It was a rather wet and rainy day when Eli Richards made his way through the soaked streets to the nearby supermarket. Let it be the day of all days to forget meat on shopping day. Luckily, the supermarket was a mere five minute walk from his house, if that.

“Just think of the best chicken of your life when you pick this up! Don’t think about the rain in your shoes!” Eli was muttering the mantra to himself.

The sounds of the sliding doors were a god send to him. He didn’t look his best at the moment, black hair all slicked down from the heavy rain. His shirt and shorts clung to him as he attempted to wipe his shoes on the mat. For a rainy day, it was still very warm.

“Hey Eli! Caught in the rain were you?” An elderly store greeter waved to him as he entered.

“Heh, yeah could ya tell?” Eli attempted to push some hair out of his face as he approached.

“Oh you poor dear! Bring an umbrella next time so you don’t catch cold, okay? Do it for me?” She was so sincere.

Offering a warm smile, Eli nodded.

“I’ll remember next time Miss Kana! Don’t worry about me!” And with that, Eli was off to the back of the store in search of tonight’s dinner.

The selection was still pretty vast. It was still the middle of the day on a weekend so most of the chicken was still available. Picking up a packet of thighs and bagging them, Eli made his was to checkout.

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The thought of basil and garlic chicken thighs made his mouth water as the grocer bagged his food. Offering another wave to Miss Kana, he geared himself up for the long run back home.

“You be careful out there! I don’t want any cars hitting you!”

“I’ll be on the lookout! Later!” And with that, Eli booked it out to the parking lot.

Did it seem like the rain let up for a bit? It wasn’t raining as hard as it was for sure. Regardless, Eli kept his pace. He didn’t really know too much about chicken except you couldn’t eat it raw and it tasted great with garlic. He had a feeling that he still should get it home as soon as possible.

“If I had a bike, this wouldn’t be so bad…but biking in the rain…” Eli was thinking to himself again.

Suddenly, the clouds started to open up in the sky. The rain turned into a drizzle atop Eli’s head. He halted to a slower pace to marvel at the sudden change of weather.

“Eh? That was quick. Summer rains I gue-

CRACK

A flash of light was the last thing Eli saw before his vision blacked out. A blackened circle remained where he stood, the chicken lying bare on the ground.

From around the town, lightning fell from the sky. The erratic pattern of the bolts frightened many back inside their homes. It didn’t last long, only for a minute or so. Once it was all over, the rain stopped for good and people ran to see the aftermath.

As it stood, there was no property damage to report. A few smudges on the pavement didn’t call to cause concern right away. It wasn’t until a mother on the other side of town, who witnessed her daughter be struck by lightning, started to cry out. After a while, others started to notice that more and more people had disappeared into thin air after the storm.

Spirited away to another world…