3 A new world, a new life

Darkness, that was all James could see. He was floating in an endless expanse of nothingness yet he felt like he wasn't alone. Something was there with him but everywhere he looked there was just...nothing...a lot of nothing...an endless amount of nothing.

After a while he could see something in the distance, there was a spec of white. As time past, it grew and took shape, the shape of a person...a woman. As every second past the figure gained more clarity until they were face to face with James. Then she spoke, in a soft but worried tone.

"James...James...JAMES WAKE UP!"

James shot upright in the bed. He was in a small room with a beeping noise in his ear. To his left was a window that looked out over a different horizon than the one he knew and on his right was a heart rate monitor. What caught his attention was the TV in front of him that was muted but still showing the news. Pictures and videos of the meteorite streaking across the sky and then exploding came at him like a train. He began to remember his own encounter and he felt his chest but there was nothing. Not a bruise or a scar.

After being dismissed from the hospital, he barely spoke to anyone. He couldn't understand what had happened. He knew something hit him that night but what was it and why was there no trace of the impact in the garden or on his body. This question stuck with him for the rest of the day until he went to bed.

Sleep proved to be a large problem that night. Every time James closed his eyes his head was filled with images of war and screams and shouts that never seemed to end. It was at this point he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. He got dressed, climbed out the window and made his way towards the area he thought the meteorite had struck.

As he ventured further from home, the images grew in number and frequency. Every step made it more and more unbearable yet he was compelled by another force the urged him along. After 10 minutes of walking, James came across an abandoned construction site that was building a new warehouse. He used to practice his sword skills in the small maintenance hut with his father. They used to make up little challenges for each other until the day...

Suddenly, rain began to hammer at the ground and James made a run for the gap in the fence. Kicking open the door to the hut, he jumped inside and slammed the door shut behind himself. Breathing heavily, he started to walk to the opposite wall but stopped in his tracks as another vision entered his mind.

This one was more vivid and lifelike than the rest. There was explosions left, right, and centre and large coloured orbs were being thrown at groups of people. He could feel the heat of the flames as they erased the life on the ground. One person came up to James and started shouting in a strange language he didn't understand. There was a flash and then he was in a strange pod with loads of buttons, dials, and displays on the walls. Everything was shaking and all he could see out of the window was fire.

James awoke on the floor of the warehouse. The rain had stopped and it seemed to be morning.

"Finally, you're awake!" spoke a voice. James looked around trying to find the person who spoke.

"Who said that!?" shouted James.

"My name is Josie. I'm the one inside your head and we need your help..."