Instead, I was lying on what seemed like an exam room bed in a dimly lit room. My head began to spin again.

"I can get another bin if you need it," Eddie asked as he received a tray of needle tipped syringes from a nurse.

"No. I'll be fine," I said - waving my hand dismissively.

"Well ok if you insist," Eddie said, sliding on a pair of latex gloves. "One second, I need to expose your arm. These stupid jumpsuits always get in the way." He touched a dial on the inside of my wrist causing my jumpsuit to loosen. "If you could sit up please?"

As I sat up, the jumpsuit fell away from the upper part of my body exposing my skin to the cold air which gave me a bit of a start.

"Yeah. Sorry about that. We have the air conditioner on high. We are in the middle of the dry season. Don't worry though, give it a few more weeks and it will be so rainy that you will need to start wearing scuba gear," Eddie said as he began to clean a spot on my shoulder with a small cloth. I'm not sure if he is joking or not.

"Dry season. Rain." I mouthed the words quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, I am just really not used to hearing those words."