Dungeons & Disappointment

Chapter 6: Slimy Slavers

Sniff. I took in a big breath and sighed, slowly waking myself back up, just without the headache this time. And, unlike passing out from the poison berries, I felt a lot more well-rested. Every single sick feeling that had been plaguing me for the last day was completely gone, and on top of that, the rising sun was hitting my face just right, easing me into a wake-up. I yawned and stretched, popping some of my joints, and I stood up from my nice, cozy little spot by the stream. I looked around at the forest, trying to see if anything had changed, and towards the east, there was a large, black cloud that was rolling across the landscape, and I noticed that the air had a small trace of the smell of ozone.

"Oh Jesus," I said. "Hopefully that just blows past me."

A light breeze blew through the forest, and all of the leaves and limbs in the trees above me started to rustle with the wind. I looked back to the west, at the rising sun, and as I was basking in its glory and heat, the realization finally hit me.

Man, even in Connecticut, we never get this kind of sunlight. I thought. And these trees? And the plants? We don't even have these in AMERICA. And grapes that poison me?

I stared at the sun, trying to figure out what was going on, but, after a moment of shock, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out, and when I looked at the battery, it was still stuck at 95%, even after having been used yesterday and having not been shut down through the time that I had slept. I still had three bars of service, which was nice, and I had a missed text from Henry.

Hey man, the police were at your house yesterday. One of your aunts called them and reported you and your dad missing.

I called Henry.

"Hey man, what's up?"

"I just got your text. What the hell do you mean my dad was missing?"

"Well, apparently when the police got to your house both you and your dad weren't there. His wallet and phone were missing as well, so they came over to our group and started to question all of us."

I rubbed my hand through my stubby hair, trying to calm myself down. My dad was missing? How the hell did that happen?

"Did they find out what happened to both of us?"

"No, not as far as I know."

"Okay, also Henry, I might be going crazy, but dude, I'm pretty sure I'm not on earth."

"You wanna run that by me again?"

"I mean, there's trees and plants I've never seen before, grapes poisoned me, what more you need? I'm sure of it."

"Man, are you alright?"

I was just about to laugh at what he said, but in the back of my mind, there was a little growing thought that began to encompass all of the thoughts that were flowing through my head.

"I'm...uh, I'm not too sure," I said. "I hope so. But you ever see those multiverse moves?"

"Yeah, why?"

"What if it's like that?"

"....."

"Henry?"

"Yeah dude, I just hope it isn't like that."

"Me too man, now I'm gonna keep exploring and maybe try and find something today. I'll keep ya posted, alright?"

"I gotcha man. Take care of yourself."

"Alright man, bye."

I hung up the phone with Henry, then dialed my dad's number again and held it to my ear, hoping and praying that he would pick up the phone. The dial tone rang out over and over again, until there was a click, and the answering machine picked up for me.