Chapter 1 – I think something is seriously wrong with that deer

What is reality? Or, a better question, what is real? Humanities’ senses have dictated the answer since the dawn of time, deciding what is and isn’t altogether real. Reasoning and a dose of faith also come into play, mingling with what little we can understand to frame a much larger picture. We know the sun is going to rise after the long night because we feel it’s warm arrival, view it’s shining glow. We know it will rise because it always has, and we know some of us will burn in untold misery (Those of hair the color of the before named sun) Or become celebrity material with tan-tinted skin.

So, I ask, what is reality? I once thought I knew the answer, hell, everyone did.

But then I joined Project Artemis.

I had just finished a few years in the military, so naturally when that recruiter came to my door a week after I finally returned home, I nearly slammed the door on his face, but a single look was all it took to change my mind.

Many people are aware of spooky well dressed tall people, but rather than a lack of a face, he simply had TOO much of a face. Tall, thin, suit-clad and armed with a nose sharper than a Bowie knife; this man meant business. He talked to me for nearly an hour upon my porch, trying to convert me to some secretive operation, but I simply couldn’t focus on the details. That nose took up nearly his entire face, HIS ENTIRE FACE! I couldn’t stop wondering that if he wiped it upon a tissue, that he’d saw through both the tissue and bone! It was absurd, I couldn’t even see his eyes until I convinced him to sit down. I didn’t care for his comfort, I just wanted to see if he had eyes in the first place behind that massive thing!

In the end, I gathered nothing from our exchange beyond a work contract with more money than I had ever earned in my life as my first months’ pay. I signed that contract as fast as I could, my eyes still glued upon that man’s Everest of a nose. I could tell where the Sphinx’s nose had ended up, and nearly stated my observation before he stood, nodded his pale bald head, and disappeared into the night.

I packed my scant belongings into my miniature truck and traveled that very same night to my new home, my eyes turned from my past and set upon my future. I was in such a hurry I neglected my usual traveling habits: Hiking, Overeating, Camping and the occasional souvenir or two. I drove that entire night and through the next day in a haze, determined to reach my destination without delay. I passed withered houses and abandoned towns, burned-down forests and ancient burial grounds, but nothing went amiss.

It wasn’t until I reached the town that I questioned my choice.

Nearly six hours drive from civilization in the middle of absolute nowhere is the quaint village of Pan’s Gate, a partial ghost town nestled in the center of a never-ending wilderness. Driving along main street revealed dozens upon dozens of abandoned buildings, half of which crumbled into unrecognizable heaps of rubble. Ancient paint cracked against what did remain standing, husks of a life that once had been. An unnatural number of people walked the streets, going about their jobs with crooked backs and longing stares, completely comfortable in each other’s misery. It was enchanting to witness at first, but upon a closer look, one may realize all eyes averted from a single point.

You see, this town had an odd feature, one that felt out of place. It had a palpable effect that made your skin crawl, like feeling beans inside your socks or discovering a slice of bread nailed to a tree; everyone’s afraid of it but no one knows quite why. The cave was the same, altogether terrifying yet no particular reason why. It’s massive mouth clung to the town, a black hole that seemed to stifle any joy in the world. The old road that descended into its depths was riddled with age, the trees and grass seeming to die the closer they drew to its mouth. It was large enough to fit an entire airliner inside, yet besides the road it seemed completely unused. Everyone glanced to it, yet no one dared to speak of it. I became entranced with the spectacle, feeling goosebumps coat my skin as I stared into the opaque darkness. I felt my mind expand as some presence assaulted my senses, I wanted to rip myself from that mountain, but my eyes remained glued to its eldritch deformity. Any attempt to pry myself away was useless, nearly driving off the road because of the stupor.

When I finally gained control again, I was in the parking lot of a rinky-dink office building with almost no features to be seen. I left my truck with a groan, trying to keep my eyes fixed on the building before me and not on the pit to hell at my side.

