Ass, definitely ass. That's the taste on my tongue as my eyes crack open. Something hard is digging into my forehead and a pile of hair is sitting on my head. I shove Sarge gently, trying to get him to shift off my skull. He whimpers as he moves and he shifts his body low into the floorboard. I realize as I finally manage to get my eyes open wide enough to see it’s the gearshift that is digging into my head. That just leaves me with two questions. Why am I sleeping in my truck and who put their ass in my mouth?

Rotating my head up, I see a bright light shining through the windshield. A quick glance at the Mickey Mouse watch hanging from the rearview mirror tells me its not yet noon. So whatever is going on, I haven't been asleep long. My hands move automatically to pat myself down checking for any broken bones or bleeding cuts. After finding none, I swing my head around to Sarge to watch him start stirring from the floor. I don’t know what knocked us out, but he seems to be recovering at around the same speed as I am. So thanks for small blessings.

Sarge’s ears perk up and his head turning to look at the very edge of the dash as a voice begins to boom outside the truck. Using my feet, I push off the doorjamb getting into a more comfortable position on the bench to sit and listen. At first, the voice is just a random jumble of sounds to me. Not making any sense. The longer it goes on, the more clearly it seems to be speaking. It hasn't even been a full minute since whoever is out there started yelling, but I can already understand them. It's almost like they went from speaking another language to English mid-sentence.

“Kaa Vahn a fool, dis ent you take me for a chattael? You assured me ben vitte shalone could not fail. Obviously you were mistaken, weren't you? Does this look like a hero to you, does it! Don’t answer tha,t don’t say a word, one word, one fucking word and you will be in the dungeon before you finish the sentance. Do you know the cost associated with this spell, and you don't even do the job right. I'll have your head for this you idiot son of a sheep fucker!” The rant continues, but I'm already moving and planning.

Whatever this is, it's obvious I don't need to be mixed up in this, and the best way to not get involved is to not be there as far as I’m concerned. My eyes glanced up at the column on my truck and seeing the switch empty. A quick cursing at my luck later and I’m looking for them. There they are, lying in between the gearshift and the four wheel drive cut in. My fingers barely reach the key ring from my position, but I quickly manage to pull them into my hand.

The yelling outside the truck has gotten louder, so I try and slide the keys home without raising my head above the sightline of the windshield. I realize as the key slides home, my hair is just visible from the windows so I quickly lay back down hoping I haven't been spotted.

“Sire, I think someone is in that thing!” Says a voice from outside the truck behind where my feet are currently resting.

“Fuck a duck.” I whisper causing Sarge to look up at me. “I think I screwed the pooch on this one boy.” I say to sarge causing him to stand up keeping his body low.

I pull down the center console on the bench resting it on my chest as my arm snakes through the gap. Fingers feeling blindly behind the seat until they brush against the familiar rough surface of my rifle. I pull it up through the gap and the barrel raises just above the dash for a moment as I maneuver it around the seat. Releasing the mag, I quickly double check if it’s full before sliding it back home with a comforting click.

“You there, check that…..thing and see if someone is inside it.” The voice from earlier yells out. Whatever is out there, I'm down to seconds to react before I start to lose options. An easy quick pull on the charging handle confirms a round in the chamber and with a nod of my head, my sling is around my neck.

“On my six, Sarge.” I whisper to my backup. My foot quietly moves to the door handle on the drivers side with the toe of my boot sliding under the latch. Three quiet deep breaths later and I pop the handle causing the door to open less than half an inch. Scooting down in the seat, I lift the center console and position myself as close as I can to the door. Knees bent, eyes focused on the glass. I wait with my breath coming in quiet measured lengths. A count of fifteen goes by with no changes, followed by twenty and I’m starting to think no one is coming to check the truck when the face appears in my window.

It's a heavily tanned face, narrow eyes peering out from below a mess of short, cut brown hair. The cut looks like someone tried to trim him up with a knife or a set of dull kitchen shears to me. One of his ears is notched out, strangely reminding me of a friend whose dad ripped his earing out on him one night. The most surprising fact about the face was what's on top of it though. It appears to be a half helm like you find in the renaissance fairs in a blacksmith shop. Or the poorly made cousin of such a helm anyway, the metal is a dull gray almost black, covered in dents and scratches.

His eyes meet mine for a brief moment then I’m distracted by his helmet again. While I am stunned by the outlandish getup he's wearing, he doesn't seem to have the same problem.

