An inexplicable sound ruptured the ears of many on the day of what would soon be known as the Rapture.
Fires erupted across small kingdoms and villages, plaguing the world into a situation where they would need to rely on each other to survive. Thousands were killed by strange creatures and unnatural humanoid beings that invaded the privacy of their homes.
To survive in a world where division was the status quo, where people were unchanging and those who made movements were censored, it was clear something needed to be done.
**In another world**
A young boy, two months past the age of 18, had assembled a criterion on his work method. Lately, he had been slacking during his classes, and he often excused that behavior as tiredness from the needed energy to apply for colleges and scholarships. He knew though, better than anyone, that he had been wasting his time in idle, and was woefully unprepared to venture out into the world. He'd been unable to exert himself in his classes, he'd looked at many colleges but couldn't seem to bring himself to apply, and he'd stopped attending his clubs and extracurriculars. All of which could be seen as a sign of a failure.
The youth's name was Josh Grayson, and he was, without a doubt, one of the most sorry creatures to grace the planet Earth.
Josh had three people he considered close friends, Audrey Grace, Ash Brias, and Arthur Logan.
Arthur was a delinquent. No, he was more than that. Josh more considered him to be the type to end up in jail for murder in the future. He had brown hair and green eyes, and would honestly benefit from a positive influence in his life. He had skipped college and was doing rather poorly at his job. But the effort he put in however, despite how he acted, was what could be referred to as pure dedication.
He despised the school system and had wanted to get straight to work to begin a life where he could be independent and free, but he was rather uncultured, and given the opportunity, Josh would think he'd be a villain if he ended up somewhere else.
His second friend was a girl named Audrey Grace. She was a beautiful blonde with sapphire blue gems for her eyes. She was the type to help the disabled and volunteer at an orphanage even when she needed to focus on applying herself for the upcoming university she would be attending.
Not only that, but she was treasured by many in the local community, and she knew most of the worse off people by name. Likewise, she was quite the extroverted person, and Josh often envied her outgoing personality. She was smart and adapted to any environment very quickly, with straight As in all of her classes. Yes, she was all of these, but she was also someone Josh looked up to, and she was the founder of a personal motto, "What would Audrey do?"
Then you had Ash Brias, his third and closest friend.
Ash was someone who Josh considered to be his best friend, and he felt that the feeling was reciprocated. Ash had black hair, fitting for his dreary name, and brown eyes. The guy was honestly the most down-to-earth person Josh had ever had the experience of meeting, and he expected great things from his friend in the future.
He was almost always morally right in Josh's eyes and stood up for the things he believed in. He wasn't one to have his spirit broken easily, if breaking it was even possible, and he was a funny and kind guy. The epitome of what Josh wished he could be.
Josh sighed, and set his pen down. *Looks like I'm going nowhere with this once again.* He surveyed his room, and the wooden desk he was sitting at, eyeing his empty glass of water.
His room consisted of wooden walls, each one painted either white or teal; a queen-sized bed with plush animals that he had never had the heart to throw away; a couple bookshelves; a black, wooden dresser that held his money and clothes. Then, he had his desk that held his school supplies.
He had another room connected to his main one, it contained a futon, a TV where he regularly gamed, and a mini-fridge. Overall, it was a very nice room, and one fitting his of parent's hard work.
Josh stared at his plush animals and resolved himself to donate them when he (hopefully) made his way to college. *Just leaving them would be a waste if I never plan to use them. I believe that if I can make someone else happy without it being a burden to me, then there's really no reason for me not to, right? Hmm... I should probably fill up my glass, shouldn't I?*
He picked up his glass of water and headed for the stairs.
Josh lived in the basement of his parent's house, and didn't like how it sounded aloud. His mind pondered as he walked up the stairs. He'd been blessed to live in a middle class home his whole life. His parents were employed and worked hard to keep him and comfortable and spoiled, though he often felt like he took that for granted. He regularly behaved in an ill-manner towards them despite his good intentions, and would've liked them to know that.
