What is a zipper? A zipper pulls material together to close gaps in said material. Now, imagine that the material being zipped up was your skin.
Matthew's surroundings were a blur as he felt an intense pressure on his back, like a zipper pulling his skin together. He screamed, his eyes shooting open. "WHAT IS GOING ON?" His back continued to convulse, muscles trembling beneath him.
He could feel every muscle beneath his skin twitching uncontrollably. The pressure on his spine intensified. Each breath came in ragged gasps, his pulse racing as panic set in. His mouth opened, but only a strangled groan escaped.
His eyes darted around. James, Caden, and Dekker knelt around him, fear etched across their faces. James clutched an almost empty bottle of something pink. "Just hold on, Matthew! This will help!"
Matthew's brain felt slow and foggy, thoughts scattered like leaves in the wind. "I can't... What is happening? Why is everything spinning?"
For a moment, Matthew wished he hadn’t woken up. The silence around him felt like a weight pressing down, suffocating him in its emptiness. He had never felt so alone. Not in this world. Not ever. He missed his family. Wanting something to distract himself, he opened his eyes slowly.
He was lying on one side of the wagon. "Are we...moving?" he murmured, trying to sit up. But as he did, the world began to spin again. He inhaled shallowly and allowed himself to lay back down.
He heard a distant voice echoing in his foggy mind; Matthew could barely parse each word.
“Try and lay still. You have lost a lot of blood. “James’s voice cracked as he spoke, the guilt palpable.” I should have noticed the wolf before it got so close.” He couldn’t meet Matthew’s eyes, his fingers nervously twisting the hem of his cloak. “I’m sorry, man. I really am. "
Somewhere in his mind, he understood that what he said made sense, but it felt like a vague idea more than a thought. James continued. "What attacked you was also a wolf, but it had turned into a monster. It must have had some sneaking ability, but that is just an excuse."
Matthew's thoughts were assembling into a sentence, and he said it with ragged breaths: "It's…ok….how...am I alive?"
The color of the world was like a kaleidoscope as he looked at James, so he closed his eyes and just listened. "I gave you a potion; it stops the body from losing more blood and helps the body heal slightly faster; it also gets rid of pain and most other feelings."
"Thanks," Matthew said; for the rest of the ride, he just tried to focus on staying awake.
Although he won the battle to stay awake on the way to the town, when they got to his inn and lifted him with each arm around their shoulder, he felt the world shift, growing darker.
Matthew remembered being walked into the building, then his memory cut to the hallway and finally his room where he was laid down on his lush bed.
He sank in, opened his eyes, and watched Caden leave the room. James stayed behind and pulled out the desk chair, slumping down in it. Seeing as Matthew was lucid, James spoke in a still worried tone. "What a hell of a day. That is about as bad as adventuring can get," he looked down at his hands, "I hope this doesn't ruin adventuring for you; I'm going to let you get some sleep, but keep in mind that I would still like to show you the great side of being an adventurer."
James walked around to the door before quietly saying. "I'm so sorry." With those words swirling in his mind, Matthew fell into a dreamless sleep.
When Matthew finally woke up, a sense of warmth washed over him, replaced quickly by a pang of hunger. He sat up too quickly, the world darkening momentarily before settling back into focus.
He looked down and saw a large bandage wrapped around his bare chest, a similar one on his right arm. Poking at it, he felt pressure but no pain. Curious, he began to unwrap the gauze, revealing a large scab that came off quickly, leaving new, pink skin beneath. "So smooth. What about my back?"
As he reached behind him, a sharp sting shot through him, making him straighten his back involuntarily. "Ow, not doing that again."
Matthew glanced around his room. It was neat, but something felt off. A chair sat next to his desk, facing him, and his room looked like it had seen people come and go multiple times. His stomach growled; it felt like he hadn't eaten in ages. It was a worthy reminder to hurry. He placed both feet on the floor and stood up slowly.
Pain shot through him, but he steadied himself against the wall; Matthew threw on some clothes and made his way to the mess hall. His vision swam momentarily with each step, but he focused on taking the steps slowly.
Matthew had woken up late again. Only a few people were in the mess hall; one of the people was Caden, who was sitting alone on one end of a table. Matthew ordered some pancakes, and once they arrived, he sat across from the man.
Matthew was expecting an insult, a joke, or at least something from the man, but they sat in silence as they ate their meals slowly.
Caden eventually finished eating. He stood up and picked up his plate. Taking a step, he turned. In a low voice, he muttered, "I used too much power trying to show off. I put myself in danger, but you were the one who got hurt. I'm sorry." He then walked to the counter and dropped off his plate before leaving.
Shocked, Matthew held a fork of pancake midair as he stared at where Caden had left. "I guess he can be nice." He finished his meal and went back to his room.
A single window allowed light in; he opened it, and a nice breeze flowed in, making him feel alive.
