1 Bad Dream

Froom! Froom! Froom!

The sound of the passing vehicle made the afternoon felt hotter than usual. The drowsiness that increases because of the heat made Jack could not help but turn his head to glance at the clock above the door while wishing that its minute hand could run faster.

Saturday evening always feels a bit harder for Jack because his desire to go home is much stronger than his will to finish his weekly report.

Hoaaaaam!

"Three hours to go."

This is our protagonist, Jack Walker, an office worker that tries very hard to stay awake after filling his stomach with carbohydrates at lunch break. He is also a coffee lover.

'Come on. You can do this, Jack! For the sake of your lovely wife and adorable son. I must finish this report today, no matter what!'

At that moment, George, his supervisor, comes out of his office and walks toward him. Suddenly Jack feels the hair on his back stand up.

"Jack, I will let you handle a new client next month. Read this book." Said George while putting a ten centimeters thick book in front of Jack.

"This is all you need to know about that company. READ IT A.S.A.P! I did not want you to embarrass me in front of a client again. Read it like your life depends on it!"

After saying that, George walks toward the main door to go home before everyone else. Jack mustered every strength in his being to stop himself from throwing the big book towards George's bald head.

Talk to the client about company policy and regulations while making small jokes in between are George Jobs. But one day, George witnesses Jack's mysterious talent that can attract client interest to use more of the company services. From that day onward, he always brings Jack along when he meets a new client.

A few seconds later, he breathes out all air in his lungs to calm himself down. With this new assignment, Jack must cancel his Birthday party for tomorrow. Sadly, he cannot decline his big boss order if he still wants to work at his company.

That's life. People that lack money like Jack need to grovel toward people that own a lot of money.

What can Jack do? He is just a poor man who tries his very best to make a living.

As time passes, people begin to go home one by one, leaving Jack alone in his gloomy office.

The last person leaving is his buddy, Anton. He stops in front of Jack's desk and puts a thick novel with the title 'Legend of Dragon' in front of him.

"Thanks, bro. The story is truly something. I can't stop reading it after finishing page one."

Anton looks around and realizes that no one beside them is still in that office.

"Let's go, buddy. If we don't hurry, we'll miss the afternoon train." Invite Anton after a small pause.

"Go first. I have to finish this today." Jack said as his fingers continued dancing around above his keyboard without stopping.

Anton raised his eyebrows when he saw a thick book on Jack's desk before speaking with a surprised tone.

"Wait a minute. Did that bald as*hole give you another client to handle? That's insane, man!"

Jack's finger stops typing before turning his sad face toward Anton.

Anton makes a wry smile and says, "Can't help it then. See you next Monday, Bud. Don't forget to bring me another great novel, okay."

Anton waves his hand as he walks toward the door and leaves Jack alone in his office.

A few hours later, when the room got darker, Jack pulled both of his hands up and yawned with a mouth that could fit a cat.

'Finally, I can go home.'

Suddenly Jack felt his desk tremble quite hard.

'An earthquake!'

Jack startled, then hesitated whether to run for the door or hide under the table. But when he got up, the shaking suddenly stopped. Jack felt relieved and hurriedly put all of his belongings into his bag because he didn't want to stay in this room any longer.

He walks briskly toward the door, but when his hand is only a centimeter away from the doorknob, he suddenly stopped.

After thinking for a while, Jack runs back toward his desk and opens the drawer to pick up three golden tickets with a silver letter that spells 'Fantasy World' on its surface.

Jack exhaled some air before said in a low tone, "Luckily, I remember about the ticket."

The plan is to have a vacation with his family tomorrow to celebrate his 28th birthday. Suddenly his face turns ashen when aware that he must cancel it. An idea to ignore his supervisor's order inundated him as he walked toward the door.

Suddenly,

"Eh?"

Jack's expression froze when he realized the door can't be pulled open.

'What the Fu*k! Did they lock the door before I could go home?

'Wait a minute. Is this because of that earthquake earlier? No…, it doesn't feel right. Is this...? Is this the legendary transfer to another world that I often read in a novel?'

Jack tried to pull that door harder, even using his leg to maximize his pulling power, but the door still did not budge even an inch. Cold sweat started to form on his forehead.

"HELP! I AM STILL INSIDE… ANYBODY THERE?!!!"

