Chapter Text
Thunder boomed overhead as rain pattered harshly against the feeble tarp that threatens to cave in at any given moment. Neo was beside me, wrapped in a sweater, shorts, and two blankets. I was dressed similarly, although I have a better tolerance for the cold, and chose to wear pants. Another crash of thunder sounded overhead and this time, in the distance, I could see the flash of lightning.
I kept my focus on any leaks and other damages to the tent, but occasionally my eyes darted over to Neo, who had put on his headphones and was blasting music to drown out the sound of the thunder. Who knew that Neo—the guy who stood upon his desk Freshman year during Geography and yelled some cringy meme (that I have purposely blocked from my memory)—was afraid of thunder? It shocked me at first to discover this, since I had assumed that Neo wasn’t afraid of anything, or that he was at the very least too proud to show it. I guess thunder just makes him crack.
A small leak had formed at the top of the tent, leaking small droplets of cold water onto the floor of the tent. This snaps me out of my thoughts and I grab the duck tape. If it weren’t for the fact that my toes were probably blue from the cold, and I was shaking a considerable amount, I would’ve been complaining my head off about this situation. In my current state though, I didn’t have the energy.
The storm continued on for hours, and at some point I patched up the tent enough to make it seem completely covered in duck tape. I checked my watch, which read midnight, and I sighed. The storm started at around seven, right before we were going to have dinner. My stomach growled at me and I tried to shush it, not wanting the reminder of how hungry I felt. Although, the reminder of my hunger reminded me of Neo and I’s moms. Mrs. Plinth and mine. I was aware that the two of them have been having small snacks throughout the day, and usually don’t get very hungry because of that, so I wasn’t too worried about their state of hunger. Plus, they’re adults, they should be able to handle themselves. Right?
Another crash of thunder did not ease my nerves.
Eventually the storm died down, which by now it was two in the morning and I felt like a zombie. Neo had fallen asleep an hour or so ago, having help from his headphones blasting music. After I did another quick check on all of my leak patches, I lay down on my air mattress, not even reaching for a blanket or sleeping bag, and I shut my eyes.
Sleep comes easy, as expected when you’re exhausted and should’ve gone to sleep hours ago. In my sleep, I have a dream about my mom and I. It starts with us at this very campsite, except my mom looks younger. We’re sitting in small cheap camping chairs, staring out at the lake as the sun starts to set, casting a pink and orange glow across the water and tree tops. My mom is making jokes and telling stories, albeit I can’t understand a word she is saying. Despite that, I’m happy to be with just my mom, watching the sunset, and just being present. It’s rare nowadays for me to get away from school, or my job, to relax and enjoy myself, so this camping trip was a huge relief, despite the obvious thorn in my side that unfortunately had to come with.
Suddenly, the dream changes. At first everything goes dark, my mom disappearing from view, before I begin to fall. I can’t tell how fast, or far I’m falling, as the dark removes any sense of direction or depth. A panic starts to build inside me, threatening to burst through my lungs and out of my mouth. Then I’m laying in a grassy meadow, still alone. I sit up, still in a state of shock from the fall, and I look around at my surroundings. Green grassy meadows stretch for miles in all directions. The only other feature I can see is a large mountain with snow at its peak in the distance.
I stand, trying to regain a sense of self-control in this strange dream world. A second or two after I stood up, I heard my mother’s voice calling for me from a distance. I spin around, trying to spot where she is, but my vision seems to blur past six feet. Then, I see her. Or at least a vague silhouette of what I assume to be my mother. She’s running at me as fast she can, calling my name, wind whipping her long curly black hair back. The sun hits her face as she gets closer and the face seems to shift into something else. Or someone else…
The person who I thought was my mother is now directly in front of me, frantically shaking my shoulders and yelling my name. Once I can get my vision to clear, I realize it’s Neo’s face. I shove him off of me and sit up.
I’m awake.
Neo is staring at me with wide panicked eyes, chewing his lip nervously, and fiddling with the hem of his shorts. It feels warm and kind of human, but the tent seems completely dry.
“Took you long enough dude! I was shaking you for like ten minutes!” He exclaimed, leaning forward slightly. His hair falls over his face, covering his eyes. I blink slowly, adjusting to the morning light, which seemed strange. It was blue? I shook away the feeling of strangeness and stretched out my arms, yawning a little.
“Whatever, it’s not like you had to wake me. Could’ve just let me sleep…” I grumble, glaring slightly. My mother would chide me for this, but she wasn’t present at the moment, so it doesn’t matter. I can worry about my mother’s narking later.
“Uhm, yeah, I kind of did have to wake you,” Neo mumbles, glaring back slightly, but he still looks more panicked than anything.
“Fine, let’s say you did. What’s so important that I have to be up before breakfast?” I ask, moving around to start cleaning up my side of the tent, which was in great contradiction to Neo’s very messy and unorganized side.
“I don’t think we’ll be getting breakfast…” Neo states before unzipping the tent and moving the tarp out of the way to reveal what lay beyond it.
“What. The. Hell.” I whisper, not daring to speak any louder.
Outside the tent, the sky is purple. Not sunset purple. Purple. The trees seem to have a strange dark, almost black, trunk, and reach taller than your average redwood. The ground is covered in blue grass and blue bioluminescent mushrooms. The trees have white leaves with strange patterns that don’t match any trees I can remember. There are signs of animal life, like tracks in the dirt, or the obvious bird call from up above in the branches, their song echoing down to the ground. The bird song sounds similar, yet oddly different.
This is not Earth.
“Where are we? What happened? How?” I suddenly blurt, more questions daring to spill out as my voice rises with panic.
“Shh, it’s okay. For now. I woke up an hour ago or so and found us…here. I went outside and looked around for a bit. It seems generally safe where we are, and I even encountered a bird-like creature. I’m not sure how to explain it though, so you’ll just have to see for yourself,” Neo starts explaining. I look at him like he’s a madman. He only stares back with an intense look of I-am-telling-the-truth-you-dimwit.
“What about our moms?” I finally ask once Neo has stopped talking and I’ve built up the courage to say it. Neo looks me dead in the eyes before turning away, biting his lip.
“They’re gone.”