1 Far From Home

[ Jamestown, New York City ]

Sitting in the parlor dressed with gaudy ivory silk on the tables with plastic coverings the young man sat with the other employed youth at a low table covered in papers of all shapes and sizes. His eyes were glued to one particular page. A piece of parchment with his name written in a neat and precise hand, he held his breath when he read it for what felt like the thousandth time that night. It was the letter from his father and mother.

One of the girls at the table grabbed the letter from his hands and started reading it aloud from where she stood behind the young man, who was sitting in front of her while leaning over the table. She read out loud in clear voice to the group gathered around the table."Dear James, we are writing to you this evening because…" The girl grinned devilishly.

"…your mother is pregnant and your father will be going away for months in Japan," The young boy next to the young man groaned as he rolled his eyes while covering his face with his arms folded over his chest, he knew that it was only a matter of time before this news spread through the family.

"Hey! Give it back to me already Haley!" James shouted.

He tried to snatch the letter from Haley who had it wrapped tightly in her fist. Haley smirked triumphantly at James before pulling her own hand from underneath the young man's arm and holding her palm up towards him.'Give me what I want James. You know that you can't resist me.'

"Cut it out! I thought you are supposed to be college kids and not children!" A woman shouted.

James flinched at the sound of her voice as everyone fell silent. James slowly removed his hands off of his face to look over at the woman standing across the room. Her arms crossed against her chest as she glared angrily at him.

"Sorry, Miss Fang!" They all said in unison and simultaneously before returning their attention back onto their work, they each resumed what they had been doing prior to the interruption.

James turned his head again to watch Haley take the parchment back under her arm and then place it on top of the stack of paper that the other workers had scattered across the table.

"I suggest you do your work and go back to your dorms," She said in a cold and angry tone. "We all have our jobs to do today and none of us wants to spend any more of our hard earned cash on your antics."

"Yes Ma'am," James muttered softly and picked his pen back up in order to resume his work.

A little after nine at night James was one of the last to pack up and leave the building. He waved goodbye to his friends and fellow workers but kept his eyes focused straight ahead. His mind raced with different scenarios running through his head, he didn't dare let any thoughts slip by because once his thoughts got into a certain direction, they became impossible for him to change.

He walked with his head in the clouds as he gazed at the buildings around him, he stopped abruptly when he saw the red headed student walking down the street with several other female students. Their long black hair flowing gracefully behind them as they swayed and moved elegantly, like an angelic figure in flight. They looked so beautiful, so graceful and perfect as they strutted along in their tight, fitted jeans, high heels and white t-shirts.

They had perfect skin, flawless faces, sparkling blue eyes and perfectly groomed nails. James stared as they passed by him without looking at him in any way. He was sure that he wasn't really paying much attention to anything they were saying anyways, and they certainly didn't seem to be paying him any attention either if their bored expressions could be believed.

He knew he was not good enough to be with girls like them walking under each lamp that lit up as it got dark out. In fact, he knew that the longer he looked at them the worse he would feel inside. He needed to move on with his life before things went even further down the road than it already was. And if there was one thing James was absolutely sure of, it was that it wouldn't be worth it.

Looking down he noticed the man hole opened. He could hear laughing inside the blackness, but he couldn't see anything, it seemed as if no light came from the hole. It made his stomach churn uneasily.

The brunette haired boy could hear voices coming closer as well. As they grew louder, it sounded like there was something inside that hole. Something large, something alive. James wanted to run away but the hole was too deep.

James couldn't escape even if he tried. He swallowed hard, his heart pounding in his ears and began trembling uncontrollably. He could hear footsteps approaching and something grabbing for him from below.

The noise inside the hole intensified and suddenly, light poured into the hole and revealed a huge creature. It was a snake that was the size of the biggest car James has ever seen. Its scales shone and shimmered like a rainbow with wings, like a sunset over a sea of dark ocean waves.

James couldn' take his eyes off of it. The snakes tail swished as it slithered past James causing a ripple effect on the surface of the water surrounding the hole.

"You don't scare me little boy! I've killed lots of people!" The snake said as it lunged forwards in attempt to grab James.

Dragging him down into the manhole only to see flashes of light blind him as he was falling through the darkness. James struggled as he felt the creature wrap its tail around his ankles dragging him deeper into the hole. James was desperate to get out. But the more he fought the more entwined his legs became getting tighter and harder to free.

James noticed the dark skies becoming blue again as he finally broke the surface and was greeted by the sounds of birds chirping as they flew overhead. He took some deep breaths and quickly scanned his surroundings.

He could hear the sounds horses stomp the grounds and what he thought sounded like people in masses cheering looking down at the ground. He could feel the warm, humid air blowing against his cheeks. James felt his heart stop as he realized that he was in someone else's land. Looking around to find that he appeared to be surrounded by fields. James could see a large house set in the distance and wondered how far he had fallen.

"Let me go!" James yelled.

His voice was muffled due to being submerged underwater for almost 10 minutes and his lungs still burned. However, he didn't care about these things right now. He just wanted to get back home, back to safety.

The creatures response was only to tighten its coils which resulted in James's struggles growing stronger.

"Please..." James pleaded "...Please. Just let me out."

There was complete silence for what seemed like hours, maybe even days, it was hard to tell since it felt like forever as it flapped its wings frantically when suddenly they were hit by rouge arrows that flew towards them like bullets, piercing their heads and body from above.

The horses reared violently as their hooves kicked up mud and grass in every direction. James's grip on the beast loosened in fear when they began to gallop backwards. The creature was fast, strong and extremely dangerous.

The beast roared loudly in pain and anger when it felt the arrow penetrate its side. It bucked fiercely trying to throw the arrow off its body but to no avail. The horse stumbled and slid, causing the creature to fall heavily to the ground rolling around with its wounded wing pinned beneath it and its eyes wild with panic.

"Help! Please help!" James shouted.

As it dropped him from its shoulders, James landed roughly onto his back with a gasp. The pain coursed throughout his entire body. He gasped in and out of breath struggling to catch his breath as he lay helplessly on the muddy ground trying to gain his strength back. He raised himself back up onto his elbows when two men on horses gathered around him.

He was immediately pushed aside to the side by both of them and helped to stand as he watched in disbelief as the injured animal struggled to regain its balance.

The men approached the beast cautiously until it growled menacingly at them, warning them off with a loud screech.

"Don't let it get away!" A man yelled.

The other men nodded their heads and urged their animals forward, chasing after the creature. The men grabbed the ends of the large rope attached to its front leg. One of the men held a whip in his hand while another carried a large club in his other hand. Together, they pulled the creature backwards towards where James was lying.

James was bewildered by how they were managing to keep the massive beast calm as it continued to struggle and lash out blindly at the people that were pulling it toward where it was destined to meet its maker.

Suddenly there was a great roar as the beast collapsed onto its back and began convulsing violently as the rope holding the whip began to snap loudly.

"Where am I?" James asked.

More people began to gather around him as they heard the sounds of horses galloping towards them.

"This is Tyrthal." Someone replied.

James lifted his head up and looked around to find that he was in a square with wooden buildings that lined either side of it and a cobbled street.

There were children playing happily in their front yard. He saw many horses running across the street with some adults riding them. It all looked rather peaceful compared to the horrors that he had experienced just mere moments ago.

"Who are you?" A small woman asked as she walked over to James.

"I am–," James paused.

'Do not mutter those next words,' A voice chimed.