Terrain on The Horizon

The Beginning of the Beginning

A few months passed after Matt returned home from his vacation, and the Award Ceremony was less than a week away. He had always wished to visit Magdagrad by himself, and the time was coming. He booked a train ticket to the capital and packed his bags. Unbeknownst to him, this trip would be his first taste of political hustle culture.

The train ride was boring: all he saw were endless trees with the occasional city or two. Despite the scenery, Matt had made a good decision because the tickets were extremely cheap. The train ride was well over an hour long, but that didn't matter to him. The sound of the train traversing the rails made him sleepy, and so he drifted off into the sea of unconsciousness: a deep sleep full of dreams.

"This is Pilot Bravo-Echo reporting to ATC. Helicopter Juliet-16-Alpha has finished boarding and is currently on helipad Uniform-Romeo. Are we clear for takeoff?" A voice said into a mic.

"Affirmative. You may takeoff November-Oscar-Whiskey." The radio sounded.

"Over. Juliet-16-Alpha to the wild blue yonder!" The pilot responded.

"OK." The radio replied. A while passed until the next conversation began.

"This is Pilot Bravo-Echo. Juliet-16-Alpha is approaching the cruising altitude range." The pilot said. "10,095 feet... 11,246 feet. 11,437 feet... 11,538 feet... 11,729 feet... 11,910 feet... 12,000!!!"

"OK. Contact us again when you're prepared to land." The radio responded. A few moments passed before the helicopter suddenly filled with chatter.

"Operation Bye-Bye ST is a go. Check the doorways and engage the buttons, Papa-Charlie." The pilot ordered the copilot.

"Checked doors. Time to engage the buttons. Operation Bye-Bye ST is underway." The copilot responded. "Buttons are pressed. Keep flying, the Bye-Bye process will occur soon."

"What's Bye-Bye-?" A passenger asked before being silenced.

"Don't question it." The crew said. A faint countdown sounded in the distance.

"Bye-bye, Kimothy Streetlight!" The crew echoed. A falling sensation was felt as Matt's mind flew closer and closer to the ground, ending with a thud and a quick flash into dark nothingness.

"Is this a sign?" Matt asked himself after quietly screaming as he woke up from the strange experience. One part of himself was sure this would be part of his spiritual awakening and would change his soul, for the better or for the worse. The other part of himself was sure this dream was just a random collection of nervous signals running through his brain while he was asleep. He ignored his mind's conflict and got out his journal to record the dream.

"The time is 12:57. We're a few miles away from Tim Station and will be there shortly. As we approach the station, please stay seated until the train comes to a complete stop. Thank you for traveling with ROMRails today." The conductor said.

"Jeez, was I really asleep for that long?" Matt thought. He was angry at himself for wasting time but was glad that he got a rest and the train ride had gone by quickly. He waited for a while until the next announcement arrived.

"The time is 13:14 and we've arrived at Tim Station. Wait until the automatic doors open, and please gather your belongings and take small children by the hand as you disembark. Let the adventure begin!" The conductor announced. The statement was true: Matt's adventure was just beginning. He walked off the train and explored Tim Station since it was only afternoon and he had nothing left to do. He walked around the small station and came across a sign.

"KC Heritage Museum" The sign read. He searched for an entrance and found one. He walked through the doorway and saw yet another abandoned room. Heck, there was a chance it wasn't even abandoned: it's just that barely anyone wanted to visit there (except Matt.) He saw a few broken plaques on the wall and attempted to read them.

"This site is dedicated to Timothy D. It's also dedicated to his son, Timothy D., and his grandson, Timothy D. It's also dedicated to the rest of the family, specifically her parents-" The sign read, but it was cut off by lots of dirt and soot. Matt was intrigued at the fact that three generations could have the same first and last name, and he wondered who this 'her' could be.

He left the train station a while later and checked into a hotel to spend the next couple of nights in. The ceremony was only a few days away at this point and Matt was excited. He wondered if his parents would be attending, as they were growing old in a retirement home in MCPS Empire. Speaking of that, he remembered he hadn't notified his parents yet. He wanted to just send a text and call it quits, but something inside him resisted and told him to put his effort into this special occasion. So, he decided to write a letter.

The morning of November 9th, 2009 arrived a few days after mailing the letter to the local post office. Matt was up early; he knew it was time to fulfill his civic duty of attending and participating in government events. The event didn't start for another few hours, so he went out to buy a suit. Using a large fraction of his pocket money, Matt bought a beautiful suit. He went back to the hotel and made the finishing touches.