No Service

by Calex Winteridge

Rating: everyone
Tags: Tragedy, Adventure, Human
Length: 4284

Being drawn into the woods James comes across someting that will change is life forver. Wondering why when people go into a forest near his house and eather they turn up dead or never found, James wants to find out on his own by suiting up and praying for the best. But when his phone goes hay wire, he finds himself in something much, much, worse.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-05-17 19:47:09 UTC

Going Deep

I woke to the sound of rain, very hard pounding rain on the roof that was feet from my face. My rooms ceiling was built very close to the roof, and when it rains I hear every single last drop that hits near me. So I pulled myself out of bed and dropped from the top bunk to the floor with a thundering thud that shook every thing in my room.“ Ah, shit, SHHH!!!, stupid junk.” My room is filled with junk, pictures, little statues and Nic Nacs. So whenever I  move it’s like a goddamn earthquake. Making my way  across my room to the bigger side wear the room is further away from the floor, I took a pillow and laid down on the ground.  It was cold  hard and very uncomfortable, but quiet. I would you’se the bottom bunk but, I had that taken out to make room for more storage. “God, this sucks I need a blanket, meh too tired.” I said before drifting off to sleep.

The following morning I got up brushed my teeth in the bathroom and came back to my room to get dressed. I didn’t really have much to wear so I through on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.” Hey, you up yet!” Called my mother from her room., “Yeah, i'm up and about to leave, I have to get there early to get my permission slip for the field trip.” I yelled back since my door was shut. She said okay and told me to get going. I ran for the door where my school bag was. I grabbed it and ran out. The morning was cold and the sun was just coming up over the houses, so the sky was a reddish orange color that streaked across the storm clouds that were pulling out from last night. I took a breath and smelt the cool air mixed with the smell of rain. I began to jog down the street and past all of my neighbors. Mr. Andrew was in a black suit, and held his coffee in one hand and his keys in the other, while he was getting in his car. I waved and he waved back with a smile. There used to be a Mrs. Andrew, but she died in a plane crash two years ago. Whenever I see him he is never smiling, even when he laughs. I feel bad for him.

Everyone else in this town is just boring. Nothing ever happens here. The only excitement this town gets is when there is a small house fire and the alarms go off and all the firefighters race to the station to suit up. So reaching the end of my street it becomes a fork in the road. One leads to main street on one leads to Hudson road, the road that my school is on. So I turn right and begin towards to the school and the woods. While walking down the road I trun on my phone as I near the woods. My Iphone Springs to life and shows full bars and 3G nothing wrong. NEaring the middle the bars fell down to two then one then nothing, the 3G was gone and it showed no-service. I Checked the time 7:34am, “I have plenty of time, lets finish the mystery.” I said crossing the road to the dark and damp forest as it looked to be welcoming me with a dirt path.

It was dark, muddy from the rain, and colder than it was outside. I couldn’t see two feet in front of me. I began to hear the strangest of noses, there was a bird that was cooing in the distance that really got me all I remember is the cooing. A few feet in front of me was a clearing. But what I saw just brought all my emotions up. There in the center was SWAT uniforms and helmets, but no bodys. Just these lifeless pieces of equipment that were just lying on the ground, no blood on them or much mud for that matter. Like what killed them didn't slash them up it must have down something else and then remove the bodys via floating them down the brook to the river. I look at them and remembered the news broadcast. Five SWAT members went into the woods to find the missing people. Only one came back out claiming the other swat members would turn up sooner. But five days later that one SWAT disappeared and he was never found, neither were the others. I checked there tags. “ Harrison, Jones, michel, and wait, where’s his name?” One of the tags read blank, no name. Now i’m a gun enthusiast and I love the sight of the law or our military, most of my family was in the service, my dad was a navy seal, my cousin was a soldier in the Big Red One. and my Grand parents were in world war II. “Whatever caused the death of these men will not go unpunished.” I looked at the helmet picking and checking the size, shape, make and model. Okay, I can wear this. It came with a visor that folded over my face to protect against the sun or debris. Everything fit like a glove, but the boots, they were two sizes too small.

So, I suited up, first on was the pant and belt. then I put the long pant legs in my boots that I was wearing for school. Next the coat and kevlar vest that had an attachment on it that held five clips for a machine gun and two for a sidearm. Next came the pads that went on my elbows and knees. Then the gloves, and last the helmet. “Groovy...” The vest had a slot for a radio which I replaced with my phone and I found a flashlight that also clipped on to the vest, that worked very well infact. But, I was missing something, something important. “SHIT THE GUNS!”  How could I forget! I got the ammo but no weapons. So, seeing nothing else to do here I pushed on towards the deeper parts. But I said a prayer to the poor familys of the SWAT team. Thats when it got a lot colder, and darker.

