Chapter 1
The sun’s rays slowly peeked in through the old, yellowed blinds, while birds chirped cheerfully outside as they playfully flitted from tree branch to tree branch. It was thanks to these noisy birds, and the bright sunlight, that the slumbering occupant of the room awoke.
Said occupant, grumbling softly to itself, stretched forth a limb from under the covers of its comfy bed and fumble with the nearby electric alarm clock. Grasping the clock, the lump slowly pulled it back under the bed’s covers, like some tentacle grasping its helpless victim.
However, this supposed ‘tentacle’ wasn’t attached to some monster. Instead, it belonged to a young man by the name of Allan Ross, who, if one was being charitable in their description, could be described as less than a cheerful morning person.
After a few moments of quiet fumbling, a soft sigh emanated from the lump and slowly the clock was returned safe and sound to its place on the bedside stand. Several more minutes passed before the covers were pulled back revealing the young man beneath.
Great, power’s out, and it’s probably well into the morning by now, what a fan-fucking-tastic way to start my week, he groaned to himself as he stared up at the ceiling.
Giving a final, tired sigh, Allan slowly sat up and swung his legs off the side of the bed, as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
Looking around his room blearily, he let go an enormous yawn. Running a hand through his messy brown hair, he rose slowly from his bed and stumbled across the room, opened the bathroom door before then stepping inside.
Shuffling towards the bathroom sink, he saw himself in the mirror of his medicine cabinet. His reflection’s blue eyes stared groggily back at him as he set about his morning ritual.
A few minutes later saw a less groggy Allen leaving the bathroom, though the power was out, he was still able to coax just enough water to brush his teeth and scrub the sleep from his eyes. Though he made himself a mental note to remember to flush the toilet later when power was restored.
Setting about getting dressed for the day, Allen pulled on a pair of slightly dirty blue jeans, a grease-stained t-shirt, two clean socks and his favorite pair of work boots.
Shutting the door to his room, he headed for the stairs. However, before he headed downstairs, he made sure they were clear of any of his sisters toys she might have left the night before. However, upon seeing that the way was clear, he quickly made his way down to find himself in his home’s foyer area.
Taking a right, he walked down the hall past the mudroom and into the kitchen. Popping the fridge open, he grabbed the milk jug, before quickly shutting it and gathering the rest of the materials needed to make a bowl of cereal.
Quickly scarfing down his morning meal, Allen set his dirty bowl and spoon in the sink before walking out of the kitchen.
Walking through the mud/laundry room, he snagged his worn, green ballcap from its hook next to the door to the garage.
Stepping through the doorway, Allen paused as he noticed his dad’s car was gone.
Huh, wonder where dad went? He scratched his head as he tried to recall if his father had told him about any travel plans for today, after a moment he snapped his fingers in remembrance.
Oh yeah, Dad and Laura went to go visit Aunt Sarah in Terre Haute today.
Having solved the mystery of the disappearing family, Allen continued on his way.
Having made his way through his family’s messy garage, he found himself outside, the morning sunlight warmly caressing him as he set out towards the barn.
He had only taken a few steps towards the nearby barn before he remembered the power was still out, and giving an annoyed groan, turned to head back to the garage to find the generator, head bowed low in annoyance.
Opening the left side garage door, he set about his task, and after several minutes of searching, he spotted his target. Unfortunately, it was mixed in amongst various items and other junk, thus making it difficult to get to. Cursing under his breath, Allen went to work attempting to free the generator from its junk encased tomb.
After nearly a quarter of an hour of work, he managed to pull the generator free. Giving a sigh of relief, Allen got it ready to start, and grasping the start cord in his hands, gave a mighty yank. The engine coughed once, twice, three times before it gave a loud belch of noxious grey smoke and settled into a steady drone.
Double-checking to make sure it was running smoothly, Allen turned, ready to finally get started on his morning chores. However, he didn’t take more than a couple of steps before his eyes roamed upwards, causing him to come to an abrupt halt. He found himself rooted to the spot, his mouth hanging open, and a look of shock on his face.
