Robert opened his eyes. The sunlight stung and he blinked. He turned his head to the side. Sand stared back at him.

What happened? What hit me?

The world suddenly lurched sideways, as his body slid. Is someone dragging me away? He thought, lightheaded. Robert looked up, nearly jumping out of his skin.

Two giant ants were dragging him along by his shoes. They worked as a team to pull, Robert slowly along. A surge of adrenalin and panic overcame, him, as he kicked and screamed. The ants unready for this, let go. Loose sand fell from Robert's body as he stood up. He turned, in time to see the two ants charge him. Their jaws open wide.

“Oh, Crap!!!” Robert yelped, as he backpedaled.

The leading ant bites wildly at the air, nearly at his legs; as the second ant flanked behind him. Robert instinctively fainted to the right and rolled to the left. The leading ant missed him, as he got beside it. The flanking ant turned and charged again.

Robert kicked the nearest ant in the underbelly, it went flying. A sicking crunching sound, came as it landed. But it didn't die though, it got back up and ran away. The charging ant bites wildly, towards Robert. He kicks a spray of sand in its face. It reeled back.

Robert risked a bite and kicked. The ant fell back, barely hurt. It turned on the spot and followed the retreating ant. They disappeared over a dune and vanish. Robert scanned the dune, for thirty heart-pumping seconds. The ants didn't reappear. His heart rate slowly returned to normal.

Oh crap. Crap crap crap! Robert thought as he hopped nervously. Those were giant ants! Real giant ants attacked me... This... I must be dreaming... this can't be real. This is impossible. I must have hit my head or something.

In a flash he remembered, somethings; The memories were like a car, during a hit and run. There one moment, gone then next.

He was falling through the sky. For some reason he also remembered seeing, confusing images in his head, like a movie. The thoughts were hurting him, making terrible pain in his head. All the images were of his life. Like his whole life was playing out for him?

The wind kicked up and splayed him in the eyes.

“Ah, my eyes,” Robert Muttered, as he rubbed away the sand. His eyes still hurt but he didn't care. “This can't be real. That can't be my life, flashing before my eyes. Can it? This is just a dream after all.”

All around him were dunes. He couldn't see past them. There were twenty feet of viability at any given time. All around were small turfs of weeds and dead plant life. This was a desert, He was in a desert.

Robert spotted his shoes. They were left halfway up the dune.

Crap! Those things managed to take off my shoes? Robert thought, looking down at his now shoeless feet. His socks were still there, luckily. Robert carefully approached his shoes and put them back on.

Besides himself and the wind, the only other sounds were a faint, musical familiar ringing tone that floated over the sand. Robert knew what it was immediately.

“My cellphone!” Robert yelled as he looked around.

A glint of light caught his eye, it was his cellphone. Robert ran to the spot and dug around. A silver cellphone appeared and was quickly snatched up.

“Oh, it was just my alerts?” Robert muttered, checking the phone over. The network connection was gone and all access to the internet. Figures. There wouldn't be any bars in a dream. Robert thought as he turns off the phone.

Another glint caught his eye, so Robert reached down and pulled out his pen.

Hum? Must have fallen from my pocket. Robert thought as he put it back where it belonged. Soon after the adrenaline buzz slowed to a stop, Robert started to hate the wind. The unpredictableness of wind was getting to him. It crawled up and down his body and as it went stealing his body warmth.

This is a pretty weird dream? First the talking stars, now a cold desert, and giant bugs. What's next to a giant worm? Robert thought as he walked to the top of the closed dune.

Once there, Robert got a good view of the desert. An endless sea of sand and blue sky, stretching out forever.

Well isn't that pretty. It's amazing what you can dream up. Robert thought as he blocked the sun with a hand. Wait what's that there?

Floating over the dunes was a brown dot. It was slowly moving across the sky.

Is that a plane? No that's not a plane, it's moving to slowly. What the hell is that then?

As the dot grew a line of orange that fell to the ground.

The orange line disappeared into the ground, leaving the brown dot to float there. The brown dot started to become clearer like it was coming closer. It was a ship, a large flying boat. A massive brown balloon hung over it.

“What the hell! It's a flying boat?“ Robert yelped. "Ouch Ah! what's happening?”

The sunlight suddenly grew dark as the winds started to hit Robert with sand. Robert felt a dangerous change to the wind. It wanted to carry him off. Robert looked up in horror as a huge tornado appeared from thin air. A massive swirling tower of sand and fury, big enough to block out the sun, just appeared.

Robert felt his feet leave the ground a second later. He gasped at anything feeling around for a solid hold. but only got loose sand. Finding the action useless, instead, he covers his head. Everything goes black. Sand hit Robert's skin with the same speed and density as a sandblaster. It was the best he could do just to cover his face. He landed on his belly.

“Aaah!” Robert screamed as a large wave of sand washed over him.

