He came to with a start, much to his immediate regret.

Without delay, he fell back down, not even caring his back was resting against an uncomfortably hard surface. Groaning, he reached for his pillow and- found out there was no pillow.

Where the-

His head felt like it was full of molasses, and he couldn’t tell what he had been doing before going to sleep. Actually, he didn’t even remember falling asleep either. Not like he felt like doing much remembering, though. His head was positively killing him.

Damn dude, after that last time in college, I thought we had agreed there’d be no more binge drinking? So much for that.

The former was one of the first things he had decided, after having set his mind on becoming a respectable member of society, ie, a boring corporate drone. Plus, partying might sometimes be fun-ish, if done in good company, but hangovers always sucked balls. More so after-

“Once upon a time you dressed so fine,”

The song pierced through his thoughts like a bullet. It felt so out of place- No, so... wrong, that his mind zoned in on it like a shark smelling blood, and-

“Threw the bums a dime in your prime...”

What the hell?

Now he feared opening his eyes, not just due to the nail some metaphorical asshole was driving into his brow. His hand had kept questing for comforting fluffiness, and only now he realized that, not only was there no pillow to be found, there also was no bed at all.

Jesus, please tell me I’m still home...

Try as he may to ignore his situation, he had to get up soon. Experience told him the best way to deal with his withering brain was shoving some food down his gullet, along with abundant water. Also, on that note, his bladder was feeling kinda full.

...Or at least, let it not be some random girl’s place...

Asking for the bathroom could be all kinds of awkward if he didn’t even know his host’s name, and- Nope. His mind was still coming with a complete blank on that department.

Anyway, maybe he was home, after all, and the music came from a neighbor’s? True, he was fairly sure he had never heard one of them playing Bob Dylan before, or anything other than some -admittedly pretty mediocre- pop music, for that matter. But, maybe someone new had moved in, or something?

He himself wasn’t much of a fan either, but his father had had Bobby on the radio so often during his childhood that he could probably write down a few of the guy’s lyrics from memory. Truthfully, the song could almost have brought a nostalgic smile to his lips, if not for it being so fucking loud!

Evidently, neither the Nobel laureate, nor his recording, nor the potentially new -but already least favorite- neighbor gave a flying shit about his headache, because on and on it went, and it only seemed to be getting louder.

“How does it feel?

To be without a home...”

His bowels twitched.

Alright, that’s it, up you go!

A groan escaped his lips as he painfully sat up. Before even completing the motion, though, recent events came back to his mind, in a rush. His eyes shot wide open and he jumped to his feet, all the small aches quickly forgotten at the memory of-

...What?

What happened with the void, and the-

A frown marred his forehead as he felt images slipping out of his grasp, like when waking up from a dream.

...Void?

His frown deepened as he tried to tighten his hold on them, mental fingers greedily refusing to let go. In the end, however, it proved to be an exercise in futility; the memories fled from him as if propelled by a will of their own.

He remembered the meeting, the flash, the pain and then... there was a vague impression of having been somewhere else -probably that void he had just mentioned?-, but he couldn’t recall even a glimpse of it... Also, he felt so, so old...

After a moment, he blinked, pushing the feeling away for the time being. Taking a deep breath, he focused on the immediate.

He was in a spotless white, empty room. Obviously, he didn’t know how, nor when he had gotten there. Also, he was buck naked, had absolutely nothing at hand, and...

And that was about it.

Oh! Also, whatever the explosion had been, it seemed to have done him no lasting damage, which was nice. Not being maimed or crippled was definitely a plus, even if he was in the middle of fuckall-

“Did I get abducted or something?”

True, that was the kind of thing that didn’t sound particularly sane to assume, especially not as a first option. But, then again, the entire situation was pretty insane too. If any of what he had read online about them was true, then an alien abduction would probably explain both the obvious amnesia and the change of location. Maybe even the strange things that happened before he had lost consciousness too.

True, that was pretty much the equivalent of waving his fingers and screaming ‘Magic!’, but, as far as he was concerned, it was either that, or some sort of twisted black ops. And he saw no plausible reason for any governments in the world to be after him... Or, he could just assume he had gone completely bonkers and was hallucinating all of it, which didn’t sound like a particularly useful mindset.

”....with no direction home

Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone.”

...Aaaand that would be one point for me having gone bananas! Though if I did, dear brain, congratulations, you’re doing a better rendition of that song than my headphones!

Sitting down again, he chuckled. Intellectually, he knew he should probably be freaking out but- he just felt at peace, and a bit tired. Perhaps somewhat cynical too, but that was pretty much the norm.

I guess it could be worse? I did want some change...

Again, his eyes scanned his surroundings, finding out that -yep!- they were still empty.

...Not exactly what I had in mind, but what can you do, right? On the plus side, it’s spotlessly clean. Also, it’s been a while since I last had a roof over my head for free! Dare I say, that’s a solid 5/10, maybe even more. Could use a bit more variety, though. Maybe a couple vintage lamps would do the trick.

At least the room itself was certainly novel, even if he had the feeling the novelty wouldn’t last for long enough. For the moment, however, he had to admit it was unlike anything he had ever seen, despite its empty, shipping-container-sized simplicity. It was just too flawless, too... artificial; there were no visible doors, windows, or any sort of entrances to speak of, just perfectly smooth whiteness. Not to mention, the walls had some kind of inner light, he couldn’t even guess what they were made of... To the touch, they were firm, with an undertone springiness, like some epoxy resins, but they also had a somewhat metallic feeling to them.

Solon spat out a couple of times.

The walls also didn’t have any kind of taste, and seemingly no smell at all.

Whatever the case, though, they did feel more than solid enough to keep him confined, for as long as whoever had put him there deemed necessary.

He glared at the spot he had just licked, then gently tested -with a kick-, before sighing.

“So... I guess now it’s time we just patiently wait?”

After all, whether it was the military, aliens, or fucking Santa having a rough day, someone had put him there, for some reason. Sooner or later, they’d have to show up. Probably.

“I swear to god, if it turns out to be a squad of gray midgets with an anal probe...”

As if prompted, his bowels twitched again, and his bladder joined their voice in solidarity.

Again, he scanned his -still empty!- cell, noticing how whatever bastard had put him in there had forgotten to even give him a bucket...

Never mind, 0/10 on service right there, would not recommend.

Wearily, he eyeballed the corner that was furthest from him, a whopping five or six steps away, give or take.

“Fuck my life.”