A Tamer's Tale

Amongst the darkness, a young man snuggled up close to a large fuzzy blanket. Morning light gently flowed into his bedroom, sneaking past his bent and twisted cheap plastic blinds.

A particular sneaky ray of light attacked the young man's eyelids, causing a grumble of dissatisfaction to escape his tired body. He groggily sat up, rubbing his eyes to remove the heaviness. He glanced around his room. His dirty and clean laundry were strewn around the ground in a chaotically organized mess.

Pausing briefly, the young man decided to lay back down, turning his head away from the leaky blinds. "Maybe in a couple minutes," he mumbled, each word quieter than the last.

Two minutes later a familiar sound of an alarm rang out "Bzzzzz Ring Bzzz Ring Bzzzzz Ring"

The young man rolled around, grumbling to himself before he rose again from his bed. He shifted his body, lamely flopping his legs to the side of his bed. He stood, his body swaying back and forth for a couple seconds. His vision blacked out and his head tingled before he once again regained a semblance of his balance and vision.

Rubbing his eyes he walked towards the alarm situated on the other side of his room. With an exaggerated poke, he silenced it.

"Ughhhhhh"

Looking around the room, he was hopeful that he could find a clean pair of clothes. Shrugging, he bent down and grabbed what he assumed was a clean T-shirt and pulled it over his skinny torso. Looking around his room for a complementary pair of jeans, he found a pair crumpled up underneath his desk. Picking up the pair of dark blue Wranglers, he eyed the heavy wrinkles. Patting them down, he attempted to brush the wrinkles out. After a few moment's he declared them good enough.

Opening his door he shuffled over to a single vanity bathroom. He stood in front of a dirty mirror, backsplash covering a hefty amount of the bottom. Scanning his extreme bed head, he attempted to tame the wild black squirrel nest that it had become, running his hand through his hair a few times. Seeing no noticable difference, he grunted in displeasure but did nothing more.

He then smiled, showing off his slightly yellow teeth. Looking good he decided to skip on brushing them today.

The young man turned to leave the bathroom, his next destination; an empty dining room decorated with a single wooden table and chair.

Collapsing on the chair, he grabbed for an already opened box of frosted flakes and poured the contents into a sparkling clean bowl. He was very particular about his dishes. Grabbing his only spoon he opened the minifridge nearby to complete his meal, a single liter of 2% milk. The only proper milk.

Pouring the milk into the frosted flakes he devoured the cereal. Each bite resulted in a smile and a shoulder dance, his eyes closing as he savored the taste of the sugary goodness floating within his mouth.

Drinking the remaining milk left at the bottom of his bowl, he grabbed his wallet, keys, and phone and headed toward the door. Grabbing the handle he froze in place.

He slowly lifted his arm, sniffing his armpit. A look of disgust flashed across his face before he darted to the bathroom, grabbed a well-used stick of old spice, and generously layered it on.

Now that he was finally all set, he headed for the door. Slinging his backpack on, he exited into the world of adults.

Stepping outside, he leisurely walked down a partially broken set of concrete stairs.

He stepped down from the stairs, merging onto a heavily weathered sidewalk. Humming, swinging his head back and forth, he glanced around at the flocks of people walking around him. Most wore headphones or were looking down at their phone's, not a peep of conversation to be heard.

Turning a corner he spotted his destination. A two-story college building, out front was a dirty bronze plaque that read: "Building of Natural and Geological Sciences".

Stepping inside, he strode with practiced ease down the hallway, clearly knowing where he needed to go. Opening an unassuming red vinyl door his vision expanded into a small lecture hall. Sitting down on a nearby chair he placed his backpack between his feet and pulled out a small pink notebook. Rummaging deeper he pulled out a veteran of a pencil covered in dents, marks, and a nonexistent eraser. He placed his trusty pencil next to his notebook and patiently sat back in his chair.

As minutes ticked by, more people entered, each quick to take a seat. Several more came in before he spotted unmistakable locks of luscious gold sway back and forth in his vision. Ainsley had entered. She wore a crop top paired with jean shorts. Her large green eyes were highlighted by her thin-rimmed glasses. She glanced at him briefly, giving him a small smile before taking the very most front and center seat in the room.

Not long after Ainsley's appearance an older man in his late 60's entered. His hair was mostly white, the few black hairs left still hopelessly hanging on. He stood surprisingly straight and had a small belly. His face was clean shaven and his eyes radiated intelligence.

"Good Morning Elias," The professor said, a smile on his face as he glanced toward one of his quieter students. The young man, now known as Elias smiled at the professor "Good Morning Professor Mutter"

Professor Mutter nodded his head and walked down the aisle that separated the classroom in two. He greeted each student, making a point to not miss a single one. Finally arriving at the podium at the front of the lecture hall, the Professor scanned the seated students. He grimaced, attendance was at an all-time low. Shaking his head he directed his attention at the computer in front of him.

"Good Morning everyone. Today we will go over the effects of rock types on ecosystems." Taking a short breath he loosened his tie "If you would like to follow along, turn to page 67 of the textbook. If not direct your attention to the board."

The Professor turned and stared at the projected image spread across the whiteboard. "First we will go over the effects of sedimentary rock, then move onto igneous, then later metamorphic."

He looked back at his students, "But before that does anyone have any questions about yesterday's lesson?"

Surprisingly a hand in the back shot up, the professor was happy to have a little participation in class. "Yes Elias, what is your question?"

"Are porous aquifers only found in sandstone? Or could they be found in other rock types as well?"

