The truck rattled to life after a few moments of turning the key forcefully. This truck is the same one I had in high school. It still works, for the most part; I was one of the few to be given a brand new vehicle during my senior year. That was a long time ago. In fact, I haven't seen my old friend in so long. I put the vehicle into gear and began to drive back home. Well, what I call my home.
To most other people, my house is a cheap one. It only makes sense, one bedroom houses aren't the most expensive things in the world. I don't give a damn. There is no reason for me to own a bigger house. Ever since my divorce, things haven't really affected me. I hated that bitch. She got me drunk, and then tricked me into getting her pregnant. Of course, she coaxed me into marrying her. Fuck her. She took everything from me. As soon as we broke up, she took me to court. Of course, I was caught off-guard and had no lawyer. That made things easy for her; she became the domicile parent. Every month, I have to pay child support for the daughter I never see. I wonder if Drew has anything going on.
Speaking of Drew, I haven't seen him in years. I remember how close we were back in high school. Those were the days. It was so fun hanging out with him. I wonder what he's been up to lately. Probably more fun shit than me, that's for sure. I remember the day he transferred out of high school.
He came to school, acted like everything was normal. He told me good morning as usual when I picked him up. Everything seemed perfect. He was all talkative like usual, but he was acting kind of weird for a bit. He would state things philosophically, and had a vaguely stoic attitude—even when he talked to his girlfriend. Towards the end of the day, I asked him if he'd like to hang out. He told me he couldn't. I was never given a real reason besides "family". The next day, he didn't show up to school. At that point, I began to worry. He wasn't the type of guy to just skip school. After a bit of contemplation, I brushed off his absence. He was probably sick. However, the next day came, and he still didn't show up to school. The following night, I received an email from him. He said he had moved, as a result of his mother's last wish. He told me to tell his girlfriend good bye. After that, I never heard from him again.
Every so often, I'd try finding him online, but to no avail. He never used those kinds of things. He only played games, nothing more and nothing less. Trying to find him was impossible. He had no family around here, so there was no one that knew of his whereabouts. Nobody knew what happened to him. Everyone just went on as though nothing happened—except me. I had lost my best friend, and he would never be replaced.
After a few minutes of silently driving along the weary road, I noticed an odd light coming from the trees. There were no residences around here for miles, plus it's a no-hunting area. Why was that light here? Not only that, but it was incredibly bright. I shutdown the truck, and walked towards it. It appeared to be an orb of light. Whatever, I'll just leave before something weird happens.
As I turned around, the feeling in the air changed. It tensed up, and gravity began to shift towards the light. I clawed at the ground to stop myself from being lifted into the air, but I couldn't get a grip. The light sucked me in, and my vision flooded with white. No longer was I suspended in air, but wind was rushing past me. Slowly, the whiteness began to fade and there was a sudden increase in color. A vast expanse of blue was revealed to me. It was gorgeous, watching the round clouds move about the air so peacefully. They rolled silently over the deep blue ocean, casting large shadows upon it. Beneath me was a large island that seemed to be completely isolated. It seemed so small from here. But, slowly it grew larger. Then, I realized I was plummeting towards it. I plunged rapidly towards the earth, as my senses went blank.
If you haven't figured out who the narrator was this time around, shame on you. Even though I last mentioned him in chapter 7, it's quite easy. He's the only human in the story that has some importance besides Drew.