The multiple sudden changes all caused a frozen second in which Ozzy was able to evaluate the situation for just a moment longer before reacting. The hiss was actually more of a squeak now that he could focus on it. It also wasn’t so much that he couldn’t see as it was just darker wherever he was now. Dark enough that it at first appeared there was no light at all, at least in comparison to his own little square floor. Now though, he could make out the dim outline of another square below him. Overall it appeared the lighting here was closer to a moonless night.

There shock gave him enough time to allow his vision to fully acclimate as he was soon able to see the source of the squeaking. A rat about the same size as his foot was up on its hind legs screaming at him as if he’d just woken it out of a nap. Ozzy was forced to again reevaluate his previous estimation of himself. Strangely, even though he’d already assumed it was a mouse or rat from the sound, seeing it standing up and screeching like that forced his body to move where he’d previously been indifferent.

The movement his lizard brain decided on was an immediate large backward step. Normally this would be a great idea but he wasn’t exactly sure how that would work out with his new predicament. Seeing the bright clear sky and his recliner reappear beside him brought a sigh of relief. Followed by the now seemingly ubiquitous moment to calm down. It was silly how worked up one got seeing a rat. Shaking his head Ozzy took a step forward again, figuring the rat would already be gone by now, as they usually run off when scared.

His foot didn’t land on uncomfortably damp grass though, instead he did a less than graceful fall onto the side of his square and then flopped painfully on the underside. He sat there for a moment thinking. There’d been no turning around. The step he took was in the same direction he’d initially gone. Then again he’d gone over the same side of the square before and flipped to the bottom several times so it wasn’t unrealistic he’d end up here again. Whirling himself once again to the topside he stared once more at the side he’d jumped off of. He shouldn’t need to jump as the step backward took him back here just as easily as the jump had taken him there.

It had to be something else. Some other trigger. Possibly intent? That was a pretty strong likelihood. He’d been hoping, wishing, and praying himself out of here when he leaped into the unknown. And, the return step had been fueled by his lizard brains need to get out of dodge. Psyching himself up he vehemently wished to be elsewhere and stepped forward. The feeling of soaking your socks had never made him happy before but this time it made him cheer. “YES!!” he shouted, quickly followed by “FUCK!”.

Apparently the rat had not only stayed put, but also decided to forgo the warning this time and instead went on the offensive. Evidenced by the pain in his toe. Again instinct took over and Ozzy kicked his foot violently which was followed by a “Squeak” Crack, and silence. Whatever this new set of places was, it seemed intent on twisting up his guts every few minutes. The feeling was mild though as he didn’t feel to bad for a rat that had just attacked him.

When his eyes had adjusted he moved his foot and peered down. Confirming that yes he had squashed the rat and no it was not alive. Other than that the place wasn’t much to look at. There was dew covered grass as he’d felt through his soaked socks and it was growing in some healthy looking soil. Somehow it didn’t surprise him that it was also in the shape of a square about a meter to a side. Squatting down on the edge he felt on the underside and it also had the same odd feeling of opposed gravity.

A quick jaunt to the underside showed an interesting change. Unlike his square, this one was identical on its other side. Well not identical, just a patch of grass, minus the aggressive rodent. Returning to the top side Ozzy noticed another difference from his square. The sky wasn’t empty here. There were stars.

It took a moment for Ozzy to realize he’d frozen. Longer than it had when he was in danger. It was far longer before he realized he’d been worked up to the point of tears, and longer to calm back down than it took when he’d first woken up on a recliner suspended in emptiness. He wasn’t sure how long he sat staring at the starry sky. In fact he hadn’t realized he sat until he had to fish the uncomfortable rat carcass from under his backside. Leaving him awkwardly holding the deceased body of his only compatriot as he went through his emotions.

There were not many as he realized his life hadn’t been that long on earth. He still wasn’t sure, or didn’t believe he was dead, but he knew he wasn’t on earth anymore and didn’t know when he’d see anyone again if ever. Eventually Ozzy got up. He didn’t feel better nor were his feelings resolved but he felt a bit hollow. Similar to his adrenalin rush and subsequent depletion he guessed whatever neurochemical or pathways facilitated sadness had been overwhelmed and couldn’t render him useless anymore.

Getting up he wished for his square again and took his step. When his feet crunched down into grass again his heart almost skipped a beat. The light around him and recliner before him reassured him that he was back. But, there, under his feet was another square meter of grassy soil. Abutted against his own starter square floor as if it belonged there. It was only then that he realized he was still holding the rat carcass. Which in turn caused him to drop it and scrub his hands along his jeans.

Padding over to his recliner he took off his soggy socks and sat down. First he checked his injury, but as expected the rat bite had only just broken the skin. As long as it didn’t get infected he would be fine. He didn’t get up though. He needed a minute.

There were only so many changes a man could handle all at once. This was an interesting change though. One he could use if he figured out how it happened. He’d killed a rat and gained a square. The math didn’t exactly add up but nothing else here did either. Pulling out his notebook and pen he made sure to codify his thoughts.

