Kingdom Of Africlaux

Mason watched as the depth was increasing by the second, the bottom of the pool falling away with a speed and silence that was both mesmerizing and terrifying. 

The light emitted from his necklace was blinding but he managed to squint to adjust. And when the light began to dim, Mason spotted two figures emerging from below.

He turned around abruptly and began to swim up. But the figures were more of swimmers than he was. It was a matter of time before they grabbed him and pulled him into the depths of the water.

As they delved deeper the bottom began to brighten. Mason struggled against his captors, but he was at a disadvantage; the water was hindering his movements.

Finally, they reached the bright bottom, and as Mason's head touched it, solid ground appeared beneath his feet. He felt himself being pushed forward, and he glanced around him. Only then did he discover that he was at the shore of a river.

To his left side, he beheld two women swimming a few distance away. Behind him were the two ladies who had brought him out of the river.

His heart beat heavily at what he just witnessed. He was in a swimming pool just a moment ago, now he was coming out of a river. These ladies appeared to have emerged from the bottom of the pool, but apparently, they dove into the river from here to save him, thinking he was drowning.

What the hell is going on? Nathalie said it's a portal, this doesn't look like any normal portal.

"Look who we have here," one of the girls who'd saved him said. She had a white fabric that turned milky due to its wetness around her breasts. The old-fashioned style. And she had her groin wrapped in short brown clothing.

She caught up with Mason, walking slowly past the shoreline, looking lost in thought.

"Don't you have something to say?" she demanded as she blocked his way, spreading her arms. "When someone saves you, isn't it polite to say–Ugh!" Her words died in her mouth as she beheld him.

"What is wrong, Amie?" the second girl asked, slowly approaching. "Did he do something to you after we saved his goddamn ass?"

"Are you a merman?" Amie, the girl standing in front of Mason exclaimed, ignoring her friend's worries. Her black eyes widened in what must be shock and amazement. "You're so gorgeous!"

Mason looked around to see where he was. The river below him was flowing slowly, he didn't even know its depth. However, seeing the endless bottom and the two girls swimming a few distance away, he assumed it was deeper than ten feet.

On both sides of the river were huge trees and tall grasses growing on a flatland. Unlike the planet he'd visited a few hours ago, which had an orange-colored sky, this place was identical to his home planet, Earth. 

Just what planet is this?

"I don't think he understands our language," Amie said. "What a waste. He probably came from a distant…"

"He's cute though," said the second girl, Mia, with short blue hair and black eyes. She looked at Mason and shook her head. "I've never seen someone this cute in my entire life in Letico. If the elders of our village see him they might end his life."

"Why would they?" Amie countered.

"Fear. They'd think him an enemy," Mia replied. "See for yourself what he wears. I doubt this kind of clothing belongs in Africlaux. Whoever he is, Letico is not a place for him."

"We saved his life, we can't leave him to die in the woods," Amie groaned. "If he stays alone in this wood any longer than he should he would definitely become a dinner for either the werewolves or the shakases. Those flesh-eating monsters would eat him alive, ew!"

Mason's mind snapped back to reality, his eyes widening in horror.

"Did you say werewolves?" he asked, adopting an intensity that shocked the girls.

"You… you can speak?" Amie stammered.

"Of course, I'm not dumb," Mason replied. "What is this place anyway?"

"You're in the kingdom of Africlaux," Mia replied after a brief moment of pause and observation. "Don't you know?"

"I mean, what planet is this?" Mason clarified.

"Earth of course!" Amie replied. 

"What!?" Mason screamed, causing the girls to flinch. 

Something is wrong. Nathalie didn't tell me this is Earth. She said it's another realm, a parallel dimension, Mason thought. What is going on? This place… looks like my world; just that it was located under my world in an inverted way!

"Where did you come from?" Mia asked, severing Mason's thoughts.

'Wrong question! It should be How do you get here? Or better still, where are you going?' Mason thought. 

The girls exchanged glances and turned back to Mason. "You're supposed to be somewhere else, aye?" Amie asked.

Mason glanced at the girl. She was a bit smart for her age. She looked at least two years younger than him, while the second girl with short blue hair seemed to be the same age as him. Maybe they're sisters.

Mason sighed deeply and collapsed on the ground. "I'm in trouble!" he muttered. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"I see he's not from here," Mia said. "Where did you come from? Are you being chased?"