“There is someone in here sire. He's laying down…..” That's as far as he gets before the door catches him in his teeth. His voice pulls me from my stupor causing my legs to straighten as fast as they can as I kick the door out for all I’m worth. The soldier doubles over both his hands coming up to grip his mouth where the steel of my door caught him, blood pouring between his fingers.

I'm already moving as my legs straightened and I pulled myself down, sliding my feet onto the ground below my truck. As I come around the door, I grab the doubled over man by the collar of his shirt, surprised that it appears to be a breastplate instead of fabric. I sense more than see Sarge exit the truck, the barest of brushes against my leg letting me know he's in position watching my back. As I pull the man upright in front of me with my left hand, my right comes up thumb flipping the safety off my rifle as I bring it in line in front of me.

My eyes darted around the world around me, trying frantically to take in as much of the landscape around me as quickly as I can. One thing's for sure, I'm definitely not where I parked my truck. For one, I don't remember a castle being behind where I parked, or parking in a courtyard with a towering white stone wall for that matter. The courtyard wall is deserted, though I can see the guardhouses where archers should be stationed. To the left of me, on the other side of my truck is a small guard house with a few dozen men standing around in similar getup to the man I’m holding in front of me.

A larger crowd of them are in front of me, pulling my focus in that direction. Face the bigger danger, but be aware of the situation around you I try to remind myself as I kick the knees out from under my prisoner. He kneels behind him as he falls. The ground is a hard stone and I wince momentarily, wishing I had put on knee pads before I started to practice. A quick glance down confirmed the whole courtyard is the same broad flat stone, though some sort of design appears to be outlined underneath where my truck and I are currently.

“Stop, stop, we mean you no harm!” A panicked voice calls out from the crowd in front of me. I quickly spot the owner as he is pushing his way to the front of the crowd. He's a rather short portly man, my guess is a little shy of five feet tall, but with long greasy black hair and a growing bald spot on top of his head. He's wearing a set of well made, but dirty, black robes and carrying what I can best describe as a witches hat in his hands. He looks like a typical wizard in a fantasy movie, if the wizard was short, had a beer gut, was balding and judging from how he was breathing, smoked three packs a day.

“That's far enough.” I yell, realizing while I was studying his appearance, he has managed to get within twenty feet of me. Closer than I like to let someone get when I don't know what their intentions might be.

“Please we mean you know harm. We summoned you here to help us, why would we want to hurt our hero?” The man pleads. My eyes are traveling over the rest of the crowd as he speaks, not really listening to him. I’m trying to figure out the people behind him. He might not want to hurt me like he says, but if I know anything about people, it's never trust crowds of them. For the most part, the men behind him appear to be content to just watch the scene unfold. All their eyes are glued on me, but no one is stepping my direction.

“Start with a name. Go from there.” I yell to the man in front of me. “If i feel like you’re lying or trying to trick me, you die first. Remember that.” I say staring at him to make sure he understands. He nodded to me, licking his lips before he starts to speak again.

“I am Magnus, the Court Wizard for the kingdom of Dolus, we are facing a crisis so we summoned a hero from another world. That's you.” He pauses licking his lips again. It seems to be a nervous habit of his when he feels anxious I would guess. From behind me, Sarge gives a short low growl before stopping less than a second later.

“I hear them.” I whisper to my dog. While I’m focused on the man in front of me, someone has decided to try and get behind me. They have been using the trucks body to their advantage and is trying to block my line of sight. Their one mistake was they were absolute shit at moving quietly as the armor they are wearing literally clinks with every step. Couple that with the fact that there is a slight breeze blowing at my back, pushing the smell of body odor long overdue for a bath right at me. It's impossible to miss them creeping behind me.

“Go low, on free.” I whisper to Sarge feeling his muscles stiffen against me.

“So you see, we mean you no harm.” The wizard says in front of me. I realize that he has been talking during the entire time I was communicating with Sarge. It seems from the way he's looking at me that he's expecting an answer of some kind. I’m focusing on the man behind me right now though, the ones in front are still far away. The one behind me is at the edge of the truck now though, so he needs to be dealt with.

I stand, pulling the kneeling soldier up with me. To his credit, he remains still and not fighting me.

“So I guess I should let him go free then.” I yell to Magnus. As the word free leaves my mouth, Sarge bolts. I pull the soldier tight to me before slamming him into my door, forcing it shut with his body. I hear cursing behind me as well as Sarge’s bark and growl. He slams into someone. For a moment, there is the sound of a struggle and I can't focus on that though because the men in front of me started to close rank on me.

