Shifters

Fragments

Josh lay perfectly still. Since he'd made contact with that book his mind had been in total disarray as various images flashed through his head at immense speeds. As the velocity increased, his vision blurred causing his already overloaded brain to panic further.

Just as he felt there'd be no relief, a voice called out to him, "hello? Earth to Josh?"

He tried to respond but no words came.

'Had Joana finally come to help him?' he wondered.

"Is everything ok?" the female voice asked.

As the voice spoke once more, the previous blurriness started to clear presenting a new scene to him. Josh sat slouched on a stool, staring at a woman in an apron who sat directly opposite to him. He immediately recognized it as the kitchen he was having breakfast in just days ago.

"Are you ok?" the voice asked again.

"Everything's fine mum," he replied forcing the words out.

"You've barely touched your plate," she said casually looking down.

Noting the food, he picked up the nearby fork, staring blankly at his plate.

'What's happening to me!' he thought, mind racing, 'nothing makes sense. Where's Joana? How did I get back here? Did-Did I imagine all of it?'

As these questions burned through his mind, sharp migraine-like pains shot through his head.

"Have you finished?" his mother asked already at his side.

'When did she get so close?' he thought slightly startled.

"Sorry I-," he started to respond.

"Oh look at that, you've already finished," she cut in taking the plate away to the sink.

"When did I-," he stopped short.

Not only had his mother reached the kitchen sink, but she was already halfway finished with the dishes. More pains ran through his mind as he tried to process what was happening. It was as though short gaps were starting to form in his memory.

"What's happening to me?" he muttered.

As if in response to his words, the air grew chilly. His mum stood frozen at the sink, wooden spoon in hand. Josh, jumped to his feet knocking over his stool as dark wisps of energy began to emanate from his mother. He watched in horror as darkness enveloped his mother's small slender figure. As her entire form was consumed, the Looper emerged from the darkness, however something was different. Rather than it's usual form, it still retained his mother's face. Her arms were now contorted into an odd shape leaving sharp black claws, still clutching the wooden spoon, where her fingers once were.

The figure advanced slowly towards him menacingly. Josh turned to flee but tripped over the fallen stool as he did so. He crawled backward as quickly as he could manage until brushing against a wall. Knowing how dire his current predicament was, he steeled himself as the shadowy entity hovered above. It halted, staring down at him. His mother's mouth tore open and her face was swallowed by dark energy as it widened into a devilish smile. It raised a dark ethereal hand and crushed the spoon in half. Simultaneously, the floor gave way beneath him and he fell through the darkness below.

Just as quickly as he'd fallen, Josh landed flat on his back. Surprisingly, aside from the persistent migraine, no other pain could be felt.

'Am I back?' he wondered smelling the scent of burning wood in the air.

Supporting himself with a hand, he sat up to a completely new environment. From his position, he saw what appeared to be several ancient ruins, a few covered in flames. Josh got to his feet, dusted the back of his pants and climbed a broken wall carefully to get a better look. The surrounding landscape mirrored the destruction he'd witnessed on the ground. Surveying the area further he spotted a figure sitting against a burning tree, clutching a large spear. He descended from his vantage point and cautiously made his way over to the unmoving body.