If there's one thing I've learned about Death, it's that he always has tricks up his sleeves. He was truly the joker in the deck, the one card you didn't want to mess with, the one you wished never existed in the first place. When I first met him I asked if the process of reincarnation was possible. He told me it was, much to my surprise. Why would he be honest about a system that counteracts his one and only purpose? Intrigued, I proceeded to ask another question: Will you let me?
Death's answer to that question was something that threw me completely off guard. If you were to come up with a way of reincarnation, what would it be like? I asked him what he meant by that. He told me to offer my own method to restore someone's life. Bonus marks for creativity, he added with a cackle. I told him, challenge accepted.
The life of Rover, which has yet to happen and has already happened, is both extraordinary and soon to be extraordinary. The path he will carve out and has already carved out originated as some impossible, yet possible theory that was devised by a single man. This man, known to few as Arturo, was the founding father of a magnificent piece of technology. What was this technology? Here to guide you through the discovery is the test subject himself, Rover, a nineteen year old who only just began his life, only to find out that everything he does in the future will determine what happened in the past.
Rover's initial thought was one that was nonexistent. The pure darkness that surrounded him temporarily repressed his ability of thinking. This darkness, strange as it was, was the only thing that existed when Rover first opened his eyes. It took a few minutes (a few nerve wracking minutes) for his retinas to adjust to the black that surrounded him wholly. It seemed to stretch for miles. It seemed to dark to be penetrated by light. It was only his first few moments and there he stood bewildered, captivated by an unknown force in an unknown locale. There was only one plausible solution for Rover, and that was to walk forward and search for any form of salvation, any form of revelation as to why he's here (and where exactly here is.) The ground beneath his feet, though shrouded in some sort of hazy mist, was hard like cement or polished stone. He wondered how long he'd have to travel. He wondered how much time would elapse. A chuckle spilled out of him, one that he couldn't repress. Time. He never fully understood the fabric and laws of time yet the idea seemed so silly, so malleable. He had only just begun his life. But why now? He patted his body to reassure himself this was happening. Why was he not a newborn? Why was he already past the stage of adolescence? Rover needed answers just as much as he needed light?
A thought, or perhaps an innate desire, bubbled into existence inside his fresh mind. Something important needed to be taken care of. At first he didn't understand what this meant, but something deep inside him told him he would find out sure enough. Then the darkness evaporated. It was gone, only to be replaced by darkness archenemy.
Rover threw a hand to his face to cover the overpowering amount of artificial light that now flooded the room. His hand wasn't enough. Neither were his eyelids. Everything glowed orange, practically to the point where it would imprint the colour on whatever the light fell upon.
"Can you hear me?" Asked a distant masculine voice, so distant in fact that Rover almost mistook it for his own bustling thoughts. Rover wanted to answer but the words were caught in his esophagus, reluctant to be exposed to the blinding light.
"If you can hear me," continued the mysterious voice, "move any part of your body."
Any part of my body, thought Rover. What did that mean? He'd already walked at least a kilometre since his awakening. Nevertheless, he obeyed the voice's request and wiggled his arms. Despite the sound of blood pumping in Rover's ears, the only sound he could hear was the mysterious voice gasping at Rover's movements. It sounded like the voice was in awe, completely unsuspecting any movement what's over.
"It... Worked?" Said the voice, which was difficult to decipher if he was talking to himself or someone else cloaked in silence. Finally Rover found some words to utter. "Where am I?"
The voice didn't answer. Rover, not sure if the voice couldn't hear him or was just ignoring him, suddenly wondered if the voice did in fact exist inside his head. If that were the case, then this had to be some sort of sick dream. He shook his head, subconsciously thinking that would cause him to wake up somewhere; perhaps inside a nice warm bed. Perhaps his mother would walk through the door and reassure him it was all just a bad dream and that he should go back to bed.
Rover winced. Did he even have a mother? If he did then he had no recollection of one. But then where was this voice coming from? And why wasn't it responding?
"I'm here!" Rover shouted, waving his arms and jumping up and down in hopes that maybe beyond the bright light there was a camera surveying his every move. Again there was no response. Then, like he had been injected with a needle of knowledge, a thought fell over him. Then another and a third. These three thoughts washed over him, every inch of his body, igniting a spark of remembrance. Shifting into focus was the reason (or three reasons) for him being here.
