Exiled

The Cottage

  I woke up in a field of golden wheat and sat up, looking around. Off in the distance, there was an old looking cottage, and behind me the wheat cut off, leading towards a path. To my right was a small cave, with an odd shaped rock infront of the entrance. The sun was high in the sky, meaning that it was probably noon, and a cold breeze moved through the land. Standing up, I decided that I should check the cottage.
As I got closer, I noticed that the cottage was falling apart. There was moss crawling up the walls and several holes in the roof. The door could hardly be called a door; it was a gaping hole in the wall covered up with a torn and dusty cloth. I brushed the cloth aside and stepped onto the wooden floor of the cottage.
There was only one room, but it was more like several rooms merged into one. In the middle of the room was a table with an old computer in it, which was strange, because there were no wires, satellites, or anything else nearby that would suggest technology being anywhere. In the far left corner was a cooking pot, complete with a basket full of fish. On the right was a bed, which was unmade. Next to it some clothes were on the floor and on top of a wooden dresser. The clothes were similar to what I had on: white t-shirt and black pants. I went to have a go at the computer next.
I pushed the power button, and some green text appeared on the screen. It read, “LOADING HSS...PLEASE WAIT.” I had no idea what that meant, but I decided to look around it the meantime. In the dresser was some more clothes, a small dagger, and spare change. I decided to take the dagger, since I had no idea where I was and I wasn’t sure if I would need to defend myself. I looked in the pot, which had some water in it, but nothing else.
The computer was almost done loading, so I waited by it. It finished, and the text changed, now saying, “HSS LOADED...SMILE FOR THE CAMERA.” I stared blankly at the computer, which then changed it’s text to, “FACE DOES NOT MATCH. INITIATING HSS.” The text faded, and the computer sprouted arms wielding drills. An alarm started, and I sprinted out of the house. As I was running, I remembered “HSS” was “Home Security System”. A lot of people had it back where I’m from. It was made by a huge company...but, that’s where I drew a blank again. At least I had remembered something. I was back at the wheat field now, stopping to catch my breath. The alarm was still blaring from the house. I wasn’t going to go back there again. But, maybe I’ll try exploring the cave. ...