He didn’t know how long he stood there staring at the sight before him. Though he vaguely remembered later that he rubbed his eyes, as if the action would make the sight before him go away, but sadly, it didn’t. Instead, the fairy tale castle, set on the side of a distant mountain, stubbornly refused to disappear.
After what felt like eons, but was probably no more than a few minutes, Allen pinched himself in an attempt to see if he was in fact dreaming. When he felt the sharp pain radiate outwards from where he’d pinched himself on his forearm and not wake up, he felt an icy ball of dread congeal in the pit of his stomach.
Swallowing thickly, he managed to tear his gaze away from the castle and slowly survey his immediate surroundings. That was when he came to a second realization.
The power lines are gone, and so are my neighbors corn fields.
His body acting on autopilot, Allen ran towards the edge of his property, a small part of him hoping that his mind was just playing tricks on him and that he was somehow seeing things.
Puffing and panting, he finally made it to the edge of his property. After resting a moment to get his breath back, he slowly looked around, shaking his head in stunned disbelief.
Everything that was supposed to be there, was not. Both the telephone and power lines that had once lined the old paved road were gone. The road itself having been turned into little more than a glorified wagon trail. In addition, his neighbors crop fields had disappeared, having been replaced by a grassy plain that stretched on seemingly forever to his left, while to the right it terminated in a tree line in the near distance.
“Wha-what the hell is going on here?” asked Allen quietly to himself, as if hoping that some invisible being would respond. When no answers were forthcoming however, he blinked owlishly and giving a final look around, stumbled back towards the barn.
Stepping through the service door, he found himself greeted by the many calls of hungry animals, each bellowing, bleating, neighing or clucking for his attention. Giving his head a shake, Allen quickly set to work, hoping that a little normal routine would help calm his mind, and it did, even if what was just a little bit.
Eventually he finished feeding the last of the animals, and stepping back outside into the early afternoon sunlight, Allen stood there in front of the door, biting his bottom lip, unsure of what to do.
No power or phone lines means that the phone and internet will be out so that’s a no go. I doubt I can just waltz down the road to the nearest house and knock on their door like I’m there to borrow a cup of sugar either.
He hung his head and sighed as he felt like a drowning sailor, desperate for something to cling to in a storm tossed ocean. Shaking his head again, he squared his shoulders and walked briskly back to the garage.
Having no further need for electricity at the moment, Allen shut off the growling generator before pulling it back inside. Shutting the garage door, he strode into the house through the mudroom, muttering to himself as he walked.
“Okay Allen, we need to come up with some kind of game plan here. Let’s just set aside the fact that we’ve been somehow transported to somewhere or possibly some when else, and worry about what we’re going to do now.”
Striding into the kitchen, he immediately realized that he didn’t have the slightest clue of what to do. Pulling out one of the stools next to the kitchen island, he plopped down on it in frustration.
Staring out through the dining room window, he watched as several clouds glided serenely by in the distance, a stark counterpoint to Allen’s internal mood. After several minutes of quietly drumming his fingers on the faux marble countertop, Allen let loose a frustrated groan and stood up from his seat, unable to continue sitting in the oppressive silence of the house.
Pacing back and forth, Allen’s mind continued turning over the problem of what his next course of action should be.
Sitting around all day on my ass is out, I’ll go crazy before an hour has passed. I can’t hold up in my home forever either no matter how much I just want to barricade the doors and have a nervous breakdown. I’ve got maybe two, three months worth of food in the house at most, and once that’s gone I’m gonna be in even more trouble than I already am. So what do I do?
His pacing went on for a time, for how long, Allen wasn’t sure, but finally he came to a stop, a determined look on his face. He had made a decision, it might not have been the best one, but it was the only one that he could think of at the moment.
Allen needed more information, and the only way he was going to get it was by going out and see what the local area had in store for him.
His course of action set, Allen set about making ready to leave. However, little did he know the ramifications that his actions would have upon him and those that he would encounter.