章 2: You’re dead, already

A constant ringing woke me up from my sleep. I moved my arm around, trying to find my phone on my nightstand. When I finally found my phone, I turned off the alarm and checked the time. The phone read [7:46], and a shot of adrenaline immediately woke me up.

I quickly threw the blankets off me, jumped out of bed, and grabbed my clothes from yesterday; I smelled them, and they didn't seem too dirty, so I put them on. I used a bunch of deodorants to cover the sweaty smell of my body and opened my bedroom door; I ran downstairs and grabbed the bag that my mother had prepared, who was sitting on the head of the table, sipping her tea while she was enjoying her cereal.

My eyes shot around the table, looking for my keys; next to the fruit bowl were my keys, and I snatched them together with an apple so I wouldn't faint from hunger. I tried to open the front door, but someone had locked it. I fumbled for the right key to unlock the door, which opened with a satisfying click.

I ran towards the bike I had parked in front of the house; I removed the bike lock and jumped on my bike. Before the door had closed, I could hear my mom shouting, "Honey, Have a wonderful day!" and the door shut with a loud bang.

Biking out of my neighbourhood as fast as possible, paddling as quickly as I could muster. Riding down the street, I took any shortcut, over the sidewalk, using alleyways, and crossing busy streets. I reached the traffic lights, it was red, but there weren't any cars on the road, so I decided that I'd rather get a fine than a mad French teacher, so I crossed the road.

But I was moving the wrong way. I felt a stinging pain on the left side of my body; it was a numbing pain; I could barely feel my limbs. I hit the ground and could hear a constant car horn reverberating through my ear drums. I wanted to see what was happening, but the only colour I could see was a giant red blur in my vision…

Suddenly I woke up in a dark space. "Welcome." Bellowed a voice in my head, "you probably have many questions; but the only thing that matters now is that you're dead." The voice said cut and dry without any emotion and not sparing any either.

All I could think was, 'I'm dead?' I didn't understand what had happened. I was alive only a minute ago, but now this strange voice told me that I was dead. No, this must be a joke; someone is pranking me, right?

What about my life? I was so young, I couldn't even think of what I would do with it, and now it's gone? Like a candle snuffed out by the wind. What about my mother, will she miss me? Will she be sad? Will she remember me? Will anyone remember me?

Thoughts were racing through my head without a break. My mind couldn't process the idea of being… dead, and who could? Before I knew it, I had started screaming from the realisation.

"Consciousness is such a fragile thing." the voice said, and for some untold reason, it calmed me. My mind started to slow down. The thoughts went away, and I could think clearly. I noticed that the voice wasn't only in my head but also a shade darker than this dark room standing in front of me.

"So, I'm dead," I said bluntly to the voice.

"Yes, your frail mortal body has ceased to function." It said in a cryptic manner that didn't answer any of my questions.

"Hah, Is this hell? Do I get a tour?" I said to the voice with a sad chuckle, thinking that this dark, miserable space could only be a place in hell.

"This is not hell; or any of the places that you mortals have thought up." The voice replied. "But I have an offer; I will gift you a new life in a new world. In return, you will be my herald; the only thing you must do is live your life."

"It's not like I have a choice; if I don't say yes to your deal, I'll stay dead."

"Then it is decided, you will be my herald. I will gift you one favour for this next world to help you on your journey."

"A favour?"

"Yes, I will grant you power, riches, wisdom, whatever you wish, I'll make it yours."

"Wait, power as in superpowers? Can you make me… the most powerful creature that there is?"

"It will be done."

The room turned white, "Wait, that was a question! I didn't mean that, won't get time to think about it? Won't you tell me where you will be sending me?" I screamed, but before I knew it, I wasn't inside the dark room anymore.

The voice had sent me inside of somewhere dark, sticky, and slimy, the place felt cramped, and it felt like I was lying in a foetal position. I started to struggle against this prison, but nothing happened; I struggled more.

I felt the walls of the place I was in; I began to push against the wall of this place. I struggled harder to break out of whatever I was inside, and finally, it made a sound. It cracked! I tried to get out of the thing but could hardly move. I kept pushing until the gap grew bigger and bigger.

The thing broke open; I frantically tried to look around and ripped open the membrane that covered me. The fresh, cold breeze hit me like a ton of bricks. Adjusting to the brightness, I saw many shades of green, brown, and blue when I looked up.

After my eyes finally adjusted, I started to realise; looking down at my hand, questions began shooting through my mind: Why am I covered in scales? And where are my hands? They're claws! What has that voice done to me? Where did he send me? When I looked at my back, I could see two scaly wings protruding out from my back.

I used my claw to see if I was dreaming by stabbing myself in the paw. I felt a stinging pain, and I was even drawing blood. What kind of horror had he turned me into? I started hyperventilating, or at least it felt like I was.

After some time had passed and I could calm myself down, I started to think again. I started by organising my mind. I'm in an unknown place, in an unfamiliar body, with unknown dangers. I should try to find food, water, and shelter first. I doubt I'm a monster that can survive on only air, so I'll at least need that.

I tried to move, but my body didn't seem to listen. I felt like a toddler learning how to walk. My legs felt like spaghetti, and I had to think about every step I took. How will I survive if I can't walk?

𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲? 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤? 𝐎𝐫 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠? 𝐎𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞? 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮! 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐈'𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝟏𝟎% 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐫'𝐬 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭), 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬.

𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐈'𝐦 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮; 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 $𝟏𝟎,𝟓𝟎; 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 (𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬). 𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠!

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫: 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