A Djin Story Ch. 00

Alex opened his eyes as the alarm on his cell phone went off; just like every morning. Muttering, "I'm awake. I'm awake," he rolled to the end of the bed and pushed the blanket away. Shivering, he noticed how low the temperature in his room was; his alarm sounding again. "Ok, ok. I'm awake," he mumbled, turning it off. Walking into the kitchen, his mind began to clear, and he started making coffee. He looking around as it started, thinking back.

It wasn't too long ago that he got this small apartment. He thought back on the mess he had found when he entered the house for the first time. Alex was a single guy, so he didn't care about a bit of dust. However, the dust that he discovered was thick enough to leave footprints, and then there were the things he had found.

Mostly, it was just random junk, but there were some valuables he had decided to keep. At first, he was expecting the last owner to return and claim his things; however, even after some time, nobody showed. Just recently, he had put some of the things on an auction site.

As he opened a cabinet searching for a cup, his eyes were drawn to a small box with a picture on it. He took the box from the shelf, opened it, and, seeing that it was empty, put it on the sideboard. His phone rang, and he quickly forgot about the box

Alex arrived at school a few minutes after class had started. The day was slow, as usual, and if it wasn't for some of his classmates, Alex wouldn't go to college most of the time. The day's subject was easy, so it didn't take him long to finish it. He sat back and relaxed for most of the morning.

At the end of class, Alex, along with his friends, closed their laptops; getting ready to leave. "So what are your plans for the weekend?" Delano asked.

Alex shrugged. "I don't know, probably playing games all weekend, like normal."

"Sounds like a good idea," Rutger said in his usual, not much more than a whisper, voice.

Alex looked at them; they had been friends for a long time. He noticed, not for the first time, that they were as opposite as night and day. Delano was chubby, to say the least. He had blue eyes and blonde hair. Rutger, on the other hand, was slim with light brown skin, and had a mustache with a slight hint of a beard.

"Care to join me tonight?" Delano asked. "My parents are out, so I have the house to myself."

"Who did you invite, besides me?" Alex asked.

"Well, Rutger, of course, and Denzel and Toni."

Alex moaned. "Are you sure you want Toni around?"

Delano smiled as he nodded.

Even though Alex was a head shorter than his two friends, he was usually the boldest. Grinning, Alex teased, "That's right, a demolition of a house party at your house." He chuckled, dodging as Delano jokingly swung his fist, yelling, "Eight o'clock sharp at your place!" before jumping on his bicycle.

Returning home, Alex turned on the central heater, and put on his gloves. Then, looking at the clock and realizing he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, he entered the kitchen. Again, he saw the small box standing on the sideboard. He picked it up, looking at it closer. The box seemed brand new, made up of some exotic chestnut colored wood with a small picture of an Arabian looking maiden on the lid. He studied the box for some time, finding something written on the bottom. The signs drew his attention; they weren't like anything he'd ever seen before. Walking to his bedroom, he knew he could use the internet to find an explanation and decipher them.

After scanning the underside of the box, it took him hours to find a site about the strange signs. As the afternoon slipped away, he slowly started to translate the marks into letters he could read. In the end though, he could only make out a few of the lines. Looking at them, the urge to speak them out loud was irresistible. His voice was strong and deep, the words rolling from his lips as he stared at his notes. Slowly, the box opened. As the last word faded away, he noticed something was wrong. Turning to the box still sitting on his scanner, he saw it standing open; a blue and purple cloud floating from it to him. For a moment, he thought he saw lightening shoot around the cloud, and there was the heavy smell that comes just before a storm. That was the last thing he remembered before the world became vague, and he passed out.