1 Chapter 01: A Strange Gathering
It is January 8th, 2024. Even it is about to reach the end of the first-semester break of my college, many students still rest in their hometown with their families. However I, Thanakrit Phudinan, am heading to the faculty of engineering's library of a university located at the center of Bangkok city.
Wearing the lax version of my college uniform, a white shirt, and black slack pants without a tie, I carry a black backpack filled with electronic devices and reference books for the final thesis relating to electrical power. And my entire future is betting on this thesis.
It is about noon, though it is winter, the weather of this city is still as hot and humid as it always has been. I walk hurriedly into the library to escape this godforsaken weather.
As I enter the library installed with ACs, I search for the spot where the air is the coolest and begin editing my final thesis there.
-------------
'My college life is about to end, huh.'
I think while stretching my arms and message my eyes. Looking at my laptop screen is the thesis that has been edited in a span of almost a year and I hope that this is the last time that we have to do so.
I save my work and close all of the reference books that were scattered all over the desk. After that I glance at my luxury mechanical wristwatch that my father bought me as a prize for entering the university, the hour-hand is pointing a little ahead of 6. When I notice how much time had passed after I keep staring at the monitor, the tension and tiredness suddenly attack my eyes and glabella.
'Let's have a little nap.'
I turn off my laptop and close it before I pick up my backpack to use it as a pillow. With the cool air combined with the tiredness in my eyes, I fall asleep within a minute.
.
.
.
Thud!!!
"Aakkk!!!"
"Kyaaa!!!"
"The fuck...!!?"
For who knows how long I was sleeping, my whole body crashed onto the floor. It was just like the desk and chair that I sat on suddenly vanished. While I am crashing, I heard two other sounds: a scream from a girl and a curse from a man.
I open my eyes and push myself up. As I am pushing myself up, the floor gives me a coarse feeling of wood planks and it makes a creaking sound. Surrounding by darkness, I stand on my two feet; suddenly a ray of white light shines onto my face.
"Wh-who are you?"
I cover my eyes with my right hand and try to look toward the light.
Even the image is unclear as my eyes can't yet adjust to the light, I see a tall man. Compare to me whose height is around 175 cm which is considered higher than Southeast Asian males' average height. I estimate that he should be higher than me about 10 cm.
"...The name's Krit. How about you?"
I answered. Krit is the nickname that everyone calls me for my whole life. I then reach my pocket and grab my phone for the flashlight as the man did.
"I'm Wyatt...Wyatt Ravel."
The man answer as I turn on the flashlight option on my phone and point it toward the man. In my sight is a black man with a short curly fade haircut and short facial hair. His outfit is a beige jacket with a grey T-shirt, jeans, and dark brown boots. His face is filled with shock and confusion and I figured that I must make a somewhat similar face.
I then realize the two voices that I had heard earlier as the black man's tone is considerably different from the curse I heard. Not wasting a single second, I shift my phone to the left side of the black man and stop as the light hits a body of a man.
He is a white man with dirty blond hair. He is wearing a light blue shirt with black slack pants. His height seems a little lesser than the first man's. He is making a painful face while holding his buttocks.
After that, I continue drawing my phone in the same direction just to find another body that is lying on the floor. A long brunette hair that is slightly below her shoulders, the girl in a crimson jacket with the inside that seems to be a Japanese high school uniform is painfully holding her left shoulder. Beside her is a grey handbag.
The girl flinched after she noticed the light and quickly sit up, her shoulder still look in pain though.
"What the heck is happening and who are you guys!?"
The white man then walks toward the light, looking at the three strangers subsequently. And he came up with a hypothesis.
"...Did we get kidnapped?"
"I don't think so...If we really did get kidnapped. Why would the perpetrators still leave us our stuff?"
" Well, that's true."
