15. Alive, Again.

Zack was surprised. He blinked his eyes open in stunned, dazzled confusion. At first, he couldn't move—like he had forgotten how to do so or what the purpose of doing so might be—but then, slowly, he regained himself. The brilliant light above was hard to fight against, and it took him a moment to realize that he was lying in a… field.

How?

He could smell the grass. He could feel its soft blades against the exposed skin of his arms, and along the small patches of the ankle the joggers didn't manage to conceal from it. As his vision came into focus, he realized that he wasn't alone—he was still holding onto Todd's hand. The warmth pulsed out from it, warmer now than it had ever been in the before. Zack squeezed involuntarily, needfully, unable to move or make any sound just yet. In that moment, the touch of Todd's hand was a lifeline, a reassurance that he wasn't lost in this strange place.

And then, to his relief, it squeezed back.

Zack breathed in, inhaling a deep volume of the freshest air he'd ever tasted. It smelled… green…alive. He took another breath. And another. Feasting on the pure air until at long last he found the strength that had departed him when they'd…when they'd…

He really wasn't sure exactly. It was all a blur.

Todd sat up wearily, dragging Zack's big hand forward and pulling him up to a seated position as well. As the two got their bearings, Zack found they were in the near center of an enormous meadow, brilliant gemstone-colored flowers erupting like explosions of pure joy from its tender green blanket, the sky far above bluer than any he'd ever known.

The field was vaguely circular in shape, maybe a mile across, and ringing it in a singular, unbroken wall were the tall pines Zack associated so much nostalgia with. Out on the horizon, an enormous glittering tower reached up out of the mountainous landscape. For as far as the eye could see there was nothing but an endless verdant dream, unbroken and untarnished. Zack marveled at it. And the most unexplainable thing of all was that nearby, some short distance from the pair, a red Volvo station wagon sat quietly amongst the wildflowers, the only proof besides them that people existed at all.

Zack and Todd sat there, holding hands, their hearts pounding with a mix of amazement and anticipation. They knew that wherever they'd been spirited to—however—their adventure was only just getting started. The unknown lay before them, a vast canvas waiting to be explored, and they were ready to dive in, eager to uncover the mysteries of this surreal world.