The Goldilocks Chronicles

The strange disappearance of Carli Russel

(Carli’s daughter, Sara's point of view)

My mom was supposed to pick me up from work that night. That’s the first time I realized she was missing. I clocked out like usual and waited in the parking lot for her at 11pm. At 11:15, I thought she was just running late, so I decided to call her. The phone didn’t even ring. It went straight to voicemail. “That’s odd,” I thought. I texted her. At 11:30, she still wasn’t there. That’s when I knew something was wrong. I called my brother, who picked me up. He hadn’t heard from her all day. No surprise there, though. They didn’t really get along. Nevertheless, we decided to call the police.

The police wouldn’t let us file a missing person report because it hadn’t been 24 hours, but they agreed to do a wellness check. When they went to her house, she wasn’t home. The car wasn’t in the driveway, and her door was locked, so they figured she’d just gone somewhere.

I tried to reach her all day the next day and couldn’t reach her, so I called the police again. This time they filed a missing person report. That was seven years ago. She’s been missing ever since, and now the government is declaring her dead. I can’t believe she just vanished like that.

I heard about this group a couple of months ago and decided to join. I know she’s out there somewhere, just like your loved ones. Hopefully, together we can figure out what happened on June 23rd, 2013.

The bad trip that never ended

(Joe, Ted’s friend's, point of view)

Thanks for joining our group, Sara. I know firsthand how you feel. That same day claimed my best friend, Ted. I always thought the drugs would have taken my buddy away from me, I never thought he would vanish into thin air.

The day was typical enough. I do remember it was raining that afternoon. Actually, it was storming pretty good for a few minutes. We were all supposed to meet at the bar for drinks and party that night. Ted, always the one to party, decided to pregame a little that afternoon. He had already started drinking when I spoke to him on the phone.

“Dude, I’m good, I just had a couple beers. I’ll meet you at the bar in a few.” Those were the last words I heard from him. The phone went silent, and I just assumed he lost signal, Ted would never just hang up on me. When he didn’t show up that evening, I thought he’d been in an accident. I started calling the police and the local ERs to see if anything had been reported. He was nowhere to be found.

When I didn’t hear from him the next morning, I went looking. I remember seeing something odd on the side of the road near his house. There was shattered glass all over the pavement, and the light pole looked like it had been struck by lightning. Other than that, I couldn’t find any evidence of what had happened to my buddy. Like you said, he just vanished.

Everyone in this group has a loved one that disappeared that day. I firmly believe that the government is hiding something from us.

A New and Mysterious Land

(Two strangers meet for the first time.)

What have I gotten myself into? I haven’t touched those shrooms in at least a week. Joe is going to kill me. I promised I’d lay off the hard stuff. Maybe it’s still in my system, or maybe I just passed out, and this is a nightmare. O shit, I was driving, and I don’t remember going to sleep anywhere. At least I think I was driving. How many did I drink? I just gotta wake up. Maybe if I pinch myself. Ouch! Nope, that didn’t work. These trees can’t be real, though. Trees are green, not blue. That bush was purple, too, if it was a bush. Stop being paranoid Ted, just go back to the car and sleep this off. You will wake up tomorrow morning in your own bed, and this will all be a dream. Joe and the guys are going to have a good laugh at all the stupid stuff you did that you can’t remember right now, and then they are going to talk you into rehab. Fuck, if I’m tripping this bad, I just might listen to them this time.

(Carli)

Dang Carli, what was in that smoothie you drank at the farmer’s market? Surely this is some type of weird dream, right? Maybe I slid off the road and hit my head. It was pretty wet; the sky was pouring buckets. Then there was that lightning strike. That’s when I must have slid off the road. Ouch, and that’s blood. Oh, Betsy, your window is busted, and my hand is bleeding. I must have smashed the window when I opened the door into that tree. I’m sorry, girl. Now, here I am, dripping blood on your seats too. I need to find something to wrap this hand in. Is that the sun in front of me? I thought the sun was behind me. Wait, are there two suns?

Holy crap, there are two suns. Betsy, I don’t think we’re in Memphis anymore. I’m not sure where we are precisely, this feels like a scary movie. Crap, what about Sara. I was supposed to pick her up tonight. She’s going to think I forgot her, or worse. I guess this is worse. I don’t even know where I am. I think that’s a head of cabbage growing next to those trees. It’s blue, which is weird for cabbage, but I’ll use one of its leaves to wrap my hand with anyway. What’s the worst that can happen? I’m already stranded in this strange place. Thankfully I have these headbands hanging from your rearview mirror. They will secure the leaf in place.

As Carli wraps her injured hand in a blue cabbage leaf, she’s startled at what she thinks is a male voice.

He…hello? Is there someone there? Can you tell me where I am?

Ted is walking back to his car when he hears a female voice calling out from across the clearing.

(Ted)

Is there someone out there? Come on, Ted, you know this is a dream. There isn’t anybody there. But I heard a voice. What if this isn’t a dream or a bad trip. What if it’s real?

Hello! Where are you? Where am I?

As Ted emerges from the blue forest, he sees a second car haphazardly parked about 50 yards away from the purple bush that his car is behind.

Holy shit! This is real!

Just then, Carli jumps up from her car.

