1 Chapter 1: Awaking.

Chapter 1: Awaking.

Ugh. A man opens his eye to a new sight of the room. He groans a bit as he got up and look about. It is a weird room, as it was red and organic like. It felt as if the room is another world in itself. John never saw something like this before. It is bizarre and unworldly, giving him the chills. The hair around his arm and leg spike at his bad premonition.

Silently he got up and survey the room. A simple 4 by 4-meter space. There is a table, a blank canvas, and some paint tools. John memory starts coming back, a nostalgic one. Isn't this his room? Why has he falls asleep, did he fainted? Why does the room look so much… Organic than before? Is this really my room…

"Wait, I am alive?!", shouted John from the sudden realization.

"After that heart attack, I knew I was a goner. Died at the age of 22, jobless with no relative or a girlfriend. How funny would that be if people start to pay attention to the death of somebody like me? *Sigh* Now I am stuck in an unknown room, good gracious me. Wait, stuck in my room, but am I really stuck?", said, John.

John then walks onto the door and attempt to open it. The door slides forward with a loud creak and then fell off its pivot.

"Oops, this should not have happened. I maintain the door just a week ago for crying out loud.", John sulked. "It seems I will be having a noodle for tea today. Umm. I just realize something, won't the landowner be coming tomorrow? I am screwed, the paintwork and the door will cost a fortune. Someone, send help."

Coming back from his miserable thought, John notices that the once narrow hallway turns into a massive cave. Rocks everywhere and some unknown mineral sticking out of the ceiling emitting faint light. The only light helping to brighten the room. Somehow the electricity is not working.

"Its cooI I guess… No! What the hare happen here?", John shouted, his voice echo along the cave.

Author note: I intentionally wrote hare, my guy censored himself haha.

*squeak* *squeak* from the wall of the cave, a voice travel back, the sound of a mice.

" eek, mice, I hate those things. I remember my neighbor got killed by those once. I think it carries a deer disease? Whatever. I don't know what is going on, hopefully, my mouse trap will work."

John went back inside the room and rummaged through his cabinet, he found a decent amount of stuff, mostly for art since he was once a talented painter. However, he is diagnosed with a carpal tunnel syndrome and forced to quit a very prestigious school at the time. He will never forget the face of his friend once they learn of this. It is subtle but he notices their look of disgust aim at him.

Initially, he thought that was just an illusion but the next day after, everything went south. No one in class pays any attention to him anymore, even his own friends. The teacher still replies to everything he asked, but with a pitying tone to it. John just don't understand, he can still be good at painting, he can still put his heart and soul into it, then why?

At his all-time low, he was called into the principal office. The principal says some kind word to him, gives him ten grand in which John does not accept and officially kick him out of the school. His excuse? For my well being and benefit. Oh? Really? I was so angry, I swear I could see only red…

*breath in*

*shoooo~*

Remembering it makes him angry. Anyway, he found the mousetrap, it cost him about 10 dollars. He can only afford to buy one since he is stupid enough not to accept the ten grand to pay off his student loan. Impoverish and helpless, his future seems bleak.

"As bleak as the darkness unknown in the far depth of a cave I say. That was good.", John said.

"Now all I've got to do is to put it here in front of the door. Pull it up as tight as I can and then let go of it I guess? *crunch* AHHH. Owie, Owie. My pinky finger. This damn thing."

John got snap by a mouse trap. His day could not be gotten any worse.

*sniff* A nose appears in front of John's face. It is massively big, totally gigantic. It is 3-times bigger than John entire body considering if he is only 170 cm tall. Panic-stricken, John ran far away from the door. Not long after a big eye peeks at him. Seeming to smell food, it craw at the obstructing stone blocking its way.

" What is that? I never knew that a monster is invading earth! Where is my phone at?", John said.

He looks around the room and found his telephone on top of a table next to his canvas. He quickly grabs it and dials an emergency number. A pre-recorded message he made for his phone started, "Hello John, there is no signal here. You are probably under the water or climbing Mount Everest right now. Wish you the best of luck, by me, your past self."

Dumfounded, John just stared at his phone. He forgot about this function of the phone since he never lost signal before. It feels kind of amazing to be hearing yourself as if they were like someone else, but now is not the time! He doesn't know what to do.

conveniently the clawing stop. Confused, John looks back and find that the horrid mice is gone. It has given up in its effort to get him.

Walking to his bed, John lies down and browse through his phone. He could not risk going out of this room any time soon, so the only things he could do is to look through google that he downloaded. Obviously, his phone contained only a slight fraction of information compares to the original google even with the latest and advance phone, IPond 10.

It contained a guide for art, a massive library of the picture including some naughty one. All for the sake of art. Anything that can give him inspiration is also downloaded into his phone, example: lofi music, kpop, mask singer, you name it. He practically downloads a lot of songs. Not manually, of course, that is suicidal.

He made a bot to do that for him with his computer. Even though he said that he has a lot of files on his phone. To achieve that, he deleted practically everything on the phone flat clean, then use the USB to install google and call service back into it. He does not have a timer or an app store on his phone.

People ask him all the time on how he could play a game on the phone. His replies are always the same, "I don't. I used a computer." Even when his now stranger friends ask him for the time in the past, he replied the same way. " I don't have a time on my phone. I used a computer."

Thinking about it now, he should have said, " You are too blind to see the time if you can't even see me as a friend." But of course, like a normal human being he is, he does not know the future. No one knows.

The friend also probably thought that they can leech off of him, if not because of his sudden carpal tunnel. good on them I guess.

Feeling a bit drowsy, John slowly drift off into sleep but not before noticing the broken door. So using all his will, John moved a couch to barricade the gaping opening. Any problem from now can be deal with tomorrow. With that thought, he drops onto the bed. The only light outside from a weird mineral dims down a notch, seemingly coaxing him into sleep. Can't deal with the mental exhaustion, John open a song on his phone (to be alone- lofi hip-hop) and fell asleep.

End of chapter 1: Awaking.