Mason raised an eyebrow. They're both smart! The younger girl was trying to help him earlier, and telling them he was being chased would cast away his only chance of being rescued.

Telling them he's not, would be lying to them. Mason needed to survive. If what the girls said about the mythical beasts existing here was true, he needed all the help he could get to find shelter.

Mason weighed his options carefully, and he ended up telling them NOTHING. He simply sighed again and put his back on the grass.

"I think he's dumb!" Mia said.

"And I think he's just tired!" Amie countered. The girl has been on his side ever since they'd saved him. Was it because of his good looks? Or does she just have a big heart?

Mason looked to the sky; the sun was setting, leaving a hue of yellow on the sky. The thought of the werewolves and shakases hit him again like a blow.

"I don't want to die," he said, tears escaping his eyes and creeping down to the back of his head, above his ears.

The sisters stared at each other for a while, communicating with their eyes and head movements. Mason ignored them, holding his necklace which was clinging to his chest.

"We'll shelter you for tonight," Mia said finally. "Just don't tell our parents that you're not from Africlaux."

Mason raised his head and glanced at her, wiping off his tears. "Where should I tell them I'm from?"

"Ummm…" Mia tapped her teeth thoughtfully. "Tell them you're from the city of Detrie. That's far, though, I heard it takes seven days or so to reach there. I'm sure our parents haven't been there before, so you're free to create your own story."

"I'm not so good at storytelling, but I will try," Mason whispered.

"Doesn't matter. My father would take good care of you if you can just listen," Amie said. "That old man loves to share tales of his battle with the barbarians during his time as an Africlaux warrior."

"You'll find him a boring man, trust me, but hang in there," Mia said, and the girls laughed.

"His clothes would give him away, though," Amie said, inspecting Mason's outfits - a gray t-shirt under a long black jacket. A pair of wine pants and a multicolored pair of sneakers.

"You got something else to offer him to wear?" Mia asked, eyeing her sister's wet undies.

"Don't be ridiculous," Amie sneered and turned back to Mason. "Gods! Just how many necklaces is that?"

Mason shrugged. Apart from his protective necklace, there are other expensive necklaces around his neck.

Mia glanced at the ladies swimming in the river a moment ago, they were now throwing on their dresses. "Come on, Amie, others are getting ready to leave," she called and went off.

Amie left Mason and joined her sister as she walked through the thick grasses, where the other girls were dressing. Mason laid back down on the ground, watching the setting sun.

A few moments passed by before Mia returned and she tapped him. "Would I be considered rude to ask to know your name?" she asked.

"It's Mason."

"Well then. I'm Mia," she replied and she pointed to her sister. "And that's Amie, my older sister."

"Older sister!?" Mason's eyes widened. "Not the younger?"

"Ah! I heard that a lot," Mia said. "I look quite a bit older than my age. I'm two years younger than her."

"Whoa! My assumption was wrong," Mason muttered under his breath and he stood up. He took a proper look at Mia and gasped. She was holding a longsword!

"Everyone needs to be alert, always," Mia said, reading the curiosity on his face. "No place is safe in Africlaux, not ever since that demon seized the throne. Don't worry, though, you're safe with us."

"Come on guys!" Amie's voice echoed toward them. "We don't have all day, night is coming!"

"Let's go, Mason," Mia said, smiling. She turned around and rushed toward the girls. Mason followed.

"Who's he?" one of the other girls asked, her eyes locked on Mason. "He looks so–"

"Shut up and let's go!" Amie snapped. "We don't have time for that."

Mason joined them and the group continued on a narrow road that crawled into the woods. All the girls except Mason had weapons. Amie had a bow and a quiver of arrows hung on her back. One of the other girls had two dirks, and the other had a spear.

Mason couldn't shake off the feeling of being the only person that was defenseless among them. He wanted to ask for a weapon to at least hold on to even if he didn't know how to use it, but they didn't seem to have any to spare.

In silence, the party continued deep into the woods. The leaves and branches blocked the little sunlight there was, but the occasional piercing of sun rays showed down through the branches and scattered on the ground.

GRARR…!

Suddenly, a creature leaped from the woods and landed on the road in front of them. It looked like a monkey, except this one one was as tall as a full-grown man. As it stood on its hind legs, its razor-sharp claws stretched forward in a fighting pose. 

The creature's yellow eyes added to its fierceness. It opened its extremely large mouth and screeched, revealing a heck of a jagged sharp row.