A New Look Around

The flashlight was very bright, it glowed with a very light blue ray that made everything look frozen. Everything was shiny, the leaves, the water, the ground mostly from the rain. “It got so quiet, really REALLY quiet, where the hell is this monster anyway if it is a monster what if it a crazy killer that likes to kill people and take off there clothes afterwards." My flashlight shined against something something black. A table that was in a clearing in the woods,  this time trees were chopped down and machinery were scattered around. A large spotlight over looked the area. “Hmm, if I can get that on I don’t need to use my little light.” the spotlight  had a shit load of dials on one side and six buttons on the other. One was a green one that read "Go" so I pushed it, and the light did nothing. There was a hole that I figured needed a key. So, I searched around the camp looking for the key when I came acrossa sight for sore eye's. The the guns from earlier. I almost jumped out for joy when I saw them. There were two kinds or guns, MP5’s and USP’s but they were empty no bullets in any of the mags like they were taken out, or shot out. “Why are they here when the rest of the stuff is over there.” I said as I tapped my finger on my chin.  I picked up a Sub Machine Gun and looked at.

The safety was by the trigger, I flipped it off and I pulled, *Click*. No bullet in the barrel, the gun was empty. I pulled out a clip and slapped in the hole. It slid in and made a snapping sound and it stayed in place. I pulled the loader back and it made another clicking sound as the first bullet slip up from the mag and it to the barrel. The gun was ready for action. Just then it got so cold I shivered as a chill ran up and down my spine.

“Okay, something's out there, and I think I just woke it up.”

I turned around to see the key on the ground. It shined in the glow of the light. I rushed over to it and picked it up. The dropped it as soon as I picked it up.

“W-why, is it red.” I said pushing away the bush that was behind it. The bush wasn't even in the ground it was pulled up and it laid on it’s side. I pushed it out of the way and a smell rushed towards me. It smelt like rotten eggs and dirty socks. I waved the smell away and I saw was making the smell.

“Oh, my, god... what the hell did this.”

There before me was a arm, just an arm. It wore a watch and a plaid sleeve. The end of the arm was missing all I saw was torn muscle and bone. Dried blood stained the sleeve and was crawling with bugs.

“This thing really is a monster, what kind of animal could do this? A bear maybe, I don’t know.”

Then from behind me came a roar of thunder the cracked through the air like a wip. I snached the key and ran for the light as the thunder grew louder and closer. I tripped on a rock and dropped the key and fell to the ground. I picked myself up and looked for the key. When my light caught sight of wall of flesh and fur. The beast toward over me looking down with his yellow eyes. I turned the light up and caught his face. His teeth were huge and they dripped with blood. It’s hands were claws and his feet have huge fangs. He almost looked like a dinosaur. It looked down at me as I raised my gun to meet his face half way.

The wind blew and the monster roared as it was the thunder from earlier. Just then to break the silence it began to ran and the monster got back up and brought his huge foot up to crush me. I jumped back and opened fire. The bullets empted the gun and struck the beast in a spraying pattern. The monster cried out in pain as it tried to swat at me with his hands as I tried to run. I was being chased by a ten ton monster that could crush me in an instant on a machine gun to fend of myself and the worst part of it was it was raining like crazy again. I darted in between the trees and ducked under logs. I reached for my light as the monster was closing in on me and threw it to my left and I darted to the right. The monster followed the light and I landed in a cave.

    “ W-w-what the hell, is that thing, I have never seen something like that before.”

I reached for my phone which to my surprise was still in my holster. I  turned it on and looked around, I was in a cave system that dripped from the ceiling and shined on the floor. Everything was wet nothing was dry I looked at the walls as I walked into the cave tunnel. The room began to thin out into a corridor and it became very quiet. I looked at the walls again and it had writing on it, in blood.

    “ Those who believe, will get the call to their wildest dreams. Well that doesn't even make any sense.” “You shall be set free, in a world that you dreamed, and lose a life that you wouldn't live to see.” “Umm, okay.”

Ignoring the text I continued down the hall. I had to keep moving forward to see where I was. The corridor was hot and damp, the walls were covered in vines and moss. I came to room that had a table in the middle that had a golden compass and a map on it .  But when I entered the room it felt like I stepped into a air conditioned room as everything became cold.  I picked up the compass and looked at it. The compass shined and glowed a sickly neon green. I put it in my pocket and the glow went away. Just then my phone went off and began to ring. I pulled it up and looked at the caller.

