NaNoWriMo Day 1

Whoo! My awesome friend came through and I was able to retrieve the file. Thanks again,  Phil!

I hope you enjoy the story.

 

 

The bells
will ring, and we will sing,

Your song up
to the heavens.

The clock
will chime, and light will shine,

On those who
fear the end.

A symphony
will echo,

and the
stairway will be,

The only
thing,

That sets us
free.

~~~~

 

Cool rain
poured down onto him, as he breathed in a long, raspy breath. A pool
of crimson regret gathered under him as his vision began to fade. A
shadow came over him; “I…Just wanted to make things right…”
The world became white and his emotions faded. Everything around him
became bleak, as a bright, comforting light carried him far away.

~~

“You’ve
met with an unfortunate end, haven’t you?” echoed an unknown
voice. Luke groaned, his muscles feeling like they had immense weight
upon them as he groggily looked around. There was nothing. Nothing
near, nothing far, just… nothing. Pitch white was all around him,
and he wondered where that voice had come from. “Who…what…where
am I?” Luke asked the emptiness. “That’s difficult to say.”
it chimed back. “Wha?!” His senses finally registered, and
realized that there wasn’t anybody around, but the space was still
communicating with him. “Some call it the Void, some call it The
End of The World…” it continued. “Who…where are you?” Luke
asked the voice. “Most call it Limbo.” “Answer me!” “Alright
alright, no need to shout…”

There was a
puff of gray smoke, and a slender figure, his face and body shrouded
in a black cloak, appeared in front of Luke. “GAH!” He jumped
back in surprise of the ghostly being towering over him. It seemed to
have an ominous aura about it. “W-w-w-what are you?!” He
stuttered out. “Me? Well, I’m just another guy trying to make his
quota and do his job.” Luke nervously looked at his own clean white
suit. A horrifying thought edged across his mind as he remembered: he
wasn’t wearing a white suit before… He
looked up at the ghastly figure, staring into its hood, eternally
deep and black. “And…what am I…?” He asked very carefully and
softly. The spectre chuckled. “Hah, that’s an easy one – You’re
dead.”

~~~

“What?!?!
But I can’t be
dead!” Luke yelled in horror. “Well, you’re either dead, or
having a very bad nightmare. Though I think you would’ve woken up
by now, hm?” The figure answered him. There was a long silence as
the reality of his untimely end worked around the gears of his mind.
“But…If I’m..” The word was caught in his throat. “Dead…that
means, you’re…” “The Grim Reaper, The Angel of Light and
Dark, the one the only…” It began. “Death…” Luke finished
for him, as it became a reality to him now. Death gave him an elegant
bow. “At your service.” “But, but I can’t be dead! I’ve got
so much more to do, places to see! I…” He struggled for words,
but it dawned on him that there wasn’t much point in arguing. Who
would be around to listen?

But then a
desperate thought came across him. “You have to give me more time!
Please, Death! I’m not done yet…” “More time? Hah…What do
you think this is, a pay phone service? You can’t just insert
another coin to continue.” There was another puff of gray smoke as
a very old, but ornately decorated looking book appeared in Death’s
hands. He flipped several pages and came to one. “Lucas Altimas,
age eighteen. Date of death: May 5th,
1987.” He took a moment to sigh, and then snapped the book shut.
“There it is, in plain text. When the book says it’s time, It’s
time.” 

Luke’s eyes
widened. “No! No, this can’t be the end…I…” He choked up,
stared at his hands as if there was an invisible answer in his palms,
and felt like crying, but tears wouldn’t come. He looked back up at
Death. “How did I die?” He asked. “I’m sorry, lad– Please.
Just tell me!” Luke interrupted. Death flipped the dusty tome back
open. “Well if it means that much to you. Hmm..Ah! Lucas Altimas,
Cause of Death…” He paused unexpectedly. “What is it? Death?”
Luke asked him. He answered in a softer voice, and even though Luke
couldn’t see his face through the pitch black hood, he knew that
tone well – surprise and worry. “Cause of death…Unavailable.”
Luke tilted his head to the side. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, I don’t know! The Book never, ever has shown up a cause or
date as unavailable. Unless…” He paused again, but this time
directed his attention to Luke. He seemed like he was thinking.

“Maybe you
do deserve more time
after all…” Death told him. It was the only explanation he could
think of. He’d never seen this before, and he’d been working this
job for a long time.
Luke became ecstatic at this bit of information. “Really?! You mean
you could really do that?” He asked, beaming. “Well…” Death
began, clasping his hands together in thought. “The thing is, I’ve
never seen a time where the book says “Unavailable.” Not even
during The Holocaust, an

d trust me, there were a LOT of people to
account for.” He paused. “Hmm….okay, I’ve got a way to deal
with this. I can reverse time, and give you the month back that you
had before your death. Whatever you do in that month, and if you
spend it wisely, is completely up to you.”