Firstly, he now remembered that he was unlike any other human. In terms of time, he functioned differently. A voice suddenly recited a crucial sentence inside Rover's head: whatever you do in the future will determine what happened in the past. This voice sounded familiar to the one from earlier, but this one was for sure inside Rovers head.
Rover's heart started beating faster, excited with the newfound revelations. The possibilities could be endless if time worked backwards.
Secondly, he now remembered that if he came across anyone struggling to cope with anxiety, he should invite them along on the journey. This thought hung in his head a little longer than the last. That's a bit specific, Rover thought, ultimately tying his brain into a knot of confusion.
Rover's heartbeat shifted into a different gear, finding brief comfort in the high frequency and ultimately ready to accelerate higher.
Thirdly, he now remembered that if some malevolent creature (size unfortunately unspecified) should approach him, he should stay clear of whatever it's protecting. Like electrical circuitry, a chill jolted through each of Rover's limbs. Malevolent creature? For whatever reason, Rover hadn't expected this unnamed and unknown journey to involve danger. Not only was he unsure where he was, but he would soon be dealing with some creature that would probably enjoy eating his bones as an appetizer.
Rover's heartbeat was now like a drum that refused to stop. It felt like his rib cage would only conseal the pounding for so long; eventually it would give out. Overcoming the emotion, Rover pressed onward, his journey taking full flight.
Some time later (and several times later), the light that had infected everything around Rover had finally ceased. However, instead of the familiar darkness returning, Rover was presented with something new. Growing right in front of his eyes, at the rate of ten feet per second, were massive trees unveiling themselves from the ground. Above him bloomed a sky that was devoid of its natural blueness. It was a depressing shade of grey that looked too ominous to be the by-product of rain clouds. Rover glanced around and noticed he was in an abandoned trailer park.
Sitting at a splintered picnic table not too far away was a young boy, at least fifteen years of age. He had light hair and a small scar above a pair of ocean blue eyes. Rover, intrigued to have come across another individual, approached him.
"What name belongs to you?"
"What name--huh?" Said the boy, startled.
"Your name," said Rover, his gaze firm on his new acquaintance. "The one that belongs to you."
"Oh," said the boy. "Insect."
"Where?!" Rover shrieked, jumping back and staring frantically at the ground in search of some creepy-crawly.
"No, no. That's my name," said insect, his eyes wide from Rover's outburst. "Well, it's a nickname really."
Rover, relieved he didn't have to undergo some fatal ordeal involving a mere bug on the ground, heaved a deep breath before finally speaking. "What kind of person would nickname you... Insect?"
"I--well, I nicknamed myself," admitted insect, who looked like he was shedding an ounce of guilt. "It's actually quite fitting because I'm the weakest person I've ever known."
"Oh, come on. You're not weak."
"How would you know, stranger?"
"Well, I don't," said Rover, realizing he'd never involved himself with someone else's personal life before. "But you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. Surely your family doesn't think that of you."
"I'll never know," said insect, directing his attention to the ground. "They died in a house fire last summer... Where I was the only survivor. Of all people, lame little me crawled out of the flames and ashes like some undeserving phoenix."
"I'm-I'm sorry to hear that," said Rover, not quite used to the feeling of uncomfortableness.
"Don't say sorry to me. I was the one who accidentally started it." Insect's voice then sunk to a whisper, as if muttering to himself, "stupid timer didn't go off."
Rover remained quiet, feeling that Insect at least deserve a moment to gather himself and also that he was at a loss for words. "You should be saying sorry to dead," Insect went on, his voice back to its original louder pitch. "But you can't. I only deserve to be called a murderer, a freak, an outcast." "You don't seem like any of those, though."
"Like I said," said insect, "how would you know, stranger?" He hung his head; his eyes watery.
"Look," said Rover, bending down beside the picnic table so he could meet insect's averted gaze. "I can see you're crying even though you're holding back tears. Just let me help."
"I can't imagine what's going through your head to make you feel entitled to help me."
"It's not that I feel entitled. It's that I feel -- " Rover still croached, glanced down at the ground, much like Insect just moments earlier, "that helping you will somehow help me."
