The train rocked gently as it sped through the countryside, the rhythmic clacking of the wheels on the tracks blending with the soft hum of fluorescent lights. John leaned his head against the cool glass of the window, watching the fading orange hues of the sunset give way to the deep blues of dusk. It had been a long day. No, a long year. His final exams were over, his dorm was packed up, and he was finally heading home. The thought of a warm meal and his own bed brought a small smile to his lips.
The other passengers were a blur of faces, their quiet conversations and occasional laughter creating a comforting background noise. John closed his eyes, letting the fatigue of the day wash over him. He hadn't realized how exhausted he was until now. His mind drifted to mundane things-what he'd do over the summer, how he'd find a job, whether his mom would pester him about his lack of a girlfriend. He chuckled softly at the thought.
But then, just as the train rounded a bend, a strange sensation prickled at the back of his neck. It was subtle at first, like static electricity building in the air. He opened his eyes and stat up straighter, glancing around. No one else seemed to notice it. The hairs on his arms stood on end, and a faint hum-low and resonant-buzzed in his ears. It didn't sound like anything mechanical. It was almost… alive.
The train lights flickered once, then again, and suddenly they went out entirely. The hum grew louder, filling his chest, his head, his entire body. Panic set in as he clutched the armrests of his seat. The other passengers were gone. The train was gone. The world outside the window had dissolved into an endless void of swirling colors-blues, greens, silvers, and blacks, like a storm trapped within a kaleidoscope.
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"What the hell- "John muttered; his voice swallowed by the void.
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The hum became a roar, and then a flash of silver light consumed everything.
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When John opened his eyes again, he was lying on his back. The first thing he noticed was the smell-rich, earthly, wild, pine, moss, and damp soil. The second thing he noticed was the sky. It wasn't the familiar night sky he knew. The moon, impossibly large and glowing with an ethereal silver light, hung in the sky surrounded by constellations he didn't recognize. The stars seemed closer, brighter, as if they were watching him.
He sat up slowly, his head spinning. Around him was a dense forest, the kind you only saw in fairy tales. Towering trees with glowing blue leaves swayed gently in a breeze he couldn't feel. The air was thick with an otherworldly energy, and in the distance, he could hear the faint trickle of a stream.
"What… where am I?" John muttered, his voice trembling. He pushed himself to his feet, brushing dirt and leaves off his jeans. His backpack was nowhere to be found, and his phone, when he pulled it from his pocket, was dead. No signal. No battery. Nothing.
He turned in a slow circle, taking in his surroundings. The forest was both beautiful and terrifying. Shadows moved between the trees, but when he looked directly at them, there was nothing there. The silence was oppressive, broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves or distant animal calls.