Prologue
Ryan woke up face down in the grass. He sat up, looked around, and tried to remember where he was. He felt the rough facial hair on his face. Then he remembered exactly what happened. He couldn't exactly remember the transition period but he definitely remembered everything before. There was no point in dwelling on the past. There was no point in thinking about something that couldn't be changed. He had been here for no more than a day, and the only reason he even knew it had been a day was because he was wearing his watch. If it wasn't for his watch he never would have guessed because the sun wasn't on a twenty-four hour time cycle. Where ever he was it definitely wasn't home. Yet, it felt like home.
He looked all around him and only saw a grassy field in all directions. He walked for a full day and never saw anything other than grass. No trees, no water, no people. The grass didn't even seem like it grew, it was all at a short length in all directions. This place was as far away from home as he could get. He was completely alone. Everyone he cared about he left behind. Everyone he loved was gone. It was his second day here and if it wasn't for the small amount of food and a few bottles of water he had packed away in his bag, he wouldn't have enough energy to continue moving. But even then he had eaten all the food and had half a bottle of water left. If he couldn't find food and water soon then everything he had just done only twenty-four hours ago was a waste. There was a bigger threat that needed to be stopped, and he was the only one who knew about it. If he couldn't get out of this place then it would be the death of him.
The sun was high but thankfully for him the weather conditions had been perfect since he arrived almost as if it didn't change. He opened his bag and pulled out a photo of him and a woman that he had tried for a long time to forget. Her name had been Erica. He used to try hard to push her from his mind but this photo was the only thing left that he had to hang on to. If anything he needed to do this for her so that he could prove that it wasn't all for nothing. That it meant something. He held in his hand the one thing that would keep him going. He stuck the photo back into the pocket of his bag and his hand hit something heavy. He moved all the things he had stuffed in there over the years out of the way to see what it was. Once he had cleaned it out he saw it was the handgun he packed in there a long time ago. At the time he packed it he thought he would need it but over the course of the next few years he only pulled it out a few times. It's not that he thought that it was useless but rather that if he needed a gun he would just rip one away from someone else. He pulled it out along with all the clips that he packed with it and checked the clip that was already in there. Everything looked good. Since he no longer had his ability he would need this if he encountered danger, which with grass being the only thing he had seen in the last day, was highly unlikely. He hit the safety and then put it to the side and continued cleaning out his bag so that he wouldn't be weighed down. He came across several things he hadn't seen in years. There was a journal that he had tried to keep up with but in the end he found it pointless after the death of someone he cared about and stopped writing in it. There was no point keeping it if it hadn't been written in for five years so he threw it in the pile with the rest of the trash he found stuffed in his bag. He even found a ring down at the bottom of the bag that meant a lot to him at one point in time and if it wasn't for John stopping him, it would be at the bottom of the ocean right now. It was his wedding ring. Even though the marriage between Erica and him didn't last long it was still a great month that he would never forget. He refused to leave it behind for that reason and stuck the ring in his pocket. Then he found the thing that meant the most to him. Down at the bottom of the bag was a letter that had been stuck in a book he had been reading to make sure he didn't lose it. He pulled the letter out and decided to read it again.
"Dear Ryan,
I know it seems like things are falling apart and maybe they are, but you have to let me in. You're closing yourself off from not just me but everyone. I know you saw something that freaked you out but you have to talk me about it. By talking about it we can fix it. I'm here because I love you, not because it's what is expected of me. Let me say it again, I love you. I always will. You're the only person I want to be with. You're the only person I would give my life for. If you weren't here my life would be pointless. I would be nothing. So whatever you saw that night we can get through but first you have to open up. Please, for us.
Love,
J. B."
Ryan looked up at the sky. For a little while after he read this letter for the first time he did become more active like he used to be but he still never told her what he saw. Instead he lied to her. The only problem was he saw it again but this time she was with him. It messed with her head just like it messed with his. After that they both shut down. What was left of their relationship was falling apart. That same night he came up with a plan unlike any of his previous ones. This would actually work but it would separate him from everyone else. And now here he was, sitting in the grass in some place he didn't know. Sure the plan had worked but it wasn't over. There was something else coming. He left a clue for John so that they could prepare but Ryan had to find a way back if they were all to survive. There were not any second chances with this one. One mistake and they were all dead.
Ryan folded the letter back up and stuck it back into the torn envelope. Then he threw the envelope in the pile with the rest of the trash. Once his bag was clean he had a large pile of useless junk that was unnecessary. The pile consisted of the bottles that were now empty, a few wrappers from some energy bars, some old papers that were no longer relevant, and of course the journal and letter. He stuck his watch in his bag along with his half empty bottle of water. He didn't see the point in wearing the watch if it didn't give an accurate time here. Then he stuck the clips in the side pocket and the gun in the front so he could reach it at a moment's notice. He then put the bag on and began to run. He kept running until his legs felt like mush and he could hardly breathe. It didn't take long for him to finish off his last bottle of water. His time in this place was growing short. He needed to find help.
By the time he saw something off in the distance that wasn't grass it was getting dark. His legs were burning and he couldn't go anymore. It was time to call it a night. He took the bag off and fell down to his knees in the grass. He collapsed and tried to catch his breath. Then everything started to fade to nothing while someone came in his direction. The black fog kept him from seeing the person's face. Then he passed out.
Ryan began to dream about how he left them behind. Everything he dreamed came in small pieces. He dreamed of John yelling at him saying that "he was making a mistake". Another quick blip was seeing Jessica's face for the last time as he was being pulled away. The very last thing he dreamed before he woke up was the face of the man that started this train wreck. That was the point he woke up in a cold sweat.
He sat up straight and look dead ahead.
"Things are different now aren't they?" a voice said to his left. Ryan jumped. He looked over at the man that was sitting beside him. Ryan then began to think he was delusional.
"Daniel?" Ryan was speechless. "That can't really be you. You aren't supposed to be here."
"In my defense neither are you."
