Picture In Picture
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Jack Hessler loved his life in Mineral Town. He'd been living there for three years now, and it couldn't have been a better change from the stifling city life: The air was clean, the food was fresh, the weather was gorgeous, and the locals were as friendly as could be. Furthermore, the scenery was absolutely breathtaking, and there was a certain appeal about the gentle quiet that blanketed his farm throughout the seasons...
Throughout the months, Jack had fallen into a pattern - he always did love his patterns: Water crops in the morning, tend to his animals, chat up the villagers, and weed his fields at night. On occasion, he would head into Mother's Hill to ship a few wild grasses and berries he'd found, earning a little extra profit on the side between harvests.
Routine was his comfort, and Mineral Town was certainly quite routine in its daily goings-on. The villagers never strayed too far from their usual daily chatter, and every day, Jack found new wild items to forage for.
Time flowed in a way most unusual, but he never questioned it - why he'd stay indoors for hours but come out at the same time of day as when he went in; why he'd always wake up at exactly 6 AM each day; why the months seemed shorter, almost as if they were seasons; why he only needed to feed his animals once per day; why things sold for far more than their market value; why he only needed one daily meal to keep going; why sunrise and sunset seemed mere minutes apart whenever he stayed outdoors.
No, these strange occurrences bothered Jack little, if any: He'd learned to accept the oddities of Mineral Town, to come to see them as part of their charm. The constant loop, only ever changing so slightly and gradually... he'd never gotten that in the city. It wasn't so hectic. He made money easily, ate well, lived well, and didn't even have to bathe or go to the bathroom ever again. Everyone liked him! And best of all, nobody ever seemed to age...
Ah, life in Mineral Town...
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Fists pounded heavily on the wooden door, and a pleading voice called out:
"Are you there? Jack? Are you home? Jack! We're worried about you! It's me, Rick! Are you okay in there? We haven't seen you in months!"
No answer came... the door to the farmhouse creaked open, sending dust flying and scattering into thick cobwebs.
"This place is a mess," Rick Aberlen muttered, covering his mouth and nose. It smelled awful! It was so dark... the windows were so caked in dust and grime that only weak rays of sunlight filtered in. Ah, there he was - in a chair, facing away from him. He knew that blue cap anywhere. Nobody else in the village wore a blue cap...
"Jack! Why didn't you answer me?" Rick said, cautiously making his way toward the man. Silence. "J... Jack? Jack, are you... please, answer me!"
He reached the chair, and placed a hand on Jack's shoulder. And he screamed upon seeing what was in the chair.
It was, indeed, Jack: Jack's white t-shirt, Jack's blue overalls, Jack's brown boots... all tattered, frayed, and rotted. Jack himself was no longer alive. A grinning, dust-clogged skeleton sat hunched over instead, clutching in his hands a device whose batteries had long since run out. Rick stammered helplessly and whimpered, backing away and breaking into a run without even examining the device.
"HELP! Someone, HELP! Jack - he's... HE'S...!"
When Jack's body was examined, Pastor Carter received quite a shock - the device in his hands was a GameBoy Advance, and when he replaced the batteries and switched it on, a slew of most familiar faces greeted him. Eyes widening in shock and horror, he wiped the dust off the screen and read the words:
Friends of Mineral Town.
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