Runner

Late at night at a bar in Tokyo, two hands join from two corporations, together and firmly they shake. A deal has just been made between the two and the overseas corporation offers one final drink. Two cups clink and a deal is finally closed. Both companies will officially merge in the morning. This night was the most important night in the entirety of the salaryman's career. He will finally be able to take a long needed vacation, and maybe even visit his family after years of non-stop work.

Laughter and joy fill the air and soon both parties get up to leave the bar, walking their separate ways at the door the salaryman, Kaito Sugihara, turns a corner. He heads down the sidewalk where he once came, the sidewalk he took yesterday to scout out the bar, the location of their deal. This merger was supposed to be discrete, the corporations in question were those that could affect nations. He had been scouted not only because of his athletic ability, being the top runner in his prefecture and even going to nationals in his high school's track team, but also for his academic achievement having been in the top 5 of his class consistently throughout his 3 years in high school. He passed the strict hiring process and landed himself a very stable job with great benefits down the line, at the expense of non-stop work and slightly above average pay.

He had grown hungry having been nervous the entire time he was at the bar, Kaito only drank 3 times during their meeting and ate karaage to wash it down. Not much of a dinner and lunch had been skipped to ensure no unnecessary bathroom breaks were made.

He headed toward the convenience store he had spotted the day before, only two blocks away from the bar. The more he walked the more tired he felt, his legs felt like heavy bags of cement, his arms swaying in an attempt to push him further. He saw the light of the convenience store's blue neon sign.

"What the heck?" His vision was beginning to blur and it now felt like he was carrying a fridge on his back. Kaito was almost halfway across the crosswalk right in front of the convenience store when his left leg finally gave out. Kneeling on the crosswalk he grunted as he tried to get up, his breathing was heavy and he could hardly see the store anymore. A blur of light blue light was all that he could make out, the convenience store he was heading for. His ears were now ringing and his head was spinning. He could no longer look straight, let alone get up. Kaito called out for help, but he himself couldn't hear his voice. He could still hear the hustling of steps through the ringing, but his voice was so low it was being drowned out. What's happening to me? I feel sick. I need to get up! Get Up! GET UP!!!

Despite Kaito's pleas, his body does not respond. It no longer functions. He begins to wonder, to search for how, why this was happening, when did it happen. However, his wondering is interrupted when another light bleeds into his view, he turns to look down the road he is kneeling on and sees a truck barreling towards him. The light grows brighter and brighter; No no no! I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die! Tears begin to surface, his eyes bloodshot as if he had pinkeye in both eyes. The truck, only inches away, suddenly disappears from his line of sight as he feels a powerful force push him out of the way. Kaito had narrowly been saved, his ankles being so close to the truck he could feel the air of the braking tires. Lying on his back on the crosswalk he managed to look up to his goal on the other side of the street; the convenience store was empty, the lights were still on, and a single worker could be seen from the window. Kaito could only see a blur of light. As he kept looking, breathing became a struggle, the light suddenly began to grow, it got closer and closer. It grew brighter and brighter to the point where Kaito was forced to shut his eyes from the blinding light. This is it isn’t it.

-----

Kaito wakes on an empty plain of grass, surrounded by trees. He can hear birds chirping as the breeze brushes up against his cheeks and arms. He has just regained consciousness but keeps his eyes closed, the warm sunshine warms his eyelids as he continues to lay there, wanting to enjoy his current feeling of calmness.

A bloodcurdling screech ruins his moment and prompts him to shoot his eyes open and immediately sit up.

What was that? He thinks while gasping for air.

Kaito: What the heck? Where in the world am I?

Standing up onto his feet, Kaito surveys the area around him.

Kaito: Nothing but forest, some sticks and straw. What the heck happened to me?

Led by the anxiety of finding himself in a completely random place, Kaito walks closer to a pile of sticks and straw only a few meters away from him in an attempt to climb up and get a higher vantage point. It's a fairly big pile and it makes him question why it's just sitting here in the middle of the forest.

Kaito: What is this? A nest?

The screech that once woke him sounds again and he immediately turns around to see where it came from.

Looking up, the notion of him being somewhere in Japan disappears immediately. His heart drops as he stares at the sky. The screech he was hearing came from a bird, a giant bird the size of a small house.

The bird was flying in his direction with incredible speed.

Kaito: No no no! Crap crap crap! What the hell even is that?!

Rushing down from the so-called “nest”, Kaito runs for the trees at top speed and doesn’t look back. He feels the bird land where he once was moments ago and speeds up as quietly as he can.

He hears a woosh from behind him as he runs.

Kaito: Does it know I was there?

The bleeding lines of light shining from in between the leaves are the only things lighting his way. He hears many sounds as he runs, sounds he’s never heard.

Kaito: I just need to get away, to find some sort of safe heaven.

As he continues to run he hears it, the birds screech, even louder than before, closer. Kaito stops in his tracks and sits down up against a tree. He can see the lines of light disappear. The wind blows violently as the bird passes over him. Holding his hand over his mouth as a way to muffle his breath he thinks to himself It’s okay. I’ll get away, I’ll make it out of this forest. I won’t die!

It is only then that Kaito finally grasps how he ended up here and gets a semblance of where he is.

Kaito: I… died. This place... it isn't Earth.