Buzz buzz, buzz buzz.
Frank checked his phone, exhaling a cloud of smoke. His notifications were telling him that his delivery driver had picked up his food, was nearby, and had dropped off his food all at once.
"Shitty app, you're not supposed to push those all at once after the food gets here!" He sighed and got up to grab his lunch from the porch. He decided he'd spend part of his last paycheck after getting laid off from work on some good weed, and deliver something tasty for lunch. It had been sitting unattended for about 8 minutes, but it was still plenty warm when he picked it up. Tasty, unhealthy, fast food junk for lunch. What more could a young 24 year old recently unemployed bum like him ask for right now?
"A job, a house, a sense of responsibility" his parents would probably say. But Frank didn't want all that, he just wanted to skate by in life and worry about it all later.
"What's the worst that can happen?" He thought as he sat down at his desk and opened up a video to watch with his meal. Bad news, he'd be out of a job for up to a few months or so and would have to tighten his belt. Good news, he gets a little vacation before he starts another job. He wasn't worried in the slightest. The video was from some kind of conspiracy theory channel. The host was ranting and raving about strange funding set aside by the government in an emergency meeting, weird readings being reported by scientists regarding the sun and mini earthquakes, and of course strange lights being reported in the wilderness. Fun to watch, but a total crock of shit. The way this guy was freaking out, you'd think it was the end of the world! And the comments weren't much better.
Frank finished his lunch, closed the conspiracy video and opened up a game, taking a few hits off of his weed pen while the anti-cheat was taking its sweet time to let him into the game. He was playing one of his favorite games, one where the characters were all overpowered superheroes that could face off against armies of monsters.
Frank wasn't the best player, he didn't go crazy breaking world records or making videos on the best builds to put on whatever character class, but he enjoyed it and it was own little escape from his easygoing life. At least, until the internet cut out.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"Aww cut the shit! There's no way the internet gives out now, I'm almost at the boss lair!" The game was frozen, seemingly a result of lag or the game server cutting out. But normally if such a thing happened there would be a message somewhere in the chat on the bottom of the screen. This wasn't normal. Maybe his computer was overheating? It wasn't out of the realm of possibility he had somehow downloaded a cryptocurrency miner by accident, though he wasn't sure how, seeing as he didn't visit the dodgy parts of the internet where that could happen.
To take his mind off his flow state being interrupted, Frank took another big hit off his pen. He picked up the package for the cartridge and gave it a look. The art was some sort of artsy impression of a hyper-realistic eyeball, and the strain name was written in a font that made the letters look like some kind of melting ooze. 'Revelations', it was named. Frank exhaled and suddenly had a bad feeling he couldn't quite name.
That feeling was quickly replaced with fear as he realized the smoke he exhaled didn't move much after leaving his mouth. About a foot from his mouth it settled into a thick cloud and didn't dissipate into the room like normal.
"Oh God, oh damn, oh son of a-" the startled man locked up tightly in fear, afraid to get up. Just what the hell is going on? "Did someone spike my weed? There's no way..." He was certain he'd never experienced anything like this, to have time seemingly freeze around him. It couldn't be!
He pulled his phone off the table, shaking like a leaf. He pressed the lock button on the side of the device to wake it up, but it didn't respond, just a black mirror reflecting his terrified face back at him. A spinning motion towards his bed put his digital alarm clock in view, one he'd had since he was a kid. As far as he knew, it still worked perfectly, so he stared at it, counting the seconds. He counted to 60, then to 120, and 180. 3 Minutes and more passed without the clock shifting forward even one minute.
'Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, this is bullshit! This is the worst trip ever, I'm gonna kill whoever spiked me when I'm back to normal!' Frank thought, unsure of what to do next, 'God, what drug even makes you think time stopped? I've never heard of it!'
From deep inside his skull and all around him, Frank suddenly heard a ringing noise. Almost like a bell or tinnitus, but constant and almost calming. He could feel it wash over his body from head to toe, and then a sudden and quick pressure made a 'pop' in his head, followed by a voice.
"Frank Lepari, contact has been established. Be not afraid, you are in no danger"