He was single, and he felt a little lonely at times, but he knew it was probably for the better. Being in relationships almost felt like shackling himself for other people, it's not that he didn't exactly like being in relationships, in fact, it's quite the opposite. He just felt that that sort of thing was draining and required too much energy and attention. He didn't know why though, considering he didn't do much anyway. But he'd managed to score at least three good friends at the very least.
He filled up the glass and looked outside the kitchen window. It was dusk. The sky was dark, and it looked like it was sprinkling just a bit.
*If I'm not going to do anything else, I may as well go on a walk to maybe clear my head.*
He took three sips of the water and set it down gently. His parents were out getting ice cream, and he had made them promise to bring him one back. He had been allowed to stay as long as he was focused on his schoolwork, a direct agreement with an almost fair exchange. Despite that, he still couldn't bring himself to focus.
He opened his front door and allowed for the cool air to hit him. It was chilly enough that he wanted a jacket, but he didn't feel like going downstairs again, so he decided to head out as was. A lazy choice, he knew, but it wasn't cold enough where he would freeze.
The rain splashed against his head, causing him to shiver as it wet his hair and soaked his clothes.
Josh didn't understand why some people hated the rain. He could see the argument when you didn't want your clothes to get wet, but other than that he immediately dismissed any counterargument he heard. He dismissed arguments and rebuttals a lot, and sometimes it pissed others off.
He had decided to head toward the lake that he lived next to, titled Roselle County lake. It was regularly used by walkers and bikers, and had a circular sidewalk surrounding it. But with the current weather and time, it was only him out. The sidewalks were on the hills that surrounded it, so people would be able to look down at the lake from a wonderful vantage point.
He got on the pavement and began to make his laps. One lap usually took 40 minutes to complete, so it'd be likely he'd walk for ten minutes and then return home to appear to have been studying.
*Maybe I should've worn my jacket then, because now I'm all wet.*
He lamented his laziness, and after a bit, began to walk home.
On his way there however, he stumbled onto the pavement, cutting his chin and leaving him with a nasty bruise. Warm blood oozed down his twisting face, and the smell of iron was soon replaced by the smell of dirt as his face was forcibly pressed into it. He gasped as he realized he was rolling down the hill.
As he gasped, he rolled down the hill overlooking the lake and plopped in. It wasn't a pretty sight, *Though neither am I*. He flailed around in the lake, unable to tell which way was up and which way was down. Bubbles floated up from his mouth, and he reminded himself not to waste air just in case this really was a dire situation. *I REFUSE to die here*, came his determined thought.
Eventually his hand found cool air, and he crawled out, coughing and cursing at himself for tripping. *Now it's entirely impossible for me to go home without dripping everywhe—* "Gah!!!" Josh raised a shrill cry and curled into a ball, clutching at his head. His head has suddenly begun pounding, and it felt like his eyes were on fire. The boy whimpered in pain as it grew exponentially worse.
*AGH!!! It feels like someone's hammering a nail into my skull!!!*
This was the best way he could find to describe it. He didn't think a little tumble and a mini swim trip was capable of causing an ache this bad. Something else must've been the source. A condition? Did he somehow obtain a concussion?
Josh rolled around in the mud, until he felt something peculiar happen. The squishy mess shifted, and the ground grew warm and hard. Underneath him was warm dirt. His headache also cleared up, but his blurry vision took a bit longer.
When it did, he took a look at his surrounded and tensed. There were flaming buildings around him, but their structure was one that was unfamiliar to him. He picked himself up, and realized he was no longer wet after he ran his hand through his hair. He had no idea where he was, but he had three strands of thoughts race through his mind.
One, *I need to find the source of the strange screaming, but not get too close. Just in case it's dangerous. But if someone's burning and I can save them, then I should.*
Two, *I need to figure out where I am and head home. Somehow I'm in a completely different area, did I pass out and get moved somehow?*
And three, *I need to stay safe*