The Spatial Engine

CHAPTER 3

Craig's eyes shoot open in a panic. The last thing he'd seen was a stranger standing over him in bed, before the stranger fell to the floor and disappeared in an instant. As if they had blinked out of existence. Then everything went dark for him, as if falling but not at the same time. His senses come back and suddenly he finds himself lying down and quickly wakes up from whatever it was that just happened to him.

He calms down for a few seconds, thinking it to be just a bad dream, until he finds that the sheets on his bed aren't the ones he remembers them being. Then slowly, a creeping realization sets in and his heart begins to race again as he looks up and realizes that this was not his bedroom.

Glancing around, the room is dim, but he knows it isn't his room. Nothing looked even remotely like how his room had looked. His eyes continue to scan his surroundings, there's an odd sense of familiarity he gets beneath his layer of confusion, before his gaze is drawn to something standing next to the bed. He hadn't noticed it at first glance, since it'd been so dark, but now, he could clearly tell it was a person. A person that was watching him.

His heart rate skyrockets in fear and reflexively he quickly moves away.

"Who are you?! What do you want?!" he exclaims, his back pressing against the wall on the other side of the bed.

The person raises a hand.

"Stay back! Don't come near me!" Craig quickly says.

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you," came the reply of a male voice.

"Did you kidnap me?" Craig asks, warily.

"Kidnap? No. I didn't kidnap you," the person says, seeming confused, "I don't even know how you got here, honestly..."

"And where is here exactly?"

"My room," there's a pause, "my house."

Craig glances around, debating on if he should try for the door or not, but when he sees the mysterious person start to walk towards it, he changes his mind.

"What do you want with me?" he asks.

"What do I want?" the person repeats, then flicks the light switch on, "Nothing."

Craig freezes in place as soon as the light turns on and reveals the mysterious person to him. There was something about this person, this guy's appearance, that seemed very familiar to him. Something that was oddly scratching at the back of his head, but couldn't quite put his finger onto as why. The internal panic and confusion in his situation certainly didn't help with sorting these thoughts out either.

"What's your name?" he asks, almost feeling compelled to.

"Kenny."

Craig freezes again. The odd sensation of something creeping up his back and causing the hairs on his body to stand on end slowly spreads. Vaguely starting to wonder if he's still dreaming or not.

"Right, well... Kenny, if I'm not being held here against my will, can I leave then?"

"Sure," Kenny shrugs and moves away from the door, "although I don't know if you'll be able to find your way around or not."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see."

Craig isn't sure what that cryptic reply means exactly, but he slowly gets up and walks to the door. He makes his way through it and enters into a hall. The strange sense of familiarity grows as he makes his way through the house and to the front door. Kenny follows from a few feet away. Craig isn't sure if it's to keep an eye on him, or to help him should he need it. But he makes it outside with no issue.