Chapter 1

Rain fell in his eyes as he opened them.

Greg slammed his eyes shut, wincing. He placed a hand over them, feeling the drops coming down sharply. His other hand came under it, trying to wipe the water away. Part of him, the part that was actually in the here and now, realized this was rather pointless. At least until he had some sort of protection from the elements. He did it anyway, eyes blinking. Right hand still sheltering him, he got his bearings.

He was flat on the ground.

He was outside, too. Both were seemingly impossible places to be, given his last memory. He had been...

Greg frowned. He didn't know where he had been.

His head looked left, then right. He was on dirt, trees visible. Cold rain fell on him, body both chilled and numb. His eyes closed. He had been sleeping. At home. Right? He had been sleeping at home.

No ... no. He had been in the hospital. The attack. He had been in a hospital bed, tubes all detached. No wires or clear tube draining his chest cavity. He had been sleeping in just his underwear, gown forsaken. His eyes opened again. His body was nude on the ground, his head lifting slightly as he glanced down his twenty five year old form.

His eyes closed again as the world moved.

OK, that hadn't changed. The universe still spun. Not as much as it had before, thank the

gods, but there was still movement. A slight rotation to the left. He could feel his mind complain at the view, a slight pressure. OK. He still probably couldn't walk, then. He could sit up, though. Pressing his palms against the dirt, he pushed up. His body resisted, weakness flowing through him. He resisted it, calling on the strength he knew was there. It was his mind, not body, which was betraying him. Greg felt his body move. His mind seemed to move a few moments later, confusion and dizziness filling it. He stopped once he seemed vertical. Hand going back to his eyes, he used it as a visor as he blinked.

Trees surrounded him. They were shrouded in rain and the shadows of early evening, exact type unknown. Not that he could have identified trees beyond some broad types. Evergreens, birch, trees that are neither of those. These looked maple or oak-ish. They had leaves. He blinked, world still swirling. It calmed down a bit as his mind adjusted to his head's new position. He slowly moved his head to the left.

A fire.

It was faint, at flickering in the distance, but even to his addled mind it was clearly a fire under some sort of shelter, the shadowy form of someone tending it. Or, was it in fact his addled mind that was creating his image? It didn't matter. He had to move, and this was as good an excuse as any.

Shivering, Greg readied himself. Looking right, he saw a cane. Well, that would help, even if its existence did draw the reality of all this into question. There had been a walker beside his bed. Reaching out, he grabbed the plastic handle of the metal stick. Moving slowly, right hand pushing the end of the cane into the dirt, he slowly got to his knees.

The mud actually helped a bit, giving him some leverage. His instructions for standing had involved never using the cane/walker itself for support, instead making sure your hands were on the bed/chair. Something that would hold your weight. Well, he had no choice here. One hand on his left knee, right hand pushing the end of the cane into the wet dirt, he slowly rose. His body tipped to the left, hand going out to a tree he honestly hadn't noticed there. Had it been there? Probably. He was still rather out of it. Steadying himself, he slowly gathered his legs under him. He pushed upward.

His mind swam even as his body stopped moving. The rain still came down. The fire still seemed to be there in the distance. Good. He took deep breaths, moving the cane a bit as his feet spread themselves.

Greg was stable. It was time to move.

Left foot first. That was the key. The world moved to the left, so his body wanted to lean right to compensate. His leg went forward, the cane only an moment behind. He stopped, making sure it was stable. So far, so good. He moved his right leg, bringing his foot down next to the left. OK. A bit wobbly, but he could do it. Another step. He focused his eyes on the shelter ahead. It looked like leaves and branches. The inhabitant was blurry. That was due to either the rain or him. Probably mostly him. Another step, then two. He stopped.

It wasn't human.

It sat on a log, long legs spread, knees out like a man. The body was furry, grey, hunched over, grey arms laying on its upper legs. It's face ... The fur was black. Its snout stuck out an inch or two. The eyes he couldn't really make out, which he wasn't sure he was happy about or not.

He blinked. OK. He could deal. He'd pretend it was just his medication or something. He was dreaming, but you were supposed to treat dreams as real, right? Thomas Covenant hadn't helped matters by not believing.

Then again, things didn't improve in sequel series where he DID believe, so maybe the problem was him.

Greg walked closer. The creature became clearer.

It moved, head swiveling towards him.

Greg stopped, body swaying as his weight came down mostly on his cane. The stranger bolted to its feet, facing him. He saw the tail briefly, easily long enough to extend upwards past its head. One arm came up, covering its chest. Why ... ah. She was a she. He could see the faint outline of breasts. Her fur looked matted down, damp if not soaked. Her eyes were a piercing orange with black pupils. He saw fright.

"Who's there?"

She spoke English. Another point in favor of a dream world. Then again, what else would a monkey speak? Malay? He took a deep breath, body trembling in the rain. He shifted his weight.

"Someone who has no idea where he is or what the fuck is going on." Her head jerked back at the sound, free hand seeming to grasp for something behind her. It found nothing. "My name is Greg."

The two stared at each other. The rain fell down harder, drops stinging as they hit his shoulders and head. His weight shifted again. His eyes dropped. She, too, was nude, fur covering anything between her long legs, with no attempt to use her free hand to cover that as a human woman would have. Even as he thought that, her right hand did come over to cover her groin, fingers spread. Unable to help it, he gave a tired laugh.

"I couldn't see anything anyway." He thought he saw a sight smile, one he could swear was embarrassed. Her hand fell away. "Look, I won't hurt you. Is there room under there for me to get out of the rain?"

Her eyes flicked away, then back. He raised his left hand to wipe at his eyes.

"Please."

Slowly, she motioned towards the other side of the fire. He saw the shelter, four poles holding up a cloth roof, extended about three feet past the edge of the flames. Nodding, he thought himself into motion. Left foot first, cane a moment behind as he pulled it free of the clinging mud. He put most of his attention on where he was going, only partly noticing her gaze following him. There was a low rock just under the roof, the very back of it wet. Nodding to her as he stepped under the covering, he slowly maneuvered so he was looking over the fire at her. She was now sitting again, their eyes meeting. With the greatest care, he slowly sat, hand behind him to find purchase on his new seat. There was a spontaneous groan as his butt found the rock.

"Thank you."

She slowly nodded. He could feel some drops hitting his back. He scooted forward a bit, finding a place to set his cane. Using both hands, he wiped the water from his body.

"Tiana." He looked at her startled. She blinked. "My name is Tiana."

He blinked in reply. This seemed to confirm reality, as not only was this not a name he would have used for her, but he had never heard it before. He moved a hand through his hair.

"Greg."

She nodded, arms now in the same position they had rested earlier.

"Are you from here? I thought this area was empty."

"Where is here?" He shrugged. "My last memory was being in a bed, all dry."

Her head cocked. Greg now could see her ears better. They were black, like her fur, but small and human like.

"Odd."

"I thought so."

"You can't walk?" Tiana indicated with her left hand. He nodded,

"I need help." He took in more of his surroundings, mind adjusted and clearer. The movement that was always there in his vision had steadied somewhat. He saw a pack, what could be clothing hanging on sticks beside the fire. They had been out of view before. "Why are you here?"