Chapter Two: Reckoning

If you missed out on chapter one from last week check it out here:
https://steemit.com/story/@mel1ss/chapter-one-the-beginning

Chapter Two: Reckoning

I’m going to start this chapter by telling you where I am. As you know I’m dead, but I’m not in Heaven or Hell. Since we’ve been old enough to listen we’ve been told lies about what it’s like to die. There’s no ‘bright light’ or good or bad place, there’s just once place, here.

Nobody knows the name of this place but they all seem to call it ‘Reckoning.’ In Reckoning, it doesn’t matter what you did on Earth, whether you killed people or saved them, we all end up together, here.

Reckoning

After my death everything went dark, like I said there’s no light to walk towards. There’s just a darkness pushing you further and further down until you’re consumed by it. When I woke up I was here, at the time I didn’t know I was dead. I thought someone had saved me from that man, saved me from death himself. I thought I was in a hospital, I eagerly awaited my parents to come rushing through the doors, but they never did. Nobody came. I got out of bed and walked towards the door. Something was different about this place, it felt colder.

The door squeaked loudly but there was nobody around to notice. The corridor reminded me of my High School, it was dark and smelt like something had just died. I kept walking but I didn’t see anybody, I started to get anxious. Maybe I’m stuck in a dream? I pinched myself but nothing happened. I found a door leading outside onto the street, I stop and think for a split second that maybe I shouldn’t go out there, but I do anyway.

The street was crowded with people, they were all looking up into the sky at this object. I couldn’t figure out what it was. There was a loud siren and everyone went silent. I tried talking to people but they pushed me away and told me to keep my head down, to stay quiet. I looked back towards the ‘hospital’ but it’d disappeared, or maybe I’d walked further then I'd thought.

The siren stopped and people suddenly began to eye one another off. I didn’t understand what was happening or where I was. A male voice began speaking above the crowd. I looked up but couldn’t see anything apart from this object in the sky.

‘Hello my precious souls. I know you’ve all been eagerly awaiting today’s announcement, but wait no longer for the time has come. It’s time for 20 of you to begin your journey back to Earth. The trials have been changed and adjusted to make things a little harder. I wish you all good fortune but may the best win the life.’

The man starts reading out names.

‘Luke Russel, Jamie Carter, Sam Tilt….’

I looked around the crowd and saw a man moving quickly towards a building. Then there’s another and another. They’re all gathering inside this building and then I realised that they must be the men and women whose names have been called. They all look different. One of them looked like he spent the majority of his life in prison while some of the others looked like they couldn’t even stand on an ant.

Suddenly, someone grabbed me and pulled me into an alleyway. I struggled to get free and then flashbacked to the time I was taken. The memory haunts me and I began to scream. Whoever it is covered my mouth and told me to be quiet. Then they slowly put me down and turned me around to face them.

‘Sophie, it’s really you?’

I’m speechless, shocked and above all else, confused.

‘Will?’ My voice was croaky and uneven.

‘What happened to you, what’re you doing here?’ He sounded exactly how I remembered. His voice deep and very masculine.

‘I don’t understand Will… you died 5 years ago, how are you alive?’

He looked me straight in the eyes confused, and then he seemed to realise.

‘Sophie, I’m not alive, you’re not alive. We’re both dead.’

I struggled to stay standing and nearly fell until he caught me. He looked the same as he did five years ago when I last saw him. His dark hair had grown and stretched down to the small of his back.

He began to tell me what this place was.

‘We call it Reckoning. The place inbetween life and death. You’re dead, don’t get me wrong, but there’s a chance to go back to Earth. It’s a small chance but it’s there. Once a day 20 people get chosen to compete in what we call the ‘Death Trials.’ Basically, the trails consist of stages with the stages getting harder as you go along. Nobody knows what the stages entail, but we do know once you die you don’t come back and we have no idea where you go. Obviously, you can’t go back to your old life. You get ‘reborn’ and your memories are wiped but it’s a second chance at life. We’re stuck here until we get chosen Soph.' He held onto me and didn't let me go. I couldn't feel my legs, I was overtaken with fear. The realisation that I'm actually dead hit me like a bullet.

I remembered the last time I saw Will. We were playing out the front of my house when the dog chased a ball onto the road. Will was racing the dog to get the ball, but he didn't see the car coming towards him. He died instantly and I watched the whole thing. He was my best friend and now I've got him back, even if it does mean I'm dead.

'Will, tell me more about the Death Trials.'

Check back next week for Chapter Three.
I hope you enjoyed and sorry if my writing style isn't amazing I'm still learning the ins and outs of writing!
Don't be too harsh!!

Until next time,

Meliss