My finger is starting to tighten on the trigger. I can feel the creep being took up and know I’m about to fire on a living target for the first time. At least the men in front of me don’t have guns of their own and they all seem to be drawing similar longswords from sheaths at their waists. For a single moment, I think to myself, hopefully Sarge can handle the one behind me. As that thought goes through my mind, I hear Sarge yelp in pain followed by his whimper. My head whipped around seeing the man behind me breathing hard blood welling up from wounds on his hands and wrists.

Sarge lays at his feet chest heaving, the handle of some kind of knife sticking out from his ribs.

“BASTARD!!” I scream. Kicking the legs out from under my prisoner, I slam his head into the truck as hard as I can. Bringing the barrel of my AR down then up in a tight arc, I see the man start to raise his hands as he comes into view through my Acog. He starts to backpedal as I squeeze the trigger on my rifle twice. I feel the light recoil against my shoulder as he starts to fall. Spinning around, I bring my sights down on the self proclaimed wizard who appears shocked at the developments happening before him.

“You basterds just made your biggest mistake of your miserable life. No one and I mean no one hurts my fucking dog!” I scream at him.

I know I’m losing my cool and I know I'm losing focus, but at this moment I just don't care. These people say they summoned me to help them and they mean me no harm, but try to sneak up on me and hurt my dog. Fuck these assholes, I think as I feel the creep once again being taken up from the trigger. I don't care if they kill me, I don't care if I’m really in another world or just on some weird drug trip. I'm going to kill as many of these fuckers as I can before they get me. I realize all of this calmly and it’s like my anger has just faded then replaced by a laser focus on the man in front of me. I can still feel the anger in me, but it's pushed down, leaving a sense of calm on the surface.

“Wait wait, we can heal your companion!” the wizard screams falling to his knees. “We can save your companion. Please, just don’t use your spell anymore.” He pleads to me. The soldier whose head I had just slammed into the truck tries to struggle to his feet. I almost felt sorry for him as he has taken a lot of blows to the head today. I pull the trigger putting a round into the thickest part of his thigh, causing him to scream and clutch at his ruined leg.

“Please you don't need to do this. I told you we can help it.” Magnus begs as the echo from my last shot fades.

“And I’m giving you that chance right now. ‘Til my dog is better, neither one of these assholes are moving.” I scream hearing the edge of anger creeping back into my voice. “The one who stabbed my dog is still breathing.” I yell glancing back to make sure I’m not lying. I see the ragged rise and fall of his breastplate amid the blood soaking the stones under him.

“For now at least, but I’m warning you, my dog dies he does too. Then you, then whoever I lay eyes on ‘til I’m down permanent.” I yelled as I move back to stand over Sarge. He tries to stand as I get close, but I hold out a hand making him lay still. “Easy boy, they are bringing help.” I say rubbing his head and neck to calm him.

I'm vaguely aware of yelling and people shuffling around in the crowd in front of my truck, and I know I should be focusing on that. There is no power that is pulling me away from Sarge right now, so I make do sweeping the area I can see without leaving Sarge’s side. Most of the crowd has retreated inside the guardhouse, or out through the gates ahead of my truck. The few men who are left are huddled around someone, large metal and wood shields locked together forming a wall between them and me. The loud voice from earlier is currently yelling out from the knot of men, apparently whoever it is, is unhappy that they can’t see what’s going on.

“Hello…” A light femine voice says from the other side of the truck. I curse, spinning around bringing my left hand up to steady my rifle as a woman fills my sights. I had stopped checking that side because everyone seemed to have left. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I keep making idiotic mistakes and Sarge has already been stabbed because of it. I need to get my head straight.

“No, please don't kill me. I’m here to heal. I'm a healer.” The woman screams covering her head with her arms.

“Then heal Sarge.” I gruffly reply rifle still pointed at her. “Any funny business and you die first.” I tell her motioning for her to come around the truck. She lowers her arms, giving me my first good look at her. She’s wearing a set of dirty blue robes, the kind that look like they were well made and expensive once upon a time, now they are stained and torn. Her long blonde hair is a mess, knots and snaggs forming a rats nest of what was obviously once a well kept head of hair. Green eyes stare at me, one nearly closed and swollen shut, matching the newly broken nose and split lip. The biggest surprise for me was a pair of long elfin ears peeking out from her hair.