The inside was dusty and smelt of cat fur. I walked to the elderly receptionist, half wondering if she drank blood and turned into a bat at night.

“Hello.” I spoke, echoing in the tiny chamber. She glanced up at me with a small frown, asking my name, date of birth, weight, height, shoe size, preference towards wizarding houses and if I drove stick or automatic. She eventually handed me a form, told me to follow the door to the right, and began clicking a typewriter with the speed of an amateur speed walker.

I opened the doors to a hallway that descended deep into the earth, the lights flickering in the opaque darkness. I checked my corners to avoid being stabbed, and walked for nearly fifteen minutes before finding an elevator. I went inside, listened to the same horrible ice cream truck soundtrack on loop for what could have been an hour before emerging into a room.

What I saw before me would change the course of my life, throwing me into perilous danger among Gods and man in the far reaches of the universe. The image was simply the gateway to withering madness, enough to stop me in my tracks with quivering heart.

There, directly in front of me, was a deer.

The deer stood on its two legs inside a small habitat behind a wall of glass, it’s black eyes staring at me as the door opened. I froze, feeling my back crinkle under an immense pressure. The animal flicked it’s ear before landing on its four legs again, seeming to hide it’s strange ability as soon as I had noticed. I remained silent for a time before finally speaking.

“Huh, that’s odd.”

“You’re odd.” The deer responded.

I turned to find yet another receptionist desk, but instead of the vampire lady was a man dressed in full military uniform of a design I had never seen before. He stood, smiling warmly as he extended his hand. I extended my own in response, noticing the two guards at either side, both accompanied by wall mounted turrets.

“You must be the new recruit.”

“Yep that’s me.”

“We’ve heard much about you young man.”

“Me too.” The deer added.

“So, this is where I’m working?” I asked, glancing around the small room.

He shook his head in the negative.

“Let’s go for a walk, shall we?”

“With pleasure.” The deer agreed, despite remaining in place because of the glass.

I had walked with the gentleman who introduced himself as Georg Alexander, a German man from non-other than the heart of Germany. He was to direct me to the head of the operation herself, and offered to answer any questions I had. I nodded cautiously, realizing I still had no clue what on earth my job even was.

I had followed Georg into another hall, one guarded by two men wielding automatic rifles. I stared at their weapons, suddenly feeling naked like I had in preschool after giving a flower to my crush, who also happened to be allergic to flowers and nearly died from the ensuing seizure. I wondered at their weapons, and continued along with the Georg.

He explained he was the leader of the Notch Department, assigned to maintenance of the facility, various safe houses and recruitment for the Artemis Project. I nodded, still confused on how that had anything to do with the talking deer or the man with the giant nose. He led me through multiple security checkpoints, promising that the next room would blow my mind away.

It did, but not how I expected.

It was the freaking deer again.

I nearly had a heart attack from the thing. It took off on two legs, running into an adjacent hall before disappearing completely with no one seeming to have noticed. It was only then that I saw what was supposed to shock me, something that changed the course of my life forever.

I stood in an observation room, viewing the inside of the cavern I had seen before. Seated in the middle of the darkness stood two massive obsidian obelisks, each chained to a strange carved mirror that hung between the two. The sensation I had felt before from the cave was now overpowering, my fears spiking as I looked THROUGH THE MIRROR INTO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

“Wait, that can’t be…”

“It is so my friend.” Georg responded. “What you are seeing is the future, a man stepping foot into another reality, another sliver of existence.”

“Another… reality.”

“A portal.” He answered. “And you my friend, are going to be one of the first to explore it.”

My heart stopped in my chest as I viewed the eldritch mechanism before me, my tongue swelling in my throat. I wanted to scream, to run in terror, but my legs remained planted in their spot. I turned to voice my fear to Georg, only to come face to face with the deer upon its two legs.

It screamed in my face, and I screamed back before fainting.

What is reality I ask? Well, the short answer is not what you think.