I carried my friend over my shoulder, since she was still a little confused. Then the object in the sky started to move and shoot out some rays of light. A gust of wind swept the road, whirling dry leaves around and raising the dust, thus decreasing our visibility even further. In the blink of an eye, it was as if I had been taken to the set of an old sci-fi movie, with flying saucers, laser rays, and the respective sound effects.
All that noise, the irritating dust, the kids crying… I couldn't think amid absolute chaos. I just wanted to get out of there. Unfortunately, my legs were shaking and didn't follow the command given by my brain. The flying object seemed to shoot random rays of light without a given target: a tree, a bush, a rock. I had my doubts whether it could control its own weapon.
Tommy and Letizia were yelling for me to get out of there, since everything seemed to disappear out of thin air once it was stricken. It must have been some sort of disintegrating ray of such intense energy that it had the power to vaporize anything. I needed to make a decision as quickly as possible. Maybe I should just stay here, behind Tommy's solid minivan. I will be at a greater risk of being hit by these rays if I start running now.
And that was when I saw my BMW evaporating after it got hit by that weapon. I realized each one of us was an easy target and the vehicle would have been a useless shield. Shit! I just bought that car a few months ago. Why didn't I wait a little longer for a better opportunity? How am I gonna explain that to my wife? My jaw tensed at the thought of that loss. Alex, you better calm down… Keep a level head and you'll make it out of here alive―I repeated it to myself, trying to focus.
There I was, ready to run as fast as possible while carrying Angelica and all her ninety pounds over my shoulder, when she chose the worst possible moment to finally come to. All it took was one look around for her to understand that she was in danger during a seemingly air strike.
“Lorenzo! Lorenzo! Where is he? Where's Lorenzo?” she screamed.
I was the only obstacle between her and Tommy's voice.
“Let me go! Let me go! I want Tommy… They're right there… I can hear him!” she tried to get away.
Angelica hit me right between my legs and knocked me down to the ground. She set herself free and left me there, twisting and turning in pain.
“Stop! Stop! It's way too dangerous!” I yelled, trying to discourage her from running in their direction.
I finally managed to get up and run after her to try to stop her. I wasn't that much of an athlete, even though it looked like I was in good shape, but all my efforts were in vain. I saw her being vaporized by that lethal ray right before my eyes. Tommy screamed in anguish when he saw his wife disappearing into thin air, and his screams echoed through the valley.
I was devastated. That night had taken a tragic turn. I had tears in my eyes as I followed my instincts and the only clear order coming from my mind: Run! Run as fast as your legs can take you! Run away from danger!
That was exactly what the first cavemen did to survive. Fear had turned me into a record-breaking athlete, but then a blinding light surrounded me and, after that, it was all darkness.
The First Day…
Supreme happiness. Absolute peace of mind. I had never felt that way. That surreal tranquility had taken over my entire being, as if universal peace had inundated me through my extremities and my mind had been left completely void of any thought. I felt as if I were floating but, at the same time, supported by a semi-solid surface. There was a warm breeze caressing my skin. I wanted to remain there, in that state, forever.
This is a very pleasant dream… Where am I?
My memory came back spontaneously, rearranging itself as if my life could be rebuilt automatically, step by step. Each piece of the puzzle was coming together and each empty space was being filled. I was aware of myself once again. In that brief moment, I realized I was in a typical state of wakefulness. However, when my most recent memories came back to me, I woke up right away.
I sat up immediately, out of breath, as if I were awakening from a nightmare. But it hadn’t been a nightmare… It was real life.
I started to study my surroundings, frantically looking at everything around me, searching for a clue or anything that could help me understand what was going on, but nothing seemed like it was supposed to be. I was sitting at a shore, but the water in front of me was practically still, so I assumed it was a lake. I also saw some mountains in the horizon. Then I looked at my own body―I was naked. And that was what shocked me the most.
This is a very charming place―I thought, as I continued to observe the weird landscape. Maybe I'm dead… Maybe I went to my happy place, to another part of my existence. I was fantasizing, searching my brain for a possible explanation, no matter how bizarre it might sound.
I saw a small grove across from the lake. It had very large, tall oak trees that were almost sixty feet tall, which is not common in my region. However, what really caught my eye was a narrow path to my left that went deep into the grove. It seemed like a dirt road created by constant traffic from people or animals.
The sun was rising behind the mountains, casting just enough light on the vegetation. I also noticed that the weather was perfect. Even though I was naked, I felt pretty comfortable. I believe it must have been about seventy to seventy-five degrees, but a warm breeze was brushing through my skin. All I could do was get up and let my legs carry me further than my eyes could see. And I had my eyes set on that narrow path.
I stood up, trying to get the blood flowing back to my legs. Standing at five-seven feet tall, I could see a familiar shape about a quarter-mile away from me. It was someone lying on the sand. It would have been impossible for me to see it if I hadn’t stood up. My heart was racing as I ran towards that other person. Maybe I could get some answers. For better or worse, I wasn't all alone in that place.
As I got closer, the shape became clearer and increasingly more familiar. It was a woman, who was also naked. She was lying on her stomach. I was able to identify the feminine shape of her backside, hips, and waist. When I was only a few feet away, I made a positive identification because of her old-fashioned hairstyle: short hair, right below her chin, in a dirty-blond shade that was so familiar to me. I also recognized her new fluorescent tattoo on her right triceps. Yes! That's her… Angelica!
She was sleeping in an uncomfortable position, with her face against the rough sand and her arms extended on either side, slightly turned outwards. Even though I was beside myself when I saw a friendly face―or body―I was deeply ashamed of noticing her nudity, even though I was doing it unconsciously. I felt I was cheating on my best friend Tommy when I let my eyes wonder through his wife's intimate parts.
That was when I thought, Wait a minute… What would the better option be? Should she wake up to see a man squatting over her? Even though we've known each other forever, the sight of me in that position will scare her more than it's necessary. She'll already have to deal with the fact that she's waking up, completely naked, in an unknown place… For the love of God, she doesn't need to be staring at my genitals on top of that!
I looked around, trying to find anything to cover my private parts, but there was nothing I could use. Dammit… An oak branch wouldn't provide much comfort, would it? The most logical reaction was to stay away, wait for her to wake up and give her time to gradually adapt to that situation without any added trauma.
Actually, I only had to wait another ten minutes before Angelica started to wake up. From a safe distance, I watched her panicking when she woke up in an unknown place. She looked around and noticed I was there. Following her most basic instinct, she started running toward me.
“Alex… Alex! What's going on? Where are we?” she yelled before she reached me.
When she was about six feet away, she looked at me from head to toe and realized that we were dressed