The young woman accompanying her was slightly taller, with long, straight dark hair. She appeared to be more composed than her companion, her expression taut and wary.
Their sluggish movements held the air of extreme fatigue, and both were using makeshift walking sticks crafted from stout tree branches. There was no question in Lee’s mind now that they were both utterly tired, and had already been put through a great deal of exertion. Their wariness and fear were also manifestly evident as their eyes were constantly scanning the area around them.
While they did not talk, they trudged heavily forward. They continued to make more noise than Lee believed that they wished to, their steps crunching upon the forest floor. He also judged that they were not threatening to any degree, as far as he and Ryan were concerned.
Lee looked over to Ryan, and made a sharp motion for him to stay put, and to remain silent. Setting down his branch on the ground, and slowly straightening up, Lee walked calmly around the end of the broken tree stump to stand in clear, open view of the two women.
The two females flinched, and the one with the dyed-streaks of hair gasped, both quite startled at his sudden appearance. They reacted swiftly, rapidly collecting themselves and raising up their branches in firm grips, such that Lee could see that they had crudely sharpened the ends of their rough weapons. Lee resented causing them any further fright, but he wanted to make sure that they saw him first from a comfortable distance, both for their sakes as well as for Ryan and himself.
Lee slowly held both of his hands high, his palms openly exposed and empty. He opted for complete honesty, though he doubted that he would quickly gain any measure of trust from them.
“I am not a threat,” Lee announced in an even tone of voice. “I wanted you to know I was here before you got any closer. I didn’t mean to startle you, but it would have been more startling if I stood up right next to you.”
As he spoke, he realized that he had taken it for granted that they all shared the same language. Fortunately, the women showed no confusion at his words.
The woman with the straight brown hair, a granite look embedded in her eye, asked firmly, “And who are you?”
Her eyes then flicked to each side, and she stole a quick glance backward. Lee could sense the immediate and sharp distrust that she had, as if his emergence was some part of a larger ruse or ambush.
As if to confirm his suspicion, she whispered to the other young woman, who kept a watch behind them as the first turned back to face Lee. Her countenance was grim, and Lee could see a little wild frenzy now playing about the edges of her gaze. He was certain that she had been through something quite terrible, and that it would not take all that much to cause her to snap violently.
Lee responded quickly, and as gently as he could. He decided to hold nothing back, hoping against hope that the other two found something in his words that struck a familiar chord within their own sphere of experience.
“My name is Lee Chen. I have no idea where I am. I got lost in a fog. And I found myself in this place. And you are the first people that I have seen,” he stated calmly. “I am hoping you know where we are right now, but it looks like you don’t either.”
There was no mistaking the look of understanding that flashed across the other’s face. She did not drop her guard for long, and her hardened facade returned as the flare of clear surprise at the mention of the word “fog” faded. Yet at the least, Lee had some of his instincts confirmed.
“I’m right, aren’t I?” Lee pressed, deciding to go with the momentum and his gut feeling. “If I were to guess, I would guess that you were doing something quite normal, and then a fog came, and then you found yourselves in the middle of… who knows where we are. Maybe you even saw some strange things, or creatures? Different than anything you’re used to.”
The tensed, defensive look softened slightly in the eyes of the brown-haired young woman, if again only for a moment.
“And why should we believe you, that you aren’t a threat to us?” she asked him tersely.
“I cannot prove to you why you should believe me. I have only my word. And I don’t expect you to believe me. I almost don’t believe myself, with what I’ve gone through,” Lee replied.
He got the sense that there was something different and much darker about the experience that the other two had faced, as the edge of great fear remained at the fore in the young woman. Her companion had remained very disciplined and vigilant as she kept watch behind her friend, like one would be in the wake of going through something incredibly terrible.
Lee wished that he could fully reassure them with his words and demeanor, but knew that such a thing was well beyond his art. For a few moments, there was an unpleasant tension hanging in the air as the brown-haired woman carefully considered his words.
“You may be a danger to us, but I risked it,” Lee then added.
The continuing level of mistrust, the obvious signs of weariness, and the protective postures of the two young women was evidence enough to Lee that he decided to take one further risk.
“Okay, I will be fully honest with you, in the hopes that you will trust me, and understand that we have been through something unexplainable ourselves.
“I have been defensive with you, as you are now being with us… Ryan, come on out,” Lee said gently, turning slightly to face Ryan’s obscured position.
Ryan hesitated for a moment, a hesitant look on his face.
“It’s okay, Ryan,” Lee encouraged. “Come out slowly, and stand up.”
The woman with the dyed streaks turned and raised up her staff reflexively, her grip tightening upon it. The two women quickly backed up a few feet at the emergence of another man before them, casting glances to the back and sides, as if they feared that Lee was somehow triggering a trap. Seeing the gangly youth, they relaxed their rigid postures slightly, and Lee could see that they were beginning to perceive the truth in what he had been telling them.
“Explain more about how you got here, what you were doing, and where you are from,” the girl with the straight brown hair demanded in a steeled tone, though her eyes gave away the sliver of hope that had now entered her. “Details are fine.”
“I own Lee’s Wok, down by the University of Lexington. Ryan is a friend of mine who works with me, and had joined me as I was closing the restaurant, earlier tonight… as it was night when all of this happened.
“We walked outside of the store when a large fog rolled in. It was a fog like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It came in quickly, covering everything, and soon we were in the middle of it. The next thing that I knew, we were here in this hilly forest, in the middle of the day, with a sky completely different to any I’ve ever seen.”
He shrugged his shoulders, and gave a sigh of resignation.
“What can I say? It wasn’t our choice to be in the middle of this, and I don’t know how we got here, and I really have no idea where here is, to begin with. Honest, that is all that I know,” Lee stated.
The brown-haired girl nodded slowly in understanding. The hints of a smile slowly crept upon her face, reflecting familiarity as the various places were voiced. The other young woman then turned towards them fully, also exhibiting a relieved look. Both ceased casting furtive glances all about themselves.
“Then you are from Lexington too. And I know your restaurant. I’ve eaten there before, but not enough for you to know me,” the brown-haired woman said. Her next words were as much for her own benefit, reasoning aloud as much as replying to Lee. “Wherever we are, I don’t think it would be easy to make up a story that matched ours in so many ways.”