System

Hello Homo-Sapien or Earthling, in response to your message, the system is responding to relay information on the coming apocalypse. Please wait as your system is initialized and information is downloaded.

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What?! Download?? Initialization! No! STOP!!

System

Initialization is vital for survival.

Am I having a mental breakdown? What is going on? Words don’t just appear and respond to your thoughts. This can’t be real life. Maybe I’m in a coma?

No, Ella, calm down. Take a deep breath and breathe. You can do this! Think it through rationally. Whatever is happening isn’t going away. So this is either a dream and I AM in a coma. Or it’s really happening.

If it’s really happening, what’s my next step. I keep breathing deep and regular making sure I am getting sufficient oxygen. I could be experiencing hypoxia and that’s why I’m hallucinating.

However unlikely that scenario I seriously consider it along with anything else that could cause hallucinations. I’m not a doctor but my googlefu is strong. I quickly get on the internet via my satellite wifi and pause. My homepage was set to global news updates. The world fell apart more every day.

What I see immediately causes trepidation. It’s not just me. There’s a massive headline about how multiple people are going to the hospital and claiming they are hallucinating. Others claimed they were seeing blue boxes.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Deep breaths! Breathe, in and out, count to five inhale, five exhale. Good, again.

System

Sufficient experience demonstrated. Skill learned: Lesser Meditation- mana and healing skills augmented while in use.

Okay, keep your eyes closed. Let’s try the pinch test. I grab a chunk of skin on my arm and squeeze. OWW! Well it hurt so I don’t think I’m in a coma, this is real. I need to plan. What’s the first step? I rub my forehead hard as I try to think past my panic. I keep using my breathing technique and my thoughts start to calm. Alright here we go…

First step call your parents while you pack everything away so you can drive. Second while doing this, try to get the boxes to go away. Third … figure that out later.

Call mom. Before I could place a call, my phone started ringing. Mom’s name appeared on the screen and I immediately picked up. “Mom! Is everything ok?” Her response sends chills down my spine. “Ella, are you seeing anything not normal?”

“Umm, maybe?”

“Ok, so are the rest of us. We aren’t sure what is going on. Your Dad is calling your siblings and telling them to come home. You’re the only one so far away. Are you coming home?”

“Yes, I was getting ready to call you while I packed up everything so I could get on the road. I have been dry camping in the woods. It will take me a minute to get my outside stuff put away and make sure the fire is out.”

“Come home as soon as you can. We are concerned about what will happen in the rest of the world with what is going on.”

“I’ll be on my way as soon as I can. Will you guys be safe on the farm until I get there?”

My parents owned a forty acre farm on the outskirts of Grove Hill, AL. It was a huge expanse of land that had been in our family for generations. Most of our extended family had moved away over the years so it was just my parents and their kids with a couple cousins in the nearby towns.

“We have sufficient for our needs. Although your Dad is talking about going into town and stocking up while he can on anything he can.”

“It might be a good idea, until things calm down, it probably won’t be safe to go into town.”

“That’s what he is thinking. After he calls everyone else, he will probably get your brother’s to go in with him.”

My call with my mom continues, since she doesn’t need to call anyone else. As we talk, I start packing up my hammock and outdoor furniture into my class C trailer to take back with me. So far everything seems quiet in the forest but I hurry.

Soon everything is packed up and all the slides are pulled in. While I packed up and talked to my mom, I lost track of Max. Normally he stays pretty close, but all of the sudden I realized he wasn’t right next to me.

I start calling his name while my panic rises. I need to leave but I am not leaving without my dog.