Robert awoke in darkness. He breathes in, filling his nose with sand. He couldn't breathe, his arms are stuck and the only things free were his legs. He never felt so terrified in his life, and the worst thing was that he should have awoken already.

Robert had nightmares before, but never one this real before. His brain was shutting down, he was in full survival panic mode.

Can't breathe! Can't breathe! Can't breathe! Robert thought as he screamed internally. Soon he felt the sand above him move as footsteps stopped above him.

A pair of hands grabbed his feet and pull. Sand entered places sand shouldn't be, but eventually, Robert was pulled out and rolled on his side. The light sang his eyes, as his body expelled sand from his mouth and nose. His two rescuers stood over him, they were soldiers by the look of the clothes. Both wore yellow capes and carried spears. Their underclothing looked like chain mail armor.

“OH my gosh, I would have died under there. Think you, thank you.” Robert said, feeling a little light-headed and then confused by their angry faces. "Can I ask something of you?"

“Don't count on it Podor. As I see it, you got two chooses here! " the taller of the two said, as he crouched down to Robert's level. "You can obey everything we say now, or you could resist and we could break your arms and carry you!”

What the hell? Didn't they just save me? Robert thought. Oh hell they're not here to save me!

As Robert stood up, he learned that the two men weren't the only ones around. At least thirty men with similar yellow capes were walking around either carrying or escorting at sword point, a bunch of men in brown clothes.

“Move!” the soldier ordered. Robert looked down at the sword grazing sharply against his belly and hesitantly obeyed. The crowd of armored men and prisoners formed together and started walking with Robert in tow.

This can't be a dream. That was real panic back there in the sand. That fear was real. There's only one answer to all of this, that it's all real. Robert thought as the soldiers lead him up a hill. Everything from the sand, to the soldiers, to hell ...the great ants were real too!!

After reaching the top of the dune, Robert gasped. Below them was a massive desert caravan, at most a mile long. The caravan's wagons were on sleds instead of wheels, and each wagon was pulled by a set of camels.

Near the caravan, was a gathering of people. All the men in brown clothes were being gathered there, and the guards around them.

Robert was brought down the hill and was forced to kneel with the rest of the prisoners.

To Robert's surprise, the caravan were all cubes-shaped. The wagons were large boxes with a simple cloth door. The strangest thing of all was that they were made up of sandstone and the only metal on them were their blade sleds underneath.

As Robert glanced around, he noticed that some of the kneeling men had been tied up.

“Hey, buddy. Can you tell me where I am?” Robert asked, turning to the nearest brown-clothed soldier. “I don't belong here. ”

The man's burning glare made Robert's stomach jump.

“Be Silent scum!” Yelled the yellow caped guard, as he placed his boot on Robert's back. “Or I'll hurt you”

“Hey!”

“I said silence.” The caped men said. "You're about to be judged for your crimes against the Liba royal."

Crimes! I don't even know these men, I'm innocent!

“Hey, I'm not..!” As Robert started to yell but was kicked in the arm by the guard.

The large wagon sled pulled up and stopped beside the crowd. A tall, rough-looking old man, stepped out of the wagon. He also was wearing a yellow cape with even heaver-looking armor under it. He viewed the crowd with disgust.

“Commander, have you removed their weapons and Cinta yet?” The old man asked.

“Yes, general. They are harmless now.” the commander said, as he step forward. He looked more like a liberation, than a soldier. Glasses and all.

“Well then.” The old man said as he turns and shouts. “Podor soldiers! You're only alive by pure luck, and by the good graces of her royal highness! Until we reach the Gudo capital, you're our prisoners! Play nice and we can promise you a safe trip there! Once there, you will be handed over to the Gudo military for progressing! However, if you try anything, you'll be killed on the spot! Take them away commander. ”

“Yes general.” the commander said.

“NO, wait! I'm innocent! I'm not with...Aw” Screamed Robert, standing for a few seconds, before being tackled by four men.

“Why isn't that man tied up yet?” Asked the general, pointing at Robert.

“I'm sorry general.” the commander said. “We think he was some kind of noble. He wasn't resisting at the time, so the men thought they didn't need to. ”

“Make sure this doesn't happen again... What?” the general said, listening to someone in the wagon behind him. “Oh, your highness. Hum? Are you sure? It could be a trick." A long second passes "Alright. Commander bring that man forward.”

Soon Robert was dragged to the front of the crowd. Some of the brown-clothed soldiers in the front, begin whispering to each other.

“Her royal highness wishes to know by what reasons do you clam innocents?” The general asked.

“I'm.. Robert Price. I'm an actor and I don't know where I am. One moment I was getting in my car, the next I'm talking to a cluster of stars out in space. The stars said something to me, but I can't remember, and before I knew it. I was here. Will more like, I was over there.” Robert said pointing to the dunes. “I know this sounds weird, but I thought this was all a dream ten minutes ago, but now I don't even know. Maybe..”

