"A key-chain?!!!", Ray shouted while he walking on his way to school.

"All I get for my 16th birthday is a stupid looking key-chain!!"

It was 7:30 in the morning as Ray walked through the silent streets on his way to school. It was his 16th birthday and he was really upset at the gift he got from his grandfather.

"Stupid grandpa...", he complained. "It's not even a cool key-chain!!"

He looked at the small circle-shaped black key-chain in the palm of his hand. It was really not cool at all. A plain black circle connected to a silver-colored key-chain loop.

"Ugh!" he grunted as he put the key-chain in his pocket.

"SURPRISE!!!", a teenage girl jumped in front of Ray extending her thin arms forward towards him. She was holding a red paper bag with black straps as handles.

"Happy Birthday Ray!" she smiled with excitement and shook the bag gently offering it to the surprised boy.

"My God, Nat!", he exclaimed. "I almost jumped from my place".

"You better be grateful my super high-speed reflexes didn't activate", he continued, "I could've punched you right in the face"

The boy showed off some pretty good moves as if fighting the air. It was really impressive if only the girl didn't have this stupid unamused look on her face.

"Yeah whatever..." she said mockingly, "Just open your gift. I hope you like it", she said as excitement returned to her face.

Ray smiled and scratched his head shyly. He took the bag and set it on the floor in front of him and took out a box from it. He opened the box and revealed black sneakers which lit up his face from joy.

"New sneakers!!!" Ray jumped in his place with joy as he held both sneakers in his hands and lifted them up in the sky.

"You like them?" Nat asked shyly. "I noticed your shoes were getting a little bit ragged".

"They are the best!" Ray exclaimed, "You really know my style don't you?"

Nat smiled shyly and felt like she was turning red not until Ray hugged her really tight and then she was really turning red in the face.

"I can't wait to try them on after school!" Ray said as he let go of Nat. "Now let's get school over with. I'm really excited to go home. You really made my day Nat. Thank you so much!"

Ray packed his shoes in the box and into the bag as Nat still froze in her place completely red.

"Now let's go!" Ray jumped out of excitement and looked at Nat as he stepped to cross the road.

But as he turned to look in front of him, his eyes moved to his left involuntarily and he dropped the bag from his right hand as he raised both his hand in front of his face. It was his body reacting to the sight of a truck a few steps away, moving his direction. He just froze in his place as he heard his friend calling his name. His eyes were wide open as the truck almost hit him. It was just as if time stopped. His eyes closed shut as he accepted his fate.

"I'm Dead..." he thought, "Is this how it feels?"

"But it doesn't hurt anywhere. I guess I'm dead now so i don't feel it", the boy slowly opened his eyes.

It was very bright. He blinked a few times to get his eyes adjusted and finally he could see.

"Huuuuhh?!!!" Ray exclaimed as he realized that the bright light was coming from the truck's headlamps.

He looked around him in disbelief. Everything had frozen! Time has really STOPPED!

He lowered his guard and tried to understand what's going on. But little did he know that his picket was glowing sending white rays in its surrounding.

He felt his thigh getting hot and reached inside his pocket still unaware of the glow. His hands felt out the hot key-chain in his pocket as he pulled it out slowly.

He finally looked at his hand as it came out of his pocket. He opened his hand in front of him confused as to what is happening. Revealing the black circle with rays shooting from its center, his eyes opened wide as the key-chain became too hot for him to hold and dropped to the floor.

All this was too hard for the boy to comprehend. He just stood there with his eyes wide and his mouth open.

He didn't have time to think about what he saw as he heard a ring sound when the key-chain hit the floor. As soon as the black circle laid flat on the steer floor, it expanded suddenly into the size of a sewer cover. Ray just looked at it not knowing how to react. His eyes just followed the black circle as it slowly moved on the surface of the road towards him until he realized that it was directly below his feet.

He suddenly felt as if the ground had collapsed under his feet. His arms sprung up towards the sky, and as he fell down into the darkness he was really reaching for the street floor not the sky.

"The ground is actually swallowing me..." he thought in his head in shock.

"What is happening? Why has everything stopped? Am I still alive? Am I falling? How deep is this? Is this Death? Am I going to Hell?"

All these questions echoed through Ray's head as he stood there unaware that all those things are not strange. It was him that was strange in the first place. And soon everything about his normal life will be normal no more...