Wake up or die E-Book

Elisabeth Rau

• Herausgeber: epubli
• Kategorie: Abenteuer, Thriller, Horror
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 146

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

"Wake up or die" Alexander awakens in a world between life and death - trapped in a mystical lake that only hides the dark secrets of his past. While he lies in an artistic coma, a gray cat, who is his only connection to reality, guides him through a nightmarish fantasy world. But when he discovers that his life is in grave danger, he must defend himself against an army of undead and the sinister machinations of a ruthless warfighter. Between fast-paced dream sequences and the reality in which he is threatened by secret killers, Alexander fights for his life - with an ax in hand and the hope of getting out of this nightmare. But in this world there is only one rule: wake up or die.

Leseprobe

Title: Wake up or die

Author: Elisabeth Rau

Biography:

Elisabeth Rau was born in Hamburg in 1985 and grew up in a lively, creative family. She developed a passion for storytelling at an early age and spent her childhood finding stories and writing them down in notebooks. After graduating from high school, she decided to train as a graphic designer, which further fueled her artistic side.

In the following years, Elisabeth worked in various creative professions and developed a deep interest in the human psyche and the dark, unexplored sides of reality.

Her stories are often dark, interspersed with fantasy and reality, and offer profound insights into the inner conflicts of her characters.

Chapter 1: The Awakened One

Alexander emerges from the water with a jolt. It was as if he had come from another world, one that had no meaning in the cold water around him. Torn clothes clung to his body as he stood. This was not modern clothing. No, this was old, fast, like something out of a fairy tale. Shreds of cloth clung to him, and the ground beneath his feet was muddy and wet. Was the war going on here? Where was it?

He blinked as the cold air rushed into his lungs and tried to get his bearings. A lake. A huge, still lake. Under, er, mitten in it. What the hell was that? He turned in circles, searching for an explanation, but there was just nothing that made sense. Where was the damn car? Where were the roads? The people?

"You woke up too, didn't you?" The voice came suddenly. Clear and sharp, but at the same time with a strange tone that was difficult to place. Alexander played in the direction the voice came from. A gray tabby catShe crept around him without him seeing her as he climbed out of the water. She stared at him, her yellow eyes sparkling through the darkness of the forest in which he was obviously.

“What the hell…?” Alexander mumbled, still confused.

"Well, don't look so stupid, you idiot. You're screwed, but what the heck. You can't just stand here and cry. If you want to live, you've got to get going." The cat sat down on the floor in front of him, never taking her eyes off him.

"What... what are you talking about?" Alexander asked, squinting as he tried to think clearly. His head was pounding as if he had just been in a bar fight.

"You're not even listening to me, are you?" the cat continued, his snout not moving at all. "You're in a damn fantasy world, you idiot. Look at you, you've got a battle axe in your hand and you look like an old Viking or something. Do you understand what's going on here now, or do I have totell you again?"

Alexander looked at the battle axe he held in his hand. It was a massive piece forged from rusty iron. His fingers automatically clenched around the handle as he heard the sound of the metal blade against the ground as he quickly dropped it.

"Fant... Fantasy?" He could hardly believe what the cat was telling him. A joke, it had to be a damn joke.

"You're still not quite in your right mind, are you?" The cat purred. "You're trapped here, my friend, and have been for a few days. But don't worry, you won't be alone. I'm with you whenever you sleep. The only question is, will you be able to get your act together, or will you just keep pulling your face and standing around like an idiot?"

"Sleeping?" Alexander stared at the cat as if it had gone mad. "I'm standing here in a damn forest, in torn clothes, with a battle axe in my hand, and you're talking about sleeping?" What bullshit!"

"Look, you have no idea what's going on here, do you?" But I'm going to help you check it all out. You're in a coma, Düsseldorf. You're lying in a hospital somewhere, and this is your damn dream. You just haven't got it yet." The cat bared its teeth as if it was amused by how little Alexander understood.

"Coma?" Alexander shook his head. "That can't be." I... I was... damn it, what happened?"

"Ah, now things are getting better!" she said, standing up. "You saw it all. The murder. The guy who blew his head off with his golf club. You were there when the attractive guy did all his stuff. You saw the crap that started all this shit." The cat purred again, as if it was happy about Alexander's growing confusion. "And now you're here. Good old Dream Lake. The place where you can hang out for a while while the body is lying around in a hospital outside, not knowing if it'slive or die.”

Alexander blinked and stared at the ground, as if searching for the earth beneath his feet to hold him. This wasn't real. This couldn't be real. But the cat was there. It was talking to him, and it seemed sure that he was the one who didn't see the truth.

