The yellow and green leaves of the trees followed each other one by one as they fell to the concrete ground. The sun looked upon these falling leaves, for it was only a small insignificant event within this vast world. A teenaged boy wearing casual blue jeans and a jacket had a trekking backpack, and a small ice chest under his arm. The person with black hair simply stared at the mountain ahead of him. Slowly he grinned at the huge obstacle, the people that walked by, couldn’t help but take a small peek at the teenager who simply smiled while staring off into the distance.

“Finally, I found a place! Where, no one will annoy me!”

This person, who had a fanatic ideal for reading in silence has finally found a place and excuse to settle down and read his favorite pastime. As the person started to walk, someone tapped on his shoulders. Briefly turning his head around and after confirming the being, the teenaged boy immediately turned and started sprinting down the road.

“WAIT! Ben! Why are you leaving so fast! COME ON!

The figure in the distance was one of Ben’s friends, who quickly caught up to him. In the matter of a few moments.

Ben collapsed from exhaustion, resting on the concrete sidewalk. He was exhaling deeply while Ben’s friend just caught up to him and was now standing in front of him, calmly breathing as if he didn’t just run three blocks within the neighborhood.

Ben looked up and said “So... why did you call me?”

Ben gave a short question to him once he recovered his breath, and got back up to walk towards the mountain. While, Ben’s friend just started walking with him in a casual way.

“Right, I wanted to be right next to you just in case something happens. Also you should’ve told me about this trip. We could’ve gone camping together! Imagine, the fun we’ll have during that time! Fishing next to the clear beautiful river, spending time away from the horrifying smells of the urban sprawl… even though we’re considered to be in the suburbs... , and perhaps sleep near the methane created by the living creatures of nature. “

“Right, please stop. I’m only going to use this time to read within the mountain. I’ll be back within a day or two.”

His friend only looked at him with a sadden face.

“Well, it’s just that we haven’t been hanging out as much… you know?”

“Yeah I know, but you have all your other athletic friends right? I’m not exactly the person who can keep up with your physiques. All I can boast about is the flat stomach that I obtained from lying down on the floor to read.”

“You should seriously stop with that bad habit by the way. It’s bad for the neck and your back. Since you’ll be kind of like a sardine pack that you find in the asian market.”

“What do you mean?”

“The sardines packs are usually dried and are curled up. I’m just making a visual reference. Just search up dried sardines and you’ll see some of them bent. Though, fishes have different body composition than humans…”

Ben wanted to say something about this strange comparison but merely sighed at the mere thought. As Ben looked back at the mountain his friend gave a quick punch on his shoulder, he quickly looked back and saw a black object on his friend’s hand. Which he quickly shoved it towards Ben’s face.

“Take this”

Ben looked at the object and slowly grabbed it. It was a pocket knife, the label on the side stated his friend’s name “Dannie the Dango Lover”. Ben merely shrugged his eyebrows with suspicions and looked at Dannie for an explanation.

“Recently, there have been missing people, kidnappings, and especially homicides. So I want you to have my pocket knife for the time, keep you safe you know. I know you’ve done some knife training back in high school you know.”

“Well, no not really.”

“Don’t try and trick me, in high school you were so ecstatic about this book that you read online.”

“Err, I guess…”

“Anyways, keep yourself safe… if you can run, then run. If the person seems like he’s going to kill you. Kill that person before he kills you. This world is a dog eat dog world, however there are fences around said world, also about killing that person… as long as you got the proof and evidence I’m sure technology will prove your innocence… in most cases. That’s why you don’t see as much murdering sprees as you would within a game.”

“Right, thanks for the advice.”

Ben gave a quick smile towards Dannie

“Just remember your name Ben, if the time arises Scat! HaHa!”

Having said his farewell, Dannie started to leave Ben walking back to the neighborhood, while waving his hand towards Ben. Ben gave a brief smile and waved back at Dannie.

Ben finally looked at the mountain ahead once again, slowly breathing in the onrushing fresh air that came from the mountain. Birds can be heard, and the bumbling cars suited with inappropriate drivers have disappeared from the atmosphere. Ben started on his hike, taking out a book and started reading as he walked alongside the path through the trees.

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As day turns to night. A tent, and a small campfire was already set in the forest. Illuminating the dark forest with a tint of orange. Ben sat there holding a book in his hand and stared at the moon with an intense glare.

(Moon, why aren’t you brighter? I can’t read under this moonlight. The fire’s light isn’t good enough as well!)

Ben gave up on glaring at the moon and went inside his tent. Lying down on his back he grabbed the pocket knife and held it upward with it’s name of it’s owner facing towards him. “Dannie the Dango Lover”

“Haa, Dango Lover… he sure did love dango at that time. I think I was engrossed with a novel from japan and suddenly wanted to eat melon bread for some odd reasons, while Dannie searched up food from Japan, he found this dango…”

“The melon bread that I tried to make failed horrendously, with a simple melon and bread stick together. I think I used the wrong melon on the bread, but whatever. Dannie managed to create some tasty Dango using recipes online. *Snickers* oh right even though it was perfect Dannie still had trouble eating it since he missed the green tea. Saying Dangos are often served with green tea, not the bottled ones that we find here! Haa….”

“Those days were fun…. I kinda regret wasting my time within the books. It’s just addicting, while Dannie leveled out time for friends and his own personal hobby he became such a sociable friend, while I just merely read books…. I just became somewhat of an anti-social…. at the very least I have the common sense to reply.”

Ben smiled for a short while and suddenly got up from the tent. Walking towards the fire, and started to lay rocks onto the fire.

“Well, it’s best to just put some rocks to have the flame die down a bit while I go to sleep.”

Ben stood up and continued staring down at the dwindling fire. While the fire died out the moon’s light seemed to have entered into the dirt. Overcasting a blue shade upon the grounds. Ben looked up at the moon which was dimmed and covered with a cloud.

“How’s it so bright even with a cloud blocking the moon?”

As the cloud parted ways from the moon. It’s glare intensifies upon Ben, bright enough to cause him to lift his arm in front of his face.

(Is this an alien abduction? Is this why so many people are missing? Wait then are the homicides also the alien’s doing? I don’t remember hearing the crazies saying that the aliens stabbed them and threw them out. All I remember about them saying is a simple jab on the backside and perhaps one or two will place something in their stomach. Causing them to have constipation….)

Ben tried to look at the moon again, however the light started to intensify and the surroundings around Ben’s vision started to brighten to the point where he couldn’t see it. As he stood there with his arm out he finally noticed that there was nothing around. The light’s glare wasn’t there, the surrounding was gone. All he had was himself, within a white place.

“Did I go crazy? Was I sent to the crazy room? Did I suddenly go on a murdering spree? Wait? Am I a werewolf?”

Before Ben could finish his questions with his answers, a burning sensation came from his legs. Ben looked down on his feet and found nothing but his feet and the white unending abyss.

“Why are my feet burning? Did I just go crazy and start standing on the campfire?”

Suddenly the pain quickly crawled from Ben’s legs to his head, Ben quickly held onto his head with his hands on both sides, slowly succumbing to the unexplainable pain. He knelt down onto the invisible floor. Ben felt his bones start to shift, almost as if someone from his side was slowly grasping the bone and pulling it out of him. Ben looked around him, and saw nothing tearing apart his skin, it was still there and he still felt the unexplainable pain. He held onto his head as he felt as if his head was on fire, his eyes clenched and his fingers clenching close within his head. His screams were yelled into the white abyss.

Ben cringed at his pain, his vision started to go blurry. The white lights that shined upon him started to fade out, and the darkness flooded within the room as he fainted.

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