“uhrggh”

I woke up groaning at the headache I was feeling and the horrible neck cramp that I just noticed, leaning forward, I find myself waking up from my office chair.

“What happened?” I ask out loud not expecting an answer while my blurry vision was slowly returning and a little of the headache receding. I didn’t remember having gone to bed on my desk chair, something I never did considering there’s a beautiful king size bed in the other room.

‘Wait, I don’t even remember going to bed for that matter.’ I try and organize my thoughts, mornings really weren’t my biggest strength at any point, really, in my life.

I look out the window and I see the sun up in the sky and I feel really odd because it looked like it was at the same place it was yesterday…

I remembered waking up and having my coffee, meeting Ralf…the package, wait, no. The fucking BALL! My eyes darting around the room looking for the ball as I am overwhelmed with realizations of the ball and its captain having made first contact with me. I finally rest my eyes in front of me looking at the pokeball like steel ball that was still open but with nothing inside…

My mind was in chaos and my heartbeat sharply sped up as it dawns on me that the slime is no longer anywhere to be seen. Frantic at the thought of having a slime of unknown origins sliming about my apartment, I go full force in a search for the damn thing. I started looking everywhere in my workshop from the tables to the cabinets, drawers, under the tables, behind the boxes and even every inch of the floor but nothing.

Not a single thing out of place or in disorder or with any dust trail of any sort indicating the slime had passed through.

‘Was there even a slime in the first place?’ I start questioning myself as I couldn’t find it and started rationalizing the possibility of having imagined it due to fumes from the ball or the electricity having shocked me.

“Wait! No fucking way! The ball is clearly opened and I remember the fucker shocking me at the end when I played with it!” I yell all alone in the room as if thinking the slime didn’t exist to be the stupidest idea ever.

Finally remembering the events before passing out I start checking all over me, only to find nothing but my phone in my pocket showing a new message.

‘Jupiter! Buddy! How was the ball? Weird right? I couldn’t help but text you a thanks for getting me one of the bigger sales from yesterday! Haha, enjoy! – Fred’

“Ah, how nice Fred, you fuck! You might of just helped me unleash god knows what to the world but your happy about your goddamn 200$” I throw my phone away feeling jealous of Fred’s ignorance to the situation I found myself in.

I wondered if it were possible that the slime escaped but the windows were all closed and there were no gaps between my doors leaving the other rooms being a possibility out unless the creature could mount walls and enter the vent… I looked up towards the vent with a complicated expression for a few minutes before finally giving up on the idea of “vent searching”.

“Sigh…”

Feeling a little upset at the loss of the slime, or ever having revenge, I resolved myself to go make a cup of tea to help the pounding headache I was having after my little frantic search of my workshop.

In the kitchen, pouring some recently boiled water into a cup of tea leaves, I grab my personal “hangover tea” which was a great blend of green tea leaves with cinnamon and some milk to settle on the couch while I start wondering what to do. I really felt as if I might of done something horrible and unleashed some alien creature into the world without rhyme or reason due to my curiosity which left me making a face that simply screamed ‘I’m an incredibly high level idiot!’

“Sigh”

Another signature move to showcase my defeat against a slime. ‘ So much for thinking I would do well in a game world, even a fucking slime bested me in my own goddamn home.’

“Arrrghhhh” I moaned in pain at my headache suddenly intensifying for a moment where I felt something in my brain move and just as it appeared, it suddenly vanished. Reduced to the throbbing I originally felt.

“What the fuck!” I swore again, realizing I swear a little too much but didn’t care too much considering the events of the past day and the pain that followed it. I slumped into my couch trying to ignore the creeping thoughts that I might have been experimented on by the slime before its escape. It left me feeling nervous but without any more pain to scare myself further, I relax a little that it might just have been the after-effects of the prick like move it pulled on me for trusting its ‘weak’ display.

“He..”

My eyes shot open and I jumped off the couch swinging my head left and right at the sudden sound.

“Who’s there!?” I questioned with some cold sweat building up at the possibility of an intruder.

‘Did someone break in last night? Wait! Maybe they discovered something about the ball and the military sent someone!? I AM SO FUCKED!’ Already with my mind in a state of shock from the previous encounter with alien life, I right away thought of the worst scenario that any movie will teach you… being that the military having been somehow made aware and have made a move on me. “I know you’re there! Come out now!” I yell because I would hate to get knocked out by some navy seal or some commando soldier here to retrieve me and the ball especially considering I already don’t like them for always taking the best stuff that pops in on the market with bullshit about national security or classified at the end of every one of their sentence.

“Hello…” A weak whisper of a ‘Hello’ was heard again by Jupiter.

“…Hello?” I replied but couldn’t locate where the sound came from with my head still furiously swinging about the room trying to find the intruder.

A few moments later

“Language...” It almost sounded long winded and slightly eerie as the whisper said language but I still couldn’t find where the sound came from which started making me freak the hell out as I back myself into a corner of my living room.

“What language?” I retorted but at this point completely confused and to be honest, close to defecating my fears into a ball of turd as the voice sounded near yet not coming from any direction which just made me think the army has got some serious secrets about their “stealth” gear.

“What do you want!” I asked as I was panicked and really wanted to get back some initiative from this unprofessional military guy who was trying to scare me into a goddamn heart attack.

“Language aksess” It whispered again but with a bit of difficulty as if it was slurring the words.

Now at this point, that was the straw that broke the camels back as my confusion reached an all-time high as I dazedly replied “Uhm…Ok?” After which I could of sworn to have heard a slight sigh of almost relief? I could only assume at that point.

To which the next moment, I felt something so eerie I just wanted to cry like a little girl because I felt something slowly move but…but it slowly moved in my skull. I was drench in cold sweat to the point that I could probably refill the city’s water reserves as I try my best not to lose what is left of my sanity as I realize that there just may be something in my… in my…

Tears welled up in the corner of my eyes as I start crying like a 4 year old who just heard something under his bed at night while mumbling in between choking slobber and mucus “ I want to wake up! Ahhh… Ahhh… I want to wake up!”

Unfortunately, the nightmare did not want to let me wake up as it slowly kept moving in my brain to which it felt like a slightly cool worm was slowly wriggling in my head. The sobs just got harder as I cradled myself between my knees while continuing to choke on snot with tears. Rocking back and forth with more incoherent speeches of “This isn’t happening, snif, this is NOT happening, hic!”

The moment lasted a few minutes to which I felt as if my entire life of 23 years could only be considered a pitifully short span of time compared to this everlasting moment of nightmarish like experience.