“Ahh, theres no ID here.” The phone had no number and no name, it was just ringing.

I almost didn't pick it up because I thought it might be a prank or something, but I remembered the wall, “Will get the call to their wildest dreams...”

“Oh boy, here we go again.”

I shook as I push the answer button. The room became darker and darker as the phone stopped ringing. I held the phone up to my ear, “Hello?” The room seemed to freeze in time the fire stopped blowing, the light stopped flickering, and my phone stopped counting the seconds since I pushed call. The room seemed to fall away from me as I looked like I was floating in a black void. Then I saw a Bright rectangle that casted a  white shadow in the dark. I began floating toward the light as things became very soothing, like I was floating to sleep but I wasn't tired I was really calm and I almost became tickleish as I touched the light. Then I felt  like I was falling, falling forever. LIke I was on a ride that lost control and was about to crash.

Thats when I saw blue, light blue. I was falling towards the sky like I was falling from space into earth. But I could stand now like I was on a very fast elevator. I soon saw big puffy clouds that tickled me as I went threw them. Then I saw ground, earth, I was almost to the ground. But I seemed to be floating down, slowing down, landing. But when I touched the ground some, force struck in the head and knocked me out cold, like that whole ride down was a hallucination but when I touched the ground reality caught back up to me.

New Friends in a New World

The ground felt so good, I was glad I was in the air anymore. Getting up I noticed my armor was off to the side nicely folded and stacked on top of each other in a nice little pile. My gun however was still in my hand and it was still hot from firing at the monster.

“Wow, t-that was amazing, flying thru the air and such. I would pay to do that again.”

I got up and began to suit up. But as I looked around I wasn't in the woods anymore I was in a lush green field with rolling hills and a cool breeze that would sweep by here and there. The sky was clear only a few puffy clouds were up. the grass was tall and thick, and when the wind would blow the grass would tickle my legs. Suddenly the compass in my pocket began to glow again this time a golden yellow glow came out of the little markings of the outer ring.

“This, is some freaky stuff man. What is this thing?”

I said as I moved the out ring around in circles. The needle in the center swung to the south and began shaking like it was being pulled by some sort of pull. I put it down as I slipped on my gear and reloaded my MP5. I reached for my phone pulled it out and turned it on. It was already on and I had full reception.

“Either i'm on another planet that has WiFi or im still on earth, but I think if I follow this compass I should find out. Man what a cliche.”

I put the compass in my side pouch as I slip my phone in my pocket again and pushed on toward the horizon wherever that may be.

Night had fallen and I had found my way to the hills. The air was cool and the air was nipping at my nose. I pulled up the rag over my mouth and continued on. The hills aren't that tall or steep, it’s just that there were a lot of them and the night air was making me tired. At the top of the first hill I saw a mountain, a tall mountain that pierced the clouds that toward over the others. On that mountain one the side was a great castle that had huge towers and walls that had a railway track heading up to it.

“Well thats a sight, ain't it? There’s no way i'm making it there tonight.”

I looked down from the mountains and saw a small village that had street lights and smoke rising from the chimneys. They had straw roofs and gravel paths that lead all around that general area. On the outskirts of town was a big red that was the closest to me.

“I'll head there tomorrow right now I need to sleep.

I folded my arms under my helmet and fell asleep with my gun near me.

The following morning I woke to a beautiful sunrise that came up over the mountains and shown a orange glow against the valley and the village. Dew was on top the grass which I didn't mind, but when I got I slipped on the dew and fell down the hill. Again that wouldn’t bother me but I had was SMG strapped to me and a USP in my pocket, and I forgot that I put the safety on or not. At the bottom of the hill I looked up and found myself at the end of the gravel that was lined with orange and yellow trees. The wind blew and made the leaves fly in  circles around in the air. The sun rays danced in the wind as it shown thru the cracks in the branches of the trees as the trees waved in the breeze. I pulled myself up and continued down the path as I soon found myself running down the path. I felt alive finally I felt freedom, my life on earth soon floated away in the wind as new possibilities filled my head.

“A new mind, and new life, a new world, I, am, ALIVE!”

I shouted as the wind I made picked of leaves and flowed thru the air as they passed by my face. As I formed a new mind a mind full of questions, and endless possibilities. I soon became out of breath and slowed down to a jog and then to a fast walk. The barn came into sight as the trees pulled away to make room for a long stretch of white fence. The trees became apple trees as the grouped together into a fields behind the barn.

