The Black Box

“What’s in the black box?” I wondered aloud. Richy next to me was wondering the same thing. A box has so many possibilities, but this one doubly so. If it was just…say…a cardboard box. Maybe it would be interesting. Maybe. If it was sealed up with tape or had “Valuables” marked on the side then yeah, probably. But this thing was BLACK. It sure felt like a cardboard box, but that made it all the more alluring.

“Should we open it?” Richy asked the obvious question.

I stared at the box, as if my gaze could figure out the answer by itself.

“I’m not sure. I really want to. But what if we accidentally release hellspawn?” I replied, looking over at Richy who was still trained on the box.

“I’m gonna do it,” He said, reaching across and yoinking the box right out from my hands. I was about to protest but before I could he ripped the cover open.

“Oh wow,” He exclaimed, “It’s—”

I woke up on a beach. It felt like I had been there for hours. Why I was there was yet to be seen. There’s nothing around me. The waved splashed over me and licked at my legs. What a bizarre thought. I got up and tried peering around, but there was nothing for my brain to attach itself to out here…besides the beach. There’s sand and water, thank god something to actually look at. But everything else was this all-pervasive fog that clouded everything about a metre away. Other than that, I was on my own with no Richy in sight.

Instead of waiting around or getting lost by walking inland I followed the curve of the shoreline. At least the walking would let me pace myself out more.