Introduction

It started without any warning. One moment, I was walking to the luggage carousel in the airport after returning from a business trip and, at the next moment, I was lying on the ground face down in dirt and leaves. I was dressed as I had been with my overnight bag slung over my shoulder and my laptop bag on my other. There was no flash of light, no loud bang, nor any significant thing occurring to note the transition. For transition it was. I was now in a forest surrounded by tall trees and quiet rather than the noise of a busy urban airport. I lifted my head and shoulders and took a look around and saw ... nothing, but trees and bushes. There were no people, no machines, no airport, and no noise of any machines. Where the hell was I and what had happened?

I stood up and hollered out, "Anyone here? Is there anyone here?" There was no answer except for a soft breeze through the leaves. I recognized the trees as aspens and birches thinking, "What were they doing in Florida?" I realized that I wasn't in Orlando, and probably not in Florida. I might not even be on earth! That shook me. I wondered again what had happened but decided that there wasn't much I could do about the situation other than live with it. I'm fairly young at twenty‑eight, in good shape, and had few family ties, just a brother and a sister, both older and married. There was no longer even a current girl friend since my traveling for work had brought my last relationship to an end a few months ago. She loved our sex but not its infrequency...

Looking around some more, I realized that there was a fairly tall hill to my right. Having nowhere else in mind as a goal, I started walking in that direction thinking that I would be able to see more from the hilltop. As I walked, I thought about what I had with me. In my overnight bag were some extra clothes, my pocketknife, my leather shoes (I wore sneakers on planes.), a workout suit, a windbreaker, and my shaving kit. My laptop was on my other shoulder and I thought about cranking it up to check for a WiFi connection but decided to get to the top of my chosen hill first. I did pull my cell phone out and it showed no signal. I hoped for better luck on top of the hill.

After a steeper climb than I had first thought, I reached the top and looked around at a vast panorama that did not look like Florida or any other area with cities. Off in the distance, I could see some smoke but no people, no roads, and no buildings. Nothing suggested that civilization was close or even in existence. I found a flat rock and sat down placing my bags at my feet. Looking at my watch, I realized that it had taken an hour and a half to walk up and noticed that the sun was high. That made sense, as it was almost noon. I thought back over the morning. I had finished up at the branch office yesterday evening. Early in the morning, I drove my rental car to the airport and got on the plane for Orlando where I lived. At Orlando, I got off the plane and was walking along the concourse to the luggage area and then to a bus to take me to my car. Everything seemed normal until I suddenly fell on the ground, which wasn't concrete or institutional carpet but old leaves and dirt. I didn't know why I fell or when the transition occurred other than, in that instant. There was nothing to help explain my situation. I didn't think it was a memory failure.

Though I now thought it a waste of time, I turned on my laptop and checked for a connection and found nothing. Pulling my cell phone out, it still showed no signal. I closed down the laptop and put it in its bag. Holding the cell phone up above me a little and standing, I turned slowly to see if a signal would appear. No bars. I turned it off also saving the battery though for what I wasn't sure. I decided to check it every few hours. Putting it away, I decided to think about what to do.

Trying to make a few assumptions, I decided that somehow I was moved out west maybe into the Rockies or north, which would explain the trees. I was no expert on where trees grew but knew these were not Central Florida pines and palms nor did this hill match anything around Orlando. I decided that why this had happened was not worth more thought until I knew more about where I was and had a course of action leading me back home. It was Friday so no one would look for me or wonder until some time late Monday morning when I didn't call in or show up at work. Fortunately, it was warm so it must be summer here also wherever "here" was located. I figured I would be comfortable during the day but that nights could be chilly. What did I mean "nights?"

The smoke that I saw was toward the east and I decided to head in that direction. I would follow the smoke and keep the sun from my eyes. Also, I did not see any large waterways in that direction, or in any other direction, for that matter. With a target of a sort established, I shouldered my bags and started moving looking around for anything to eat or drink as I walked. My laptop bag had a half bottle of water and a couple of candy bars but I would save them for later.

As I walked, I noticed the lack of trails, much less roads, and no signs of people in the area. Even supposing I was deep in the Rockies, I was a bit surprised. I covered about five miles and finally noticed the sun had moved down further suggesting that the time zone might not be much further west than Orlando. The ground was slowly sloping into a large valley and following the smoke was leading me towards it. The land opened up and away from the hillier ground. I stopped and took a break at the edge of a clearing. Sitting on a fallen log, I decided that tomorrow was another day and I should plan to stop for the night and take it easy. There were some fallen trees in the clearing and I figured firewood was available. I had a lighter in my shaving kit so starting a fire shouldn't be a big problem. I got up and crossed the clearing and saw a small creek a hundred feet away and moved closer to it. It ran clear and cold over rocks bending around the clearing where I had just been resting. The water tasted good so I stopped for the night at the edge of the clearing thirty feet from the creek where there was some bare ground for my fire. I had been in the Scouts so camping and fire building weren't a problem. Food was an issue so one of my candy bars became supper. I gathered wood and made a fire gradually building it into a decent blaze that would warm me for a while. As it started to get dark, the air turned chilly and I put on the sweat suit over my clothes and lay on the windbreaker with a large log behind me for a reflector. At some point, I fell asleep while watching the flames.