The Professor responded, "Typically they are found in sandstone, but speaking in absolutes is never a good idea. There are chances that they may form in other sedimentary rock types."

Elias nodded, he assumed so but you can never be so sure. No one ever knew what was going to be on the Proffessor's exams. It was better to ask the question and get a possible exam question right, then be shy and miss out on the point.

"Does anyone else have questions?" The Professor asked, his gaze glancing over the rest of the students. He waited a full 5 seconds before grunting and beginning his lesson.

"Alright, let us begin then. Sedimentary rock has many possible benefits but also negatives when it comes to nearby ecosystems. We will start with rain and storm drainage in sedimentary rock depending on the wetness of the rock itself."

The older Professor rambled on, his eyes slowly forming into a small scowl, but that just showed he took his job seriously.

Slowly an hour passed. As the clock hit 10, the professor concluded, "Good Job everyone, tomorrow we will cover Igneous rock and its effects on ecosystems. I hope to see you all there."

All the students rumbled from their chairs, packing up their bags. The rustle of paper crumpling, notebooks sliding and students talking filled the room.

Groups of students left, but Elias patiently sat and waited. Eventually, only a few people were left in the lecture hall when Ainsley passed by Elias. Taking a deep breath, Elias stood and smiled. His thoughts briefly thinking back to his decision to not brush his teeth this morning. Consciously closing his mouth but still maintaining a smile Elias caught Ainsley's attention.

"Hey Ainsley, could I walk with you?"

Ainsley looked over towards Elias, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "Sure, come on!" she responded, making room for Elias to walk next to her.

Elias couldn't help but show his teeth, an even bigger smile plastered on his face. He scrambled next to Ainsley, taking the spot she was offering. They began to walk, and Elias not wanting to screw up glanced down at his worn sneakers "So, where are you headed next?" Elias asked.

"I have Advanced Ecology next. It's only a couple doors down from here." She responded, she swayed her arms back and forth, playing with the pockets of her Jean shorts.

"Ah, I took that with Professor DeWall last semester. What do you think of it so far?"

"Well I signed up for it so I can't complain too much." she giggled into her hand. Glancing towards Elias she shot back a question of her own, "What do you think of Professor Mutter's Natural Geology Class?"

Elias looked towards the ceiling, his eyes pulled towards the square pattern above, "He's a difficult teacher, but he seems to care." Elias responded. They both leisurely walked next to one another.

Watching the squares on the ceiling pass by, Elias mentally steeled his resolve. A flicker of confidence rushed through his body before turning his attention to Ainsley. Her cute pink lips and petite nose perfectly framed her face. He struggled to find the right words as he stared at her. Stuttering, Elias spoke "So... I was wondering if you had any plans for tomor-"

Then Elias, in an unexplainable sequence of events became nauseous and dizzy. He grabbed his head in pain. Then only when Ainsley took his hand and held him up did he lose consciousness.

Inexplicitly, his eyes opened once more, but this time he wasn't looking at only Ainsley, but also his body in her hands. He watched her cry out, trying to get people's attention to help him. A group of people quickly huddled around his ragdolled body, but before Elias could watch any more, a strange creature caught his attention.

An ethereal fairy standing at half a foot tall, with bat wings and a strange rune on the center of its forehead pulled Elias away from the group of people and his limp body. Elias felt it grab his very being before it shot through the roof. Elias unnaturally calm, watched as the school building grew smaller and smaller beneath him.

With each flap of the tiny fairy's wings, they shot into the sky, leaving the atmosphere of Earth in mere seconds. Curious about their location, Elias tried to speak but nothing came out. 'Odd' Elias thought, his gaze turning from earth to the void that was space.

Surprisingly within the darkness a large portal of light shone. All around Elias hundreds of other fairies dragged blobs of light behind them.

But before Elias could examine his situation any further, he was tossed into the crystal-shaped portal, his vision going black instantly. Not even a second passed before Elias felt warm wetness around him. His knees tucked against his chest, and his arms crossed. He couldn't open his eyes, nor could he speak. 'What in the world is going on?'

Curiosity overtook his fear. Never would he ever imagined any of this could have, or would have happened. His thoughts quickly wandered, 'First off, how did I get here?' Elias questioned.

'Maybe I died?.. So that would mean those fairies were the equivalent of angels? Does that mean I'm in heaven?'

Elias continued to question what the hell was going on. It wasn't like he had anything better to do, he was stuck in a dark, cramped, and wet space. 'Why would Heaven be dark and wet though?'

... 'Am I in hell? Oh Shit'

'What did I do wrong?'

Elias couldn't help but look back at his life. He hadn't really accomplished much yet. He was a single college student who was trying to figure out what the heck he was going to do with his life. Maybe he teased his siblings a little too much but he thought he was a good person.

As Elias's thoughts continued to wander, specifically going back to that one time he accidentally kicked his brother in the balls, he felt the tight walls around him begin to squeeze.

'It was already cramped, what the heck' Elias complained, the walls compressed his body into a tighter position. Then the space around his head got even tighter, but only for a few seconds before the compression of his head gave way to cool air, not long after the rest of his body followed.

Elias forced his eyes open, a dizzying array of lights, faces, and sounds overwhelming his senses. Giant hands held him in a cradle, the giant in question looking down at him with a surprisingly intimate gaze.

Elias's vision stabilized and the sounds though loud, became less overwhelming. His gaze continued to stare up at the giant lady holding him. 'Well, I guess I'm a baby now...'