The Smartphone Saga: A Distracted Journey of Spells and Signals

Chapter 9 - Part 2: Eat Up

Startling awake, Jasson realized that he'd fallen asleep leaning on some boxes. On a carpet of spider guts no less. Amazing.

Doot.

Low power again, eh? Jasson thought. Same here. Man. I can't believe I passed out. You really can sleep anywhere if you're tired enough. How long has it been? Feels like maybe a minute, but I hope I didn't sleeping beauty this.

Jasson powered off his phone, the charge at a dangerous seven percent. Hands shaking, Jasson missed his pocket a few times before finally sliding his phone in. Slumping back, Jasson let out a dry groan.

Knock-knock

"Hello?" A small voice said from beneath the trap door, "Mister hero? Are you alive?"

That kid, Ethan. Jasson thought, I guess that they got worried when the stomping stopped.

"Y-e-" Jasson coughed, throat dry, "Y-es"

"Was that a yes?" Ethan's voice said.

"Y-es," Jasson forced out, "Wat-er."

"Okay!" Ethan's voice faded as he ran, "Ma! He wants a water..."

A couple of minutes later the trapdoor creaked open and Ethan poked his head up.

"Woow!" Ethan said, "There's so many! They're not as big as I thought they'd be though."

"You're not scared kid?" Jasson said, having wet his throat with spit, "Bring me the water then. It's hard to move."

"Sure," Ethan climbed up, "I'm not scared of spiders 'cause I think they're cool, especially how they fight each other when I put them on a stick."

"You're out of this world kid," Jasson took the water and drank. Now that he was getting feeling back in his burning legs it was clear that they had become soaked with entrails. Pieces of carapace stuck to his clothes like burrs and his shoes squelched with the blood of his enemies.

"Hey," Jasson said, "Would I be able to bathe here? I'm rather filthy. And I'd like to wash my clothes if you don't mind."

"Oh yes!" Ethan took the empty glass, "And mom is preparing a place for you for lunch."

"Perfect," Jasson said, "But first, could you help me up?"

****

Jasson stared at lunch as his hair clung damply to his head. This entire house was contradictions.

First Jasson attempted to hand-wash his clothes in a large brass tub and then placed them in a chest that dried them in minutes. Jasson then showered with hot water, yet he scrubbed with a rough lye soap until his skin forgot even the concept of a spider. Then he'd dried off with a rough homemade towel and checked his reflection in a perfect mirror. Now he looked at a set of beautiful wooden furniture and elegant metal plates topped with a banquet of familiar foods. Dinner for lunch.

"I'm sorry for the humble meal." The mother Elizabeth said, smiling demurely "Turkey is the cheapest meat in this season, although potato salad is a bit of a treat. We hope you enjoy the tomato chili on the cornbread, it's a family recipe. It's better than rice and beans for sure. I hope you enjoy the meal."

It's not even August yet, Jasson thought, and we're halfway to Thanksgiving. Just missing the stuffing and a pumpkin pie. This is an enormous amount of food for lunch!

Jasson had never been the best at school, and some of these items might have passed unnoticed. But this was medieval Europe. Nearly all of these ingredients didn't belong hundreds of years before Columbus. Had America been discovered early? Or did the foods grow naturally over here? Maybe Jasson had mistaken the time period he was in.