Even was I never gotten kidnapped before, leaving gadgets to the victim would obviously be a stupid idea to...wait...How the heck can I perfectly understand those two foreigners this well? It just feels like I was having a conversation in my mother tongue. No, that is not a matter yet. Now I have to get a grasp of the situation first.
"Sh-should we look around here first?"
The girl who was sitting a little while ago is now standing up and looking at the wooden door behind the black ma...uh...Mr. Wyatt. The door design seems like those that would be seen in the historical movie cottage. Well to think about it, this room that we are in is quite large, probably about 4 x 8 square meters with two wooden windows located on the opposite side of the door. The strange thing about this room is that it is squeaky-clean, not even a speck of dust can be found. However, it doesn't have any furniture making the room feel pretty lifeless.
After seeing those windows, I walk toward the one closest to me, lift a plank that acts as a lock up, and open it.
A chill breeze then hits my face as I hear a rustling sound of tree branches. Rays of moonlight that shines through the leave of pine trees enter the room through the window.
I peek my head outside and it seems that we are in the middle of nowhere: no street light, no road, absolutely nothing but a series of pine trees that are orderly stood.
"There is no connection."
Looking at his phone, Mr. Wyatt spoke with a low tone.
"Yeah, mine too"
The white man also does the same thing. He then presses the screen three times and puts the phone near his ears. For only a little while that he swiftly put his phone down in an anguished manner. Seems like you can't even call out huh.
"Well then, let's take a look outside shall we?" Said, Mr. Wyatt while he slowly open the door. It makes a creaking noise as it gets opened causing the atmosphere to feel similar to those of the horror games.
I closed the window and locked it before I follow the white man outside. Mr. Wyatt seems to have already gotten out and opened the left door on the opposite side of this room.
"Nothing here too." He said.
"This one is also empty." Said the white man who is checking the other room.
I then walk down the short hallway that seems to connect to the main part of the cottage. Only a few steps that I arrive at the largest area of the cottage and, of course, there is nothing besides a built-in fireplace.
We then gather around in front of the said fireplace and start discussing what to do next.
"How about we start from the last thing we remember. I was taking a nap at the library and, poof, ended in here." I started the discussion as I'm hugging my backpack because it is starting to feel cold. Though the other three act like this is nothing to them.
"I was in my apartment, working, and when I blink, I got here." Said the white man.
"Just like you but I just finished washing my hands after I took a piss." Mr. Wyatt spoke with an annoyed voice.
"I was waiting for the train at Ikebukuro station then somehow..."
As the girl hasn't finished her sentence, we men flinch at the same time while facing toward the girl. Since we notice something strange from her words.
"Wait wait. That station you just said...isn't it in Japan?" I ask as I feel something isn't right.
The girl nods.
"Impossible, the library I was talking about was in Bangkok though. How can we even meet considering this short time!?" I said with confusion. What is this, this is getting weirder and weirder every minute.
"He-Hey you. The house of yours. Where is it?" I asked the white man.
"Burbank, California..." The white man said with a pale face.
"And I definitely haven't left France for months tough." Mr. Wyatt said while rubbing his chin.
After that everyone starts asking several questions. However, most of them remain unanswered. The session continues for about half an hour then everyone decides to separate themselves to each room to get some sleep. Only I remained in front of the fireplace.
When I'm sure that everyone else gets into the room, I start checking my stuff. Inside my backpack are a tablet computer, a charging cable with an adapter, a 15,000mAh power bank, a couple of pens and pencils, and some paper sheets. In my pockets, a wired earphone and a wallet which contain some coins and 3 one-hundred Bath banknotes.
I then lean against the wall, hugging my bag as the weather starts to get cooler and cooler. My brain is stuffed with questions: Where are we, how did we get here, and the most important is why.
Thinking about all of that hurt my head and after a while, so I decide to sleep. Hoping that it will help clear my mind.
Not knowing how long after I got asleep, I started dreaming. A strangest, most bizarre dream that I will probably not forget for the rest of my whole life.