Matthew sat at the desk, hands trembling slightly as he pulled out a piece of paper. He didn't have anyone in mind to write to, and there was no audience or end goal. But Matthew wrote anyway, it felt like all he could do to keep the growing pit in his chest from swallowing him whole.
Matthew wrote down everything that came to mind: the strange new world, the dangers, the faces of people he barely knew. Then, the worries, the ones that never left him, started to pour out. He filled the page with his fear, confusion, and the ache of uncertainty.
When Matthew finished, he stared at the words, his vision blurring for a moment. With a deep breath, he placed the paper and pencil into his inventory. Writing usually helped and allowed him to see things more clearly, but this time, it had only seemed to stir the unease in his chest. His fears felt heavier now, like stones pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe.
Matthew collapsed onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. "It's been long enough," he whispered to the empty room. "I have to accept that this world is real. How did I even get here? It feels like I've been here forever… but it's been less than a week."
Matthew thought back to the night before his life got flipped upside down. He clung to the memory, desperate to recall every detail. The Fourth of July. Fireworks. Laughter. And then the fight. His throat tightened as the memory clawed its way to the surface.
They'd been nagging him again about settling down and finding a girlfriend—like it was that easy. "You have been living alone for three years now; you know there is more to life than your projects."
He had exploded, "You're barely part of my life anyway anymore. Why don't you just leave me be?" He'd walked away like it didn't matter, like none of it mattered. But now? Now the regret gnawed at him, a constant reminder of what he had lost. And for what? To prove a point? His phone had buzzed with voice mails afterward—apologies and concerns—but he hadn't answered. Why hadn't he answered?
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Tears stung at his eyes, and he let them fall this time. The pain gnawed at his back, but worse than that was the ache in his chest. If he’d just listened to them "I should have called them back," he choked out, his voice cracking. "I should have." But the words caught in his throat, and all he could do was lie there, wishing he could return for just one moment. Just to hear their voices again.
A little while later, Matthew took a shower. Afterward, he looked out his window. He could hear the town; people were walking by, wagons were rolling past, and children were playing and running down the street.
He opened his inventory sheet. Two milestones and his broken blade were still there; he sighed. Looking out the window again, he decided to take a walk.
Outside, the inn was bustling with people. He turned toward the market and started walking. He passed food stalls and came upon the wares part of the market. Most of the market catered to adventurers; he could see how the city required adventurers for its revenue.
One building had a wrench logo on a sign out front. This building caught his eye since it was the only one with a glowing sign. Matthew walked inside and was greeted by machines of all kinds. There were shelves lining the walls with different-looking tools on each.
He walked over to a shelf with smaller tools and looked them over. The tools were strange, like relics from an ancient world mixed with futuristic oddities. It reminded him of home, and yet it was nothing like home at all.
He heard a voice call out to him as the person approached. "Is there Anything I can help you find? Or is there any problem I can try to invent a solution for?"
Matthew turned. A woman walked up. She had messy blonde hair covered in a greasy substance. She had gray eyes and wore a one-piece suit that seemed to be made of heavy, rubbery material.
As Matthew tried to comprehend what she was wearing, she pulled a smooth stone out of a pocket, and the large suit seemed to retract into it. It made a wet slurping sound as it did so, leaving a rubbery, burning smell in the air. The stone started smoking; even though she wore a glove, she still tossed it on the ground.
The stone smoked for a few seconds before catching fire. The girl watched it and sighed. This is the third time it's caught fire," she said, a touch of pride in her voice despite the smoke rising from the floor. “But that's progress.”
With the suit gone, Matthew could see she was wearing overalls and large rubber gloves on each hand. She also wore large boots that came up to her knees. The women watched the fire briefly and then looked back at him. "Hi, my name is Aubrey. Like I asked, is there anything I can help you find?"
Staring at the device whose fire was turning blue, he shook his head but said," I just was looking around town. What was that? Oh, and I'm Matthew."
Aubrey smiled, "That was my invention; it will eventually increase strength and speed by supplementing the person's muscles with what is almost an overcoat of material that acts like extra muscle." She reached out her hand. Then she noticed she still wore her glove and removed it before offering her hand again. "Nice to meet you. You never know when there may be a reason you strolled into our shop. Would you mind for a tour?"
Matthew shook her hand and smiled. "That sounds awesome."
Aubrey showed him around while talking: The main shop mostly sold inventions used by commoners. In the back were tools that adventurers could find useful. Furthermore, he could hear metal clanging and machines whirring in a connected workshop. Seeing his gaze, she led him in.
"This is where the magic happens! Our Inventors try and create new solutions or tinker with ideas." Three people were currently working at different stations in the room, which was a mess of tools, parts, burned wood, and holes in the floor.
Matthew smiled at the semi-familiar environment. He enjoyed building computers at home, soldering boards, and messing around with tech of all kinds; this was just the kind of place he felt at home.