“OKay act like you do this every day, don’t stutter, okay, lets do this.”

I entered the barn gates and I saw a huge apple on the sign. The barn seemed a lot more red when I saw it up close. I walked up to the doors and knocked four times.

“You know what, this place looks a lot like Appleja...”

The door opened and what I saw put me in shock. It was a Orange pony that looked to come up to my waist. She wore a brown cowboy hat and had three apples on her flank.

“Howdy, i'm Applejack, welcome to Sweet Apple Acres, home of the best apples this side of Equestria. Your new around here, aren't you? Who and umm, what are you?”

My head was spinning, I was talking to Applejack,on Sweet Apple Acres, on the outskirts of Ponyville, in Equestria. I could only mutter one word, “F-friendly.” Then I passed out.

“I-is it going to be, okay Applejack?” “It will be fine he just passed out. Nurse Redheart  said if we leave him alone he’ll snap back.”

I heard them talking over me some was blurred but others I could make it out. I opened my eyes very slowly and carefully. I saw my visor was down over my face which shielded my eyes so no one could know I was up. My eyes darted around, from what I could see I was in a room, on a couch. I put my hand on the top of the couch and pulled myself up.

“Oh, good yer up, Applejack stepped out for a minute, i'm Applebloom. What's your name?”

A little yellow filly was sitting in front of me like she was watching me while I was out. I pulled up my visor and gave her a little smile.

“HI, Applebloom, i’m James, James Noble. I’m not from around here as you can tell. I’m from another world and I am probably just as confused as you are and...”

“No, not really. There’s been a lot of strange things happening lately so this doesn’t surprise me.”

“Oh? Like what?”

“Lots of ponies have been going missing, We are not sure where they going, but it’s always on the last day of the month. Since the year started it’s been happening.”

“Well that not good maybe I should ask some people in town, hows that sound?”

“Well hold on there, you can’t just prance into Ponyville, you’ll start a riot! I’ll take you into town so every pony don’t run away.”

I got up on my feet and look for my gun. It was on top of a side stand in the corner of the room. I picked it up and checked it. It was a lot dirtier than I remember, in fact I don’t remember what it looked like last. Just to many new thoughts running through my head. Applebloom Lead me out of the farm house and onto a gravel path that was rolling over some hills into town.

“So, where you say you were from again?

“Oh i’m from Earth a planet very much like yours but everyone isn't a pony. It’s ruled by humans, and we built great cities and countries, to militaries and social classes to live and interact . Everything you have excpt we have a little bit more.”

“Like what?” she said with a stare.

“Well, we have bigger cities and technology. You see our world is run on electricity, almost everything needs some sort of power to run. Cars need gas, trains need diesel fuel, and don’t understand a world im say aren't you.”

“Nope, but I like to listen.” She said with a smile.

We were reaching the city limits when I told applebloom to stop for a second.

“Okay,” Pulling out my phone, “This is a phone, more specifically a cell phone, we use these things back on earth to communicate with people when they're not right next to each other. Say you have a uncle thats some where in another state, and you want to talk to him, you can punch in his number here and call him and talk to him through here. But this is a special phone because this phone, can browse the internet another thing us humans need. You can search anything here and it will come up with info about that certain search. Like apples or repair services.” AppleBloom's eyes were wide with wonder.

“Wow mr, thats a lot to her in one day. So you really need this umm, Internet, to, like, function, right?”

‘Sadly, yes, but it’s not that big of a deal thats just one of many wonders of my world.”

“One thing I don't understand, why when you said your name was James, why on your back it says, SWAT?”

“Oh that not my name it stands for, Special Weapons And Tactics, it’s a law group that helps defend the innocent from the criminals. A very hard group to get into.”

“Oh so thats like a suit. And you can take that off yes?”

“Yes I could if I wanted to but right now I think i’ll keep it on, but this helmet does itch.”

I took of the helmet and clipped it to my waist belt. I patted down my hair and wiped my face off from the sweet.”See”

“Huh, that sure is a very cool lookin uniform then.”

Prologue

Every time I walk home from school I feel as if i'm being watched by someone or something. My walk home is near a large wooded area that became famous for the random disappearing of people that walked in and never come out. But, i'm not that dumb, I have not even considered going in there. I stick to the road like gum, I never come off. But, my friends tell me that forest has a secret, they say that in the middle of the forest you get cut off from the world, no cell phone service, you can’t find your way back, and you feel like the forest is closing in on you. And once you all hope is lost there is a chance that you might disappear from the forest and this world. But, I tried to get more and they said they never know where you go. “Figures.”