(Chapter 1)
My eyes shot open. My heart beat quickly and my hands felt around me. They felt nothing but dirt and grass. The trees in my vision were tall and sinister like.
I sat up slowly and looked around me. The only source of light was the bright half moon.
I tried to remember what happened to me before I appeared here but nothing came to mind. Did I fall? And if so, did the fall cause memory loss?
I slowly stood up and looked down at my clothes. I had a dark cloak on. I opened it to see that I was wearing dark jeans and a dark shirt underneath. My feet had black combat boots.
The night air blew at my face and goosebumps went up my neck. I put my hood over my head and hugged my arms to my body.
A branch crunched behind me. I turned around.
"Who's there?" I called out.
Another branch and leaves crunched behind me. "Hello?" The crunch sounded closer. "I can hear you!"
'CRUNCH'
I turned around and a man appeared out of the woods. He had brown hair that covered his neck and he looked strong. He stopped about five feet from me.
"Who are you?" he asked. His voice was smooth and not too deep.
"I..." I thought about it. What was my name? I tried to remember it but as much as I would, nothing would come up. "I don't know." I said.
He rose his eyebrows. "You don't?"
I shook my head. "I don't even know how I got here. What is this place, anyways?"
He walked closer to me. "It's...something like an afterlife." he said. He stopped and was now about three feet away from me.
I frowned. "An afterlife?"
He nodded. "Sort of. You're not actually dead but...you disappear in the real world."
I laughed. "Why the fuck am I here?"
"It depends. Everyone's story is different."
My eyes widened. "So there's others." I stated it more than asked.
"Yea. Not a lot but about 200 people."
I sighed. "Can you just help me get out of here?"
"And where would you go?"
"I don't know. Back where I belong."
Now it was he who laughed. "You don't even remember your name." he walked closer.
"I. Don't. Belong. Here. And I'll do whatever I can to get out of this place."
He was now a foot away from me. He stared down at me and his hazel-green eyes darkened.
"Well I guess you're going to have to stay in this place a little longer."
He held up his hand and between his fingers was a small ball. It was crushed by his fingers and
a dark smoke escaped. The smoke went up my nose and soon, everything went black.
****
'Janice...Janice...'
The sun warmed my skin as I ran down the beach. Water ran up the shore and wet my feet. I turned around to see a man running behind me.
He caught up to me and picked me up from behind. He twirled me around, making me laugh. He laughed too and I craned my neck to see his face. The sun was blocking his face, though.
'Janice...Janice...' I tried looking at the man's face but the light of the sun kept getting in the way.
'Janice...Janice...'
The man suddenly disappeared. I was standing on the beach alone and a dark fog creeped up. Soon the whole sky was dark.
'Janice...Janice...'
I looked around, searching for the man. My heart beat sped up as fear crept up my spine.
'JANICE!'
I shot up and gasped. My hand clutched my chest as I tried to regain my breath. My breath evened and I looked around me. I was in a small room and I was sitting on a bed. The walls were dark and little light came in from a small window placed in the other side of the room. I could make out that it was day time, though.
A door creaked and I turned to see where it was coming from. In came an old man with gray hair and a small gray beard. He was wearing a dark blue cloak and walked with a crane. He looked short, probably an inch or two shorter than me. In his hand was a wooden tray with, what looked like a sandwich and a cup.
He walked up to the bed and put the tray on a small table that was next to the bed.
"How are you feeling?" his voice was soft and frail.
"My head hurts a little." I said. I sat up and held my face in my hands.
"You're just lucky he caught you before you hit the ground. He carried you all the way here." he said and sat on the foot of my bed.
"Where us he?"
"He left after he brought you here."
"I uhm...what's his name?" I asked him.
"I don't think I'm the one to tell you. It's his name, ask him."
The door creaked open and in came the man. He didn't seem to notice that I was awake.
"I'm back Cruven." he said. He looked over to me. "You're awake." he said.
"Yea." I said.
"Do you mind letting us talk?" the man asked the old man, which I know knew was called Cruven.
Cruven got up. "I have stuff to do, anyways." the old man smiled at me and left the room.
There was a small silence. "I guess I should explain." he said.
"Yea, that'd be a good start."
He looked at the bed. "Do you mind if I sit?"
I moved my legs up and held them to my chest. He took Cruven's place at the foot of the bed and I rested my chin on the top of my knees.
"I'm sorry for you know, making you pass out and stuff." he said. He was looking down at his hands and his broad shoulders looked tense.
"Was that really necessary? The whole gas thingy?" I asked and laughed lightly.
"I thought you would insist on leaving this place. I wanted to bring you here before it got darker." he explained.
"You mentioned something about an afterlife." I said.
"This place is another world. Everyone comes here for a reason. Time is different here. Every two years that pass in the real world, one year passes here. Some people even have powers. But you can't leave this place until you achieve what you came here for."
I took in all he had said. "Do you know why I came here?"
He shrugged. "Like I said when I found you, everyone's reason is different. Some people, like me, don't exactly know what our reason is but we get little clues everyday."
"I...I don't know what to say."
He had been looking at his hands through the whole time we talked.
"I felt the same way when I came here."
"How long have you been here?"
"One year. I've been missing in the real world for two years."
"Do you remember anything?" he nodded. I frowned. "Why don't I remember anything then?"
"I've heard that it happens to some. You'll gain your memory back little by little, rather while your awake or in dreams."
"Dreams?"
"Yea."
I thought about the dream I had and wondered if I should tell him. He got up and went to the door before I decided.
"Rest. The gas will take a toll on you for at least a day." he opened the door to leave.
"Wait." I said.
He turned and looked at me.
"I think I remember my name." I said. "I think my name is Janice."
"Janice..." he said my name and something about how he said it sounded familiar.
"Can I know your name?"
"Matt. My name is Matt."
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Dunn, Dunn, DUNN!!
Yay new story! Hope u likey. Vote, comment, fan and all that good stuff!:D
-Aty
P.S. Matt looks like that!---->