“Sheesh, you startled me. Not that it was difficult to do, I’m kind of lost right now and then I heard a voice in the woods. Who were you talking to? I’m Carli, by the way, and this is Betsy. Wait, do you speak English? Of course, you speak English, I heard you talking. But, are you human? I mean, I’m human. This isn’t Earth, though, is it? Shoot, I’m rambling, I’m sorry. You must think I’m neurotic. I’ll be quiet now.” - Carli

“Hi, I’m Ted. I feel a little lost too. Yes, I’m human, speak English, and I don’t think you’re neurotic. I mean, I’m the crazy guy who was walking around in a blue forest talking to myself, trying to convince myself that this is all real. But who is Betsy? What did you do to your hand? Are you ok?” – Ted

Laughing, “Betsy is my car. She’s a 1998 Chevy Corsica. I’ve had her since I was in high school. She’s been through two divorces, and many job changes with me. She’s my most loyal friend, and somehow, she brought me here. But how do I repay her? I smashed her window, cut my hand on the glass, and bled all over her front seats. Do you have any idea where we are?” – Carli

“If I’m not tripping and this is real, I think we somehow got teleported to an exoplanet. I don’t want to scare you, but there’s no telling how many billions of light-years we are away from Earth. I don’t quite understand how it happened, though. I just remember it pouring down rain and then boom, I’m sliding into a giant purple bush the size of a house.” - Ted

“An exoplanet? What’s that?” – Carli

“Sorry, I’m a science nerd. An Exoplanet is a planet outside of Earth’s solar system. I’m guessing that, since we aren’t dead yet, this is a Goldilocks planet. I hope so, anyway. This would be a shitty way to die, pardon my language.” – Ted

“Goldilocks planet?” – Carli

“Not much of a science nerd, huh? You know the little kids’ story about Goldilocks, right?” – Ted

“Yeah, Goldilocks and the three bears. She broke into the bears’ house and ate all their food, broke a chair, and took a nap in their bed.” – Carli

“So, a Goldilocks planet is a planet that is ‘just right.’ Not too hot for life to exist and not too cold either. I don’t know how long we’ve been here, but hopefully, this is a Goldilocks planet.” – Ted

“You seem to know a lot about science for a crazy guy who thinks he’s tripping. So, how did we get to ‘Goldilocks?’ I mean, I was just driving home from the farmer’s market. It was pouring down rain, I saw a flash of lightning, and then bam, Betsy and I are smacking into some giant blue tree with green fruits on it. How did we get here?” – Carli

“Well, this place is kind of trippy, but I’m guessing some type of wormhole opened up. Well, more than one wormhole had to open. I don’t think we were on the same road. I was driving down 71 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I was supposed to meet some friends for drinks. As you said, though, lightning struck, and bam, I was hitting a giant purple bush.” – Ted

“Fayetteville? I’ve been there a time or two, but no, I was in Memphis. I was headed into Millington, just driving down Ramil Rd, when it happened. Do you think there are others? I mean, if two wormholes were close together, do you think there were more?” – Carli

“Odds are that yes, there were more. No telling if anyone else made it here, though. You’re the only person I’ve seen. I heard noises in the woods, but no voices. I think we should stick together, though. This place is kind of eerie. I’m not saying I’m scared, but who knows what could be lurking about. Right now, that green fruit is looking pretty good, though. I’m starving.” – Ted

“Don’t go eating strange fruit just yet. It could be poisonous. I’ve got some zucchini and mozzarella in the cooler. If you have a knife and can start a fire, we can have some roasted veggies for dinner tonight. I think I have a couple of bottles of water in Betsy’s trunk too. You don’t have anything in your car, do you?” - Carli

“I’ve got my pocketknife, a lighter, a six-pack of Bud Light, and a package of Corn Nuts, but that’s about it. I’d be mighty obliged if you’d be willing to share what you have though. I’m usually a meat and potatoes kind of guy, but beggars can’t be choosers.” – Ted

“Given the current situation, I’m more than happy to share. I’m not sure I should be drinking a beer, given our strange surroundings, but it sounds good right about now. If you can get that fire started, I’ll start cutting some stuff up. We need some small sticks for roasting the veggies on too. I’ll use the lid of my cooler for a cutting board.” – Carli

“I saw some smaller logs in the woods. I’m curious as to how a blue tree will burn, but we’ll give it a try. I’m sure glad I ran across you. How’s your hand? That leaf was blue when I first ran into you. Now it’s purple. That’s strange.” – Ted

“Weird, you’re right. It came from that cabbage looking plant over there. I guess I’ll look at it. I wonder why it turned purple.” Carli removes the cabbage bandage from her hand. “What in the world? There’s already a scab where the cut was. There’s a little dried blood around the edges, but there should be a lot more. I probably needed stitches, or at least I thought I did. I guess it’s a blessing that I found that cabbage. I don’t know why it’s purple now, though. Maybe the leaf reacted to my blood. So strange.” – Carli

“We should keep that in mind. If you don’t feel sick, or loopy, I’d say that plant will come in handy down the, er, road. Do you feel ok? I mean, other than being transported to a strange new place.” – Ted

“I don’t feel anything weird, except the part about being in the middle of a blue forest talking to a complete stranger on a ‘Goldilocks’ planet. So, yeah, I’d say we should remember that plant.” - Carli