Chapter 1: A New Beginning

“Elijah, wake up! Today is the day!”

I stirred in the middle of my bed before glancing to my right. There stood my little sister, Abigail, in a pink night gown with purple flowers enveloping the outside and converging to a point near her neck. She seemed excited, but I couldn’t remember why to be honest. As I thought about why she was so excited, she catapulted herself onto my stomach.

“AHHH… What the hell Abigail!? I’m getting up... you didn’t have to do that.”

“Sorry…. I’m just really excited for the big day!”

“Oh right…. The… big… day.” I honestly had no clue what she was talking about. It was probably something she had mentioned to me months before.

“Y-you remember right?”

“I’m going to be honest Abigail… I really don’t remember.”

“Eli… you promised you would take me to my friend’s party today.”

Oh crap… that’s right. She had been begging me for the past month to take her because our parents were always out of town on business.

“Oh! Sorry Abi! I’ll be happy to take you. Just let me get dressed really quick!”

Feeling slightly guilty and hoping to make it up to her, I quickly slipped on some tan jeans, a white shirt, and a blue button up. The button up was a bit wrinkly, but I would only be gone for a short time, so I wasn’t too worried about that.

“Abi, let’s head out! I have some other things I want to do after I drop you off!” I yelled up the stairs in the hopes of expediting her preparations.

Abi scrambled down the stairs attempting to pull her denim jacket on. For a ten-year old, she was surprisingly organized and responsible. She was the favorite child after all. I, on the other hand, seemed to catch most of the flak from our parents. It was likely due to the age gap, but whatever, it didn’t matter.

“Alright, I’ll drop you off then I’m going to run some errands, I’ll pick you up tomorrow around 10 in the morning, sound good?”

“Sure does! Thanks again Eli!” Abi smiled at me softly as she tipped her head to the side.

The drive to Abi’s friends wasn’t too far away, about a 15-minute drive or so, but it could feel like an eternity if traffic was bad.

“Have you decided about college yet? Mom and dad were talking about your future recently.”

“Not really, I mean I’d like to go but I’m not sure what I want to do. I just want to find something that allows me to help the people around me. People just like you Abi.” I winked at Abi, and she giggled at my comment.

The discussion suspiciously always seemed to veer towards my future plans. My best guess was that mom and dad had put her up to this when they spoke with her on the phone last night. The problem was never my grades, I had actually done quite well in high school. Now, in my final year, it was a matter of deciding what I wanted to do. I was always indecisive and could never make a decision when one was needed.

Abi spoke up, removing me from the haze I was in, “Anyway, her house is right around the next corner.”

I pulled off the side of the road to a house with red bricks and odd blue shingles adorning the top.

“Remember, I’ll be back to get you at 10 tomorrow morning, have fun Abi!”

“See you then!” Abi happily skipped up the driveway to the front door as I pulled away.

I had a few chores to take care of and some groceries to get at our local Rial Deli Mart. I made my way across town. Luckily, the trip didn’t take too long. Most of the traffic had already arrived at work.

I pulled into the Rial Deli Mart and parked near the front of the lot. I was about to enter the store when something odd caught my eye. The alley next to the store was, glowing? I rubbed my eyes and glanced at the alley again. The glowing form began to morph into a jelly like sphere. Curious, I began to wander towards the odd membrane that had now formed.

It appeared to be the size of a large beach ball but was transparent and only noticeable upon close inspection. I stuck my hand into the odd-looking sphere and immediately felt a tingling sensation.

“What the hell!?” I muttered to myself. My body told me not to mess with the substance any further, but I was enthralled by the object before me. Plus, this was the most exciting thing to happen to me in awhile.

I stuck my hand into the sphere once more. As I began to withdraw my hand, I felt another hand clasp around it. The other hand began to pull me towards the sphere. Oh god this is how I’m going to die! I have so much I want to do! Why me, why now! I struggled against the opposite force, but it was no use. Soon my shoulder was enveloped in the substance and then, one of my legs. I screamed toward the other patrons in the parking lot, but my voice failed to come out. They didn't even look my way. I couldn’t understand why. I began beating the ground with my last hand and attempting to claw my way back to freedom. Finally, with one hard pull, the other hand successfully pulled me through the sphere. A bright light enveloped my body and I passed out.