“I will, I promise.” She says before stepping to check on the fallen soldier near Sarge.

“Is your ears broke like your nose is? I said help my dog.” I say stepping between her and the bleeding man.

“I was told to check on the guard first and then your companion. If I don't do as I’m told, this will choke me ‘til I comply.” She says raising her chin to show me a tight fitting leather collar. It looks like some high end BDSM collar made of brown leather, while not appearing to be choking her, it is obvious that it is very snug around her thin neck. Centered under her chin, where a lock would be there is a small blue stone seeming to hold the collar together and closed.

“Who told you?”

“”My master, Magnus.” She replies spitting out the three words like they are leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

“Magnus” I yell seeing the wizard jump. “She's saying she is supposed to check on the dumbass first. She moves toward him before helping Sarge, I’ll kill him you and her. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?” I yell bringing the barrel of my rifle around to rest on the now crouching man.

“Help his companion, forget about the guard. Just for Goddess sake, save his companion.” Magnus screams as he cowers crouching on the ground. The elf woman immediately turns on her heels to kneel beside Sarge, one hand stroking his head as she whispers to him.

From the corner of my eye, I’m watching the elf as she works with Sarge. Keeping my body turned towards Magnus while I scan the entire area. I’m not letting anyone sneak up on me again. I remind myself to check my blindspot using the mirror on my truck to look behind me. In the mirror, I see the elf pulling the knife from Sarge’s ribs with her left hand. Her right held several inches over his body a bright white light coming from her palm. Magic, I think to myself, either I really am in another world or this is one hell of a dream. My right foot lashes out kicking the guard at my feet stopping him from continuing his crawl away from the truck.

“Move again and I'll open your head, got it?” I growl at him, causing him to nod desperately.

“He’s ok” The elf yells from behind me. I glance in the mirror again, seeing Sarge standing tail wagging beside the kneeling elf. For some strange reason, the first thing that pops into my head is she's barefoot. The dirty soles of her feel peeking out from her robes.

“Sarge, six six.” I say turning to face the elf as he dives between my legs to watch my back.

“What are you waiting for? Now help the guard!” Magnus yells at the elf girl. With a strangled sounding cough, she starts to crawl across the ground to the guard. For a brief moment, I feel sorry for the man, as he appears to not be breathing and his skin has taken on a pale color. Moments later, the light shines from the elf girls hand and the man is once again breathing loudly and trying to set up. He was either not dead when she got to him, or this world has a way of bringing people back to life.

“You, over there.” I say to the guard as he struggles to his feet. He raises his hands slowly and begins to slowly make his way towards the crowd of men in front of the truck.

“I healed his wounds, but I can't replace the blood he lost, so he's still weak.” The elf tells me. “I don't want to tell you what to do, but I’m supposed to help him as well.” She says motioning to the moaning man at my feet.

“No funny business.” I remind her as i take a step away from the man.

“I'm not the one you need to watch.” She replies kneeling next to the guard. I turn to face Magnus and the rest of the crowd again.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask as her hand lights up again. She starts to speak then stops grabbing her collar and making a gagging sound.

“I can't say. The collar won't allow it.” She replies when she stops gagging. “Just please don't believe everything you hear.” She says before starting to gag again her face turning red as the collar choked her.

“If you can heal like this, why haven't you heal your face?” I ask grabbing her robe to pull her in front of me to block the sightline of the men in front of the truck.

“I was forbidden from healing myself. In order to teach me a lesson about not disobeying my owner.” She spits out angrily. The newly healed guard is still laying at my feet looking up with a face full of fear, but making no effort to move.

“Can we talk now?”Magnus asks standing again. “I promise no one will try anything again. We can talk calmly like rational people.” The wizard says taking a step closer.

“That's close enough. I'm getting really jumpy when it comes to people getting near me right now.” I tell him causing him to stop in his tracks.

“Ok. I won't come any closer can you please let Vickar go?” He asks motioning to the man laying on the ground. “Feel free to hold on to the elf if you want. While she might just be a slave, her status as a healer makes her more valuable than the guard.” He tells me. Something about his smile reminds me of a crooked used car salesman, the kind that will tell you what you want to hear as long as it gets you to finance with him.

“Let him go” The elf whispers to me. “I can't tell you anything. I was ordered not to, but I'll help you as best I can and of my own choice.” She says voice still low.

“Why should I trust you?” I whisper back.

