The Magicians (Watty 2017 Contest)

The Griffin #BattleTheBeast

Quentin...

My mind's playing tricks on me...

Quentin...

This is not real...

Quentin...

I'm dreaming...

Quentin...

Yes, I'm dreaming...

QUENTIN, WAKE UP!

Quentin Coldwater squinted his eyes as he awoke from his incessant coughing. When his eyes and mind came into focus, he felt his body heavy.

A few feet away, a static voice buzzed in from an octagon shaped metal box, desperately calling out. "Quentin! Quentin, can you hear me?"

Quentin rolled on his back and pressed a hand on his ribcage, trying to catch his breath. His front felt like he'd been hit with a ton of bricks. He took a few more seconds before responding, "Yeah, Alice. I'm fine."

"Oh, good. You're alive."

Baffled from his girlfriend's frankness, Quentin grabbed the metal voice box and held it close to his mouth. "Alive? What the hell does that mean?"

"Eliot and Margo said that the spell might not be stabilized since you've entered a portal," Alice explained and had a slight hesitation in her tone. "Tell me, are you full?"

"Full? What do you mean full?" Quentin demanded, as anxiety began to creep in.

"Intact, I mean. Is your whole body intact?"

In a panic, Quentin lifted his free hand and forced his torso up and quickly glanced over the rest of his body.

"Oh thank God," The young man blurted and closed his eyes. His shoulders lifted with every hard breath then relaxed as he slowly steadied his breathing. Relieved from his current find, he let out a lengthy breath and replied, "Yeah, my body's okay."

"Okay good. Now, what do you see?"

Chestnut-brown eyes searched the view around him. It was only then that Quentin realized of the wonder before him.

Apart from the very fresh green grass he landed on, the terrain in plain sight, stretched far and wide. The smell of trees and decadent flowers filled Quentin's nostrils as he sniffed the breezy air. He stood up and gazed in amazement, disregarding the throbbing pain on his legs from the fall before. Far behind him, stood an enormous mountain with a clump of white at its peak. A row of tall jagged rocks formed a barrier around the vast land. On the opposite, two hundred meters from Quentin, lay the everglades. Aurelia borealis graced the starry night sky and Quentin could see a faint light across the marshes in the distance. With no way to go through the jagged wall of rocks, the only option was to get across the marshlands.

"It's so unbelievable," Quentin described, as he held the box closer to his mouth. "There's a bunch of green and a giant mountain! The sky is so beautiful and has more stars than back home and I see a light across the marshland."

"Whatever you do, do not walk into the light!" A familiar voice jests over the receiver.

"Penny? What are you doing over there?" Quentin furrowed his eyebrows and frowned at the sudden realization. "I thought you were gonna come here and help me."

"No can do, buddy," Penny said as the static prevented the ease of the explanation. "There's some sort of magic barrier preventing me from traveling there. Sorry Q, but you're on your own."

"Shit."

"It's okay," Alice reassured. "We're gonna be here to guide you."

"Okay."