Do you know the feeling when you take a nap in the afternoon and don't set your alarm clock or phone to wake you up, so after a while, you wake up not knowing if it's the same day or the next day? Often, more tired than when you went to sleep, and depending on whether you're a spaced-out person, it takes a while even to figure out where you are.
Well, I didn't consider myself a spaced-out person, and I'm sure I set my phone to wake me up, so it couldn't have been more than twenty minutes, so why when I opened my eyes, was I looking at a clear sky instead of the ceiling of my apartment?
Was that a cloud in the shape of a tree?
What the hell?...
I could feel the grass against my neck and hands. I could feel the wind blowing on my skin. Sitting up and looking around, I could see that I was in some sort of clearing.
The only thing surrounding me within about twenty to thirty meters was grass, and then it seemed to start a dense and dark forest with the treetops blocking out the sunlight, the darkness between the tree canopy and the ground made it seem like something was watching me from within the trees.
I'm not a botanist; I know enough to make my daily salad and that I shouldn't eat a shiny mushroom, but I'm sure these trees weren't native to my country.
I could already feel my stress rising, and along with it, the panic of waking up in an unknown place. Pushing both down, I took a deep breath and got up.
"Okay, no panic, calm down and think," I murmured, trying to calm myself.
Due to the lack of the sensation of grass touching my feet, it seemed like I still had my sneakers on.
Looking down, I could see that yes, I still had my sneakers on. Looking at the rest of myself, I could see that I was still wearing the clothes I had on when I went to sleep, a pair of jeans with a simple black t-shirt.
Patting my pockets, I found my wallet, a half-pack of Halls, and something that shouldn't be there, my cell phone.
I'm sure I left it on the dresser next to my bed, so how could it end up back in my pocket because it was with me?
Picking up my phone and unlocking the screen, I could see that, contrary to what I expected, my 4G was working. But when I tried to call someone, it just said it wasn't possible, out of range or the usual messages. Only one frightening message read: "Not yet, Devas, wait a little longer."
Damn... of course, my name would be written there. Of course, my damn phone would tell me to wait a little longer. Ignoring the feeling of fear in my body telling me to throw the phone away, I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. But I could already feel the hairs on my neck standing on end, and the damn feeling of being watched didn't help at all.
Taking another deep breath, I tried to see if I could get on the internet. But unlike the "dinosaur" that appears when you can't connect to the internet, what appeared was a simple loading screen, a square with the number [80] written on it. I knew it was, or at least seemed to be a loading screen when the number changed from eighty to eighty-one, and then eighty-two, three, and so on.
I didn't know if I wanted to know what would happen when it reached a hundred, but it was wait and see or try my luck in the forest. And I really didn't want to try my luck in a forest, especially one I had no idea what awaited me inside.
Waiting a few seconds, when the number reached a hundred, my phone seemed to turn off and then quickly turn on, turning into my hand, making me drop it on the ground.
The transformation was quick; it went from a simple everyday phone to something futuristic, with neon blue lines glowing all over the screen and case, then lights came out of its front camera, creating something like a hologram.
(Congratulations, you've been chosen for the wonderful opportunity to be the greatest streamer that ever existed. You can have people from countless realities and universes watching you all the time. We'll even give you a rookie bonus. Isn't that incredible?!!!).
(Accept/Accept).
Was I going crazy? Did being a programmer finally take its toll and steal what little remained of my sanity? And what the hell kind of options are these? Yes and yes?
Taking a deep breath before speaking. "Did you bring me here?". No response. I touched the phone with my foot, and nothing happened, gathering courage, I crouched down and picked it up with my hand, making the light go off, and the screen returned inside the phone.
Alien? Magic? I'm sure this technology or whatever it is is way too advanced for current humanity. I looked at the phone, studying it; the screen was the same message, the same invitation no matter how much I tried to change it, even turning off the phone, it was the same invitation with the letters glowing in the same neon blue color.
I sighed resignedly; I had few options, accept this incredibly suspicious offer or try to go on without accepting it, but as suspicious as it was, my instincts told me that going into the forest without accepting it would be certain death.
"Well... I hope I'm right." I looked at the forest one last time, contemplating whether I should just try my luck just for two orange eyes, narrow like slits, to stare at me from the darkness, hidden among the shadows of the trees.
My fight-or-flight instincts kicked in, but whatever it was, it made the fight part want to pick up the flight part and run as fast as possible. It must have been only two or three seconds, then the eyes disappeared, closing and retreating into the forest.
I only realized I had started to break out in cold sweat and tremble when I felt the phone slip from my hand and fall to the ground, making a noise. Crouching down slowly, still looking at the spot where the eyes were, I picked up the phone and slowly pressed the (Accept) button.