chapter 1
In the late year 2025, atop the largest towers and largest screens; A hologram appeared, showing a recording of a very professional man. “Are we on?” he said, looking to the side of the camera before nodding. “Alright, hello priors. My name is Matthew and this is a broadcast from the year 3021. We’re contacting you to notify your leaders of recent events. We’ll be sending a small group of scientists to your point to assist in the advancement of technology so that you may hopefully speed up the refinement of our current technologies. The group will be arriving in the year 2026 on March 17th, we will not disclose their coordinates due to the risk of someone attempting to come through,” the man said before the holograms disappeared, leaving suspicion and confusion in the eyes of the world.
Laying asleep in an alleyway, was a young man named Jones, covering himself with a large coat. He snored loudly, bugs eating the crumbs out of his hair and the food between his teeth. He rolled over, his boots forcing his legs into an awkward position, leading to his jeans uncomfortably pressing against his crotch. “Ugh,” the man groaned, rolling over even more before accidentally swallowing a fly and jumping up, coughing, and gagging before nervously swallowing it. “ Ugh, what was that?! What the fuck did I just eat?!” Jones thought to himself, gagging before immediately running to an apartment and crawling into one of the rooms before immediately drinking some tap water. “Ew ew, disgusting,” he said, sobbing before going into the restroom and using the owner’s toothpaste and toothbrush to clean his mouth.
“They got a comb here?” Jones said before opening a drawer and peeking inside. “Hum… Shit, I don’t see anything,” Jones said before slamming it shut. “Fuck,” he thought before leaving the restroom and heading back into the kitchen, where he of course opened the refrigerator. “Do they have some? I think they have some… There it is! Some!” Jones yelled ecstatically as he reached in and eagerly pulled out a bag of pizza rolls. “Jackpot!” he said before ripping it open and dumping the entire bag into a pan. He turned on the oven, shoving the pan inside before closing it and leaving the kitchen. He immediately pushed the couch in front of the front door to block it, before slowly placing the smaller one above it and using a drill to barricade himself inside. “That should do it,” he mumbled, sighing out of relief before running back into the kitchen where he sat and watched the pizza rolls with excitement.
After a few seconds of watching, Jones stood up, opened the oven, and reached inside. “Crisp! Just the way I like em,” he thought, licking his lips before touching the pan and immediately reeling back in pain. “Ah! Oh god, oh god I burned my hand! Ow, shit!” he exclaimed before turning on the water and holding his hand under it. “Owch…” he mumbled. After a few seconds, he put on an oven mitt and carefully took it out, placing it on the stove as his mouth began to drool from their scent.
“Oh yeah… That’s the good stuff,” he thought to himself, wiping away his saliva before taking out a large bowl and a spatula. He eagerly swooped up the pizza rolls, dumping them into the bowl before putting the bowl into a bag, tying it, and sneakily exiting through the window before running away as quickly as he could, looking back to make sure no one had seen him. He soon stopped in an alleyway, sitting down before placing the bag on his lap and opening it. He shuttered from the scent, eagerly he pulled out the bowl with shaking hands.
He breathed softly, blowing on the pizza rolls before touching one and immediately pulling back, “Ah, still hot, damnit,” Jones muttered, blowing on the pizza rolls extra hard. He sat, “...How long does this take?” he thought to himself before standing up. “Ugh, goddamnit,” he muttered, walking away with the bowl. “I can’t do this, I’m starving,” he thought before picking one up and quickly shoving it into his mouth. He held his mouth, breathing heavily and blowing hot air before swallowing it. He picked up another one, eating it the same way. He ate the rest, his tongue was slightly burnt during it yet he enjoyed every savory flavor.
He burped, “Worth it,” he thought, hanging his tongue out of his mouth before walking out and running down the street. “Alright, back on track. Those scientists should be popping up any second now. I’ve spent hours searching online and the next spot should be just down the road at 9 AM. I’ll be the first one to welcome them, hopefully, they’ll give some cool future gift!” Jones said, jogging down the road and turning, only to find that a large crowd had already formed to welcome them first. “...Huh… Shit,” he mumbled, sighing before sitting down and staring at them for the rest of the day, watching as the crowd slowly disbanded before fully disappearing near 6 PM. Jones yawned, standing up and dragging himself to a bench before sitting down to fall asleep.
He slept awkwardly, awakening near midnight as he felt a sudden breeze behind him. He opened his eyes, looking back at a bright white light before rolling off the bench and hiding behind a tree. Five figures walked out of the light, wearing biohazard suits and carrying a single briefcase. Jones walked around the tree, peeking out from behind them. “Huh… Is that them?” he thought before slowly stepping out. “Maybe I can… Go through,” Jones thought before covering his eyes. “Alright, we made it. The portal was a success,” one of the scientists said through a small phone connected to one of his ears. Loud celebratory cheers rang from it and the other scientists laughed, hugging each other. “Fuck it,” he thought before running forward, jumping through the light and into the future, just barely before it closed.
He fell over, hitting his chin on the ground before immediately looking up, and seeing the scientists in full biohazard suits. They stared down at him, and one of them ran to an alarm. “W-wait!” Jones yelled, reaching out to the scientist as they pressed a button, yelling “We have a prior breach!” they yelled frantically. “Uh-” Jones looked at the scientists as they slowly backed away. He looked out of the semi-translucent doors, seeing the guards running down the halls toward him, their every step like a sledgehammer slamming into the concrete. Jones panicked, pushing the scientists to the side before running out into the halls and running down the one to his left. “Shit shit shi shit, what was I thinking?!’ he thought to himself, pushing the scientists out of his way before hitting the front door, the guards right behind him, shooting desperately to hit him before he could escape.
Jones shakily opened the door, escaping out into the wider world. Colorful lights assaulted his eyes, like a bioluminescent coral reef with large trees, growing bioluminescent orange-like fruits. Jones looked up in amazement, odd-looking birds singing a symphony reminiscent of the works of Tartini; specifically the Devil’s Trill.
