Chapter Five :

Investigating The Town /

After filling my water bottle with some ice water, I changed into a pastel green T shirt and bleached blue jean cutoffs. I put on my white high tops and set off for town. The walk only took about seven minutes, and the heat was tolerable since it wasn't high noon yet. 

When I first set foot on the town road pavement, a horrid feeling filled my body. It was inhuman fear and terror and panic and at the same time an unexplainable emptiness, like a black hole. I walked slowly past houses and little stores, trying to shake off what I felt. I looked into some of the houses and could see people gathered around their televisions, with the exact same hollowness in their eyes as my parents'. I could hear and feel a warped hum coming from the houses, almost like some weird hypnosis. 

I spent hours here, and now I was feeling hungry again, and the sun was starting to set. I still hadn't found any reason behind what was going on, but I still observed WHAT was happening. And it wasn't just about the people, either. 

The buildings were now laced with strange vines, huge blue leafed trees were growing between houses and out of the concrete, street lights flashed undescribable colors and made a buzzing noise, the grass was almost spiny, and alien flowers with prickly leaves and stems sprouted out of the pavement. 

Worst of all, the sky which had been normal since just this morning was now a deep rose shade, swirling with purple and orange. A huge glowing moon hung in the sky, much different from the moon I remembered. I had this dystopian feeling in my stomach when I looked up at it. 

I started home, humming something other than what I was hearing from all the stupid TV screens in people's houses. Little yellow flowers grew on each side of the dirt path, glowing and sparkling. I was so sick of seeing what my familiar world was turning into. I kicked up the flowers as I walked. 

When I got home, the sun was completely out of sight and four moons replaced it, their alien coloration illuminating my almost pitch black surroundings. A floral and earthy smell drifted from all around, and I was becoming really tired.

In my house, I quickly made some oatmeal and ate it while sitting on the floor in the hallway. I brushed my teeth and went to my room, I didn't bother changing into pajamas. I closed my window and laid on my bed, as my eyelids grew heavier and heavier...