Chapter 1
Mainlands, Calif
February 2015
Derek. I know that’s my name. Derek. Hmm. Derek Gonzales? Or did I keep it Derek Williams? Nah. That doesn’t seem right. Derek Gonzales… That has a nice ring to it… Gosh. I wish I remembered how old I was… Or what I had for dinner yesterday… Heck, I’m hungry. But I’m so tired of practically the same thing every day… It would be nice if I had some barbeque sauce to go with the bland meat here. Now that I think about it, I would love some company too. It’s dark, scary, and lonely here. I kinda feel weird having conversations with myself. Unless the animals here count… Nah, I probably ate ‘em all by now. There’s no way 5 years worth of food isn’t this entire forest population. Okay, I actually feel a little bit bad… Especially since most of the animals I caught I just burned alive…
Yikes.
Oh, speaking of burning-
A loud crack startled me from my inward ramble. I glanced towards the ground, watching little orange embers spark from the grass below me. Stamping my foot, I quickly put it out before it could become an actual fire. A shadow darting away in the distance meant that I had scared my meal away. Again.
“Stupid magic powers…” I grumbled, slumping onto a rock. “This isn’t the Fourth of July, fluffbrain fire… You could learn how to shut up and suck it once in a while…”
Looks like I was gonna have to wait until breakfast. There aren’t a lot of animals out at this time of night, and I’m positive that I blew it with this chance that I had. Oh well.
I rested my head on the rock, using my arms for a cushion. My legs ached from walking around for hours on end, so it felt nice to spread them out. If it weren’t for my stomach tightening like a knot from hunger, this actually wouldn’t be too bad.
The weather was decent tonight, and for once, it wasn’t raining like crazy. The breeze was a tad chilly, but it wasn’t hard to warm up my hands and body. Besides, I couldn’t take a nice evening like this for granted. It’s nice to sleep outdoors and in the stars for a change– Ignoring all the bugs, of course. Or eating them for a snack.
Man, I’m strange.
“Alright… Hopefully, there’ll be something good to eat tomorrow… Please, I’m begging you, don’t make it rain again…” I quietly muttered, closing my eyes. “Sure… Let’s spare at least one good day for this poor guy… Oh, just kidding, we all hate you. Loser.”
You really are a loser. A loser and a loner. Living in this stupid place, eating bugs and talking to yourself. Sure, you haven’t even found a way to get out of here by now. Instead, you just want to speak to the sky like it’s a person. You’re truly hopeless.
“Dude! Can you shut up for one second?! Bother me in the morning, I’m trying to sleep!” I snapped, tossing my head dramatically to the other side. But as much as I didn’t want to admit it, the voice in my head was right.
Maybe get a life and talk to people, dum dum.
“What people? And what life? I’ve been in this stupid place for an eternity!”
Getting off your lazy butt and actually finding the exit would help.
“I hate you…”
I sighed, adjusting myself for the hundredth time. It was my own thoughts, but they wouldn’t go away. Was I really a loser? Have I really gone without human contact for this long? That explains why I’ve felt weirdly sad lately. I’ve attended to all of my basic needs, but something still felt missing.
Nah, it was fine.
