In the morning, he didn’t want to get out of bed, but nothing would happen if he just lazed around all day. Still, it was very tempting.

But what if something did happen while he was in bed? After all the strange occurrences last night, he should at least check if he could leave his room or if he had service or internet. Maybe his car started to work again as suddenly as it had stopped!

He swept off the blanket and checked his phone. Nope, no connection. There were no texts, either, and he wondered what the wrong number thing was about. Did something happen to his phone? Why did it happen to another person as well?

He shook away those thoughts and went to pull up the blinds. They worked. It was a gloomy, shady day outside, so he closed them again. It didn’t really matter if they were open, he supposed, so he’d just keep them closed if there was nothing to see. The curtains were closed shortly afterwards.

He opened the door with ease. Maybe he was just dreaming everything last night. That’s probably it. Why would all of that happen otherwise? It was insane to think that the door locked from the outside or that blinds and curtains wouldn’t move. How would that happen? Would someone sneak into his house, glue everything together, and unglue everything once he went back to sleep? Ha.

...That would be a great prank, though.

Anyway, he’d just check the car, and see if it worked. If everything else was a prank or a dream, it’d likely be working. He hadn’t checked his phone, but that was probably normal too. He couldn’t hear the humming of the generator anymore, so the power was probably back, as his phone was charging.

He made his way out of his room, flicking on all the lights causally and frowning when some didn’t turn on. They were ones that didn’t really matter, but he turned off most other lights when it was too bright for his eyes. He’d replace those lights later, so he didn’t really care.

Soon enough, he opened the door to the garage and started the car. It turned on, but still didn’t move. All other signs pointed to it working, but nope. He didn’t know enough about cars to check it out either.

His phone buzzed.

(Unknown Number)

‘day 2’

Well hoorah. Still stuck in the house, and no contacts other than whoever this person was.

‘Or day three. My service went out two days ago, after all’

‘but day 2 of talking’

‘I suppose, but is that really notable?’

‘its day 2’

‘Okay then’

He turned off his phone and checked the time. 7:00 AM.

He shouldn’t just stay at his house. He had thought his situation was going to be quicker before, but he was proven wrong. He was due a grocery run, so if he started walking now, he should make it to the closest house in three hours. 

Well, not quite closest. He had been exaggerating about the house distances. Though they were much farther apart than average, his neighbors didn’t quite… like him. He was sure it wasn’t his fault, but still. They would never answer the door. After the incident last year, no one in his area really spoke to him. It was pure overkill, but he couldn’t do anything about it.

So, a total stranger was his best bet. He’d eat breakfast, pack a lunch, and start heading out in an hour.