Elliot woke up the next morning still in a daze from the previous night. He sat up and took a second to rub his eyes and look around.
It was the same room that he had entered the previous night. Elliot's heart sank, and he pondered how he was going to get home before taking several deep breaths to calm himself down.
He decided that, as long as he was there that he might as well take advantage of it. Which meant he had to start by actually taking things into account, like that people here knew him and this was his room
He started to look around the quite large room, and it wasn't anything too out of the ordinary. From his bed, his door was on the right, a window on the left with a desk under it, and directly across from him was his closet.
In each corner of the room was a small bookshelf with labeling on each. They consisted of history, fantasy, food, and clothing.
Elliot walked over to his closet and opened it. It consisted of things similar to what he had at home, but from an older era. He had simple hiking gear in the closet: things like boots, a backpack, a walking stick, and some Victorianish clothing that Elliot thought went with the gear. He also had casual clothes in there, loose shirts and soft pants that he hoped were comfortable. Lastly, there were three full suits, one black, one grey, and one brown. Each had a corresponding tie, vest, and bowler's hat.
Elliot thought about what to wear; he planned to figure out what had happened to him and get home, but that was closer to a long-term plan than it was a short-term plan. For today, he needed to think whether he would go out or not. He didn't need to worry about school or a job since, back home, he had recently graduated from college, having majored in psychology and a minor in theology.
Even though he had graduated, there weren't enough similarities between here and home. His mom didn't look like his real mom, and outside looked straight out of a Renaissance fair, meaning he couldn't say anything for certain. While he was thinking he realized, "Wait, last night was pretty bad for me, I'm sure I could skip or cancel anything I have today!"
Elliot decided to get dressed in the casual clothes that were in his closet. Today, he'd read some of the books in his room and talk to his family to discover who he was here.
"EVERYONE!! BREAKFAST!!"
Elliot heard the woman who was supposed to be his mother call for them. Elliot quickly finished getting dressed. He planned to use this meal to learn about himself. He left his room and traced his steps from the previous night. He got to the area where he stood in the doorway and looked around. There was the hall he had just come from, another hall directly across from him, and a wider hall that Elliot assumed would lead him toward where breakfast was occurring.
Elliot continued down the hall until he found two sliding doors. When he opened them, he saw three people: the woman who was his mother, a man who looked close in age to the woman, and a younger girl who looked close in age to Elliot.
So I have a dad and sister here as well, much different from home.
Back in the real world, Elliot had 2 brothers, not a sister. He didn't know what he'd have to learn or change to not give his fake family a heart attack.
"About time you got down here, we have to talk about last night." The man said
"Your father is right," Mom started, "What were you doing out there on a moonless night of all nights?"
Everyone stared at Elliot, waiting for an answer. He thought about using the same excuse he had the previous night, but it wouldn't work since he had said "homemade moonshine". Everyone here would know Elliot was lying if we didn't have anything like that here. He had to think of something fast.
"I went to... get some uh... sticks from the forest..."
That was terrible, I'm going to get caught. Elliot thought to himself before taking a deep breath.
"YOU WENT TO THE FOREST?!" Dad roared, seeming like he was about to explode
Oh fuck, this is even worse than being caught lying. I'm about to be grounded.
"We have to tell the council... If Elliot can be in the forest during a moonless night and be okay after, that can help with research." Mom half-whispered to Dad.
Huh? What council? Elliot thought silently. He had to learn about the things here, and he had to learn quickly. He didn't know what anyone was talking about, and this conversation wasn't going to help him.
"Hey, Mom?" Elliot started, "Can I not do anything today? Last night exhausted me."
"Yeah, honey, you can, but please stay in the house and not go anywhere. Your father and I have to talk about what to do." His mom responded sympathetically.
Elliot excused himself, putting his dishes in the wooden sink that was to the right of where he had been sitting. After doing that, he went back to his room and shut the door behind him. He went to the bookshelf labeled "History" and picked up the first book he saw. It was titled "The Beginning of History."
Big help. Elliot thought to himself.
He opened the book and began to read.
"At the beginning of Era Inaugural, Lenyeer stood alone in the entirety of nothing. Lenyeer started our universe through his divine imagination and creation. Even though Lenyeer now stood in a universe of his creation, he was still alone."
This feels like this world's version of the Bible. I wonder if other historical texts have a resemblance to my world's religion.
Elliot picked up a different book, which related to the Quran; another related to Judaism. Elliot went through every book on the shelf, and all of them were related to some sort of religion or god in this realm.
"This can't all be true..." Elliot quietly said to himself.
Realizing this wouldn't get him anywhere, he quickly put back all the books and went to the next shelf, the shelf labeled "Fantasy". Elliot picked up the first book, which had no title on it. When he began to read, he had a startling realization. The text was exactly the same as "The Beginning of History". Elliot dropped the book and picked up another, then another, until he went through all the books. They were the same as the history books.
"WHAT THE FUCK?" Elliot screamed, much louder than ever intended.
This caused his parents to run into the room, seeing the 2 shelves emptied and books all over the floor.
"Are you alright, Elliot?" His dad questioned urgently
"Yeah, I'm fine. I tried to find a history book that I thought I put in the fantasy shelf," Elliot started, explaining why the shelves were a mess. "Then all these books fell. I'll pick them up."
His parents looked at each other, gave Elliot another concerned look, then walked out of his room.
Phew, Elliot sighed
Despite his temporary relief at his parents not finding anything out, Elliot was still deeply concerned that the distinction between fact and fiction in this world was so blurry. He wanted to go out and learn more about this town and the current situation at hand, but he couldn't as his parents asked him to stay home till they discussed him "surviving" being in the forest during the moonless night with the council.
Absolutely stumped, Elliot went to talk to his sister. He still wasn't used to the fact that he now had one sister instead of two brothers.
He went down the hall opposite to the one he was in, finding a mirrored layout of his room's hall. He knocked on the door with a taped-up sign titled "Charlotte's workshop" and waited. His sister peeked open the door enough to see her vibrant green eyes.
"What do you want?" She asked?
"Hey Charlotte... uhm, why are my history and fantasy books all the exact same?" Elliot asked, quite bluntly.
"What do you mean, why? Weren't you researching the prophet families in the forest? That's what you told me when you bought the books and a few nights ago when you left." She sarcastically said while trying to shut the door.
Prophet Families? What the hell does that mean? Elliot thought.
He had a choice to make; his sister, clearly, knew significantly more of what was happening than he currently did, and she could obviously keep a secret, as this world's Elliot had told her he was leaving before he had.
Do I tell her who I am? Will she freak out? Elliot was stuck at the crossroads of a decision in his brain.
Elliot sighed and reached for the doorknob of the now shut door, turning it and opening the door.
"Actually, sis, I have something important to tell you."