“You already don't trust him, and I have no reason to protect him. He won't let me go and my only chance at freedom is you getting mad enough at him to kill him.” She whispers back to me pressing herself against me. “Just remember if he tells me to attack you I won't be able to disobey him.”

“You go.” I say motioning for the guard at my feet to leave with the barrel of my rifle. He quickly moves, first crawling away then crouching ‘til he finally moves into a sprint to get back behind the line of men.

“What do you want to talk about Magnus?” I yell to the wizard who hasn't tried to move any closer.

“Many things hero. We have a place set up nearby where we can talk much more comfortably if you would just follow me.” He says motioning behind him.

“I’m comfortable here.” I say leaning against my truck. “Why don't you start with how you’re going to send me home since you dragged me here.” I say seeing the elf stiffen in front of me.

“It can't be done.” The wizard says with a wince. “Any student of magic can explain why, the short version of it is it’s possible to bring you here, but impossible to send you back.”

“So I’m stuck here?” I ask barrel rising in line with the wizard again.

“Yes, and we are so sorry for that, but we need your help. Dolus is under attack from the demi humans to the south. The war has gone on for years, costing us millions in coin and thousands of innocent lives.” He says hands raised above his head as he comes under the line of fire from my rifle. As he continues to talk, I notice the elf woman has begun to choke again, clever girl she realised her choking was the same as her telling me he was lying.

“Whats a demi human?” I ask left hand opening the door beside me in case I need to leave quickly. I eye the gate behind the wizard seeing that it's open wide enough to get my truck through easily.

“See the handle I just grabbed?” I whisper to the elf, she nods slightly to me. “If I have to run and you can get away, there is another one on the other side. Lift it and pull the door opens. Slam the door shut after you get in to make sure it closes and doesn't fly open when I’m driving.” I say to her before the wizard starts to speak again.

“Demi humans are what we call the lesser races. The elves, dwarves, the beastkin tribes and merpeople. They have their own continent to the south of Dolus, but have been trying to expand their territory into our kingdom. So we had to summon you to try and turn the tide against their armies.” He says as the elf begins to violently gag as he continues to speak.

“Here we use them as slaves because they are too violent to be around civilized people without restraints. They are little more than beast honestly.”

“Is that what the collar is for then?”

“Yes, yes.” He says nodding to me. “It forces them to obey their master’s orders and gives gentle reinforcement when they don't comply promptly.” The elf woman starts to choke violently as Magnus tells me that, falling to her knees. As she falls, Magnus stares at her, his face a mask of confusion then anger as he seems to come to a realization.

“You slave, what are you trying to tell him?”

“She hasn't told me anything.” I yell back halfway hoping to distract him from her.

“I wasn't asking you, slave come here now!” He yells, spittle flying from his mouth in his rage. His finger pointing to the ground at his feet. The elf begins to move, clearly not of her own will. It seems like some unseeable force is dragging her by her collar with her feet dragging the ground head pulling back towards me.

“I thought she was my hostage.”

“You don't need a hostage. I’ve told you over and over we summoned you because we need your help.” Magnus replies as the elf falls at his feet. “If you won't believe me perhaps you will believe our king.” He says turning his head to face the crowd of men behind him. Well, that does explain why they are crowded together so much and why the front row appear to be sweating so heavily. A voice from the center of the knot of men starts to scream out again. Yep, it's the same one from when I first woke up. Like a slow moving ripple across a puddle the men start to move, revealing the king behind them.

“It's about time you lazy good for nothing guards moved. How many times do I have to tell you, I have nothing to fear from our hero, and especially nothing to fear from some magical attack.” The king says in a loud yell. While he is just as tall as the men around him, he’s obviously quite a bit heavier. For half a second, I'm sure someone found a giant pig and stuffed it into enough purple fabric to make a medium sized tent. A gaudy golden crown sits on his head under thinning red hair, his fat face seeming to hide his eyes which seem to disappear as he looks around. His fat fingers are covered in multiple rings with dozens of golden necklaces around his neck.

“Sire, I have set up a simple magical barrier around me if you would care to step up and talk to the hero personally.” Magnus says bowing to the fat king. At his words, I look closer at him, seeing a barely there shimmer surrounding the man.

“Fine, fine, fine.” The king says walking up to stand beside the wizard. By the time he reaches him, he's puffing and wheezing for air.

“You there, huh huh, hero. What do you think your doing causing all these problems? Do you have any idea the cost to summon your ungrateful ass here.” The king says leaning on the kneeling elf, nearly causing her to buckle into the ground from his weight.

