Short Story - Into the Void

Story Prompt: After the lights go out, you feel a sensation of falling. When you wake up you find yourself alone in the world.

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You know, this feels weird. Talking about how I ended up here. I mean, I’ve thought about it for so long, so many times I’ve tried to make sense of it in my own head. But now, to explain it to someone. To actually describe it, it just. It just seems a bit odd. Now I don’t know how if it’s gonna make much sense, but I’ll try my best. Maybe you’ll sense of it cause I sure of hell can’t, I’ve been stuck here for… uh… I don’t even know how long for. But like I said I’ll try my best. So, I’ll stop rambling now, and tell you how I ended up alone.
It was like any other business trip, nothing out of the ordinary. At least not at the start. I had this meeting with Mr Williams and the other directors. One of those really long, incredibly boring meetings that the company insist we have every few months because it’s ‘company policy’. Or whatever bull shit excuse they gave, I can’t remember the details. And to be fair it’s not very important. What’s important is that I had one of these meetings that took all day. And at the end of the day, I went back to my hotel on 3rd street to finally get some rest. To get away from the dull tones of Mr Williams and every other grey haired, saggy skinned white guy in that room. And to find some sort of peace before I got my flight home early the next morning.
So, got back to the hotel and my room. And this was a long day, even longer than usual. I felt tired, like my eyes were being pulled down with weights or something. Difficult to keep them open, along with that feeling you get when your body is ready to sleep. And all your muscles just wanna give up on you. I was ready to head straight to bed and just crash. Looking back, maybe I should have done exactly that. But I didn’t. Instead, I thought it was a good idea to freshen up. Maybe take a shower and splash some water in my face. At least I wouldn’t look like crap when I went downstairs to get some food later on. So, that’s what I did. I got into the shower and just let the water run over my head, down my aching shoulders and back and land on the shower floor.
It felt good, really good. Almost like I was in a trance. But it was too good to be true, cause I was suddenly taken out of the moment when I heard the light flickering. Which I thought was a bit odd for a two-star hotel. You’d think they could pay to keep the lights on, or maybe it was just a faulty bulb. Nothing to worry about I told myself. Nothing to worry about, and I went back to cleaning myself up. That was until, the lights started flickering again. And I mean really flickering, really annoying if I’m honest. So annoying that it forced me to turn off the water. Get out of my shower early and have a look at the bulb. Now I don’t know anything about electrics, but it was probably just a fault in the wire or something like that. Maybe if I just tapped it, it would sort itself out. It didn’t. Instead, it decided to then turn off completely, leaving me in total darkness. In a bathroom with no light, no outside noise just the sound of my sigh. Fed up of that very long day.
Now, here is where the craziness began. Because whilst I was in that dark, empty, silent bathroom. I got a sudden feeling in my chest that something wasn’t right. I got a chill up my legs, then hairs on my arms stood up. Something was not right. And it wasn’t. Cause in a split second later, I don’t know how or why… I just dropped.
I fell in the darkness; my legs gave way. My stomach in shock. My heart pulled into my throat. And I, I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t do anything but fall in this cloak of blackness that surrounded me in all directions. And I tried looking, in a mad rush I tried. Looking for any sort of light or, or sign of light that I could cling onto. To maybe, I don’t know, reach or grab or aim towards. But there was nothing. No bathroom, no light, no god damn floor. I was free falling. I imagine that’s what it feels like when you enter hell. But where I ended up is not a firepit of demons and monsters. No, where I ended up was way worse. Now I’m getting a little ahead of myself.
You wanna know what happened when I was falling. I wish I could tell you; I wish I could say why I fell. Sadly though, I don’t have those answers. All I know is that I was in that dark space of nothingness for what I thought was a lifetime. And at some point, after the fear and panic that came with that horrible sensation. I gave into my fate, my presumed death. It was, awful. I couldn’t take it anymore. I closed my eyes and just waited for something, anything to happen. Maybe I would fall forever, or maybe I would suffocate trying to gasp for any sort of air I could inhale. I might even feel my bones crushing and collapsing for just a moment as I crash into something. the possibilities were endless, and at any of them could have been real.
I had so many ideas like this, terrible and cruel ways to die or suffer. For something I deserve? Maybe? I don’t think I was a bad person; I didn’t break the law. And I didn’t do anything to draw attention to myself. Sure, I maybe said things at meetings sometimes which Mr Williams didn’t like or agree with. But that’s business, right? And my family, I never hated my mother, or father. I took care of them when they were sick, like they did with me as a kid. Maybe I should have done more. More to make them comfortable in their old age. I got them the medicine they needed and visited when I could. And I loved them both, adored them. Looked up to them my entire life. Sure, they came from simpler backgrounds, but they had morals and always had their hearts in the right place. Looking out for people, for me. So many times they had my back, like when I broke my leg when I was 9 or, or when I wanted to get into business school. They drove me for miles to get me to every interview. Every baseball game, they were there. Every major thing that’s happened to me, they were there. And I loved them for that, I still love them for it. And I tried to give that love back. I looked out for them the best I could halfway across the country. I turned up for the big birthdays and Christmas. And the look on their faces when I got them that photobook. It was amazing, they loved it.
But maybe that was me just assuming, maybe I didn’t do enough. And that’s why I got dropped into that, that place. God knows. And if he does know, then I hope he tells me what’s going on. Cause I still have no idea why it happened. Or how I ended up here in this, quiet place. Empty place of, I don’t even know what. Cause if you haven’t guessed already, I did escape that void of darkness. Not sure how. But I did it. I got out. But where I ended up, well… that’s a little harder to explain.