Chapter 1: "Daydreams...NightMares."
The Bus ride was uneventful, for starters.
In fact…it was more than that. It was dull. Boring. It always was.
Admittedly, Charles hated this part of his day the most. The only solace he had was the fact that right before him, the in-built entertainment system in the seat before him was playing the current news on the local news network.
'"And in recent news: Seacrest Cities Weather…
Today can be expected to be cloudy, with brisk weather in the mid to upper 50's, and winds of 5 miles per hours. It will feel more in the mid 40's due to wind chill today, with a small chance for rain, sleet, and flurries of snow in some areas…"'
'"…No new developments on the recent development of violent assaults and or suicides that have been affecting some areas of the city…while officials are claiming things are under investigation, no new word of any breakthroughs, or suspects, have come out…'"
And just like that, the news has gone right back to the same headline that has irked him once again.
'{Ugh, it's always like this…this will be the only thing they talk about for the next few weeks.
Either something else bigger and badder will come along, or, it'll drop into obscurity.
Either way…it'll all level out to the usual sameness.
…Kinda neat that Unc was right about the snow, though.}'
Charles let himself be distracted in his own thoughts as he peered outside the bus windows…a snowflake drifting by for a brief glimpse of a second. Then another…and another.
The light snow caused James to stare out the window…
Drifting off into his own deep, uncontrolled subconscious thoughts. He was Daydreaming.
Daydreaming. While many adults claim to not dream in their unconscious hours, many of those SAME adults still daydream! During daydreaming, the mind will often focus on a subconscious thought, or an idea, or even a desire, and play out the imagery in one's head.
The further into the day dream, often, the more vivid and clear the images produced can be seen in the mind, to the point it is as if one was watching a movie.
some people are able to daydream so completely, that the real world seems to disappear, into this waking dream!
However, some daydreams implement reality…and can also be as lucid as a normal, sleeping dream! They can even, in certain cases, become nightmares…
"ZZZZKKKKKKXXXXXXXZZZKKKXXXXXKKKKXXXXX-"
"Hm…?"
As Charles lazily gazed towards the Buses in-built entertainment screen on the seat in front of him…he notices the screen has gone to static.
'{Weird…}' he thought to himself,
'{these things don't just go to static like this…did I flip the channel?
no…there's no remote. huh. And nobody else is complaining? no announcement form the bus driver neither…'}
Charles would sit up, lazily leaning towards the screen to start flicking at buttons…seeing if he could readjust the entertainment system.
When he does, though, the entertainment systems volume increases without control, loud enough to be heard from the front end of the bus! it was then that the screen suddenly showed an image trough the static-
The same news network, and announcer, but this time, on the screen behind the anchorman, was a blood red eye, a glyph, and the screen was frozen.
"What..The…?!"
Charles moved back in his seat, looking around in rapidly growing concern..
Before he makes the mistake of looking out his window…which has the same glyph covering it, the snow suddenly BLINDINGLY heavy, covering everything else, as the entertainment system jumps in volume again, but this time, the static gives way to an electronic, but clearly male, SCREAM.
…then Charles blinks.
and everything is as it was before.
"Stop 32A, Stop 32A.
Please exit if your stop is 32A."
"…w-what the hell…was that…?
…My stop-"
Charles looks around, quickly regaining his bearings, before getting up, hearing the stop-
his stop-
Announced.
He hurriedly exits the bus and steps outside, walking into a mall, the sign "HENDERSONS PLACE, A Seacrest City Mall", introducing visitors happily, to the same mall James is an employee for.