Gwyn groaned as the alarm suddenly began to belt his ears. It was the latest pop song; from some band he would never bother listening to if his radio station alarm didn’t play it. He quickly, or as soon as he could after waking up, rolled over and shut the alarm off.

Then, he lay in his bed for several minutes before finally sitting up. He sat still for a few moments until he finally swung his legs out and pushed himself up. Sounds of distant cars could be heard as others began their days. Gwyn had no desire to get started as quickly.

He slumped across his room to an old dresser. It was beaten and worn after many years of use, but he thought it had looked quite lovely in his youth. It stood near a box that he had never bothered to unpack, that acted as a stand for a small tv.

With a pull, the drawer of the dresser moved. It was more of a sudden jerk. Several items fell off the dresser—a textbook, an old running trophy, some cheap knockoff figure of an anime character, and a pamphlet for his school. He chuckled to himself. He had not meant to, but in the last few weeks, he had knocked everything that sat on the dresser to the floor. He stared down at the pile of junk. It would be a simple matter to pick it up, he would rather have the stuff in its proper place, yet he once again pulled out some worn clothes and left the room.

‘I don’t have the energy now’ is the excuse he echoed through his mind as he slid on an acceptable enough shirt and pants.

Without stopping his zombie-like walk, he grabbed a prepared paper cup of hot coffee from its automatic machine and slumped to his apartment door. His relatively short walk to school was about to begin, but he realized he had forgotten his phone as he exited the place.

Gwyn let his head fall as he walked back into the apartment to retrieve it. Once he had his phone in hand, he could finally start his day.

He wished he could have spent a minute longer in bed. He might have had an exciting dream; going to school was boring.

The sun warmed his skin, and a gentle breeze swept through his golden-red hair. He smiled, though it was a small smile, as he sipped his coffee. The morning struggle had passed, and he was starting to feel a little better about starting his day.

The surrounding area of his apartment was various shades of grey buildings and sidewalks, with the occasional small half-dead tree placed here or there. The street beside the sidewalks was a pothole-riddled blacktop, and banging from cars passing through indicated just how deep the holes were.

He took another sip of his coffee and pulled out his phone. A text had come through at some point during the morning routine. His mother was asking if he wanted to come down to see the rest of his family over the weekend.

Gwyn made an audible ‘hmm,’ as he thought. It was loud enough for a passerby to hear, and they turned to look at him, though he paid no mind to them.

After a moment of thought, Gwyn typed his response.

‘Sorry, I think I’ll be busy.’

He was not sure if he would be busy. The idea of seeing some family he hadn’t seen in a while seemed pleasant as well. Yet, he had no desire to go anywhere and simply felt lazing around might be more desirable. Gwyn wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but he sent the text all the same.

He shrugged to himself. The weekend was a couple of days away, and he could always change his mind later. For now, he would just let the day and people carry him like a leaf on the breeze. It was undesirable in some ways, but it made it easy for him to move through days.

As he continued his walk to school, Gwyn swiped on his phone. He stopped at a crosswalk and looked up. An old lady was making her way across the street. She was hunched and used a cane with every step she took. He looked up at the light; it indicated not to cross.

‘Crazy old woman,’ he thought to himself as the lady continued to make her way across the street. He decided to ignore it and lifted his cup of coffee to take another sip.

Loud honking caught the attention of Gwyn and the old lady. They turned in the direction of the sound. A large semi-truck greeted them with more honking as it barreled down the street. Gwyn thought the whole thing odd for a moment, but it quickly became clear that the truck would not stop.

He didn’t have time for another thought. His phone and coffee smacked against the ground as he sprinted into the street. The truck seemed to honk more intensely as Gwyn began his charge.

As quickly as he could, the young man scooped up the old woman. She was surprisingly light. He continued his sprint forward without missing a beat. A second slower, and he might have been too late. A misstep and he would have fallen. But Gwyn didn’t worry about the possibilities as the truck continued to move behind his back. He let the old lady down to her feet.