"Damn, what's going on here?" he said quietly, looking down at the cat. "What should I do?"

"You want to know the truth?" The cat came closer and stalked around him. "You need to swing the damn axe, friend. There are more out there who want to take you down. But not now. For now, you need to come to terms with what you're really doing here. And if you're lucky, the truth might bite you in the ass."

Alexander was still standing there, battle axe in hand, looking into the darkness of the forest. He had no idea what lay ahead of him. But one thing was certain: he would not just give up. Even if everything here was a damn nightmare.

“I want to know what happened,” he murmured andcontinued into the forest, with the cat following him.

Chapter 2: The First Look

The cat had suddenly disappeared. Alexander turned in circles, looking for it. Nothing. No sound, no movement. Only the dense forest that stood before him in the twilight. A few trees towered into the sky like black giants, and the ground beneath his feet was damp and muddy, as if the rain of the last few days had refused to let up. He felt the cold water on his legs and tugged at the shreds of his clothing that were slowly clinging to him from the branches. What the hell was going on here?

“Damn it, just shut up!” he yelled, but the forest only responded with the soft rustling of leaves and the distant sound of an animal barking in the distance.

"You're quite a hothead," he suddenly heard the cat's voice again. It seemed to be right in his head, but when he turned around, he couldn't see it anywhere. "Calm down, you idiot. What's your plan? Should I show you a little more of this stupid nightmare, or can you manage to be clear for once? think?"

"You're the last person who can teach me anything,"

Alexander huffed as he continued to look around. "How the hell do you know what's going on here?"

"You're still not quite there, are you?" "But okay, if you really want to know, then listen," she said in a tone so dry it was almost uncomfortable. "You're in the hospital. In a fucking coma. Your body is fucked, but you're here, in the dream. And don't come with a bunch of questions, you need a clear line first. Where you are, what you're doing here, and why you're walking around with a damn sword in your hand. Believe me, you have a lot to sort out here, but you can't just trudge through the forest like an idiot."

"Was that right? I'm supposed to be a superhero here?" Alexander turned in a circle again and struck the ground with the axe. A deep jolt ran through his body as the steel hit the ground.

"Look, you can't just smack everything away," the cat continued. "That's not the way to get out of here." You're not in a cheap action movie where you're always throwing out cool lines. You need to make a plan first. But hey, don't panic. I'll tell you what to do when you get your head out of your ass."

"And what am I supposed to do? How do I get out of this mess?" Alexander yelled quickly as he stared at the emptiness in front of him. "What the hell is going on here?"

"One thing at a time," said the cat as he crept out of the darkness of the trees. "First of all, you have to know that you can't just sit around here. The stuff you see here isn't random. Everything that's going on in your head has a reason. You can control it all, but not if you let everything fool you like a stupid idiot."

"That really helps me now," Alexander growled, looking at his torn clothes. "Come on, you can't tell me that this is some kind ofwellness vacation."

"Believe me, it's not a walk in the park," she purred. "But you really have no idea how deep what you're seeing goes. You have no idea what's behind you. And there are enough people out there who want to make your life hell. But I'll give you a hint: You can't just walk around here like an idiot and hope that everything will work itself out. You have to remember more than you think."

"Okay, so what should I do now?" asked Alexander as he slowly walked through the forest, the axe still in his hand. "Where to now?"

"You go that way," said the cat, pointing to the right with a quick movement of her paw. "There's a guy waiting over there who was for you. If you catch him, you'll be one step further. But be careful, he's not that easy to catch."

"Great," Alexander muttered and stomped in the direction indicated. "And what happened then?"

“Then you will see whether you are really strong enoughto get through this shit." Be prepared for anything, my friend. And don't forget what you're actually doing here. There's a whole other movie out there, and you're the main character. Also, make sure you don't get left behind in the first scene."

Alexander was not going to let himself be held back any longer. If he was going to be stuck in this damn nightmare, he was going to do anything less to avoid being stuck in this mess forever. The ground beneath his feet was muddy and slippery, the branches cracked with every step, and the forest seemed to be getting thicker around him. It was all so surreal that it almost seemed like a kind of black humor as he held the axe at his side and continued to trudge through the darkness.

"It'll go wrong," he muttered. And somehow he knew it wouldn't.

