Yonder: Volume 1

Chapter 1

I was in a dark place full of mirrors. The only person reflected in them was me. Everywhere I turned a reflection of myself appeared. Where was I? How did I get in a room with so many mirrors? Were they even mirrors?

"Hello?" I called out but all I heard was my own voice echoing amongst the mirrors. I tried to walk forward but found I had the inability to do so.

"Hello?" I repeated. Suddenly, I heard a clanking and realized why I couldn't move. Someone had paced steel chains on my ankles.

"It is to keep you from moving on," a man's extremely low voice said. I jumped at how low it was, the man's voice, that is.

"How do you know I am a man?" it questioned, obviously reading my thoughts. I shrug in answer to its question as if a shrug answered everything.

"You must answer appropriately...yes or no. But to answer your thoughts, I am indeed a man," it stated.

"What do you want from me?" I cried. Moving my foot and listening to the chains rattle.

"Wrong question. Ask again," it commanded immediately.

"What do I want?" I asked questioningly. I could hear the clap of it applauding my sudden accurate answer.

"Exactly. We can give you the second chance at life you want. We want nothing in return. All you need to do is sign this contract," it pushed.

I looked down at my feet to see a parchment and pen. I did want a second try at life. But what was the price I had to pay for the second try at life? I looked at both parchment and pen floating before me with doubt.

"Although this universe is infinite. I will have to ask for this decision to be made now. There are many more who are awaiting the opportunity I have presented forth to you," the low toned stranger pushed.

"Universe? More? How many more? I do not understand," I cried confused.

"You are not asked to understand. In time you will know it all," he rushed.

"What does that even mean?" I yelled at the stranger.

"In time you will know," it answered.

What will I know? How long would it take? The only way to answer those questions, I realized, was through this contract.

"What if I don't sign?" I asked.

The man looked at me. He, I realized, did not appear in any of the mirrors he walked passed. The mirrors only reflcted me.

"Then you will die a second time. This time more peaceful, less pain," he promised. So a second chance at life or death.

"And what happens if I sign?" I questioned curiously.

"What happens is that you will be given eternal life," it answered.

"I don't know if I like the sound of that," I mummbled to myself.

The big man chuckled, "No-one does."

"Then why is it there?" I questioned.

"Because it is to remind us all...it reminds us of why life isn't fair. Human's make choices and get somewhat unfair consequences. But we, you and I, we are dead, our consequence of choice is death and death was happy to gift it. But then we recieve a chance to evade death there is a consequence. When we evade death; he rejects us hence why we are given eternal life."

"Woah, woah, woah. I am evading death now?" I suddenly realized all along that I would never get out of this a happy person. No, not person, being. He had dragged this on long enough so that death would reject me and the only choice I would have would be to submit to such a contract.

"It would seem so," the man smirked.

I stamped my foot angrily on the floor and listened as the chain attached to me whipped against the floor and echoed.

"How dare you!" I roared.

The man stomped forward grabbbed my pony tail, pulling my head back, and held sharp iron claws to my throat.

"If you had signed the contract when asked we would never have had this issue. Would we? You wouldn't know what you do now know and I wouldn't be holding you and willing to slit your throat. Now sign it!!!" he roared. My ears wrung as his voice echoed throughout the room. I watched as mirror after mirror smashed. Glass flew dangerously in all directions as it floated around us.

The man held out his spare hand and I watched as the pen and parchment floated to his hands. I watched as he pried my right hand open and placed the pen in it.

"Sign," he growled, jabbing his claws slightly into my neck. I whimpered as his claws bit into my neck and I could feel the trickle of a small river of my essence flow down my neck.

Quickly, I ripped the parchment from his hands, clicked the pen on, and signed.

I watched as his claws retracted and he walked away from me with both pen and parchment.

"Oh," the stranger spoke loudly to himself. He turned on his heels and clicked his fingers. As he did so, the chains began to undo themselves and vanish into thin air.

"Welcome to your new life. You will notice i a few days time, the changes happening to you. Do not worry, each person goes through the change. It is natural. Now close your eyes and count to ten. Ready?" he asked in a low voice.

"Ready," I said calm and clear. I closed my eyes and counted to ten. At ten, I opened them and watched as a black hole appeared under me and I fell through. I screamed as I fell faster and faster. My hair stoon on top of my head like a troll doll as I continued to fall. The wind screamed in my ears and all was pitch black. I kept falling and falling and falling until I realized I had closed my eyes.

I opened my eyes, I was back on that street. The street where only days ago, I ahd given my life. I stood up, dusting myself off. My body didn't hurt anymore as it did when I was run over.

Noticing the huge crowd, I tried to find a way to pushh passed people only to walk straight through them.

"What?" I said to myself, looking at my hands and noticing I could see the dirt road straight through them.

"I am transparent," I said to myself in thought as I inspected my hands and feet. Curious as to why everyone was gathered in a circle, I began the irritating procedure of walking through people.

I did not recognise everything but as I walked closer and closer to that bloodied white sheet, I knew the warnings I was hearing in my head, I should've listened to. But I didn't. As I looked down and looked through the sheet did I notice that the body lying under the sheet was me. The human me.

I pushed myself away from the scene and ran through the people. Who was I? What was I? How could I walk through people and them not see me? So many questions rammed into me, like the truck that ran into my human body.

I ran as far as I could until I reached the outskirts of that town where all that could be seen was the tall, lush green grass. A place where one could escape.

"Why is this happening to me?" I whispered. I tried to feel the lush grass but instead my hand went straight through it.

My brows knitted together in rage and I let all my anger out by swinging my fists at the grass. I looked at my hands shocked. I looked at the grass now squashed flat.

I had touched the grass physically, I thought.

"I touched it!" I screamed victoriously. Uncaring of whom could hear me.