Whisked

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.

My bellow reverberated around the sea of trees that I suddenly found myself in after I suddenly awoke from my sleep.

I take in the environment around me, craning my neck from side to side to get a sense of where I was, if one thing was for certain, I was definitely not in my school, or anywhere near where I lived as a matter of fact.

The birds sang their spring song as I took in the sights, the beauty of the forest moving me, this maybe wouldn’t have been so bad if it were not for the fact that I have been suddenly transported here…as if I arrived to another world…another... world?

My brain went into overdrive, a million thoughts a second raced through my mind.

It couldn’t be true! I thought to myself, it must just be a nightmare!!! I attempted to reassure myself but no amount of reassuring would help the situation, it was all too real.

I… have just been transported into another world.

***

Earlier….

I stared at the ceiling as I lay in bed motionless, my ceiling fan slowly making it revolutions, almost hypnotizingly in a way.

Suddenly, my bed alarm began to make its shrill call, signaling the start of a new day.

I scowled at it and reached to shut it off, ending the shrill call.

I rise from my bed, shuffling slowly towards my restroom door.

I take a shower, I groom my hair, and brush my teeth, while that happens, I check my bag to see if I have my supplies.

Once I verify that everything is ready, I sling the pack over my shoulder and walk out the door of my apartment.

As I shut the door behind me, I noticed a slip of paper taped to my wall.

“URGENT: Rent has been past due for 3 months as of now, if rent has not been paid this month, you WILL be given an eviction notice.”

I sigh as I tear it off the wall and crumple it into a small ball, and then I proceed to toss it down the stairwell as I make my way to my high school.

This is my life, a never-ending cycle of the same thing every day…

Well… a change might be coming soon, I am about to graduate.

Just barely however, I never was the brightest one in my class.

I was also never the most popular, or even known.

As far as I know, I’m just an apparition, a myth.

My parents topped sending me money to live off of, even my parents forgot about me.

It truly is sad, I’m about to enter a new chapter of my life, yet I have nothing, and no one to help me.

Because of this, I changed.

When no one stopped and tried to see what my problems were, I started to do the same, I never involved myself with any of my peers.

That’s probably for the best, seeing as I could never be proficient in a skill to save my life.

As I’m walking, I spot my high school, a large 4 story building, complete with a large fence surrounding the building.

I inhale and exhale, then I step inside into the building.

As I walk through the halls, I see people of my age, cheerfully mingling among their friends and lovers embracing each other with hugs.

Any envy that I may have had at one point is gone, I flush everything out and continue to my classroom.

Room 240, that’s the one.

I sit down in my usual chair, precisely in the middle of the entire classroom.

The people around me were deep into conversation, talking about whatever in their lives they saw fit, gossip, rumors, and meaningless small talk.

There was one conversation however, that actually managed to catch my attention.

“Have you heard? That storage closet that’s down the hallway?”

“Oh, that storage closet? That place is so creepy!”

“It gave me the chills just being in there, especially that poster, it feels like it actually moves, who thought it was a good idea to put that there?”

A moving poster? There’s no way, I thought.

Any conversations that were going down in the classroom began to die down, as the teacher started to clear his throat and began to read from his sheet.

“I will now begin to call the roll…”

He started to call names one by one, the students listened intently for their names, making sure to call present when their names were heard.

“...Tobias?”

“Present.” I called out, raising my hand slightly, I was the last name today.

“It seems most of us are here… let’s get started.”

***

The day goes as normal, a lot of reading, and more reading, and… lots of more reading.

Not that I’m complaining, school could be much worse than reading books all day, seeing as reading is one thing that I enjoy from time to time.

Mythology has always seemed to interest me.

A young hero finds a magical artifact, or is challenged to a series of labors, it all results in that hero gaining immense power and fame.

As a child, I was enthralled with these legends, I always hoped I could become one of these famous heroes.

I’ve grown up, there are no magical weapons or magic that exist.

The only thing that is, is reality.

“Tobias! Can you come over please?”

Well, that's a surprise…

I walk to the teachers desk, expecting a talk about my academic performance, which has been… lackluster as of late.

“I need you to grab something from the storage closet for me, I need you to grab a box of dry-erase markers, here are the keys.”

Well, it’s something new, that's for sure.

As I walk towards the exit, I notice some of my classmates staring at me, speaking under their breaths.

It was certainly strange, but I paid no mind to it as I opened the door and began to walk towards the storage closet.

This is the one.

I began to fumble with the set of keys until I found the one that worked.

As I opened the door, an instant wave of frost hit me, it felt as if an icy wind slammed into me, goosebumps instantly formed on my arms.

I thought they were exaggerating?!?!?!

I rubbed my hands together and I tried to flip on the light switch, nothing.

I sighed and I pressed onward into the darkness.

I searched for the fabled dry erase markers but they still manage to avoid my gaze.

It wasn’t long until I noticed that this storage closet…. is HUGE.

Something is definitely NOT right. I thought while I looked at the now empty shelves.

Just when I thought this storage closet extended forever, I suddenly reach the end, alongside with the dry-erase markers now being in my sight.

Finally! I said with a relieved smile.

Before I could grab the dry-erase markers, I had a gut feeling that something was beckoning for my attention, I looked to the right and then I saw it.

A poster, plastered on the wall, depicting a forest clearing, with birds perching on tree branches and the wind flowing by.

It was a beautiful sight to see, that is, until it started to move.

The trees began to sway in the wind, birds came and went as they continued to sing on the branches.

A part of me was understandably startled, but another part of me, which happened to be the majority, was drawn by it.

I started to walk towards it, seemingly out of my own will, captivated by the beauty of this poster.

I reach out to touch the poster.

The moment I laid hands on it, a bright flash of light suddenly blinded me.

I was being drawn into it.

Within moments, I was sent off to another world.