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1 rat killed 1 square added

Putting away his pen and paper he grabbed his pocket knife. Flipping out the different tools he thought about his options. He couldn’t really fight a rat with this thing. It was far too small and he bet the rat would end up biting his hands before he could use it effectively. Speaking of, he needed to do something to protect his feet. Which was something this tool could help with. He pulled out the tiny scissors and grabbed his blanket. A frustratingly long time later he had two squares of fabric which he wrapped around his feet and then put his socks on. It wasn’t a ton of protection but would likely hold against a few rat bites.

With his “armor” and frayed nerves he was ready to face the beasts in the dark again. “Heh” he half heartedly chuckled to himself and stepped forward to the other square once again. He was about to attempt another step further into “elsewhere” but he heard another squeak. He didn’t have much time to ponder but wondered if he’d ended up on the same square or somewhere else entirely. Looking down he realized he’d forgotten about the light level difference and could barely see a thing.

He blindly stomped where he thought the rat might be but only heard an even higher pitched squeak followed by a shuffling of the new covers on his feet. This time he stomped with better awareness and was rewarded with another stomach churning chorus of “Sque..” Crack and silence. Looking down he confirmed the rat was dead, now being able to see a little better, but as he did so noticed a branch on the ground. Not huge but, something he hadn’t seen before. Grabbing it instead of having another dead rat to deal with he stepped back to his squares.

Upon his triumphant return he was excited to see the results. Surveying his kingdom revealed that he was still the proud owner of two measly square meters. ‘Not the plan… but, not a setback either’, he mused, putting a positive spin on his outlook. ‘And I did learn something at least’ He added internally. Pulling out his notebook he corrected his previous note

2 rat killed ^ 1 square added

1 Rat carcass returned

There was more testing to do but first he examined the branch he’d found, swinging it about. It felt pretty solid. A thwack or two against the ground confirmed it wasn’t crumbling. But still not super useful against rats, at least not compared to his current method. A good stomp seemed to be all he needed. Well, maybe two or three if he wasn’t so great at aiming. It was odd that these rats didn’t try to run and instead attacked. Maybe they’d never met humans before.

Which brought up the question of why he was attacking rats in random square meters of soil. He didn’t really have a good answer for that other than, he needed resources to survive. He couldn’t sustain himself on a few hard candies and a single square meter of hardwood, or a second square meter of dirt. Maybe he could find something worthwhile to plant in these squares somewhere, and in the meantime while they were not ideal, rats were edible. His stomach nearly turned again at that thought, but maybe he could find something else sooner rather than later.

With that thought he prepared himself with his eyes squeezed shut to better acclimate to the darkness, then stepped back into the void. This time after a moment his first stomp hit the mark. He tried not to think about what he heard when he did. As this time the stomp didn’t finish the job. Another did bring silence but it wasn’t that much of a relief. He checked the ground for another branch, not just the topside but the under as well. There was no branch to be found, but there was a dandelion. He pulled it up and grabbed the rat as well before stepping back home.

The scene that greeted him wasn’t what he’d hoped for. There were still only two square meters he could call home. With a branch, a rat carcass, a recliner, and a blanket to call his own. ‘Well now two rat carcasses’ he thought as he dropped the second next to the other. Wiping his hands once more he huffed and sat in the recliner.

So killing the rat didn’t do it, bringing it back didn’t do it. What could have given him the square. He reclined the chair and closed his eyes letting his mind wander and mull the problem over. Maybe only the first one did it. Although that didn’t mean more wouldn’t. Possibly ten? Just a complete guess. Who said base ten was a significant system here. He really had nothing better to do though, and he was trying to ignore his growing hunger.

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Seventeen rat carcasses were now piled on the soil square. Ozzy sat on his throne, surveyed his two meters square of land, and panted. Even learning the pattern of the rat to the point that a single stomp was all that was required, killing eighteen rats was tiresome. Especially when accounting for the other piles. There were four dandelions, two more branches, two rather large flat rocks and what looked like an onion.

He’d also found a puddle on one of those squares of dirt over there. While he hadn’t yet built up the courage to eat any of the rats he sure slurped up the water from that muddy puddle. Thirst really gets to you after a long night's sleep and several hours of work without even a sip. His body felt worn out like he’d been running for a full day. He leaned back and covered up again. He couldn’t quite fall asleep but he let himself rest for what felt like an hour or two.

It was his hunger that got him up. Initially he started cutting up a rat for food having a plan with the branches to make a fire but began to wonder how long he’d actually let these rats sit for. They didn’t really stink like rot but they did smell terrible. Although now that he was thinking about it he could probably at least use their skins for something if he really was here for good. So he still continued to skin the rat he’d started with. It was as he was struggling peeling back the skin from the abdomen that he felt a little plop onto his lap. ‘Gross’ he thought as he reached to toss the guts away, but stopped when he saw what dropped seemed to be a blue coin.