#56

Mark wakes up. There is nothing but shattered rubble all around. “Where am I...?” he asks, but then he remembers. He was in the remnants of the Old Man's landing craft, far from home, in America. He didn't know anything about America, so he doesn't know where he is. Heck, he doesn't even really remember how he crashed.

He looks around for Levingt and the Old Man. Both gone.

He tries to remember if he wondered if this was what would happen. Because then, it would be ironic. But that would probably require the Old Man saying it wouldn't happen or something. And the Old Man never said anything worthwhile to Mark, that he could reuse for his own purposes.

Prick.

He stood up; the craft was completely smashed, beyond any sort of repair. Not like he could repair it, anyway. It's not a vacuum cleaner, and therefore past the boundaries of his tiny world.

Some of the broken machinery bits were still flickering with a strange blue light, that seemed less like twisted and melted circuitry and more like faerie light. Probably not fuel-powered then. Did those two mention it was powered by fuel? Mark bets they did. He doesn't properly remember, though. Still. Lying bastards.

Well, the fact of the matter is that this is a real mess. And not just in the way of everything around Mark being a mess. The fact of the matter is that he is stuck in America, possibly in Canada, with no true direction. And, his escorts, who were supposed to carry him on this ill-defined “mission”, are now probably dead.

Bullocks.

Overall, Mark realizes that standing around and vaguely cursing at the recently deceased is the exactly wrong thing to do. Instead, he needs to get moving.

There's a forest to the south. Behind him, there's...more forest. Welp. That just leaves us with fewer options, right?

Heh. “Leaves” us with fewer options. Mark feels better already. Puns are totally ironic. At least, so he was taught when he was a wee lad.

He starts heading south. He thinks he can see some sort of...crimson tower, of sorts...in the distance—maybe his c̶a̶p̶t̶o̶r̶s̶ companions went there after the crash. Riiight. And they didn't take him with?

No-good pieces of shit.