"Dark, rainy, and lonely..." I whispered to myself as I tried to see through the opaque glass.
No! I need to stop feeling this guilt. I thought as I shook my head from side to side in an attempt to push away bad memories. I need to calm down...
Settling into my seat, I took a deep breath before my gaze once again wandered to the gray ceiling of the bus I was on.
Oh! Right, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Christopher Bristol and... well, I've come to tell you a long story that continues today. I remember back then I was 27 years old, I guess you'd say I have very strange thoughts, but the truth is, I'm not usually like this.
If I recall correctly, the beginning of my story starts when I left work at night. I stood at the bus station to go straight home, but the threatening rain was about to fall.
"I hope the bus doesn't take too long," I said to myself before yawning from tiredness. After waiting for several minutes, one arrived just before the rain started pouring down heavily.
Thank goodness, I thought, before boarding quickly. The bus waited for other passengers for a few minutes, but as no one else got on besides some young people who got on after me, it departed, disappearing into the darkness of the secluded road.
"Are those young people from my old school?" I said quietly as I watched them from the back seats. "Yes, they are, they're wearing the same uniform I used to wear back then."
There were three students in front, a boy teasing a girl his age and a girl accompanying them.
Haha, by the way those two are behaving, it seems like they're classmates, friends, or even something more. I thought with a smirk on my face. But who's the girl next to them?
My mind wandered through different possibilities until unexpectedly the younger girl gave the boy a strong punch to stop him from bothering the other girl.
Ahh... now I understand, she's his siste— Thinking about that possibility brought back several bad memories. "Sister...."
I continued with the bitter feeling in my chest until it seemed like the younger girl looked at me for a couple of seconds, making me immediately look away. What? Did she hear me?
A little scared, I directed my gaze out the bus window, pretending to be looking at something through the glass. They won't say anything if I just look at them, right?
As I looked outside, the bitter memories returned, causing me more sorrow. "All of this... it's just like that night. Dark, rainy, and lonely..."
No! I need to let go of this guilt. I told myself as I realized I was still blaming myself for past mistakes.
I need to calm down... I thought until the bright light of a car coming from afar brought me back to reality.
"Ahh..." With a sigh, I settled back into my seat and directed my gaze to the bus ceiling, causing my gaze to wander again.
It's foolish of me to keep thinking about all this... I commented tiredly, realizing that nothing had changed all this time.
Honestly, I wouldn't mind leaving all this behind to start over. I said, letting my feelings take over.
"AAAAHHHH!!!" A very loud scream was heard in front of me, completely stealing my attention.
Confused, I quickly turned my head to see the source of the scream, but before my eyes could focus properly, I felt a strong impact on the side of the bus.
What? The same car I had seen just a few seconds ago had crashed heavily into us from the side.
What's happening? As if my mind knew what was going to happen, I felt time slowing down, except for my thoughts.
Sh*t! I cursed as I felt my body becoming lighter and lighter. It can't be possible.
The car crash was so strong that it managed to veer us off the road, causing us to start falling recklessly down a steep cliff.
No nononono NO! I desperately protested inside me, while starting to grip tightly onto the seats. I need to stay calm to think, because it's likely the bus will start rolling soon. What can I do? How can I survive this?
Trying to stay calm, I searched for a way out, but the screams from the front were not letting me concentrate. "AAAAHHHH!!!"
Shut up, damn it!! I can't think like this! I angrily protested. Damn brats!
As I continued analyzing my situation, I saw through one of the windows the steep fall awaiting us, causing me to lose any hope of surviving.
It's the end... it's impossible to survive this fall. I resigned myself. I can't believe it all ends like this...
As I clenched my fists tightly out of anger and frustration, my attention focused on the student, who in this situation was trying to protect the girls beside him with a hug.
What!? Is this for real!? A hero!? I shouted indignantly inside me at the pathetic scene in front of me. Does he really think he'll protect them from a fall of over 100 meters just with his body!? What an idiot... I thought, mocking him.
The bus, after colliding with a part of the mountain, began to roll recklessly, causing a commotion inside the bus.
As for me, I held onto my seat as tightly as I could to continue watching the great show of the uniformed hero. Come on!! Protect them from this!
As if hearing my thoughts, my new idol began to tightly grab the two seats next to him, trying to shield the girls from some seats that had come loose from the bus.
Damn it! Now I'd like to survive to ask for his autograph after all this, but I don't have any strength left. I thought annoyed before the force of my grip was completely lost.
As I let go of my seat, my body began to collide uncontrollably against the walls of the bus and several of the seats.
Incredible! I can't feel any pain, I suppose it's due to the adrenaline of the moment. I thought with a smile as I watched the exterior and interior of the bus slowly being destroyed.
Ahh... I sighed heavily before reflecting on my last moments.
Honestly, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth to think that all the effort of my life will be lost in these few seconds. I thought with disappointment. But well... I guess that's truly life.
After my foolish comment, the final impact had finally arrived, and with it, my death.
In less than a second, everything lost meaning, as I couldn't create any more words in my mind, and all I could do was watch as everything gradually darkened, until finally, darkness consumed me completely.
°°°
Huh? What happened? I clumsily thought as I tried to open my eyes. Wh- why does my head hurt so much!?
My mind was so confused, like someone's after weeks of intense partying. Wait!! Am I... am I still alive!?
Surprised and worried at the same time, my hairs started to stand on end as I looked around. Why does everything look like this? Where am I?
As I opened my eyes, I saw a long path surrounded by darkness, causing more doubts and confusion in my mind. What? What the heck is going on!? Why am I walking alongside all these people?