The truck continued its out-of-control rush into the distance. The news would later circulate that a truck had sped through several intersections after the brakes had mysteriously gone out, even though they remained in perfect condition. Videos later spread on the web, which ranged from simply reporting the story to conspiracy theories about it. Though Gwyn never checked to see all the mystery surrounding it.

“Thank you, sonny. I could have been in a real pickle there,” the old woman said with a slight cackle as she was gently set back on the ground. Her tone indicated a lack of concern, which Gwyn figured was due to her not comprehending how much in danger she was.

“Don’t mention it,” Gwyn said as he looked for more traffic. When he saw none, he ran across the street to retrieve his phone. His spilled coffee was beginning to form a small stream that drained into the sewer, and his smartphone didn’t fare any better.

It had a large crack across the screen, which made his face look shattered when reflecting his appearance. The screen didn’t turn on, no matter how many times he pressed the button. He sighed and slid the likely broken phone into his pocket.

Gwyn picked up the now empty cup. There would be a trash can on his way, so he could dispose of the paper cup there. He shook his head and took a step forward back to the street.

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It was at that moment he noticed the old woman standing directly in front of him.

“How?” Gwyn suddenly yelled as he stumbled back. He had thought he had left the woman on the other side of the street.

She had thin grey hair and a long misshapen nose, and her smile showed she was missing a few teeth. She was short, about half the height of Gwyn, though she might have stood taller if not for her hunched posture. Her eyes seemed to have a pinkish tint on the irises, and they stared at Gwyn with surprising ferocity. As if she was sizing him up for some odd reason.

“Tell me, sonny, where are you going on this fine day?”

"Just to class,” Gwyn shook his head to forget the strange moment before. He hadn’t had enough coffee yet, is what he settled on to explain her sudden appearance in front of him. It was the only thing that made logical sense to his tired mind.

“Class? Ah, a student. What are you studying?” she asked with an odd interest in his personal life.

“History,” he replied in a bland tone.

“Why history, my boy?”

“Started in electrical engineering, but I didn’t like it. I was already going for the history minor, so I just decided to switch it. I’m just trying to finish with a degree of some kind at this point,” Gwyn rattled off his usual prepared response. It was ordinarily good enough for the people that spoke to him.

“A history minor with engineering? Do you enjoy learning about the past?” she asked. Gwyn was surprised she bothered to ask more, but as he saved her life, he figured she was trying to be nice.

“I suppose you could say that. My friends and family always say I get too interested in it, well, except for my father.” Gwyn pulled out his phone to check the time, but the screen still did not come on. He was planning to not pay attention in his classes that day, but he still didn’t want to be late.

“How interesting, say have you ever considered going on an adventure?”

Gwyn closed his eyes for a moment. He had no idea what the old woman was thinking, but he just figured it best to excuse himself politely. He opened them back up and looked at the old woman who seemed to eagerly await his reply.

Adventure was an odd word, but he figured the old woman was a little off. She had been unaware of the oncoming truck and seemed blissfully in her own little world.

“Ma’am, I think it would be best to call and report that runaway truck. Then, maybe visit your doctor for a checkup. That was a lot of sudden movement, after all,” Gwyn reasoned. The old woman didn’t seem to care.

“That truck’s already been reported ten times over, and you need not worry about my health; I’ll live forever!”

Gwyn shook his head. The old woman wouldn’t budge. He would just have to excuse himself bluntly.

“I’m sorry, but I have to run. I might be late for my class.”

“Well, I’m glad we were fated to meet this day. You saved my life, sonny!” She gave up quickly, and Gwyn thought it best not to point out her ‘living forever’ statement from earlier.

“Glad to hear it, but as I said, I think I might be late if I don’t go now.” The crosswalk light switched to indicate that he could cross. He did not wait a second longer and broke out into a sprint. He was confident the old woman would not be able to catch up.

Gwyn made as friendly of a wave as he could as he ran to his class.

“Have a fun adventure, eh!” the old woman yelled back, but Gwyn was already too far away to hear her final words and cackling laugh.

Gwyn got to his class a minute before it started. He sat in a seat in the middle of the room and let out a deep breath. He leaned his head forward and pulled out his cracked phone. When it didn’t come on, he slid the shattered device back into his pocket and relaxed his posture. All he had to do was go on autopilot now, and the day would be over before long.

