IN: A ONE WAY TICKET TO RANN, PLEASE!
“Over here, Mr. Strange, over here!” the man called out and Adam Strange quickly made his way over to his guide. The man held a map in his hand and tapped his finger on a spot which Strange had marked ‘El Dorado’. The guide excitedly pointed to the thick Amazonian forest, through which the two caught a glimpse of what was sure to be a temple.
“Over there, that must be it!” the young Peruvian enthusiastically said and he looked to his employer for approval. But Adam Strange did not respond, merely gazing out towards the forest. Finally, just before his guide started to think the archaeologist might suffer from sunstroke, Adam Strange laughed heartily and slapped his guide on the shoulder.
“Come on!” the archaeologist said, gripping the handle of his large blade and stepping forward fiercely, into the dark Amazon jungle. The guide scrambled to pack his things, haphazardly throwing his bottle of water and compass into his bag. With the same determination as his employer, he took his blade and set out to go into the jungle.
<FJUNG!>
The guide didn’t even realise what had happened to him until he saw the tip of the arrow protruding from his chest. He was able to mumble a few words in his native language before his knees buckled. Seconds later, he lay on the ground, dead.
Naturally, Adam Strange, whose body was built more akin to an athlete than your typical archaeology professor, was unable to hear his guide take his final breath, having travelled to far into the dense jungle already. Of course, Strange’s excitement at finding the lost city of gold was enough of its own to cloud his senses.
However, after a few minutes he did turn around, noticing that his friend was not walking behind him. The hairs in the back of his neck rose as Strange asked:
“Gian?”
<TWANG!>
Rather than hearing the reassuring reply of his comrade, Adam Strange heard what was sure to be a foreign curse word and an arrow embedding itself into the tree next to him. Immediately, Strange crouched down and shifted on his feet, circling around and attempting to locate his attacker.
<FJUNG!>
Another arrow narrowly missed his head and the archaeologist fell back, more than a little stunned by what was happening. Arguing his chances of survival were better if he fled, Adam Strange jumped to his feet and into the thrush of plants and trees before him. He nearly slipped as he tried to get away as quickly as possible, slashing wildly with his blade.
Either through luck or skill, Adam managed to evade the next five arrows launched at him.
As he moved further, the sound of water running – of a river in fact – started to reach Strange’s ear. But in his fear, the young man paid these sounds no attention, trying to run wherever the vegetation gave him the chance. Along the way, he lost all his items but his blade, which he still swung before him without any sense of direction.
The sound of the water grew stronger.
An arrow scraped the side of Adam’s shoulder, leaving a nasty slice, and the archaeologist stumbled in pain. Seeing as he was confused, tired and hurting, it was not surprising when Strange missed one tree’s roots just above the surface. The archaeologist tripped and fell, although he quickly realised that this was more a blessing than a curse?
Adam Strange lay on a small heightened patch of ground. Had Strange taken a few steps further, he would’ve lost his footing, for there was no more ground, and fallen into the river that coursed there. The young man even grinned momentarily, thinking upon his good fortune.
But then, he could hear the arrival of three men. His attackers, whom had kept themselves hidden throughout the ordeal, now revealed themselves. They were large, fierce-looking men, dressed in ceremonial garb, carrying bows and spears. Had Strange been clear-headed at that time, he would’ve recognised them for what they were: Incan warriors.
The archaeologist turned towards them, raising his hands to shield his face.
They snarled.
Flashes of the past ran themselves before Adam’s eyes.
Death was coming.
“I’m ready,” Adam mouthed, but had he not actually closed his eyes at that second, he would’ve noticed a strange glow coming over him. Death would have to wait a little longer. Of course, had Adam kept his eyes open, he would’ve known this also noticed then that he was in fact no longer on Earth.
Instead, an otherworldly roar compelled Adam Strange to open his eyes.
And what greeted him were not the three Incan warriors or his home planet, but the planet Rann, although at that time he did not yet possess that knowledge. And there was someone, or rather, something, there to greet him.
Adam Strange looked up to see three eyes, a purple hide, a set of gleaming teeth and four arms (two legs) on a body that was three times the size of a normal human and thus, triple his own.
“Oh.”