Luke thought
this was the best day of his life. “Would you really do that?”
Death sighed again. “Yes…I will. But remember: I’m not making
you immortal, or eternal. You’re only getting one month, and as I
said earlier: when the book says it’s time – it’s time.”
“Trust me! I’ll make it count.” Luke responded, still smiling.
“Good. Don’t squander your time.”

There was
another puff of smoke, and the book was gone, and replaced by a very
shiny hourglass. Just like the book, it looked like somebody had
taken extensive time and measures to decorate it. The glass itself,
was empty on its top half, all of the sand on the bottom. Luke had a
sickening thought as he realized that it was his own hourglass,
depicting how much time he had left. Death’s bony finger reached
out and tapped the hourglass. It immediately began to glow a bright
green, as well as emitting a high pitched pulsing noise. When it
stopped and the glass was visible again, there was a small amount of
sand in the top half, but it wasn’t running down. Death answered
the question Luke was thinking. “It’s not running because while
we’re here, there’s no such thing as time. It’ll began dropping
when you’re officially back on Earth.”

There was a
moment of silence as they both looked at the hourglass, its edges and
trimmings decorated with reds and blues. Death turned to Luke. “Well,
see you in a month.” And he reached forward suddenly, placing a
firm hand on his heart. Luke felt his eyes roll back, and a massive
amount of air escape through his lungs, and he heard it rush through
his ears. It got louder, and louder, and louder…He thought he heard
somebody calling his name. “Luke…Luke…Luke!”

“LUKE!”
His eyes snapped open, and he found himself panting. He was lying
down on a sofa in a train compartment, a blanket at his feet and a
girl holding Luke’s arm. “What…what happened?” Luke asked
her, sitting up slightly. “You fell asleep, and apparently started
having a terrible nightmare. You were shaking and crying and
everything, man. I was scared that you’d been like, possessed or
somethin’.” Luke, looking around, couldn’t seem to remember why
he was here. He knew who this girl was though – Ronia Wirdan. Her
was one of Luke’s closest friends, and had been so for a long time.
Today, she was dressed rather casually. She had
short brown fringe that went just to her eyebrow, and was wearing a
light blue jumper with a black T-Shirt underneath, along with her
usual jeans and white trainers. A bow sat on the seat next to her,
validating her tall stature and pale skin. Luke knew she was an avid
hunter, and loved to practice archery. Her green eyes reflected off
of the scenery shining in from the nearby window, and he saw that
they were filled with concern and just a touch of fright.

“Are you
alright..?” Ronia asked Luke, still partially concerned. “I…I
guess so. Why are we here?” Luke responded, to which Ronia gave him
a look of moderate confusion. “That must’ve been some nightmare.
We’re on the train to go see Grace and Evelyn. Remember?” Luke
was jolted back to reality when he remembered. “Of
course! How could I forget…?” He thought.
Ronia read the look on his face. “Yeaaaah, now you remember.
Just like the time you forgot we were going to the amusement park,
and I mentioned a coaster, you suddenly – and she made air quotes
here – remembered.” “I really did just remember!” Luke
retorted. “Suuure~” Ronia mocked in a sing-song voice. “Oh,
look! We’re here!”

The train
began to slow down, pulling into a shining platform, made of
elegantly placed brick and stone to give off a broad colour scheme.
Above, there were large square shaped windows, letting the sun pour
in. The railings, poles, and structure of the station were all made
of shining stainless steel. Near Ronia and Luke on a wall, there was
a digital sign exclaiming “Welcome to the Abonsworth Railway
Terminal!” Luke had been here several times before, and it never
changed much. There were lots of people coming and going, computer
terminals for scheduling a trip, mini-restaurants, pamphlets of all
kinds, and of course, gift shops.

Luke was busy
letting his mind stroll, when all of a sudden he got, rather
pleasantly, snapped back to reality. Somebody had run up to him and
hugged him hard, nearly knocking him down. Luke showed a huge smile,
because even before he saw their face, for he knew that only one
person could give hugs as great as these. “Grace!” Ronia said
laughing, and hugged both her and Luke.

Grace smiled
up at them, Luke marveled at her. Grace was beautiful – she had
long, flowing black hair that reached down to the middle of her
torso, deep brown eyes that sparkled when the sun shone on her, and a
toned, fit body that most people would kill for. “Day
made? Yes, I think so.” He thought. “Hey,
save some for me!!” An unknown voice said, and the trio was
instantly tackled to the ground, yet another person hugging them.