"A wedding gown?" Nick asked skeptically, looking between the tentacle from his basement and the magazine it had pulled out when he asked what it was.
The tentacle wagged from side to side before repeatedly tapping the face of the woman in the wedding gown.
"A woman?"
The tentacle started nodding before shaking again and then circling the woman. It tapped the entire picture with a large part of its tentacle.
"A bride…?" Nick raised a very skeptical eyebrow as he looked at the purple tentacle.
A tentacle monster hiding in the darkness in his basement. That was the image he had of his houseguest. How in the world was it a bride?
It nodded excitedly and then pointed at him.
"I'm the bride?" He asked, refusing to accept reality.
The tentacle quickly shook from side to side.
'No.'
It fiercely tapped the bride in the magazine, then pointed at itself, before finally pointing at Nick again.
"You're…my wife?" He asked uncertainly, still hesitant toward accepting reality.
It nodded excitedly.
"..." He wasn't sure what to say to that.
Nick turned around and looked out of his door toward the forest of tentacle-less monsters.
He wondered if it had anything to do with him being in another world.
***
Nick's current predicament started a few days ago. He had gone to bed after an ordinary day. He fell asleep as usual. He even woke up in the middle of the night as usual. But this time, there was a reason for it.
For the first time in six years, his house was hit by an earthquake that knocked down a glass or something. It was the second earthquake he had experienced, but it was much worse than last time. It felt like his house would be uprooted and turned upside down. It shook so badly that he couldn't even get out.
But it calmed down after a while, his house somehow still intact. It was dark out, he was tired, and the house was fine. He went back to sleep. He could deal with the aftermath tomorrow.
Or so he thought.
The aftermath was not something he could deal with.
He woke up early in the morning.
The 'city' around his house was quieter than he would have expected considering the earthquake. It was also darker, but that could be explained by a power outage. Fully reasonable if there had been an earthquake and he hadn't dreamed that part.
That wasn't it.
It was a little too dark for Nick to see out of his window clearly as soon as he woke up since he rose before the sun. But something was off.
With a frown, he went down to his porch and flipped on the outside light before opening the door. He popped his head out of the door and looked out. He went back inside and closed the door. He opened it again.
Nick closed the door again. He blinked multiple times and even rubbed his eyes before opening the door.
Yep.
There was a whole forest in his front yard. It wasn't trees rocked down by the earthquake or anything. They were standing tall with a few bushes here and there. The forest had replaced everything in his neighborhood, including his neighbors.
Nick frowned and tried to see through the illusion.
Maybe it was some kid of prank or he had ended up in the middle of a movie shoot and this was just the background or something.
Nope. He could see the individual branches and leaves swaying gently in the wind. It smelled very fresh and earthy like he was in the middle of the forest.
There was no way they would move a whole forest to his neighborhood for a movie. They would just do it in the forest.
"Does that mean…?"
If it wasn't the forest that had moved to him, had he moved to the forest?
Nick sighed and closed the door.
It was too early for this. He went into his kitchen and grabbed a cup of tea before sitting down on the porch.
He hadn't been hit by an earthquake last night. It was his house moving into a forest somehow.
How?
Nick had no idea.
Why?
Nick couldn't even guess.
Where?
A jungle somewhere. Maybe South America. The plants looked exotic, and the air felt a little hotter than back home.
But Nick couldn't be sure. He wasn't a wildlife or nature expert.
"What the shit…?"
He questioned, utterly confused.
But the electricity worked. He had water. He had food in his fridge, freezer, and pantry. He would be fine for a while.
Still, he couldn't even begin to process his current situation. It didn't make any sense.
"I'm not going crazy am I?" He asked himself.
"I don't have any history of mental illnesses…But if I am crazy, I wouldn't remember being crazy, right?" Nick scratched his head.
Sensing his frustration, confusion, and worry, something gently cracked open the basement door right behind Nick. A soft, dark purple octopus-like tentacle slowly slid out and toward Nick.
"Aw, thanks," Nick said, closing his eyes as he felt someone start rubbing his shoulders.
Someone?
He lived alone.
Nick's eyes shot open, and he slowly glanced to the side. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tentacle squeeze his shoulder.
"Bawah!" He shouted, stood up, spilled his tea, and turned around with his hands ready to karate chop the tentacle.
The tentacle made the shape of a question mark as its tip floated in the air in front of Nick.
Nick's eyes followed the length of the tentacle. What he could see stretching out of his basement door already was way too long for it to be an ordinary octopus.
Earthquake in a region that wasn't supposed to have earthquakes? Fine. It can happen. Twice? Whatever. Maybe the second time wasn't an earthquake, though. Fuck it.
His house being moved into a forest without his knowledge and without affecting his electricity or water? How? But probably doable.
A tentacle monster in his basement?
How does that even fit into this story? Where does it come from? How long does Nick have before it eats his flesh and drinks his blood?
Can he flee into the forest?
Slowly, Nick started backing away from his front door and toward the porch's steps. He felt for the stairs with his feet before slowly descending them, not letting go of the tentacle with his eyes for even a second. His hands still ready to karate chop it.
He stepped off the porch. The tentacle shot out.