Nebulous
We Are Not Alone
It took Sam until well into the next day to realize he should have done a search for news articles related to his return. Surely there was something there. Surely there would be similar articles about other people, because he couldn’t be the only person to have gone missing because of these lights. Somewhere out there, there had to be someone going through exactly what he was going through.
He returned to the library, and did his search, easily finding an article about him on the website of a local news station.
Sometimes miracles can happen. Sam Owens, 31, who had been missing for 6 months, mysteriously returned to his home in Shadow Creek, MA with no memory of where he had been.
Following his return, Owens is currently residing in Hubble, MA with his parents. When asked about his son’s return, Bill Owens stated, “My wife and I are just glad to have our son back.”
Local law enforcement currently have no leads surrounding Sam Owen’s disappearance and return, but hope that eventually justice will be served.
He frowned at the short article. He hadn’t even realized anyone had called his home to ask for comment, or that his father had actually talked to the media. He guessed his parents didn’t want him to feel like he was under a microscope with the media trying to get information.
He exited the news website and tried to find articles about other people who might have been missing and returned the same day as him. He clicked on a few links, starting to think that his search was fruitless, thinking that maybe he was alone in all of this.
But suddenly he found himself looking at a message board titled “We Are Not Alone.” He was almost going to click out of it, thinking it to be some nonsense conspiracy theorist website when he saw a link entitled, “No memory of the last 6 months.”
Hand shaking, Sam moved the mouse to the link and clicked on it. The user, adam421, who had created the thread had posted: “I’ve recently returned to my life after missing for about 6 months. I have no memory of that time. I only remember the lights. Hoping I’m not alone in all of this. Is there anyone else out there who this has happened to?”
Only one other user, guest5423, had responded to the thread: “I haven’t experienced this, but did some research. Here are some links to articles on others who have disappeared and came back in that time span. There are more out there.”
Sam clicked on some of the links, reading the articles. Most were from just within the US, though there were some from different countries, people who were going through just what he had gone through. He wasn’t alone in all of this after all.
---
For the first time since Sam had been returned, he didn’t have any trouble falling asleep. Apparently the knowledge that he wasn’t the only one going through this brought him more comfort than he realized.
It didn’t stop the dreams though.
He was someplace dark, air bursting from his lungs in cloudy bursts at each exhale. It was cold and damp, and a complete feeling of dread had overtaken him. He could hear sounds in the distance, unclear and muddled in his head. The whir of machines, the hum of an engine, voices, sobbing, yelling, his own breathing.
He couldn’t focus on a single sound, couldn’t try to figure out where it was coming from and why.
A scraping sound was heard above it all, coming closer and closer to where he was. He curled in on himself, pushing closer to the hard wall he was cowering against. His breaths quickened and panic washed over him. A noise escaped his throat as a door creaked open, revealing blinding light and a shadowy figure that grew as it approached him.
Long, cold fingers wrapped around his arm and Sam awoke with a start, sweating and shaky in his own bed. He looked quickly around his room, looking for the figure, listening for screams.
When he realized it was alone, that it had only been a dream, he released a wracking sob. He pressed his hands against his eyes, waiting for the dream to dissipate from his memory. But it stayed, hovering in the blackness of his mind, the panicked feeling not far behind it.
He returned to the library, and did his search, easily finding an article about him on the website of a local news station.
Sometimes miracles can happen. Sam Owens, 31, who had been missing for 6 months, mysteriously returned to his home in Shadow Creek, MA with no memory of where he had been.
Following his return, Owens is currently residing in Hubble, MA with his parents. When asked about his son’s return, Bill Owens stated, “My wife and I are just glad to have our son back.”
Local law enforcement currently have no leads surrounding Sam Owen’s disappearance and return, but hope that eventually justice will be served.
He frowned at the short article. He hadn’t even realized anyone had called his home to ask for comment, or that his father had actually talked to the media. He guessed his parents didn’t want him to feel like he was under a microscope with the media trying to get information.
He exited the news website and tried to find articles about other people who might have been missing and returned the same day as him. He clicked on a few links, starting to think that his search was fruitless, thinking that maybe he was alone in all of this.
But suddenly he found himself looking at a message board titled “We Are Not Alone.” He was almost going to click out of it, thinking it to be some nonsense conspiracy theorist website when he saw a link entitled, “No memory of the last 6 months.”
Hand shaking, Sam moved the mouse to the link and clicked on it. The user, adam421, who had created the thread had posted: “I’ve recently returned to my life after missing for about 6 months. I have no memory of that time. I only remember the lights. Hoping I’m not alone in all of this. Is there anyone else out there who this has happened to?”
Only one other user, guest5423, had responded to the thread: “I haven’t experienced this, but did some research. Here are some links to articles on others who have disappeared and came back in that time span. There are more out there.”
Sam clicked on some of the links, reading the articles. Most were from just within the US, though there were some from different countries, people who were going through just what he had gone through. He wasn’t alone in all of this after all.
---
For the first time since Sam had been returned, he didn’t have any trouble falling asleep. Apparently the knowledge that he wasn’t the only one going through this brought him more comfort than he realized.
It didn’t stop the dreams though.
He was someplace dark, air bursting from his lungs in cloudy bursts at each exhale. It was cold and damp, and a complete feeling of dread had overtaken him. He could hear sounds in the distance, unclear and muddled in his head. The whir of machines, the hum of an engine, voices, sobbing, yelling, his own breathing.
He couldn’t focus on a single sound, couldn’t try to figure out where it was coming from and why.
A scraping sound was heard above it all, coming closer and closer to where he was. He curled in on himself, pushing closer to the hard wall he was cowering against. His breaths quickened and panic washed over him. A noise escaped his throat as a door creaked open, revealing blinding light and a shadowy figure that grew as it approached him.
Long, cold fingers wrapped around his arm and Sam awoke with a start, sweating and shaky in his own bed. He looked quickly around his room, looking for the figure, listening for screams.
When he realized it was alone, that it had only been a dream, he released a wracking sob. He pressed his hands against his eyes, waiting for the dream to dissipate from his memory. But it stayed, hovering in the blackness of his mind, the panicked feeling not far behind it.