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MidReal Story
Timeless Betrayal
Anonymous
May 13
Scenario:Sinbad in Tokyo
Create my version of this story
I was just minding my own business, sailing the high seas with my crew, when I found myself in the middle of a storm.
I’m not talking about the kind of storm that you can see coming from miles away, the kind that gives you plenty of time to batten down the hatches and ride it out.
No, this was one of those freak storms that comes out of nowhere, with no warning at all.
One minute I was standing on the deck of my ship, feeling the sun on my face and smelling the salt in the air, and the next I was being tossed around like a rag doll in a washing machine.
I remember thinking that this was it for me, that I was going to die out here in the middle of nowhere, with no one to mourn me or even know that I was gone.
But then everything went black, and when I woke up I was here.
I’m not sure how long I’ve been here or even where here is exactly.
The first thing I noticed when I came to was that the ground beneath me was hard and unyielding, nothing like the deck of my ship.
The second thing I noticed was that there were buildings all around me, huge structures of glass and steel that reached up into the sky like the masts of a hundred ships.
I staggered to my feet, feeling weak and disoriented, and looked around me, trying to figure out where I was.
I remember thinking that wherever I was, it was a long way from home.
My name is Sinbad AlKhalid, and I am a pirate.
Or at least I used to be.
Technically I suppose I still am, although I’m not sure if you can call yourself a pirate when you’re stranded in the middle of a city, hundreds of miles from the nearest coastline.
I’ve been making my way across this strange and unfamiliar landscape for the past few hours, trying to figure out where I am and how I got here.
It’s been slow going, to say the least.
Honestly, it’s a miracle that I haven’t been run over by one of those horseless carriages that keep zipping past me at breakneck speeds.
If you ask me, the streets in this place could really use some cobblestones.
The other thing that has made this journey somewhat difficult is the fact that everyone keeps staring at me like I’m some kind of sideshow freak.
At first, I thought it was because of the way I looked, which is admittedly pretty terrifying.
My hair is long and wild, falling down to my shoulders in a tangled mess, and my beard is even longer, reaching all the way down to my chest.
I’m not exactly what you would call clean shaven.
My clothes are in tatters, too, which doesn’t help matters any.
I’ve always been more of a rugged type than a dandy, but even I have to admit that I look pretty rough around the edges right now.
But then I saw some of the other people around here and realized that they all dress like peasants too.
No one is wearing a tunic or a robe or a turban like me, but they’re all wearing plain clothes made of cotton and wool, the kind of clothes that you might wear while working in the fields or doing chores around the house.
It’s not just me that people are staring at.
It’s everyone who walks by.
I can’t figure out why they’re all so fascinated with me when I look exactly like everyone else around here.
Maybe it’s my boyish good looks and sparkling personality.
Whatever it is, it’s starting to get on my nerves.
Not that it matters anyway.
I have more important things to worry about than what some farmers think of my fashion sense.
Like finding something to eat before I starve to death, for example.
Since I washed up on these shores earlier today, I’ve had nothing to eat except for a handful of dried dates that I had in my pocket.
Now don’t get me wrong—I love dates.
I could eat them all day long and never get tired of them.
But even I need a little variety in my diet every now and then.
And besides, I’m still not sure how long I’m going to be stuck in this place.
If I’m going to last long enough to find my way home again, then I need something more substantial than a few measly dates to keep me going.
So when I saw a big sign with the word “restaurant” written on it in letters taller than me, I knew that I had found exactly what I was looking for.
I walked right up to the door and tried to go inside, but it was locked tight and wouldn’t budge no matter how hard I pushed on it.
That’s when I saw another sign next to the door that said “please wait to be seated” in big bold letters.
Well, who am I to argue with a sign?
I stood there and waited like it told me to, but no one ever came.
After a few minutes, I got tired of waiting and decided to take matters into my own hands.
I went back to the door and tried to open it again, but it still wouldn’t move.
That’s when I realized what the problem was.
This place may call itself a restaurant, but it’s really just a prison for hungry people.
They lock you inside so you can’t run away without paying for your food.
It’s a clever idea, I’ll admit, but it wasn’t going to stop me from satisfying my hunger pangs.
I looked around for another way in, and that’s when I spotted the little window on the side of the building with the word “drive-thru” written above it.
I wasn’t sure what it meant, but it seemed like my best chance for getting something to eat, so I walked over to the window and tried to open it.
Just like the door, it was locked tight and wouldn’t budge.
But there was something different about this window.
It had a little hole in the glass with a metal cylinder sticking out of it, like some kind of primitive cannon.
I didn’t know what it was or how it worked, but I was willing to try anything at this point.
I reached out and grabbed the cylinder, pulling on it as hard as I could.
It took a little bit of effort, but eventually the glass slid open and I was able to stick my arm through the hole.
That’s when the magic happened.
A disembodied voice started yelling at me in a language that I didn’t understand, telling me to stop what I was doing and put my hands in the air.
I ignored it, of course, and reached for the nearest hamburger like bun with meat inside of it.
But before I could grab it, I felt a sharp pain in my hand and heard a loud noise like thunder.
I pulled my arm back out of the hole as fast as I could and looked down at it.
There was a red spot on the back of my hand where the pain was coming from, but it didn’t look too serious.
I wiped it off with my sleeve and prepared to make another attempt at retrieving the delicious smelling food.
That’s when I heard the door of the building opening behind me, and before I could stop him, a man grabbed me by the shoulder and yanked me inside.
“Who the hell are you?”
the man demanded as he dragged me across the room and pushed me up against the wall.
“Don’t hurt me!”
I cried out, throwing my hands up in front of my face as if that would protect me from whatever punishment he had in store.
“I’m just a poor, hungry traveler who lost his way in this strange and magical land!”
The man stared at me for a moment, his eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and anger.
Then he shook his head and let out a long sigh before speaking.
“Are you trying to rob us or something?”
he asked, his voice softer now than it had been before.
“Because if you are, you’re doing a terrible job of it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied, trying to look as innocent as possible.
“All I wanted was something to eat.”
“Then why didn’t you pay for it?”
the man asked.
“I would have paid you back later,” I said, giving him my most charming smile.
“Honest Abe.” The man stared at me for a moment longer before letting out another sigh and shaking his head.
“You’re a weird kid, you know that?”
he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device that looked like a shiny black stick.
“It’s a little early for Halloween, but I guess we could always use some extra help around here.”
The man pressed a button on the device and pointed it at me.
A beam of red light shot out of the end of the stick and struck me in the chest, making me feel all tingly and strange inside.
Then everything went dark and I felt myself falling into a deep and dreamless sleep.
When I woke up again, the first thing I noticed was that I was lying on the ground with my hands tied behind my back.
The second thing I noticed was that I was really hungry and wanted to eat something right away.
The third thing I noticed was that the man from the restaurant was standing over me with a big grin on his face and a metal stick in his hand.
“You’re awake!”
he said, as if this was the most amazing thing that had ever happened in the history of time.
“Now we can finally get some answers out of you.”
I frowned up at him, not sure what he was talking about.
“I’m sorry if I caused any trouble,” I said.
“All I wanted was something to eat.”
“I know,” the man replied.
“And I’m going to make sure you get plenty to eat.
But first, I have a few questions for you.”
Before I could ask him what he meant by that, the man reached down and pressed a button on the metal stick.
A beam of red light shot out of the end of the stick and struck me in the chest.
Then everything went dark and I fell back into a deep and dreamless sleep once again.
It wasn’t until later that I found out that the red light was a type of weapon that could put people to sleep so that they wouldn’t cause any trouble.