Chapter Text
The first thing he consciously noticed was that his nose was itchy, and his back really hurt.
And of course, presented with this information, his first plan of action was to try to sit up as fast as possible. Naturally, as with cause and effect, a sharp twinge of electric pain ran right down his spine, resulting in an inevitable "Arghhh!!" which escaped his mouth through gritted teeth.
After a few moments in the fetal position wallowing in self-pity, the pain started to gently subside. He cautiously uncurled, still cradling his side tenderly.
With some amount of thought this time, he decided to attempt 'plan sit-up 2.0' with a new strategy: do it slowly.
Huh, that's weird, I don't usually do anything slowly.
The stray thought ran through his mind so fast he barely had time to register it.
He frowned at this, confused as to what he was thinking, yet lacked the motive to give any of his thoughts more than a moment's notice.
With this new prerogative in mind, he managed to sit up slowly, shifting tenderly into a precarious sitting position.
Blinking, the world around him gradually came into focus. His vision was still slightly blurry, but thankfully showed signs of increasing clarity with each subsequent blink. His ears were ringing too, making it hard to focus on anything. He shook his head in an attempt to pop them, and the ringing gradually dulled into something resembling an annoying hum.
That was when he noticed he was covered in straw.
What the heck?
His right hand moved to remove the straw from his lap and torso. Whilst shaking his head lightly, the straw flung off him haphazardly. He then moved to pull the little bits from his tangled hair.
"Damn, this stuff is everywhere."
Those were the first words he muttered aloud since he woke up, bringing to his attention how dry his throat was.
"Some water would be nice," he spoke aloud again, this time testing his voice, which seemed to be getting stronger with each word.
After gathering himself, he began to take in the environment around him properly for the first time. From this, he realized he was sitting in a large, messy pile of straw (no big surprise there since he was covered in the stuff). Not only that, but he was also smack-dab in the middle of what appeared to be some kind of weird ghost town. He dubbed it a ghost town because firstly, there were ghost decorations everywhere, and secondly, there was not a single person in sight. Like, literally. An actual ghost town.
"Huh, must be Halloween?" he guessed.
Looking around further, he noticed there was a big screen playing an old black-and-white movie to his side. Lights were draped across the roofs of surrounding buildings, and there were remnants of footprints in the muddy grass, which would all indicate some kind of Halloween celebration. Not to mention the excessive use of pumpkins. Yet, there wasn't a person in sight.
"Usually, I would have loved this kind of thing, but this seems a bit of an overkill in the creepy department." That statement brought a frown to his face.
"At least I think I would have loved it."
Actually, thinking about it, he couldn't really remember much of Halloween. He seemed to have this gut instinct telling him that he liked Halloween. I mean, who doesn't love Halloween? But he couldn't actually remember the holiday. At least, he couldn't remember himself ever participating. He could remember what it was supposed to be like, the costumes, the candy, etcetera, etcetera. But not with him participating.
All these confusing thoughts made his already fuzzy head hurt more.
"It’s probably just a concussion or something," he muses.
And judging by how he felt when he woke up, that wouldn't surprise him. Besides, he's got other things, bigger than a concussion, to worry about at the moment, like finding out where the hell he actually is.
Looking around again, his eyes search for someone or something in this deserted town that would give him a clue as to where he is. But if anything, he's even more confused now. There are a few shops in the distance and what seems to be a movie theater. Yet the movies that are being shown are none that he's ever heard of:
"The Parent Trap? Creepy..."
He can’t hear anything either, not a single ambient sound, not even an insect, or barking dog, which when you think about it, is just darn strange.
As if realizing the gravity of the situation for the first time, he tries to suppress an involuntary shudder, and panic starts to set in. His heart rate increases as a sick feeling sets in his stomach.
“Okay, okay, stay calm." He takes several big breaths, trying to calm himself down. Panicking will get him nowhere. Taking in another deep breath, he composes himself.
"Think dammit, what’s the first thing you’re supposed to do when you are lost?”
He tries to think for a second. Two seconds... Three seconds...
"Oh shit!"
His mind was completely blank.
“I have no freaking idea where I am!” he shouts into the empty town square.
He couldn’t even remember how he got here, let alone what survival steps to take when you wake up in a weird, deserted town.
"What the hell am I wearing anyway?" Just noticing his clothes for the first time.
It looked like some odd blue and white running outfit, with a lightning bolt streaked obnoxiously across his chest. His hair was all spiked up, and if he pulled it down towards his face, he noted it has a silvery tinge to it. It was like he was dressed like some bizarro Jack Frost.
His face crinkled in confusion.
"Who on earth dresses like this?"
Strangely, the adrenaline pumping through his veins seems to bring him some semblance of clarity and calm.
“Focus, man, that’s a question for later. Let’s take small steps.”
Sighing, he centers himself.
"Okay, what information do I have?"
He speaks again to no one but himself.
"I know I’m in some kinda creepy town."
He pauses, looking around.
"It’s nighttime, and there’s not a person in sight, which is soooooo creepy, by the way. Also, it’s Halloween. At least I think it is? It could be that the people who live here are a part of some kind of Halloween-themed cult, which hey, I don't judge, but the fact that there are loads of skulls and ghosts hanging around here gives me the impression that this wouldn't be the good kind of cult, more likely a 'freaky kinda cult.' What would they be worshiping anyway, ghosts? Do cults worship ghosts? Come to think about it, I actually have no idea what cults do, maybe they..."
He stops himself abruptly mid-ramble and shakes his head.
Okay, so the calmness may have been an incorrect assumption, more like the adrenaline seems to have kicked his mind into overdrive. Weirdly, it felt like his mind was moving at a million miles per second.
"What the heck am I even thinking? I doubt a freaky cult would have quite so many pumpkins laying about..."
It's not a cult, you idiot! He chastises himself internally.
He forcibly directs his thoughts back to the present. "Alright. Alright. You're just in a normal town okay? It's just freaky because it's nighttime and you can't hear anything because everyone is probably at home. Everything here is completely normal, yup sooo normal. There is probably a very logical explanation for why you woke up with no memory, facedown in a pile of straw."
Then a thought hit him.
"Oh shit, have I been drinking?"
He considered this for a moment.
"No, I'm not drunk" he surmised.
It wasn't likely, some part of him knew that hangovers weren't like this.
"Besides I can't get drunk" he mutters intuitively.
Again, he noticed how much of a weird thing that was to say. He can't remember why he would think that he can't get drunk. But like the outfit and the town, the question seemed entirely pointless. He, therefore, filed that thought, along with the rest, under the increasingly large 'to be dealt with later pile'.
He sat for a moment trying to plan his next move.
The night was getting increasingly eerie. He'd have to get up soon and do some proper investigating. Standing up with much more ease than it took him to sit up, he dusted off the remaining bits of straw that still clung to his shirt, and decided that the best thing he can do now was walk towards the town hall.
There was a road heading up past it, and In the distance, he thought he could see some residential houses. Maybe he could find some people there?
"I'll go knock on a couple of doors, and ask to use their phone. Easy enough. Maybe they can help me get home..."
After a second he froze. "Oh, man."
He realized couldn't remember his home either.