1 Ch.1 The encounter

The pain won't stop and all I hear are her cries from somewhere in the room.

I woke up drenched in sweat and tears running down my face. Those screams are still in my head. They won't leave and it's annoying. It was just a dream, but why did it feel so real. I sat up, and stared at my plain grey room and slumped out of my twin-sized bed. My head hurt but I didn't care about it, the pain doesn't bother me. I looked in the small mirror on my wooden door.

My name is Ian and I'm a 17-year-old dropout. My hair is dyed red, but black hair strands are growing through the red. I stopped growing 6'2 and I'm pretty sure I'm shrinking every year. I live on my own in a cheap apartment in the outermost part of the city. I live in Kansas, Overland Park. It's really beautiful here at night so sometimes I'll take a stroll when I can't sleep.

My family owns an airsoft company, where you go and shoot your friends with pellets. Sounds fun I know. I see it every day when I'm working there, but the pay is good and I get to spend time with my parents and siblings. On the days I don't work I buy groceries and other essential things in my life. I'd say I was happy but that'd be a lie. I've never been in love or a relationship and I used to get kicked around in school and outside of work when I would walk home. I'm pretty fit but not strong. I could probably take on someone and win but when I get jumped there's usually 5 or 6 of them.

When I get enough cash saved up I'm leaving this place to go live in a house near a forest or a lake. I guess my life is just plain and boring. Every day it's the same fucking thing and I'm getting tired of it. All I want in this fucked up world is for someone to love and care about or for something exciting to happen. One of those two or both if possible. I'm still young so maybe I have to wait.

I couldn't sleep so I got up at 1:04 and slapped on some blue jeans and my black hoodie. There was no one outside for some reason. Usually, there's a lot of tourists out here. I guess since it's the middle of winter the nights aren't as active. More time to think to myself I guess. As I walked down the sidewalk near the park the brightest flash I have ever seen came down from the cloudy night sky. It was so strange how the light fell. It was warm but it felt like the world had slowed down as I watched as the light fell down to earth, in the middle of the park. I ran towards it hoping to find a fallen star or something cooler. I walked up to a burnt area in the grass that gave off a weird glow. What I saw was more than I could have ever expected.