“It's the whole summoned against my will and can’t get home thing I have a problem with.” I say unable to keep the sarcasm from my voice.

“So, help us out and you will be living in luxury you have never dreamed about. Besides, we are human, the same as you. Just on that fact alone, you should want to help us.” The king replies flourishing, his free hand in the air as if he has made some debate ending point. I’m momentarily stunned. Was that really his best argument on why I should help?

“What the ever loving fuck does me being human have to do with it being ok to bring me here against my will?” I scream mind finally snapping back to the present. Is he seriously trying to say that as long as I'm human, I have no choice but to fight blindley for him?

“Now listen here, hero.” The king starts with a sneer his eyes narrowing even further in his fat face. “I am the king here, which means what I say goes. If I say summon a hero then a hero is summoned. If you don't want to serve me willingly then that's fine. We have ways of taming even heros. If you want to act like a beast, then we will treat you like one as well, and you will still fight where I tell you to.” The fat man says motioning to Magnus who is now holding a collar similar to the one around the elfs neck. The difference between the two being where the one on the elf is thin, this is a monstrously thick collar, its dark brown leather somehow seems to radiate malice.

“So who dies trying to put it on me?” I ask, reshouldering my rifle and bringing it to bear on Magnus’s chest.

“You simpleton.” Magnus says with a sneer. “It doesn't matter how strong your magic is, this barrier nullifies magic and consumes its energy to feed itself. Simply put the stronger the attack you hit it with, the stronger it becomes. Your magic has no chance of piercing my barrier.” Magnus says walking closer to the hood of my truck flipping the collar in his hand.

“So, no magic can pierce your barrier,” I say kicking one of the spent brass shell casings near my feet at him. “Seems like physical threats still come through.” I remark as the shell casing bounces off his black robes.

“Why would I worry about physical threats when your magic is obviously so strong and what makes you a hero?” Magnus asks pausing in his advance. I level my rifle at him again setting the crosshairs from my Acog center chest on his frame. “I already told you, your magic is useless against me now.” He says with a sneer.

“It's not magic.” I deadpan before squeezing the trigger. The world seems to slow down around me as I pull the trigger, I see Magnus fall back the shimmering barrier around him dropping as he falls. The king begins to run back toward his men as they spring into action to surround him. I can hear Sarge barking, pivoting at the waist I catch a glimpse of several guards in ducking behind a stack of barrels near the wall. I fire off a half a dozen rounds as fast as I can in order to keep their heads down before turning back towards the crowd in front of the truck. The king is out of my sight when I turn back around. A small knot of guards are moving to get someone out of the area, while another was advancing towards me shields in front of them and raised.

My mind begins to run over shield designs in my head. How they had been constructed back on earth would my rounds penetrate a shield? There was only one way to find out, so I quickly fired three rounds into the center man’s shield hearing a curse rising from behind it. Even though it obviously hurt him, he is still advancing towards me with the line about fifteen yards ahead of me now. Cursing, I hit the mag release on the right side of my rifle, pulling the half full magazine from the magwell and tossing it into the bed of the truck. My left hand pulls the magazine from the front of my plate carrier. Unlike the ones in the mag, I had just dropped these are green tipped steel cored, commonly known as penetrators.

As I bring my rifle back around and begin to fire again, I notice the elf woman rummaging in Magnus’s robes. I don't know what she's doing, but I can't focus on that right now as I began to empty my rifle into the advancing line of guards. Unlike before, these are obviously getting through the shields. Men have begun to drop out of line, clutching bloodsoaked limbs and armor. Just as I’m about to start backing away the line falters, the uninjured men grabbing those unable to move and retreating. Even though they are falling back, I notice that they are still staying in formation. These men have obviously faced combat before.

Pivoting back around, I fire another couple rounds at the men hiding behind the barrels, making sure to keep their heads down. I need to move, even though I have managed to drive them back, but I can't hold this position. Sooner or later, they will overrun me or surround me and bury me under bodies from each side. Sending another few rounds back at the retreating men in front of my truck, I sling the door open and call for Sarge to get in. My magazine runs empty and I hadn't even been aware I had fired that many rounds, so I'm cursing as I reload my rifle quickly. Once again, tossing my empty into the bed.

Sliding into the truck, I slam the door closed, rifle barrel banging into my knee as I turn the key to start it.

