life Changes

Fwish Fwish Fwish

     The sound of wind ripping over the hill.

"Huh!", said Thane, suddenly waking up.

     He rubbed his eyes, rose to a sitting position, and began to scope out the area. The landscape looked bare, unusual, and different from before. Thane glanced at the tree and bush he remembered from last night, but to his surprise, they were completely dried out. In fact the closer he looked he realized that all the grass, bushes, and trees had no signs of life at all. Just twigs and dirt. Even the small river he drank from the previous night, was all dried up. Confused, Thane placed his hands on his head attempting to process what he was seeing. It had only been a day, so how could all these plants have perished in such a short amount of time?
     He looked down and noticed the blanket he fell asleep on was all tattered and ripped like it had been used for years. To his surprise, all the clothes he had on, and the bag, were in pristine condition.
      "What is going on!?" he said, and for good reason.
     
     He began to gradually stand up to get a better look at his surroundings, but for some reason, he felt as if it's been years since he stood. Once he was standing he noticed something very strange. He could see more.  Well, he was at a higher position and to be more precise,  he was taller! 

     "Whoah, how the hell did this happen?", he said.

     Naturally, he began to feel his body. Up and down his legs and arms. If he had to guess, he grew about 8 inches. (He was originally 5'10, so he'd be about 6'6 now). Amazed at the seemingly overnight growth spurt he let out a laugh. A laugh that sounded deeper than usual.

     "Wait, what happened to my voice?", he said.

     Not only did he have some freakish growth spurt but his voice also changed, and his mental state seemed to be the only thing unchanged.
    
      He began to gather the things that were next to him and placed them in his bag. He set out. To this new mysterious world, which wasn't new at all since he was just in that area a day before. Or so he thought. He started searching for the pebbles that he previously laid out, indicating his way home, and they were exactly where he left them, so he followed the path back down the huge mountains. He continued down for hours and began to feel parched. He looked around, but no water was to be seen at all. He felt famished as well, but no type of food was to be seen either. He ignored his physical needs and kept going.  On and on he went observing the scenery, and Just like the hill, he woke up on, all the grass, trees, and bushes were dried out. The occasional insect, or small animal he stumbled upon on his ascent, was no longer to be seen on his way down. 

     A couple more hours passed, and then that's when Thane began to recognize the area he was in.  It was his hometown Jenac, but not like he remembered it.  Homes ravaged. Farmland destroyed. In his shock, he began sprinting towards his home. The closer he got, the faster his heartbeat grew. 

Thunk Thunk Thunk
     

     The sound of dirt launching under Thane's feet.

     He never ran so fast in his life. Upon entering the town he only felt eeriness and a faint melancholic vibe in the wind. It was like the town was speaking to him, but towns can't speak of course. In his rapid sprint, he jolted to a stop. Thane looked up and saw his house torn apart from every possible angle. The roof was withered down, caving into the house, and the front door was missing.  He then ran into the empty space and yelled out his family's names.

     "Mom! Jaela! Callan!", said Thane, but to his surprise nobody answered.

     He searched every room and did not find his family anywhere. He then entered his room and was in pure shock at what he saw. His room was completely intact. Just like he left it, but that was not the case for the other rooms in the house. The other rooms were dust-ridden, broken, and some rooms even had insects crawling around. 

"Blegh!", he said. Thane despised insects.

     It became a mystery to where his family was, as well as the whole town.  The land outside was also something that needed explaining, and Thane knew he had to do something about it. Finding his family was his top priority at the moment so that's what he set out to do. He went home to home searching for clues, hints, or anything to aid him in solving the mystery of everything going on. 

     He searched for an hour until he found something that might be of assistance. A strange metallic object about 4 inches long sitting on the steps of the local church. Upon closer look, he noticed it was some sort of key.  A key to what? Was a thought that lingered in Thane's mind. He dropped it into his pocket and kept on walking, being careful to not miss anything. 

     Another hour went by, and the sun began to set. At this point, Thane grew even more hungry and thirsty. His stomach let out a noisy grumble that echoed in the distance.  In a hungered stupor, Thane looked around blankly and his eyes glanced upon something shiny. He slowly walked toward the shiny object and realized it was something silver. He got close to it, picked it up, and lit it up with joy.

     "Food!, let's go!, he said. The food in question was a can of tuna.

     He smashed the can open on a nearby rock and began to tear into the food like he hasn't eaten in days. The tuna was in water so after eating the food, he drank that as well.  After demolishing the fish he felt his muscles ache and throb from overuse. He had been on his feet all day and his body was finally signaling to him that it was time to rest.  As the sun set, he began collecting twigs of various sizes into a small circle. Once he had a huge pile, he rubbed two thick twigs together and eventually created a fire. 

     " Wow, so I did learn something useful", he said mockingly.

      Staring at the fire, which rapidly grew in size and heat, he sighed with frustration.  Thane had many thoughts soaring through his mind right now, but his family was the thing he thought about the most. Their whereabouts were a mystery, but a mystery for another day. Thane fell asleep swiftly and soundly, because of the fatigue that weighed down his body and mind.

     A deep sleep he fell into, not knowing what the next day would bring.