Rewritten short story from 2005 about a man who meets a strange being one day and drives off into another dimension that will radically alter his view of reality and life itself.
Fantasy Short Story: Purged into Neon
By BW Derge
Maybe another man would’ve turned around and run away. Perhaps a man of a different character would’ve confronted the stranger with territorial aggression. It’s probably safe to say that most men in the position that Jim now found himself in would’ve certainly turned around and gone back inside the office building where they worked, and the majority of those would’ve promptly called the police. But that is not what Jim did that day.
That morning he said goodbye to his daughters, who ignored him as they fought over who would take the first shower or something. And his wife had forgotten to pack his lunch… too busy on her phone, doing god knows what… He got to work late, failed to focus enough, and mostly spaced out in front of an incomplete project displayed idly on the computer screen. He sat there in his cubicle, miserable, desperate for any sort of visceral feeling or significant change of circumstance.
So, when the day was finally done, and he saw a large stranger sitting in the passenger seat of his car… he did not do what most men would do. He stood there, staring, waiting for the shadow to make the first move. And after some tediously long minutes went by, the shrouded person waved in a nonthreatening manner. Jim sighed, approached the vehicle and sat in the driver’s seat.
To his shock and surprise, the humanoid shadow that was now sitting next to him was in fact a large creature more similar to an amphibian. It had green slimy skin, no clothes (unless this was a highly realistic costume of some sort) and displayed a large snout poking out of a head about twice the size of a human skull. Jim’s first instinct was to get out of the car, but as he reached for the handle, the creature beside him locked the doors. “You’re not even going to say hi first?”
Jim gasped. “What?” Having lived a sober, conservative lifestyle for his fifty or so years on Earth, such an experience could not have been caused by an acid flashback or anything of that nature. He must’ve somehow slipped into insanity, there was no other explanation. He must be hallucinating due to some sort of psychotic breakdown.
“You could say ‘hi’ first before running away,” the creature stated again. “Although, I wouldn’t recommend fleeing at this point, we’ve already shifted into my dimension.”
“What dimension?” Jim noticed the world had become dimmer, illuminated by a faint neon glow that resembled neither the sun nor the moon.
“Of course it’s not like I own the dimension so it’s not mine per se, it’s just where I came from. Geez, just a few moments in your silly world and the ego just starts to grow, huh?”
“I must’ve gone nuts…”
“And it’s not like this dimension is dangerous or anything. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, man. But you wouldn’t want to run off without me and get lost.”
“I should find a hospital…”
“Hey man, chill out, you’re not nuts,” the monster explained calmy. “You’re depressed! That’s why I picked you, dude, because only depressed and nihilistic humans get into their car when a strange creature’s sitting in their car thingy.”
“What?” Jim stammered. “Picked me? For what?”
“Just a little task I need help with… no biggie. Why don’t you drive a little and we can get this over with.”
“Drive where? I don’t see a road.”
“You don’t need a road, dude. In this realm… you can just drive.” There was a pause as Jim remained frozen with shock. “I’m Wefty, what’s your name?”
“James… or Jim, you know, whichever you prefer.”
“I’ll go with James, I guess. Now how about we start cruising a little and then we can get you home, alright?”
From inside the car, Jim could not discern anything about this world other than the mysterious soft neon tint that radiated throughout the empty space. There were no other features discernable, not even a ground upon which he began to drive after starting the ignition. “How can you tell where we’re going?”
“Well your eyes are probably still adjusting, but I can see all sorts of stuff here. It’s just… well, beyond the overall shape of things, it would be difficult to describe them to a mind that never experienced such.”
“How much longer?” the human wondered. “I fear my family will soon become worried about my whereabouts.”
“Hmm,” Wefty hummed. “You really think those folks care about you that much? Wouldn’t they have noticed how depressed you are?”
Jim feared that what the beast just spoke was true, but remained silent for a moment as they drove through the neon darkness. Eventually, a faint green polygon was perceived by the weary human. “What’s that?”
“Oh good,” the monster said. “You’re starting to see things. I guess you would call those watermelon bushes, but it’s not the type of watermelon or bush you would be familiar with…”
“This is preposterous.”
“I know! Isn’t it fun?”
Parts of Jim’s mind that had been neglected for decades began to awaken as he drove through the strange world. Feelings of hope, intrigue, curiosity, and the acknowledgment of his despair swelled inside his now violently swirling thoughts. “This can’t be real…”
“And so what if it’s not?” Wefty questioned. “Whether or not this is actually happening shouldn’t matter. If you’re experiencing such a place, why not accept it and go along for the ride? Like a whimsical dream.”
Although it was getting louder inside the man’s brain, the silence stretched between the two individuals for a few minutes before Jim once again muttered, “How much longer?”
“Why are you so concerned with returning to a life that clearly left you so sad? You claim this place is not reality, how can you be so sure that your prior life on Earth was not just a dream and this is the place you’ve been the whole time?”
“Because it doesn’t make sense…”
“And your old life did? Why? Because you were in it long enough to make some semblance of sense of it? I’m sure if you stuck around this dimension long enough you’d get used it, and then it may make sense! What do you know?”
“I know my coworkers are jerks,” he replied. “Perhaps they put some drugs in my coffee as a prank, that would explain all this nonsense.”
Wefty turned his head and gave this driver a long, compassionate stare before somewhat sighing and conceding, "Okay, fine. I don't think you’re going to get it, man. We can get you back home.”
“What?” Jim turned his head and stopped the vehicle. “It’s that easy? What about the task you wanted me to do?”
“Oh, now you care? It’s all good, man. Let’s head back, get you to that family that cares so much about you.”
“May I at least know what the task was? I mean, if we’ve come this far, let’s get it over with.”
“I just needed some sugar, dude, but it’s fine. I can drink my coffee black.” Wefty performed a dramatic sigh again and looked out the window.
“Why do you need me to get you sugar? Couldn’t I have just grabbed some on Earth?” The man was getting further flustered. “This doesn’t make any sense at all.”
In an instant, the mystical creature had vanished and the man was parked outside of his house in the suburbs. “How the hell did I get here?” he asked aloud.
The human grumbled, gathered his briefcase and coat, then fumbled out of the car and into the driveway. He checked his watch and realized he was home about two hours later than normal. His footsteps grew tepid as he approached the door. He could hear the girls bickering through the walls about some trivial matter. He saw his wife through the window with a listless expression on her face as she ate dinner by herself and scrolled away on her phone.
Struck with a sudden spark of intuition, he stepped back. For several minutes he stood there, a dumbfounded look capturing his demeanor. “No,” he said. “Not today.” And then he got back in his car and drove off…
Written by BW Derge, All Rights Reserved 2026
© USA
Want to read another weird short story by BW Derge? Check out "The Goddess of the Oceanic Realm"
This was a short story orignally composed in 2005 called Purged into Neon. One of the worst short stories from back in the day... hopefully this retooled version is easier to digest. (Rewritten in 2026)