“Come on baby.” I mutter from between clenched teeth, as I hear the motor crank. “Yes” I exclaim as the engine roars to life. Quickly, I find first letting out on the clutch as the passenger door swings open. I pull my pistol from its holster turning to face the door as the elf woman jumps inside.

“You trying to get shot?” I yelled as I slide my pistol back jamming my foot down on the gas.

“You said to get in if I had a chance.” She yells back slamming the door shut. Sarge is barking as I gun the engine and head for the gates I can see ahead of me.

“Which way is out of here?” I yell as we pass through the gates seeing the cityscape spread out below the walls. Most of the buildings seem to be made of the same dark brown stone, with a rough cobblestone road running between them. The city is huge filling up my windshield as people begin jumping out of the way of my truck as I recklessly drive down the broad street.

“Fucking move!” I yell through my now open window as I blow my horn almost continuously.

“Stay on this road ‘til you reach the fountain square, then take the left road. It leads to the east gate, it's the one we are closest to.” She yells back at me over the sound of my horn and cussing.

“Copy.” Sarge’s head rises up from the floorboards laying it in the elf woman’s lap as he quits barking. She tentatively reaches out her free hand to stroke his head, as she gripps the dash with her other to maintain her balance.

“That's Sarge, long as he likes you, you can’t be all bad” I said with a laugh jerking the wheel to the left as the truck erupts into a large open square with a huge fountain in the center.

“Left. Left here.” She screams at me hand pointing to a large stone archway at the edge of the square. As I yanked the wheel forcing the truck towards the opening in the stone wall, I can see guards scrambling to close heavy looking wooden gates.

“Fuckers!” I scream out my window as my truck slips in between the closing gates. “So does this mean we are out of the city? Cause I have to tell you there is still a shit load of people here.” I yell over the sound of the trucks engine roaring, grabbing the next gear I stomp on the gas narrowly avoiding a heavily laden cart of what looks suspiciously like horse dung. Where before the streets were mostly empty, now it has turned into a nightmare or carts and people all struggling to get out from in front of my truck.

“We are still in the city. We just left the nobles district. This is the merchants district now. It has its own gate outside without having to go through the residential areas or the slums.” The elf woman says grabbing the dash again as the front of the truck crashes into a mostly empty cart. Looking in the mirror, I see its contents spilling out on the ground as a skinny man in green robes scurries around to gather up what looks like green apples. Dragging my focus back to what's in front of me, I jerk the wheel, narrowly missing a mother clutching her child to her chest. Cussing, I lay into the horn again, yelling out the window for people to move as I thread the truck in between the crowd of people and carts.

As I continue to try and avoid any other crashes while speeding along the street, I see what has to be the cities wall come into view. Unlike the archway seperting districts, this is truly a massive wall. As near as I can tell, it's an easy fifty feet tall and at least fifteen feet thick.

Judging from the gatehouse seeming to grow from its dark gray stone. As we race towards the gatehouse, I hear a low horn blow, the sound rolling out across the city. As soon as the horn starts, the crowd begins to panic, everyone moving to clear the streets with some of them dropping their packages as they run away.

“The fuck does that mean?” I yell halfway glad for the streets clearing, but still wary as I know it can't be good.

“The king ordered a lockdown of the city. They are going to seal all the gates, anyone who doesn't clear the streets can be executed on sight by any of the city guards or the kingdoms knights. This is bad, we need to hurry before the gates are shut on us.” She replies bouncing up and down on her seat.

“Fuck.” I say mouth forming a hard frown as I stare at what I can now tell is a closing gate. Where the gate from earlier was a simple wooden construction that closed inward, the gate for the outer wall is a massive steel and wood contraption, which is slowly lowering into position as I watch.

“Why the fuck does it lower down? Shouldn’t it close like a door? Wouldn't that make more sense. I mean the sheer engineering it would take to make a gate that heavy raise and lower is just stupid.” I yelled as I force the truck to go faster.

“It's a status thing. Oh, look what we have what we can afford to spend on a simple gate for our city.” The elf replies. I look over noticing her mouth is making a hard sneer as she talks.

Looking over the distance between us and the gate, I realize it's going to be close if we make it out or not. Clutching the steering wheel, I drop a gear stomping down on the gas pedal, causing my truck to lurch forward its engine screaming in protest. In the next second, the hood is under the edge of the gate, looking up through the windshield it looks like the gate could scrape the top of the cab off before we clear. There is a loud crunch as the cab goes under the gate. Looking back, I see the roll bar attached to the edge of the cab scrape away as the truck bed barely gets out from under the gate before it closes .

