Paranormal Predicament

Chapter 2: Nathaniel

 It all started out as a perfectly normal day. Well, as normal as you can get with me. I'll be the first to admit that I've been in some pretty strange situations before. After a while, you get sort of used to it. Sometimes you even begin to think that nothing will be able to surprise you. Of course, in my case, something always does.

 I've always thought that trying to explain everything that's happened to me so far would be too difficult. To be fair, I've never had to explain any of it before. Somehow, everyone I've ever encountered seemed to already know my past. But that day I learned that there really is a first time for everything.

 I woke up earlier than usual that morning. My dreams had turned to nightmares a while ago, and they just kept getting worse. But that morning I woke up feeling uneasy. For the first time, my dreams had gone strangely quiet. I had a sinking feeling that something big was going to happen today. I shook myself awake and tried not to think about that too much. I had work to do. The morning was actually really beautiful. A light snow covered the ground, contrasting with the gray, cloudy skies. Maybe I could go out and enjoy it later. I took a moment to collect myself, then sat on the couch, grabbed the remote, and started setting everything up.

 The television greeted me with the same image that had haunted me for the past several days. I couldn't wait until I was done with this game. I took a deep breath, picked up my controller, and began to play. Soon, I would finish and it would all be over. That knowledge had given me the strength to keep going this whole time. I had been staring at the screen for hours, completely enveloped in what I was doing. I almost didn't hear the other set of footsteps walking into the room.

 "Nathan, you're still stuck on that," a familiar voice asked me. I turned to see my best friend, Carl, walking up to the couch to sit next to me. "What happened to the idea we came up with last night? I thought for sure that was the right way to go."

 "That's what I've been trying to do," I groaned, "But I haven't gotten it yet. See, that last jump is nearly impossible. Every time I get to it, I barely miss it and have to start over. I swear, there's got to be an invisible wall there or something."

 Carl just shook his head and sighed. For the last few days, he had been trying to help me get past this game that I've been forced to play. My first attempts at the game on my own had been unsuccessful, and I had almost given up. Finally, I called Carl and explained my situation, and he offered to come over right away.

 "You know what, let me have a try," Carl said after a while. "It looks like you need a break."

 I shook my head. "No, hang on. I think I've almost got it."

 Carl put his hand on the controller, which I still grasped tightly in my concentration. I paused the game and looked at him. "What," I asked in frustration.

 "Seriously, let me give it a try. You're never going to make any progress if you keep trying the same thing over and over. Let me play for a bit and I'll see if I can figure something else out." I knew he was right, but I didn't want to let go of the controller.

 Carl said, "Alright, I didn't want to have to do this, but you've left me no choice. Have you eaten anything since you woke up?"

 I sighed as I admitted that I hadn't. "Go make some food and eat" Carl ordered.

 I reluctantly agreed, secretly thankful for a reason to take a short break. I wasn't surprised that I hadn't even realized how hungry I was. I knew I had to be fully focused on the task in front of me, considering everything at stake.

 I came back with breakfast and Carl and I took a break to eat. As we ate we discussed what our next strategies would be only to come up empty-handed again. I wished we could have some clue of what to do. Even a fresh pair of eyes to look at the problem from a new angle would be nice.