The Invisible World

Chapter 1: 867-5309

Heavy breathing.

That was all she could hear as she lay in the basement. At least, she thought it was a basement. That rectangular halo of light in the darkness far above her looked like it was coming from an upstairs floor. Where was that breathing coming from? Was it her own? Her brain was too foggy to tell.

She lifted herself onto her feet, her legs shaking beneath her. It was almost like she hadn't used them in years, but it didn't matter. She needed to get out of here and get home...wherever home was.

There was precious little light in the room. The only way she could see was through the door and through the window in the back. It must have been coming from a streetlight outside because it was nighttime. She'd just have to roll with it. She staggered toward the door. There must have been stairs leading to it. She reached out for a banister and lifted her foot in anticipation.

As she continued up the stairs, she heard other footsteps coming from outside. She stopped to see if there was someone who was going to open the door.

She wasn't, however, expecting them to shine a flashlight in her face. A male voice came through the blinding light. "What are you doing here?!"

She said the first thing on her still-fuzzy mind: "I don't know!"

The man turned off his flashlight and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about the flashlight. I've only had this house for a month, and I would hate it if I had a burglar." He held out his hand. "Let's get you home."

He...was going to help her? He wasn't just going to call the police? He led her out of the basement. The light stung her eyes. At least she had someone's hand to hold. When she opened her eyes, she was in what appeared to be the kitchen. There were cards laid on the table like a card game had been abandoned. There was another man at the table holding a hand of cards. He had black hair, a goatee, and a tired face.

"Uh, welcome to the Schulz residence," said her savior. She could finally get a good look at him. He looked unusually feminine. Or maybe he just looked like a teenager. Either way, his round, clean-shaven face gave him a gentler appearance, and he had let his light brown hair grow out to his chin. "Here's my buddy, Brian."

The other man, Brian, lifted his hand in a quick wave.

"And I'm Jack."

"Nice to meet you, Jack." She sat down in one of the open seats. Jack, not really expecting her to sit down, sat back down next to her.

"So where do you live?"

She shook her head. "I'm not sure. Everything's a blur."

"Well..." Jack leaned forward onto the table. "What do you remember?"

She sighed. "The first thing I remember is waking up in this really dark place. Like, it was pitch-black. I can't even call it a room 'cause I think I was floating. The only thing I could see was this hole with light coming through it. All I could think to do was make my way to that hole. There was no gravity. I had to, like..." She moved her arms as if she was swimming. "Swim through the air to get to it, and then I crawled through, and then I was in your basement."

"So...you're not a burglar?" Brian asked.

She sighed. "No, I'm not a burglar."

"But you're not a houseguest, either." Jack got up and walked toward the phone on the wall. "What's your parents' phone number?"

She put her hands on her temples. "I can't think of it right now. My brain's still a little foggy."

Brian began singing, "867-5309!"