I trudged forward, lightly readjusting the strap that almost dug into my shoulder. I took a moment to brush the hair out of my face, looking skyward at the sun that relentlessly beat down on my body. "Leave it to Florida to make even the best days a living nightmare…" I chuckled lightly, continuing forward down the road that I'd walked almost countless times this year.
A smile crept across my face, and my eyes lit up at the prospect of nearly three full months to myself. "Summer vacation…" My words seemed to escape my own lips without my volition. I turned the corner, my house slipping into view in front of me.
It wasn't splendorous by any means… but, we were still quite 'well-off.' My mom, dad and I all lived together in the three-bedroom, two-bathroom house. Granted, we didn't get 'well-off' just by chance. They were always trying their hardest at work so that they could retire early, or pay for my college tuition. That meant a lot of nights spent working late, which meant a small amount of family time.
I slipped the key into the keyhole, lightly turning it and throwing the door open. I tentatively stepped inside, scanning the living room before coming up short. "I'm home!" I shouted, my voice simply reverberating through the empty rooms. "Well… it looks like they're working late again." I whispered to myself, slinging my backpack from my shoulder and onto the couch.
I elected to clean out the monstrous pack at a later date. I walked into the bathroom and relieved myself. On my way out, while washing my hands, I looked myself in the mirror.
My name is Brad del Riccio. I stand at around 5 feet and 11 inches, and have at least some meat on my bones. My short brown hair barely covered my forehead and the back of my neck, whose color matched that of my brown eyes. I wasn't particularly popular at school- not by a long shot- but I was far from what most people would consider ugly, or even attractive. I was perfectly mediocre, as some might elect to put it.
After my little episode of looking at myself in the mirror, I turned and opened the door, walking down the hall, towards my room. I slipped my phone out of my pocket, looking at some of the messages that I'd gotten from friends.
Much of it was the standard fare- "See you next year, keep in touch!" I texted many of them back, saying that I would make sure that I did. I scrolled down further and further, finally reaching the one name that my finger hovered over.
"Tomorrow's Saturday…" An ear-to-ear smile plastered itself onto my face. "If that's the case, maybe we could go to the movies!" I clicked on the name, a small set of messages popping up. "Hey…" I read aloud as I typed, wanting to make sure that my message was perfectly clear. I deleted what I had written, shaking my head in a sort of mock shame.
"What's up, Amy?" I started again, scanning that small question alone for some kind of flaw. "I was wondering if you had plans tomorrow. After all, the film festival is starting at 1:00, so I was wondering if you wanted to go." I looked it over and over again, my finger hovering over the send button.
Finally, I let out a loud exhale, my finger nearly smashing itself onto the backspace button. "Jeez… that sounds totally wrong. Why is asking someone out so hard?" I whispered, looking to try again. I sat there for the better part of ten minutes, but my brain couldn't find a less-embarrassing way to do it. I exhaled loudly, throwing my phone over to my bed.
Sadly, it didn't quite make the trip, hitting the hardwood floor and skidding several feet before making a loud thunk as it hit something under the bed. "Oops…" I nervously laughed, hoping that my phone hadn't cracked.
I reached under the bed, feeling around with my fingers until I felt a cubed shape object in my hands. "Hm? Is this…" I leaned backwards, setting the box beside me, before reaching under once more and finally managing to wrap my fingers around the rubber of my phone's case. "There you are! Ah… not a scratch on you." I smiled, wiping it on my shirt lightly. I slipped it into my pocket, exhaling deeply.
I turned a bit, looking at the box that sat beside me. It wasn't a type of box that I'd seen often- it was a perfect cube, just as long and wide as it was tall. I looked on all sides, hoping for some kind of label as to what was inside.
I found no such thing, lightly grabbing at the top of the box, trying to pry it from the underside. It wouldn't so much as budge, causing me to look for some kind of tape or sealant holding it in place.
"Alright…" I whispered as my investigation had turned up no results. I held the box beneath my arm, pulling as hard as I could on the top. I began to see a faint purple light from inside as the lid came free, my curiosity only becoming piqued even more than it already had been.
The box lid finally came free, slipping from my grasp and sliding several feet across the room before it came to a stop. I picked the box up, looking inside of it. All that met my eye was a bright purple light that nearly blinded me. My head rocketed to the side, trying to shield my eyes. I set it down, opening my eyes back up.
"I suppose it's best left to Mom and Dad, actually." I laughed a bit, walking over to grab the top. I bent over, grabbed it, and stood back up. I turned on my heel, my eyes finally beginning to scan the room around me. Small purple tendrils began to snake their way around the room, each new movement grabbing my attention in a different way. The tendrils began to take shape and form, moving into a circle just below my feet. I wanted to run, but I was too mesmerized by their movements, too enraptured by their brilliance.
My moment of hesitation gave the tendrils a chance to snake up my legs, a burning coldness overtaking them as I began to squirm. "H-Hey! Come on, cut it out!" I yelled in vain, trying to budge. They slowly wound themselves tighter and tighter, moving up my body. I had already lost all control over my legs. I desperately bent over, grasping clumsily for the box that the light was pouring out of. I managed to grab the lip of the box, desperately scrambling to have it closer to me. I began to push with all my might in an attempt to crush it, but to no avail.
I pulled, twisted and yanked, but the box refused to give, simply allowing tendrils to pour from the box onto my arms, slowly solidifying them as well. "Get… off of me!" I spat, my torso convulsing as my last resort to free myself from the bindings.
I felt them slowly encase my neck, moving up my body. My cries of resistance slowly became muffled. My eyes took on the task of screaming, scanning the room for some last-ditch effort.
Finally, my vision blackened. I felt nothing but a cold silence, a void that held no form. Finally, all too quickly, my entire body was suddenly accelerating downwards, my eyes finally beginning to see again. My stomach lurched, trying desperately not to empty out everything I'd eaten since lunch. I was in total freefall, surrounded by a tunnel of purple, rushing lights. They dodged to and fro, weaving within one another to create a light show that simply captivated me. With a glance downwards, I could see that the lights came to a head in front of me, slowly narrowing until I would reach the end.
I quickly saw it approaching, my mouth opened to scream; my vision blackened, and my conscience rapidly faded.