Pain. That's all I was able to perceive when I woke up. Just pain everywhere. I could only thank God that the room I was currently in was not too bright.

I tried moving my head to the right, but my body refused to listen, it was too tired to do even that simple action…

Oh! I didn't know I had an audience. I'm sorry but there is not much to tell you guys about me lying and writhing in pain, now is it?  

How about I'll go back, back before this entire ordeal began.

Back on Earth…

Earlier

Oh hey there, the name's Yonatan. You're probably wondering what happened to me, but don't worry, all will be revealed in due time. Before we begin there's a little something you must know about me, a confection if you will. You see… I'm not exactly what you call 'Normal'.

You see… I have been diagnosed from a very young age as an autistic. What does that mean? It means that throughout my entire life I had little to no friends at all. It's not like I didn't want any, hell, I probably wanted them even more. But the thing is… I didn't know how to make any. I can't really explain to you how it feels, but let's just say that it was a very lonely existence.  

I would spend my time in school breaks with Segev, my only true friend. He was also an autistic. That's how we met actually. In junior high school I was placed in a small classroom with others like me. Segev was a year older than me. He was in a small classroom as well. We took our rides to school together and bonded pretty quickly.

My time in that small classroom was horrible. I felt even worse about my autism. I would sometimes look at my classmates and think; do we have the same thing? I was ashamed to admit that during that time I made fun of my classmates.

As time progressed I became more and more miserable in that classroom. My mom saw that and convinced the school that I could be a part of a normal classroom, with 'normal' students.

As time passed, things seemed to work out for me. My circle of friends was still tiny, but it was a step up from being lonely all the time.

Today started just as any other day. I woke up, gone to school, and got back home. I should probably mention that my parents are divorced as well. They separated about ten years ago, when I was eight. I took it pretty badly at first, but I adapted pretty quickly. My father moved out to a smaller apartment, only fifteen minute walk from my mother, and the bus that I take to get back home stops close to both houses.

Today was my day at my father's house, so I got off the bus next to his apartment and entered his house. I carefully placed my backpack on the floor next to the sofa and extracted my laptop from it. I brought my laptop with me to school because I have problems writing fast enough when the teachers lecture, so I've got permission to use my laptop during classes.  

I put my laptop on the coffee table and turned on my ps3. I have a habit of listening to youtube videos while also playing video games. After about a half an hour of gaming, my phone rang. I fished it out of my pocket and looked who it is. It was Segev.

I accepted the call and placed the phone next to my ear.

"Hello"

"Hey Yonatan, what's up?"

"Good, good, what about you?"

"Excellent! Say, mind if I come over to your house? I'm bored out of my mind and the TV is broken!"

"I don't know, Segev. My dad isn't home yet and he's in the middle of a meeting right now. And you know how upset he gets when I invite people over without permission."

"Please, Yonatan! I'm dying in here!"

"Fine, fine, just stop with your whining. You can come over, but only for a few hours."

"Yes! You're the best, Yonatan!"

"Tell me something I don't know."

"And modest too. Welp, I'll be on my way. Bye!"

"Bye."

I put my phone down, smiling and shaking my head from side to side. Segev was an energy bomb, which made him a handful at times, but there's no denying it that he can turn any occasion into a happy one.

I quickly made sure I have enough snacks and food in the fridge. Segev had a strict diet that contained mostly out of junk food, which is surprising considering he's very petit. I, on the other hand, was on the other side of the spectrum. I wouldn't say that I'm fat, well, not now at least. I was a bit on the heavy side when I was a small child. Luckily, puberty hit me like a freight train. Add that to our different heights, and Segev and I are like complete opposites, with me being the hulk and him being… uhhh… something smaller.

A couple of minutes later and I heard a knock on my door.

Did I forget to mention that Segev lived literally three minutes away from my father's home?

Anyway, I reached for the door and opened it.

"Hey, Yonatan!" Segev greeted.

"Sup, Segev! Come in."

Despite the fact that I was eighteen and he was nineteen, Segev was significantly shorter, only reaching to my chin. He had a light brown hair that was cut short and a small beard growing on his chin.

After a brief handshake I let Segev in.

"Want something to eat?" I asked.

"Sure."

I made my way towards my kitchen and pulled a few snacks, as well as two glasses and a bottle of coke. I returned to my living room, spotting Segev as he set up a game we both can play. I said nothing as I grabbed my second controller and started playing. The game we played was a Sonic racing game, something that we both were pretty competitive about. After a few races Segev spoke up,

"So… how's life?"

"Oh you know, a whole lot of shit. Everyone is so nervous about the finals."

"Aren't you?"

"Me? Nah. I'm good."

"That's good to hear. Man, I'm so glad I don't have to deal with school ever again."

"You little bastard. You just love rubbing it on my face, don't you?"

Segev smirked. "I do try."

Our conversation got cut short when the power went out.

"God damn it!" I shouted. "I was so close to winning."

"Can't say I'm disappointed," Segev replied.

I shot Segev a nasty look before moving towards the power box. I opened the lid and inspected the switches.

None of which was turned off.

"That's odd," I mumbled. I stepped into the corridor outside the apartment. The lights were on.

"What's going on?" Segev asked.

"I have no idea," I replied. "The power is off but none of the switches is turned down. But the rest of the building still gets power."

"uhhh, Yonatan? Are you sure the power is out?" Segev called, something in his voice wasn't right.

"I'm pretty sure, Segev. I'm no electrician, but there's not a lot of room for interpretation."

"Then you might wanna see this."

"What is it?" I asked as I re-entered the apartment. I saw Segev looking at the TV screen.

Which was turned on.

Well, I thought it was turned on. The screen was showing some kind of map, not that I recognized the area. It appeared like those illustrious maps you would sometimes see in movies or history books.

Beginning to become even more confused, I checked the other electronic devices, but none worked, only the TV.

I walked behind the screen and carefully unplugged the TV from the power socket.

"Okay, this is creepy," I said, looking at the still working TV screen.

"You can say that again," Segev whispered, getting closer to the screen. I quickly joined him.

"Recognize the area?" I asked. Segev shook his head.

"Nope, never seen it." Segev reached with his hand and lightly touched the screen. There was a blinding flash of white that forced me to shield my eyes. When my sight returned, Segev was gone…

"Segev? Segev?! Segev, this is NOT funny!"

I started searching all over the apartment for my friend, but to no avail. He disappeared as if never existed in the first place. I started pacing frantically in front of the TV screen, mumbling to myself.

"This is bad, this is really, REALLY bad. When I find you Segev I'm going to choke you so hard."

My eyes briefly passed over the TV screen before abruptly jerking my head back to it. Could it be that Segev's disappearance is somehow related to how he touched the screen?

I slowly reached with my hand towards the screen. My arm was shaking as small beads of sweat trickled down my forehead. I gulped hard before stilling my resolve, and touched the screen.

The moment I did everything around me changed. I felt my own limbs contort and spasm as I cried in pain. I could feel something change, whether it was me, my surroundings, or both, I could not tell.

As the light subsided, I was assaulted with the shrieking sound of wind against my ears, which for some reason were more sensitive. Also I felt weightless as I gazed at the open skies above me.

My eyes widened as the reality of the situation dawned upon me. Spinning in place, I was greeted face to face with the ground.

Hundreds of meters below me!

I started screaming frantically, thrashing my arms in the air, praying that it was all just a dream.    

The last thing I remember before I blacked out, was an enormous castle beneath me. Next Chapter: Waking up Estimated time remaining: 25 Minutes