chapter 3

He swallowed his pill and stepped into the cylinder.
There was no screen. Dottie and the cat were gone.
So was he. George didn't know where he was, except it was blue.
He started thinking about his wife and that there was no screen. $5,000 for this should have...
He stopped thinking about her and instead thought about France.
France, he thought. France France France.
George remembered hearing friends talk about going to Europe when he was in college.
He was always too busy.
The blue was gone. Everywhere he looked, it was dark.
I'm dead, he thought. They took my money and killed me.
Perfect crime; no body left, just a pill dispenser and whatever Dottie signed, which she probably didn't read. At least I won't have to deal with the cat pissing on my side of the bed anymore.
He noticed he was standing on asphalt. It was still dark, but he could see fields on both sides of the road where he was.
George saw headlights.
He waved. The car sped by.
He saw a town's lights down the road where the car came from and started walking.
He thought he saw a beacon, but it was a motorcycle.
Eventually he got to the town. He saw billboards for McDonald's and Nike. The buildings all looked ugly and pre-fab.
George waited for someone to come by. He had no idea where he was.