“Motherfucker!” I scream as I see the rollbar tumble away over the end of my truck bed. “Why does everyone keep abusing my truck?” My hands beat against the wheel after I grab a shove the gear shift into fourth. “Always my truck, never Joe’s or Mark’s. Always mine. They pick at, mine they make fun of.” I say to myself as I grab fifth and try and put as much distance between me and the city as I can. Vaguely, I’m aware of the fact that the road has went from well placed cobbles to dirt, but it doesn't matter as my tires kick up a massive plume of dust behind us.

“So, sure let’s rip my fucking rollbar off, not like I fucking need it. Not like I spent a weekend welding the damned thing together or anything. So sure, let’s just rip it the fuck off.” Looking over, I see the elf staring at me with wide eyes. “What?” I practically yell.

“Who are you yelling at? Me or the city guards?”

“Sorry, I’m just a little on edge. Nothing like a mental breakdown to make life easier right.” A laugh escapes my lips at my response filling the cab of the truck. “I'm not usually like this. I've just never been summoned into a fantasy world before.” Once again, I start to laugh almost hysterically. Great, I'm having a breakdown while running for my life. Cant see how that can go bad.

“I know it’s a little late for introductions, but I’m James. Most people call me Jim.” I say extending my right hand towards the elf.

“Thea, Thea Willow of the River Willows.” She says taking my hand in hers.

“You already met Sarge.” I say nodding to him in the floorboard of the truck. At the sound of his name, Sarge’s tail thumps against the door causing me to laugh again. “Good boy.” I say rubbing his head where it rest in Thea’s lap. Looking in the mirror for a moment, I see the city falling away in the distance. It’s resting on a gently sloping hill causing me to have to look up as I watch it fall away.

“Any idea what that is?” I ask motioning behind us. Thea turns in her seat looking through the back window, seeing the city gate opening and a group of riders on horseback filing through at a fast pace.

“It's the nights brethren. If I were guessing, I would say the king sent them to either capture us or to kill us and collect your equipment.” she says after a moment. “How fast can your magic carriage go?” she asks turning to me.

“This kind of road, fifty maybe sixty miles an hour.” Glancing down at my speedometer, I see the needle hovering around fifty five.

“How long ‘til you run out of magic to power it?” She asks biting her lower lip.

“First off, it's not magic.” I say glancing down at the gas gauge, seeing it’s still almost full. “Second, about eight hours, give or take, then I'll have to refuel. I figure we have about seven hundred miles before we are completely empty. Why?”

“Your cart can go for that long?” Thea asks her face showing her surprise at my answer.

“We can probably go farther if we slow down, but right now I want some distance between us and them.” I say motioning vaguely behind us.

“Seven hundred miles can get us out of this country and back into mine. I’ve never heard of a magic cart or carriage capable of this kind of speed or distance. Most of them are either extremely slow, but capable of carrying heavier loads or faster, but run out of power quickly.”

“Thats nice and all, but how soon will the knights give up and quit chasing us?” I ask glancing at the group of men on horseback behind us. We are pulling away smoothly, but they show no sign of letting up even though we are miles away.

“They won't as long as we are in this country or one of its allies they will keep following unless they are stopped.” She bites her lip again and for a moment I’m distracted by the thought that she's actually very attractive. “Unless they were to suffer losses to the extent where they have to retrete and get more men.”

“So what you're saying is they aren't going to give up easily.” I muttered as I ease up on the gas and try to pick the smoother sections of road ahead of us. We have some breathing room now so there's no need to possibly break the truck because I’m rushing to much. “No point worrying about that now, which way is out of this country, since we obviously can't stay here?”

“Follow this road ‘til it forks. Take the right fork and that is the main road south.” Thea says turning to look back at the men following us. “I count thirty two of them and it looks like the knight commander is with them.” Thea says with a frown.

“I take it that's a bad thing.” I deadpan

“He has an area affect magic spell to relieve fatigue and replenish stamina, basically as long as he can maintain it the horses won't get tired.” She says turning back in her seat with a frown

“Great, guess I need to handle this sooner rather than later.” I say looking at the road ahead of us. As I stare down the road, I notice a glow from the corner of my eye. I glance over and see Thea’s hand on her face. When the glow stops, she lowers her hand, revealing a newly healed lip, eye, and nose. She's actually very pretty when her face isn't beat to shit I think to myself remaining quiet and turning to look back at the road.