Aubrey continued to show him around, eventually bringing him to her desk. Her eyes glowed with excitement as she showed off her creation. "This is the invention you saw earlier fail. I made it to help people with heavy tasks, but I hope it can help older people and even paralyzed people when I'm done.
My issue is that every time it is stored, it overheats. It is supposed to be able to transfer the heat to the outside and passively cool, but the material traps the heat, causing the Milestone to burn up."
She tossed it to him to look at. The device was shaped like an oval, the device fit in his palm easily, and was made of shiny gray metal. "Is this iron?" he asked.
Aubrey took the device out of his hand and hit a piece of metal with it. A loud clang rang out, and when she pulled the device away, the piece she hit had been deformed, but not the device.
She smiled. "My device is made of steel, while this piece I hit is iron. I thought that steel might not be destroyed if I used it, unlike iron, but nope, that didn't work."
Matthew asked. "How do you normally cool devices?"
She slumped down at her workstation, pulled a piece of paper over, and started drawing. Aubrey drew what looked like a fan that moved up and down, blowing air toward a device, then said. "Cooling with air seems to help. We have noticed water works even better, but water doesn't react well to the energy we use to power these."
Matthew thought about his computers and how they were cooled. "What if you added a heat sink?"
She just stared at him, confused, so he continued. "A heat sink transfers the heat away from the source; the ones back home usually were made of copper,"
She looked at him oddly, "Copper?" he nodded. "We usually use that for decoration because of the color. It is rare and incredibly expensive since rich people usually buy it for their houses."
She ran her hand through her hair and thought, "I'm going to try that. You know you seem to have some interesting ideas. I bet we could find a spot here if you wanted."
The idea seemed absurd to Matthew, and he laughed. "Me? An Inventor?" She just smiled at him. "Are you serious?" he asked.
"Yes, I am," she said without delay. "But I now have a new expensive idea I need to test, so I'm going to try to convince my boss to buy me some copper."
Just like that, she left. Matthew smiled at her boisterous attitude and walked himself to the front. He looked around for a little longer before making his way outside.
It was starting to get dark, so he made his way back to the inn. He ate dinner, put on the night clothes laid out for him, and lay down muttering to himself.
“Could I really become an inventor here?” The thought seemed ridiculous initially, but the more he considered it, the more it felt...right. He'd spent so long tinkering with technology back home. Maybe this was his chance to create something new, something that mattered.
I'll think about it tonight, but I may return tomorrow and accept her offer." He smiled, closing his eyes as he continued to think of all the tools and ideas that he could bring to this world. Then, slowly, he entered the tired world of dreams.
He was dreaming about going shopping with his family. In this dream, they had forgotten the eggnog, but it was still the day before Thanksgiving, so he was driving around with his family to pick some up.
The world seemed to rip away from him, leaving him in a dark, empty room. The air felt chilly, but that feeling quickly went away when a wave of heat and pressure rolled over him. Matthew heard a masculine voice.
Hello Matthew, I would like to tell you something.
Still reeling from the abrupt end of his dream, Matthew felt his brain start comprehending everything around him. He looked around, trying to see if this was just another part of his dream, but eventually, convinced, he asked, "Why tell me anything?" The voice sounded tense.
I want…no, I need you to be an adventurer. Like any transaction, I am willing to give you something that you would like.
"An adventurer..." he scoffed. "What interesting timing you have; you must have known I was contemplating a different occupation."
Matthew frowned, starting to feel annoyed. He crossed his arms as he said. "What if I don't want to do that."
That would be
The voice paused.
Unfortunate, unlike when you talk about something restricted, if that is what you choose, I won't stop you, but I would like to offer what I can to convince you if possible.
Matthew considered it for a long time and then decided to ask, "What information are you talking about? I will not do this on blind faith that you will eventually tell me something."
The darkness seemed to shift, and a pressure that Matthew didn't know was building was released as if the room itself had released its tension, the voice said.
I can tell you what happened to your family and help you learn more about this world.
Matthew felt his heart sink, and his mind ran a million miles per hour. "Why had I not thought of that? How would I be the only one that was taken to this world? Is my family already dead?"
He swallowed as he asked, "Is my family alive?"
The voice changed from hard and strict to more fatherly.
They are ok, for now. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you more than that right now. What I can tell you is that not only your future but also my own rests on your shoulders.
Matthew sighed heavily. "Th-Thanks," he stammered. "Why me, though?"
The voice changed back to its analytical tone.
Chance more than anything, that is the limit to what I can say for now.
His mind screamed for answers, but something about the voice made him hesitate. Could he really trust it? But with his family on the line... could he afford not to? He said. “Ok, what do you need me to do?”
The voice started growing more distant as the presence also receded one phrase echoed as it disappeared.
Grow stronger and survive.