Chapter 26

Major was solemnly soaked through and it had only been twenty minutes since takeoff. His shirt was soaked, his trousers were soaked, his phone was basically useless now because it was soaked too. He tried desperately to dry himself with the warm air trick but it was having literally no effect. The flight was going to be a long one indeed. A long, wet and cold one.

From inside the plane, Asia was on Woogle. A cracked, much more unsafe version of Google. She was searching information about her hometown, Nowhere. Woogle showed her many results about the place like how it was haunted and full of spirits and many reasons why no one decides to go there.

Some in surrounding areas have given it the nickname 'Area 52.' She dug deeper and deeper and one thing stood out about her searches, one overarching message that she took from this. Don't go there. It's dangerous.

Asia's determination got the better of her though, she had a gut feeling that the town held answers to her problems, possibly even the route of her problems entirely. She thought back to her childhood there and what she experienced.

Nowhere wasn't always called this. Originally it was called Sallville. It wasn't a big town per se but it did have a fairly large population for its size. Many families there built their fortune on their vegetable farms. Sallville vegetables were worldy renowned as the best a person could get and the produce themselves sometimes sold for ridiculous amounts of money.

The town also had a sole leading family in charge of the entire operation. The Arenwarde family. They lived in a large mansion at the highest point of the town, their house could be seen from all angles and was largely admired by the townfolk.

The Arenwaldes were a generous family though, different than most rich business owners. They lived at the top and wanted their friends to be there with them. They didn't do much of the work in the fields but they paid the townsfolk handsomely. There was no greed in their operation and as a result made the town a beautiful place. Many there thought it to be a Utopia.

Despite the town itself having a high birthrate, the Arenwardes decided they'd only have a single child. They had a daughter named Asia Anne Arenwarde. The family were fascinated with the continent of Asia and it's rich sense of culture, they decided this a fitting name for their daughter.

Asia smilled at the thought of her old life, she remembered the townsfolk, the greenest of grass and the ripest, freshest vegetables, that had been picked for the season. She remembered how each season boasted a different flavour in the vegetables and how all of them just tasted perfectly. A tear rolled down her eye though, her emotions knew that this was a time of the past and also a dark time for her, just behind closed doors.

She fell asleep for the rest of the flight...

A few hours into the flight, the plane hit a thunderstorm, the plane rocked heavily and the booming sound of thunder roared around the plane. Asia woke up all of a sudden to the rocking of the plane. She gazed out of the window to see lightning striking all around them. This wasn't a problem for the modern plane. They were very durable and thunderstorms were just a bumpy ride and that's all.

"Aw cmon" said Major from the top of the plane.

Lightning struck close to the plane and flashed in Asia's eyes.

"Asia....ASIA!"

She woke up in a sudden jolt to see a young lads face shoved straight at hers. He patted her on the cheek playfully. "Get up already, had me thinking you were hurt then." The young lad pulled on her arm and yanked her into her feet. 'I recognise him, his face.' "Johnny?"

"Yeah, what's up Asia, you need something."

"Is it really you?"

The kid patted himself down. "Uhm, yes. It's me. Did you eat too much or hit your head or something?" He raised his eyebrow at her. "Just hurry up, were on fourth down."

Asia looked down at herself, she was wearing something different. She was smaller than usual, younger than usual. She was wearing a football jersey.

"Hey quarterback, hurry up already!" One of the other kids shouted at her from afar. She hurried over, and prepared for the inbounding ball. The ball came and she caught it. Looking for her options. She threw a dud ball off to a kid who was running away. It was a terribly weak throw and looked pathetic.

She looked down at her hands, she remembers this, but differently. She was in her childhood, a memory of her childhood. Just worse.

Asia was asleep on the plane, a small black orb that was spiralling and swirling was forming in her hand as she slept. It dropped onto the purse of the woman sitting next to her, her belongings splashed all over her and the purse swirled and turned into a large piece of leather hide, which flopped over her body. The woman sprung up in a frantic flurry. "My things! All of my things are everywhere!" She clawed at the floor, picking up fistfuls of junk and items. She reached for a purse which was no longer there and jumped again, fighting the cow hide and pushing it off of her.

Her antics woke Asia up from her slumber. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and looked up at the frantic mess of a woman in front of her, who really pulled focus.

"Are you okay ma'am?"