Besides me, I saw thousands of people walking in the same direction, and when I tried to turn to the sides to see more, I couldn't do it, because for some strange reason I couldn't control my body. THIS IS SOME BULL...
Unable to take it anymore, I exploded, making the next hour one filled with insults, complaints, and existential questions in my mind.
After accepting it, finally I calmed down, letting my logical side return.
°°°
I- I wonder how much time has passed. I thought a bit anxiously. I think... I think it's been more than two days already.
Ahh! I'm so done with all of this! If something's going to happen to me, let it happen now!!
After the first day, my spirit started to drift away from the rest, through one of the paths that frequently appeared to divert souls.
HOW FRUSTRATING!!
*Crock*
Like the darkness around me was fed up with my complaints, the floor several meters below me began to crack. But what the heck—
*Crock* *Cruck* *Crock*
It kept on cracking, abruptly cutting off all my thoughts. It went on like that until it finally broke, forming a gaping hole the size of a car in my path.
Wh-what is that? I thought with fear and amazement, and just like the crew of the Titanic, I was completely frozen, with nothing to do but scream or curse inside me.
AHHH!! STOP STOP STOP STOP! DAMN IT! STOP MOVING, USELESS BODY!!!
Unable to stop, I kept walking until I finally fell into the bottomless pit that seemed like the void itself.
°°°
"Ah... ah... ah..." I gasped after going through a rain of bitter feelings. "Am I... am I still alive? What? Wait! Now I can move!"
Joy began to well up from the depths of my being as I realized I could move again. "Hell yeah! It was so uncomfortable not being able to move!" I shouted in celebration.
After celebrating for a few more seconds, reality hit me again.
By the way... where am I? I thought before starting to analyze the place where I was. What? This is... space?
Not far from me, I saw with my own eyes several planets standing out for their immensity in the darkness of space. Moreover, I also saw billions of stars adorning the black void like millions of tiny diamonds.
Wow... Surprised, I observed everything the universe had to offer, until something specific left me speechless.
A small wormhole could be seen not far from me, making it one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen with my own eyes. It's... beautiful, it's like they took a picture of part of the universe and turned it into a sphere.
But wait. Did I...? I swallowed hard before continuing my theory. "Did I come out of there?" I said, looking at it.
The wormhole began to glow faintly, then started shining so brightly that it forced me not to look directly at it.
And now what's happening? I thought as I tried to shield myself from the intense light it was producing.
Confused, I tried to make sense of everything that was happening, but it didn't help that suddenly my body was rapidly expelled by a great gravitational force.
Unable to do anything to stop it, I turned to see where I was headed, and saw it was towards a planet in the distance.
"AHH!" I screamed until the light behind me suddenly went out, leaving me with more questions in my head.
Once I was closer, I was surprised to find that the planet I was heading towards was very similar to Earth, but with a small difference. Wow, if its continents weren't different, I would easily mistake it for Earth.
As I approached the planet, the wormhole I supposedly came from shone twice as bright, but unlike the first time, its glow had decreased a lot.
I kept observing everything until I finally entered the planet's atmosphere, but a bit annoyed by the low lighting of where I was heading. Dang it! I can't see anything! Why do I have to go to such a dark place?
As I noticed my speed decreasing, I took a mental pause to prepare myself for what was to come.
It seems whatever is pulling me is in this part of the planet. I commented on the strange events happening to me. Yeah, that must be it.
When my body abruptly stopped, I began to analyze my surroundings, trying to gather as much information as possible.
Okay, so I'm in a desert, but besides that, I can't distinguish anything in this darkness. I thought as I turned to look around.
Looking more closely, I saw a faint light a couple of kilometers away from me. Huh?
As I focused my vision, I saw that the light was coming from some camping tents that were set up there. But why are there tents in the middle of the desert?
Curious, I wanted to investigate, but I couldn't because I didn't know how to fly with my new body.
Come on! Annoyed, my attention was once again stolen by the wormhole, which was now showing above me, because it started shining again, turning the night into dusk in an instant.
"It's shining again. But why the heck is it still shining? I'm already in this desolate desert," I said looking at the sky.
Resigned and without an answer, I lowered my head in defeat, but when I did, I could see what the darkness had been hiding from me until now.
"But what the heck...?" I said surprised before abruptly lowering my voice. "...what the heck happened here?"
Now, thanks to the light from the crack illuminating the whole desert, I managed to see how the space beneath me had been completely distorted. This is...
In many places, the sand was dyed black, in others, it rose to the sky like roots, as if several lightning bolts had struck the sandy ground. No, I can't believe it.
There were many more things to describe, but I'll skip them, because what really had a deep impact on my soul were the hundreds of dismembered, pierced, and burned corpses scattered throughout the desert.
"Gluob..." I began to feel a serious churn in my stomach, and strong dizziness as I continued to witness the traumatic scene.
Wha-What is this...? Unable to bear it anymore, I quickly looked away before bursting into tears like a little child.
"This... this whole scene... this whole scene is absurd!" I said, clenching my fists.
After a few minutes of trying to calm down, I opened my eyes again, only to realize that the light emanating from the tents began to shine brighter and brighter, managing to compete with that of the crack.
Aahhh!!! In that moment of weakness, I decided to shut my mind, so as not to question anything I was sure was about to come.
The source of light from the tents turned into a great pillar of golden light, which began to shine and spin faster and faster.
"..."
There were several seconds in silence as I just watched everything unfold, the light kept shining until something came out of it. What-what is that...? No... The right question is... Who is he?
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