The professor came into the room and began his lecture. Gwyn didn’t bother listening at first. He was content with sailing through the class without a thought but tuned in a little later as the professor got on a tangent about the disappearance theories of a colony in the late 1500s. The rest of the attendees eventually diverted their attention as the class was supposed to cover math.

The class quickly ended from the professor’s perspective. To the students, it had droned on and on. Even Gwyn had eventually tuned the professor out completely when the discussion didn’t go beyond what he had read on his own. Many of them quickly began to shuffle out as soon as the time came to leave.

Someone grabbed Gwyn by the shoulder on his way out. He looked back to see one of his friends.

“Hey man, we’re planning to have a party just outside town tonight. Want to come?”

Gwyn just shrugged. He enjoyed a party as much as anyone else but wasn’t sure if he felt like going to one on this particular night. Though, some part of him wished he would have the energy to go.

“Same place as always?” he finally asked. Doing so would be enough to satisfy his friend, and he could see if he was in the mood to go later on.

“You know it!” with that, his friend ran off.

Gwyn was present physically at the rest of his classes for the day, but he stayed lost in idle thought for the majority of them. When the last lecture was finally over, he slumped back to his room and fell stomach side on his bed.

He debated what to do: homework, games, manga, or the party. In the end, he just rolled on his back and stared at the ceiling for a long while.

Eventually, he decided he should do something and quickly stood up off his bed. He slowly made his way to the kitchen and opened the fridge.

It was devoid of a good meal, at least of a meal that Gwyn wanted to eat. He reached for his phone; he would have to order for the night.

Unfortunately for him, the phone did not come on. The morning events and odd woman replayed through his mind, and he had to shake his head to rid of the thoughts.

"I guess I’ll go get something to eat,” he muttered aloud.

Gwyn left his small place and walked to the parking lot. With a click of a small remote, his car unlocked.

It was not a spectacular vehicle—an old beat-up car that was at least two decades old. His parents had bought it for him before he left for school. It was a going-away gift so that he would be able to get around.

Fortunately, he lived close enough to walk to school most days, so he didn’t need to drive it all too often. This arrangement worked out for the car, as it likely didn’t have too much longer in it as well.

Gwyn pulled out of the lot and onto the street. He contemplated where he could go. If he was already going out, he could go into a drive-thru. However, he recalled the party that had been mentioned earlier. While he had not planned to go to that particular party, he knew free food would be there. He also hoped that the party’s atmosphere might be a good change of pace.

Gwyn guided the car from the town’s streets to the highway. They always had their parties at the next exit, where someone had a place. It was a little out of the way, but no one complained since they could be as loud as they wanted.

Gwyn could have weaved through the city, but he liked to hop on the expressway to make it there. He accelerated onto the freeway ramp as the streetlights began to flicker on for the night. The moon was starting to rise in the sky, but the stars were invisible in the town.

Gwyn relaxed in his seat and switched the signal he was about to merge. He looked in his side mirror and turned his head for a second to see if anyone was in his blind spot. Then, he looked in his rear-view mirror just for good measure.

He almost lost control of the car as a face appeared from his back seat. It had large pink eyes and an alien complexion. Long hair seemed to flow from its head, but Gwyn didn’t care to pay attention to any other details.

The car swerved, and he tugged on the wheel to keep from spinning off the road. He looked back at the seat behind him, but no one was there. Though his heart was pounding, he made a sigh of relief as he turned back to the road.

What greeted him was not the road, however. Gwyn’s vehicle drove into a large volume of purple and blue-tinted energy. He pushed the gas and jerked on the wheel to escape, but it was no use. His vehicle began to sink into the mass of energy. In no time flat, it began to rise above his windows. The engine roared loader as he tried to escape, but his car was engulfed moments later.

Then the energy dissipated. It was gone with a small burst, and only a clean road was left behind. A couple of days later, the school news would run a story on Gwyn Black, a student aged 21, who had mysteriously disappeared. He had vanished without a trace.