*Update post coming soon explaining my weird absence—until then, enjoy a new BTB!!*
Crack! James dropped the bat and ran. His mind drifted as he raced towards the plate. Everything around him seemed to slow down, and he took a quick glance behind him. The crowd was cheering, and he caught a glance of his dad, standing up in slow motion, cheering. He passed first base, and kept running, but time seemed to slow down even further. He managed to pull his gaze back to the path ahead of him, but he reached second base faster than he had anticipated, losing his footing. He felt time resuming to normal as he hurtled to the ground. He heard a crack, and a sharp pain ran through his leg as he hit the dirt, but he pulled himself back up and somehow stumbled home. He collapsed into the dugout, as his teammates flocked him. He heard the announcer yell that it looked like he was gonna be out for a while. Wincing, he felt his teammates hoist him up onto a bench, when the medics approached. They put his leg in a splint, carried him to the team van, and drove him to the nearest hospital.
“I swear dad, I’m fine.”
“Damn right you’re fine. What were you thinking, looking back to the stands like that?!” his father reprimanded. “Now you’re going to be out the rest of the season!”
“Sorry.” James grumbled, rearranging the pillows around him on the couch.
“Now Jim, don’t be too hard on him. Ha made the run, didn’t he?” his mother crooned as she walked out of the kitchen holding a plate of cookies. “Now leave him be. He doesn’t have to be back at school for another day, so let him enjoy it.” James’ father snickered and left the room. James picked up the video game controller and began fighting a virtual war. “Don’t mind your father. He’s just worried about you.” Said Mrs. Goldston, setting the cookies on the coffee table. She left the room, leaving James alone with his games. After a few violence-filled minutes, James put down the controller, picked a cookie up off the plate, and took a bite out of it. He immediately began to shiver.
“It’s really cold.” He grumbled, pulling a blanket over his shoulders. He took another bite of the cookie, and noticed that it suddenly felt very hot in the room. He began to sweat. He took the blanket off, and fanned himself with the tv guide from the nearby table. He picked up the cookie and stared at it. He shrugged and took another bite. Everything felt fine once again. He picked up his controller and went back to the game. After a few minutes of playing, he absentmindedly picked up the cookie, still staring at the television, and took a bite. His vision began to go black at the edges. He looked around, but the blackness stayed. The blackness began to take up more of his field of vision, bleeding as if it were ink. It closed in further and further, James looking wildly around, blinking as fast as he could to rid his eyes of the darkness. He began to yell. “MOM! Mom! Where are you!? I think I’m-” He lost his ability to speak as the blackness obscured the rest of his vision. The couch disappeared beneath him, and he soon felt nothing at all.