Panicked, Jack had no other choice but to shout as hard as he could. After a while, Jack removes his hand from the doorknob because he realizes something.

'Wait a minute. Didn't we replace this door yesterday with a sliding door?'

Jack feels so embarrassed after realizing what he just did.

When he chuckled in a self-deprecating manner, a security guard suddenly slid the door open with a raised stick in his right hand.

"Where... Where's the thief, Boss. I will cut his fucking head off." An old security guard with short white hair shouts aloud while looking around the room looking for something.

'You want to cut a person's head with that weapon?' Thought Jack while knitting his brow.

With flustered cheeks, Jack tried so hard to act cool and answered using a relaxed tone. "Nothing, old man. I am just mimicking a line from a movie I just saw."

Jack laughs while wiping cold sweat on his forehead.

The old guard sighs and says, "I thought there was a thief who dared to enter this company when they knew I was guarding it. With my shadow kick. Even ten of them will not escape with their lives."

He put down his trembling hand and looked around the room once again to make sure that there was no thief inside before heaved a sigh of relief.

He turns his head toward Jack and says. "Working late, Boss? It seems like you are the only one left."

"Yes." Jack gave a short reply before moving his head toward the old man's ear and whispers in a solemn tone, "I hear from the janitor that at midnight you can hear a girl's voice from the Boss's room, so be more careful at night."

The old security guard shuddered, back off a few steps before drawing a stick from his waist with a trembling hand.

"Whoa! Let alone a single woman. I can take down a hundred with this stick alone. Maybe a thousand if I decide to pull out my 'other stick' Hahaha."

Jack laughed out loud before saying, "A joke... It's just a joke. I need to go home now. Take care, Old man."

'I need to go before that perverted old man pulls out his old stick that has many wrinkles.' Jack almost throws up when he thinks about that.

When the sun is down, Jack finally arrives at a small house with blue paint. He turned off his motorcycle then briskly walked inside.

Before doing anything else, Jack always plays with his three-month-old son and praises him like a king. During that time, all of his fatigue magically washed clean.

"Make me a cup of coffee, honey!" Said Jack as he entered the bathroom.

-AROUND FOURTH PM, AN EARTHQUAKE WITH MAGNITUDE OF 6.2, OCCURRED IN JAVA SEA. NO VICTIMS REPORTED. BUT GOVERNMENT APPEALED THAT…-

When finished taking a bath, Jack can hear news about an earthquake that happened a few hours back.

'It seems that the end of the world is just around the corner,' thought Jack while rubbing his wet hair with a dry towel.

"Where is the coffee, Honey!" Shout Jack again.

While waiting, Jack grabs his cellphone and starts reading a novel with a gloomy expression. Suddenly, the smell of Arabica coffee assault his nose, make him close both of his eyes, then smiled.

"Here you go." Rose put a glass of hot coffee at the table in front of her husband.

"What's wrong, Honey?" Ask Rose with her lovely voice when aware that her husband looks perturbed.

"I am afraid we should postpone our vacation tomorrow." Said Jack in a depressed tone after a short exhale.

Worried his wife will get angry, Jack tries to console her. "I need to prepare for a new client as soon as possible. I am so sorry. I promise we'll go next week. Okay?"

Rose sigh and said, "It's okay Honey, but don't work too hard. You deserve to have a rest.

"Go drink your coffee but don't sleep too late, okay."

Jack is fortunate to have an understanding wife like Rose. Even though he usually awkward in front of a woman, Rose accepts it with open arms. She even likes that side of Jack very much.

All of sudden, intense drowsiness assaulted him like a lightning strike. Jack yawned several times before deciding to go to bed and left his coffee behind.

When seeing her husband enter the bedroom while yawning, Rose asks. "That's fast. How about the coffee?"

"I am very sleepy. Please move it beside the bed. I will drink it in the morning."

Before his wife could reply, Jack already shut his eyes tight and dived into his dream world.

When Jack opens his eyes again, he finds himself floating in an infinite white space while feeling light-headed and incomplete. Like he always feels when dreaming.

Suddenly, a series of tiny blue dots in a circle pattern approach him from a distance. The falling sensation made his heart skips a beat.

Bam!

Jack fell hard on his face. Fortunately, he felt no pain at all from that impact.

His mind turbid, his sights contorted. Feeling bewildered, he tries to ask in his mind.

"What is this? Am I dreaming?"