Today was like any other day for Zane. He woke up, brushed his teeth, ate breakfast, got ready, went to work, came home, played some video games to ease his boredom, and then went to bed. Zane had been in this cycle of repetition ever since he left high school.
This time was a little different. He fell asleep earlier than usual after getting off his game, and that resulted in him waking up earlier a lot earlier. Zane worked in the fast-food restaurant King Burger. Ever since he left high school, he had been saving up for his college tuition. He never had parents who could financially take care of him, neither was he smart enough to get a scholarship.
Zane got up from bed with a sigh and just stared at the wall for a good minute before stretching over to check the time on his phone. The time was 4:45. He started his shift about five hours later than now. But now he had lost his sleep and couldn't fall back asleep no matter how much he tried.
Zane had been bored lately. Not even video games were cutting it anymore. The only way to quench that boredom was to sleep, and now he couldn't even do that!
With an exaggerated sigh, Zane got dressed, grabbed his car keys from the gaming desk, and left his cramped apartment. Walking down the hallway, he pushed open the main door and saw his car waiting outside. It wasn't much of it, just an average car that got him from point A to point B.
He got inside the car, closed the car door, and turned on the radio. He switched the radio channels until he reached the local morning news. Zane could hear the music before the live broadcast. Then the music stopped, and the broadcast started.
"Good morning, this is News and Brews, and it's 4:45 AM. Here are the latest updates. At about 5:00 AM this morning, a light storm going to appear according to local sources, but the meteorologist tells us not to worry since this storm will naturally disperse because of its lack of air resistance…"
The news continued pouring in, but Zane didn't pay attention to it, since he knew the storm was likely the most important news today. The rest were just small events taking place in the city.
Zane was listening to news about the storm while he was starting up the car. He didn't have a destination in mind; he was just going to aimlessly drive around until the gas got low, then fill the tank and go home to get ready for work.
Zane started up the car, put the brakes on, and rode off. While driving, he saw the scenery change until he reached the countryside of the city, where the farms were located. He looked up and saw the clouds and then the heavy downpour of rain started.
'The news radio wasn't lying about a storm coming, huh,' Zane chuckled wryly.
Unbeknownst to Zane, he was riding right into the storm.
While riding through the farm street, he saw fewer and fewer farms and houses until all he saw was the greenery. But it didn't feel green; the clouds were getting thicker and thicker, casting a grey shadow over the peaceful scenery.
RUMBLE RUMBLE
The sky was rumbling, and more rain started to fall down. He drove through the rain, his windshield wipers clearing the water from the car window.
Until he caught a scene he had never seen in his life: lightning. First it was blue lightning, but the closer it came to the car, the more it changed color. Now it wasn't blue anymore — but purple.
Seeing the strange weather phenomenon, he started thinking about his life and how he lived it. How he didn't have or make any friends in school because of lack of confidence. Or never having the privilege of having two parents, never feeling motherly love or fatherly guidance in his life.
He also became more desensitized to reality, the more he read fantasy novels, where the protagonists go through hardships and obstacles and gain power and rewards. He knew he could never go through real obstacles like defeating an unimaginable foe or leveling up.
But him being bored was just the tip of the iceberg. The truth was, he was in a deep depression. He didn't know how to get out of it. He didn't know whether it was because of his loneliness or lack of excitement in his life.
All these thoughts took him about a second to think. The lightning that was heading toward him wasn't purple anymore but golden.
'If heavens conjured up a lightning, it would probably be that color.' Zane sighed and got ready to get through the storm.
He started driving through faster to avoid the impact of the storm, but as if the lighting knew his intention it started getting more frantic and the clouds rumbled even more as if laughing at his poor attempt to escape.
That was the last thought Zane conjured up before the lightning hit the car. It snaked itself through the small holes inside the roof of the car until it landed squarely across Zane's head. His brain stopped functioning, and the blood that was flowing through his heart stopped pumping.
He died instantly.
The golden-colored lightning continued even after Zane died and rushed to the motor of the car, overworking it until it exploded with the car.
No remains of Zane were left ,only a burnt, charred car with no license plate.
The storm disappeared, and the lightning dispersed
This was the beginning of the journey of Zane.