"You're crazy, stranger. You're just another meaningless speck in this meaningless world. A world full of trouble where the madness won't stop."
"Insect," said Rover, standing up and sounding stern enough to pass as Insect's (or anyone's) mother. "Sometimes to reach the light, we must venture through the shadows."
"What does that mean?" Asked Insect, rubbing his eyes.
"It means you're tagging along with me and that's that, okay?"
"My presence would only weaken you." Gasps and wheezes burst out of Insect's mouth, followed by a smaller scale of Niagara falls from his eyes.
"Hey, now. Stop thinking like that. Come on, I'll take you with me. I don't know where the hell I'm going but we can go together. I haven't even told you my name. My name's Rover and together we could-- we could conquer the unconquerable, defeat the undefeatable, discover the undiscoverable."
"Are those even.. Real words?" Sputtered Insect, throwing the conversation off topic.
"I think so, but that's not the point. You got the gist of what I meant so, are you with me... stranger?"
Together Rover and Insect travelled a reasonable distance. From the abandoned trailer park, to a location consumed with darkness, to an area with a blinding artificial light above, to an abandoned playground. Rover wondered why everything was abandoned. Where were All the people? Where was all the life?
Resembling the trailer park, the playground situated before them was bleak and seething with sorrow. A fragile-looking swing set was the playgrounds centerpiece. Occupying the swing was a girl, whom Rover judged to be around the same age as Insect.
"That girl over there." Said Rover, "you see her?"
"I'm pretty sure she's the only thing I can see right now."
Rover shot a sideward glance at Insect and found him to be in some sort of trance. "Get a hold of yourself, Insect. Something tells me this girl has something important to do with my past."
"Your past?" Cried Insect. "You mean you two have a thing?"
"A what?"
"A thing."
"What thing?"
"A thing."
"What's a thing?"
"Never mind," said Insect, returning his gaze to the girl. "Clearly I was mistaken" "I say we go up and talk to her." Said Rover. "You know, to introduce ourselves."
"Are you crazy?! I aint walking up to a girl just like that."
Rover eyed him suspiciously. "Why not?" "Uhh, because she's a girl."
"Outstanding observation, Insect," said Rover wryly. He grab Insect's arm and brought him along, overpowering Insect's resisting struggle.
The girl, who sat motionless on the wooden swing, had wavy brown hair that fell down past her shoulders. Rover and insect approached her from the side Insect making sure they were well out of her peripheral vision. From what they could see, the girl, her head slightly tilted downwards, appeared to be frowning.
"I know you're there," said the girl, her voice soft yet firm.
Rover and insect stopped dead in their tracks, stiff as boards, and the girl turned to face them. Rover elbowed Insect, prompting to speak first. When Insect remained silent for a few moments, Rover spoke cautiously, "how did you know we were here?"
The girl's eyes narrowed. "I was told that you'd be arriving soon." Insect took a step back.
"Who told you?" Asked Rover, standing his ground. The girl was still sitting on the swing, so if she were to do anything unexpected, she'd have to jump off first.
"Whi are you two?" Said the girl, ignoring Rover's question.
"My name is Rover. And this is --" "shut it!" Insect interrupted.
"This girl's crazy-- definitely don't want her knowing my name."
"You two are funny.'', said the girl, suddenly looking amused. "My name's Madison" Insect let out a deep breath, almost like a groan, drawing the attention of both Rover and Madison.
"Are you alright?" Asked Madison.
"My friend's fine" said Rover, turning back to the girl, who had now jumped off the swing and took a step towards them.
"I have a friend too." She said with a grin. "He always protects me." She raised a finger and pointed in the direction behind Rover and Insect.
Turning around, Rover and Insect could see something unveiling itself from the shadows. A pair of yellow eyes flashed open, followed by the extension of a long, black tongue cracking like a whip. The creature, easily larger than a grizzly bear and looking hungry enough to feed on an entire pack of wolves, moved closer, walking on four muscular legs.
"That's my friend, Malevolence," Madison said cheerfully. "He's always guarding me and I think he wants ever so to meet you."
Author's Notes:
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I wonder why would Malevolence wants to meet them and who told the girl about them. Hmmm.