How could such an ordinary day end so bizarrely? It all started like any other day. I heard my alarm go off for the first time and immediately hit snooze. It may be a bad habit of mine, but I am just not a morning person. After two or three times of this my brain had finally engaged enough to tell my body I had to get up to go to work.

Work, the very word, can both conjure images of horror and of satisfaction. How can work be both good and bad you might wonder? Try being a middle school teacher sometime and you will understand. When my students were well behaved, which occurred according to some arcane mystical schedule that science has not figured out yet, my job as a middle school science teacher was excellent and extremely satisfying. However, when middle school students are having an off day, everything just seems horrible. Hormones at that level make even the nicest kids seem bipolar at times. Heaven help the teacher that has somehow invoked the wrath of the middle school children.

There is nothing quite like the warm feeling you get when a struggling student finally understands something they have been having trouble with. I wish I could go back in time to experience that feeling once again, but middle school, along with many other things, has either disappeared or changed to fit the new reality that has become my life. Anyway back to the story.

After arriving at school and prepping for class the students started to arrive for homeroom. They were all talking about the mysterious disappearances happening all over the world. People would go missing for 24 to 72 hours and then reappear near where they had disappeared, but with no memory of what had happened to them. A few people could be explained away, but at the last count over 500 people in the United States alone had experienced this phenomenon. The number worldwide must be in the thousands to tens of thousands if not more.

It seemed that anyone over the age of 12 and under the age of 60 could be affected by this phenomenon. No one knew what was going on, or if they knew they were not telling the rest of us. Parents were starting to get worried, and imitators and sickos were already starting to appear to get their 15 minutes of fame.

I managed to make it through homeroom and the rest of my teaching day and was looking forward to my upcoming break. Friday was finished and I could already imagine how great my lazy three-day weekend would be. I know why we celebrate Memorial Day, and any holiday that gives me long weekends and helps us remember our fallen soldiers was OK in my book. I left school light hearted not realizing what big changes were in store for me.

As I was pulling into the driveway of my rental house I noticed that my daughter’s car was not there. Oh yeah, she was going down to visit my parents this weekend. As the oldest grandchild she was a little spoiled growing up, but she turned into a great young lady none the less. Being divorced for several years this meant that I could indulge in a weekend of underwear and video games.

I know what you are thinking. What self-respecting 30+ (that’s as close as you will get to my real age) year old guy still looks forward to such things, this one, that who. I was an unashamed and overweight gamer geek. The kind of guy whose house is filled with fantasy and science fiction books, movies and games, and had posters of zombies next to the ones of dragons on my wall. I loved thinking and mentally preparing for disasters. I had not one, but over 10 different zombie apocalypse escape plans. Each one detailed and dependent on time of year, weather, location, who was with me, etc.… I never thought I would actually need them, but it was fun to imagine scenarios and think about what I would do.

Just as I was locking the door behind me and getting ready to get comfortable I heard horns. Have you ever heard the trumpet music that announces kings in just about every movie out there? That was what I was hearing. At first I thought that my daughter had left some weird music on in her room so I started heading in that direction. Suddenly the whole world suddenly changed color. A semi- transparent large blue floating box with a message appeared before me.

“Congratulations, you have been selected to be a beta tester for your world’s entrance into the GREAT GAME. You have 60 seconds from the end of this message to collect what you need to survive the next 72 hours. Good Luck!”

Crap this cannot be real. This has to be some sort of elaborate prank, but what if it is not? I need to get ready, how much time is left? Quickly I grabbed my bug out bag and started towards the kitchen. I need more food, my bag only has 3 meals in it. I grab a grocery bag and start throwing as much canned food I can in it. That’s enough, what else am I forgetting? Weapons, I quickly grab a machete from my knife collection and I am heading to get a rifle out of the gun safe when I froze in place. I literally could not move at all.

“Your 60 seconds are up. Transport will begin in 3..2..1..”

Just like that my lazy weekend turned into a nightmare of survival.