Chapter 3: The Guardian of the Forest

Alexander hit a thick tree trunk that was in his way with his battle axe. The cut was deep, but the tree didn't give an inch. "Damn shit, no one can stand that," he muttered as he wiped the sweaty hair from his face and continued to tug at the tree. The forest was dense, the air stuffy, and every sound seemed to follow him. The ground beneath his feet was soft, fast like mud, and the constant rain of the last few days didn't make it any better. But he had to keep going, he had no other plan than to follow this crazy cat. "You said there was a guy waiting," he called in the darkness, but the cat had disappeared again. She probably didn't want to bother with him anymore. She was probably glad that he was now taking care of his own mess. As he went deeper into the forest, he felt the air getting colder. The rain was now almost a constant companion, and the darkness was oppressive. But suddenly he heard a sound that did not come from the trees or the wind. Footsteps. Slow, heavyFootsteps approaching from behind. Alexander gripped his axe tighter and turned around. "Show yourself, you asshole!" he yelled without thinking much about it. The footsteps grew louder and suddenly a gigantic figure stepped out of the shadows. A man, bigger than anything Alexander had ever seen. The guy was a mountain of muscle, his skin as rough as coarse leather, and he carried a massive sword at his side that quickly touched the ground. "You must have come to the wrong forest, buddy," the man growled in a deep, rough voice. "Don't think you can just march through here like you're in the city park." Who are you?" Alexander stared at him. "Who the hell are you, dude?" he asked, still not quite in his right mind. "I'm the guardian of the forest," the man yelled as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "And you're an intruder. Besides, don't make it difficult for yourself, buddy. If you want to get through, you have to pass my test first." "Your test?" Alexander snorted. "What the hell is that supposed to be? Don't you have anything better to do than show off your sword?" The guard growled and pulled out hisSword that made the ground vibrate. "You don't really have a choice, my friend," he said. "You can either try to get through - or you can mess with me." Your decision." Alexander stared at the huge sword in the guard's hands. "Damn it, this

isn't going to end well," he cursed. But he could not stop now. "Fine, let's do it like men," he yelled, leaping into the air with his axe to strike. But the guard was faster. In one fluid motion, he blocked Alexander's axe with his sword, and the force of the impact quickly caused Alexander to lose his balance. "You are fast," but you will have to be a lot faster to keep up with me, the guard said with a grin as he drew back his weapon and rose to his feet. "Try again if you can." Alexander staggered back, feeling the pain in his arms. "I won't give up, you damned giant," he growled and charged at the guard again. But the guy was just too strong. Again he blocked the blow, turned around in a flash and left Alexander witha well-aimed kick in the side. "Stop making a fool of yourself," the guard said, standing with one boot on Alexander's chest, making him feel as if the whole forest was weighing down on him. "You're not ready. You'd better turn around and leave before you get crushed for good." Alexander gasped and tried to pull himself up, but it was hard. The axe was a few meters away. "You're a huge asshole, you know that?" he groaned, trying to get some air. "Come on, you little scoundrel, don't give up," the guard said with a wry smile. "If you don't manage to get the axe, you've lost here." Alexander snorted, grabbed his weapon and pulled himself up. The guard had trampled him, but one thing was for sure - he wasn't going to give up so easily. "Fuck you, you idiot," he said as he picked up the axe again. "I'm fed up with your games." The guard laughed and turned back to face the fight. "Good, then let's see how long you can hold out." Alexandergritted his teeth and gathered himself, his muscles burning, but he was now even angrier than before. "I'll catch you, giant baby." And with those words he stormed towards the guard again. It was far from over. "If you don't manage to get the axe, then you've lost here." Alexander snorted, grabbed his weapon and pulled himself up. The guard had trampled him down, but one thing was for sure - he was not going to give up so easily. "Fuck you, you idiot," he said as he picked up the axe again. "I'm fed up with your games." The guard laughed and faced the direction of the fight again. "Good, then let's see how long you can hold out." Alexander gritted his teeth and gathered himself, his muscles burning, but he was now even angrier than before.

"I'll catch up with you, giant baby." And with these words he stormed towards the guard again. It was far from over. "If you don't manage to get the axe, then you've lost here." Alexander snorted, reached for his weapon andpulled himself up. The guard had trampled him, but one thing was certain - he wasn't going to give up so easily. "Fuck you, you idiot," he said as he picked up the axe again. "I'm fed up with your games." The guard laughed and faced the battle again. "Good, then let's see how long you can hold out." Alexander gritted his teeth and pulled himself together, his muscles burning, but he was now even angrier than before. "I'll catch up with you, giant baby." And with those words he stormed towards the guard again. It was far from over.

Chapter 4: The Test Match