“Whoa, you can stop right there.” the General cut in, looking annoyed. “Either you're a good liar or you're completely insane. People can't just appear out of thin air, not even with Cinta. How can you expect me to believe an actor got out here alone. Not even a mercenary would risk being alone out here.”

“But you must believe me, I did just wake up out here. Here. Test me, ask me anything?”

“Alright, then what kingdom do you come from?”

“Ah? I don't come from a kingdom. I'm from America, it's a democratic republic.”

“A what? There's no such thing. You made those words up.”

“Yes, there is. And for your information, a democratic republic is a place where the people rule themselves."

“Where the people rule themselves? Ah! What's crazier than talking stars.”

"Of course, you would call it crazy. you never see one before." Robert said. getting suddenly mad over the man's closed-mindedness.

“This is pathetic." The general said, looking completely done with this interrogation. The General turned to the crowd. " You Podor know no shame. You really expect me to believe this hornet spat. Take them all away!”

“NO! I'm not lying!” Yelled Robert, as two guards grab him from behind. “Please someone, anyone. Believe me!”

The yellow soldiers started escorting the other prisoners away too. Everyone was heading towards the end of the caravan. When a familiar musical sound rang through the crowd and Robert couldn't help, but smile. It was his phone.

“What's that noise?!” the general asked, in shocked fury. "Where is it coming from?!"

“Here!” Shouted a guard, who was holding Robert. “It's coming from him!”

The general stomped over and pulled out Robert's, cellphone. He held it like a man holding a snake.

“What is this thing?” The general asked as he turned to the commander. "I thought you scanned them all for Cinta?”

“Sir, I did. I'm sure I did.” the commander said frantically, as he thought for a moment. “Sir, I could have missed this one.” The commander raised a hand and shock crossed his face. “I can't scan it, sir. It's like it's not even there!”

“Don't joke with me, commander. If it's not there?” the general asked, as he held up the cellphone. “Then what is this?”

“It's my cellphone. It's a device from America," Robert said. "It's used for communication, and other things.”

“Oh, so it's a seeing stone? “ the general said, turning the phone around in his hands. He hadn't turned the screen on yet, so all he saw was black. “But how is it making that sound?”

“It's making that sound because it's trying to alert me to something,” Robert said.

“What! It's alive!” Cried the general, as he dropped the cellphone. The soldier holding Robert let him free out of shock. “What dark magic is this?”

“No, it's not dark magic, it's science. Just hang on,” Robert said, bending over and picking it up.

Many of the soldiers looked worried as Robert grabbed the phone. He turned on the screen and the guard behind him gasped.

“Look, does anything in this world look like this?” Robert asked, showing the old man the screen.

“No, not at all.” the General said, as he leaned down to look at it. “I didn't know the Podor empire had seeing stones that can make sounds and..." a second passes. " This is very worrying. The king must be told of this at once before we return.”

“Hey! I said. I'm wasn't from Podor!” Robert growled as he pocketed his cellphone. "I'm an American!”

“General Paul, what going on out here.” A young woman asked as she stepped out of the wagon. She wore a fancy golden dress and her long honey-colored hair was in a braid. “What was that sound?”

Whoa! Who's that? She looks familiar somehow? Robert thought, surprised. Like someone, I know? But how? The memory... it's on the tip of my tongue?

“Your highness, go back inside,” the General said, as he stepped towards her. “I can handle this.”

“But what was that sound? I never heard anything like that before?” She asked, meeting the General halfway.

“Go back inside, now Princess .” the general said.

“Why?” the princess asked, as she looked over the crowd. “I see no danger here?“

“Can't you see we have enemy soldiers here,” The General said, as he pointed at the crowd? “Princess your wedding's in four days. I don't want to be the one to report back to your father and tell him you've been killed by a rouge prisoner on the way there. So please your highness, go back inside.”

The guards around them tensed up after hearing that. To Robert's quiet protests, the guard took hold of him again, while the rest of the guards started holding their prisoners tighter. Likely trying to avoid that very possibility.

“Alright, I'll go back inside.” The princess said in a soft voice, as she slowly turned. " I guess. I must ask someone less busy than. ”

“Ah fine I guess. ” sighed the general, as he pointed at Robert. “The sound was coming from that man's seeing-stone. Nothing more. Now please go inside.”

“A seeing-stone that can make sounds.” the princess asked like someone brought up her birthday surprise. “Can I see it?”

“Yes, Your highness I can bring it into you later.” the General said, turning to the commander. “Commander escort the princess back inside.”

While the princess headed back to the wagon, the general approached Robert.

“Ok give it here.” the general Ordered, with an opened hand.

“What no! You're not taking my phone.” Robert yelled as he backed away fruitlessly. The guard was holding Robert fast. The general reached into Robert's pocket and took the cellphone out. “ Hey!”

“Ok. Now put him with the rest." the General said, pocketing the phone himself.

“Wait! you guys can't treat me like this! No, I'm not with them! I swear!” Yelled Robert, as he was dragged away. “I want a lawyer!!”