And what I awakened to wasn't at all the world I remembered...

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My vision was blurred when I came to. I struggled to focus, squinting through the dirtied lenses of my glasses. It wasn’t until I took them off that I stopped seeing double. The world snapped into sharp clarity. My eyes widened in astonishment.

I could see.

Even without the glasses.

As I attempted to stand, my body betrayed me. I felt like a newborn giraffe, limbs uncoordinated and unsteady. Wobbling around, I sensed a change coursing through me. It was as if I had grown a few inches, distancing myself from my previous height of six feet six inches. My nails had lengthened, and my hair; the former two-strand twists had fused into more permanent coils. I ran my fingers across my face and felt the prickling presence of a grown-in goatee.

A surge of previously unknown energy reinvigorated me. I clenched and unclenched my fist, reveling in the raw power coursing through my veins. Impulsively, I began pacing around the room, my limbs responded to this action with newfound flexibility. My body seemed to have undergone a complete reset: my calves felt loose, my thighs filled with strength and elasticity. The rigidity of my joints was replaced with a resilient, springy sensation. I felt ready to bounce off walls.

Suddenly, a shrill sound pierced the air: SKSKSKSKSKSK! I froze, my senses heightened, and I surveyed my surroundings. On the windowed side of the room, plant tendrils invaded the building, unsettlingly abnormal. My curiosity propelled me toward the window, only to be met with a colossal vine obstructing my view of the outside world.

Something was wrong.

SKSKSKSKSKSKSK!

The noise echoed again, resembling the sound of feet stabbing into the wooden architecture. Slowly, I turned not just my head upward but my whole body, my back bent in a way I didn’t know was possible. There, suspended from the rafters, a monstrous creature met my gaze. Its elongated body was protected by a hardened, brownish-red carapace, while two long antennae explored the space around it. Hideous, sharp teeth hid behind its large mandibles. Thousands of stick-like legs allowed it to cling effortlessly to the ceiling. It was a dog-sized centipede, and it stared at me with menacing intent.

Our eyes locked, and the creature screeched before lunging at me. In that fleeting moment, fear and instinct converged. I leaped aside, and lost my balance narrowly avoiding the centipede's mandibles, though they still managed to graze my left leg, leaving a gash along my elongated shins.

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Regaining its balance, the centipede charged again. I moved instinctively, relying on my newfound agility. My untied shoes couldn't keep up, so they were swiftly discarded, dodging the creature's attacks in just my socks. The floor was warm and slick. The humid Florida air seemed to condensate onto everything. The current environment however favored me; the centipede struggled to maintain its grip on the freshly waxed slick wooden floor, sliding around in its attempts to strike. It seemed the creature had sacrificed dexterity in exchange for its increased size.

As my mind raced, fatigue started to set in. My movements became sluggish, and the centipede managed to inflict several gashes upon me. Escaping became paramount.

I leaped onto a desk, then onto another, then another, zigzagging my way to the top of the room, evading the centipede's relentless pursuit. I could hear the centipede behind me destroying every desk in it's path. Bursting through the door, I tried to slam it shut behind me. But the door proved futile against the creature's onslaught. Thousands of wooden splinters flew in all directions, piercing my skin.

Shielding my face with my arms, I gritted my teeth and pressed onward.

With every ounce of strength, I ran down the hallway, taking a sharp right turn. Bursting through the massive double doors that led outside, I slipped but didn't slow down as I skated outside.

But the threat persisted.

BZT! BZT! BZT!

The hair on my neck, forearms, legs, and chest stood on end. Instinctively, I ducked as a grotesque wasp, the size of a bullfrog, darted toward me, its stinger poised for attack. The creature moved with frenetic speed, buzzing like a relentless fly. Its first attempt at a sting flew past my head as I frantically defended myself. It quickly attacked again. This time however my body didn't react in time. The gashes I received from the centipede ached and I entered an almost paralyzed state. During this the wasp managed to strike me in the ribs.

I had been stung.

But in a stroke of painful luck, the wasp's stinger became lodged inside me. Seizing the opportunity, I clenched the wasp between my hands until it burst open. Its acidic juices sprayed across my skin, causing a tingling sensation as they sizzled and bubbled on contact.

I winced as I removed the stinger from my ribs, leaving behind a noticeable hole. A yellow liquid oozed from the wound, and a wave of dizziness threatened to consume me. Cuts covered my body, and toxins coursed through my veins. My mind struggled to comprehend the gravity of my situation. Death itself loomed nearby.

With a screech almost answering my anxious thoughts the Centipede burst out of the building behind me. It didn't take long to scan the area before it began skidding across the concrete to chase me.

The poison tried to stop me from escaping its pursuit but I quickly began running again.

Forcing myself to press forward, I navigated the pathways amidst the overgrown campus. Though the greenery obstructed my view, it hadn't grown tall enough to obscure everything. In my dazed confusion, she appeared—a girl waving me over. I fixed my gaze on her, tunnel vision guiding me through the darkness. It was like the end of a basketball game, you get so locked in on the ball that everything else seems to disappear. From the fans, to the opponents and even your teammates. With every blink, she drew closer, and every step felt like an eternity. Finally, I stood before her.

And once again, the world succumbed to darkness.