THE NEW WORLD

Chapter 3

A quick glance reveals the reason why his feet hurt the most.They have expanded to several sizes, ripping the front of his sneakers open and crushing his feet on the sides.

his hand misses and grabs air when he moves his arm forward to grab the shoe.he tries to grab his foot once more after taking a moment to look at his hand.Once more, his hand doesn't work right, and his fingers hit his foot.When he feels pain in the tips of his fingers, he growls.

As he is consumed by an odd, irrational rage, his eyes twitch.he gets even angrier because his arms feel like disobedient noodles, and after a third unsuccessful attempt, he feels like he's about to explode.he carefully places his arms on the ground behind his instead of concentrating on taking off his shoes. With a loud, growl-like scream, Scott kicks his left foot with his right foot as hard as he can.

His legs also feel like they are made of wet paper, but every movement makes it easier to hit his shoe than his foot, and every kick that hits loosens his shoes a little. Kicks that miss cause him to ethics kick the ground or his own foot, and by the time he frees both of his feet from their prisons, they both hurt and feel free simultaneously.

The anger and frustration subside a little as a result of this small victory over his own shoes.sufficient for him to consider "Okay."First thing, contact your parents.and possibly the police.'

he manages to get his phone out of his pocket after a little fumbling, and as he takes the small device out, he presses the lock button.he is greeted by a black screen, within which is a dark version of his reflection, as opposed to the usual lock screen that instructs his to place his finger on the fingerprint scanner.he can't help but keep his eyes on it.

he does not resemble the person who is staring back at his.at the very least, nothing like the way he used to look.Longer and more angular is the face looking back at his.The person in the screen appears almost arrogant because of its slightly upturned nose.Scott once had thick lips, but his reflection only has a line for a mouth.his brown hair has been replaced with slick, pale blond hair that shines white in the sun, and his ears are now slightly triangular than round.

However, the change that he sees is the most unsettling.The new irises are enormous and have transformed from brown to a piercing yellow.Through the dim screen, he glares at him with eyes that look like those of a wolf.

Scott's head experiences an odd sense of weightlessness.Despite the fact that the stranger's angular features and lupine gaze glare at him with what appears to be anger, he should appear shocked and confused.

The fingers of Astrid are stiff and numb.he loosens his grip on the phone, allowing it to fall out of his hands.

Seeing a person he had never seen before in his own reflection gives everything a certain finality, even though he expected something to be different.

He remains stationary for some time, staring at nothing.Scott can't believe that something happened last night that changed him into something he can only describe as an elf.he also no longer has any doubts about his transformation.

he thinks for a moment that all of this is just a dream, that his real self is still lying in the middle of the road, dying from whatever caused the fog, or that maybe he is already dead and this is an afterlife.he gives these possibilities some thought for a moment before quickly dismissing them.

He had never experienced a dream that felt real.

His thoughts race.Then, in God's name, what took place?It was unquestionably not a nuclear catastrophe.Nukes do not transform individuals into evil elves.They make you look like dust.

He shakes off those thoughts.When he doesn't have any pressing concerns, he can obsess over what the hell transpired yesterday.For instance, everyone is.

He checks his surroundings once more, and just like before, he finds that he is by hisself.he is completely surrounded by plants.

He hits his head against the wall in an effort to recall what happened.he recalls, though his memory is hazy, that the rest of his family vanished shortly before he fell unconscious.As a result, they must be close by.unless, naturally, something else has occurred.

He shakes his head to get rid of his thoughts as quickly as possible.he tells himself to concentrate by saying, "First, find the , then figure out how getting nuked translates into being transformed into... whatever this is."

Astrid's mind is clear when he has a goal.he doesn't know what's going on, but there's something to do now.It helps him think clearly and calms him down a little bit.

Scott tries again to focus on the world around his as his eyes take another look in all directions.Several new plants have appeared in the forest, despite the fact that it appears to be a typical forest.Untrained eyes will find it nearly impossible to tell the majority of them apart from normal plants.For instance, some trees are unlike anything Scotthas has ever seen; , on the other hand, resemble ordinary oaks with extremely thick bark and larger leaves.he takes in everything, paying close attention to each new plant he sees.

A tree with thousands of tiny leaves that look like a mass of green wool now stands right next to a common birch.These is even a plant that looks like a miniature tree and has purple fruits that are almost the size of melon and hang from it. The surface of the plant looks like a golf ball, but the plants that dot the clearing are the ones that stand out the most.They have a short, green stem that ends in a large, red leaf that looks like an ice cream cone half-opened.

Even though these plants don't look much different from normal ones, their newness gives them an odd beauty.he wants to know how they taste, how they feel, and what they do.But he shakes these questions out of his head before he can really get into it.Focus', Scott asserts.

he slowly tries to stand up, and if he were his old self, the commands to his muscles would have got his back on his feet. But his new, well-trained legs are much longer and stronger than his old legs.he moves in a manner similar to a jump as his legs raise his, but his torso is out of balance.As his left leg performs something akin to a kick, Scottstumbles and falls.his butt painfully reconnects with the ground as leaves rustle.

his heart seems to have left his ribcage, leaving his chest feeling empty.Strange is seeing the world in a different light.It's unsettling to see a stranger in his reflection, and when he adds the fact that he feels like he can't control his own body, it makes his feel like he's going to have a panic attack.his blood feels like ice being forced through his veins because of this helplessness.Scott catches himself before his newfound clarity can turn into panic, despite an increase in his heart rate and breathing.

It is acceptable.Simply concentrate, he tells himself.he focuses on every move, just as he did when he took off his shoes and took out his phone.Everything clicks into place as he slowly stands up, and his movements are deliberate.It almost seems as though his brain is learning, or remembering, how to properly control his body now that he has done it once.Scott is now significantly taller than he was previously.he experiences some mild vertigo as a result;the same as when you are lifted onto someone else's shoulders.

So, this is how tall people feel.Pretty nice, in Scott's opinion.he feels like a corn stalk almost.he was tall and thin, but if a strong wind came his way, he would probably fall over.

Scott takes his first cautious step as soon as he believes he has gained sufficient balance.One foot in front of the with no shoes.he obeys, and his legs propel his forward.Astrid's confidence takes a big leap when he takes one small step for them, and once he does, the next step is only half as hard and feels just like the one he would have taken yesterday.

As he moves every muscle, the feeling of being disconnected disappears.Scott Giggles and immediately realizes how silly he is for being happy that he can walk.Nonetheless, despite its simplicity, that sense of helplessness was terrifying.

Scott exhales deeply.he now needs to locate his family as well as a new outfit.he can then panic.

Long legs advance to place a bare foot on the phone that Scott dropped just a moment ago.he is debating whether or not to pick it up.he thinks that whatever shut down our car probably damaged that tiny, fragile thing, but ever the optimist, he decides to give it a shot.The tiny device is encircled by his closed hand.This is no response from the fingerprint scanner.The lock button also does not.

He is truly on his own for the first time in a long time.Normally, a friend or even the police are just a few button presses away, but that safety is gone right now.he feels vulnerable, but he also feels a little free, for reasons he cannot explain.

he returns the broken piece of plastic and glass to his pocket with a shrug.

As he returns to the small incline he fell down in the fog, his bare feet feel chilly on the forest floor.

When he reaches the top, he notices that the road they drove on yesterday is still those as well as their car, which appears to be unharmed and is blocking the left lane about a hundred or so paces away.he walks on tiptoes to the car, trying to avoid stepping on the filthy and icy pavement as much as possible.