Alex drifted in darkness, a weightless sensation pressing against him from all sides. It was a vast, empty space—void of light, sound, or any sign of life.
He took a tentative step forward, and immediately, the ground rippled beneath him like water, spreading outward in silent, pulsing waves that vanished into the black.
Confused, he lifted his foot again, testing the sensation. Another ripple coursed across the surface, each wave catching the faintest hint of light as it expanded, though from where the light came, he couldn't tell. Everything around him was still… too still.
"Hello?" he called, his voice leaving him in a rush, only to be swallowed by the silence and thrown back in waves of echoing distortion.
Hello… hello… hello…
The sound fractured and stretched, bouncing back at him from all directions until it became foreign and unsettling. Alex swallowed, feeling an ache in his throat. He tried again, louder this time as if maybe that would make a difference. "Is anyone here?!"
Anyone… anyone… here… here…
The echoes grew, layering on each other until they built into a cacophony, reverberating like voices trapped in some endless chasm. Alex clenched his fists, the overwhelming noise clawing at his mind, but there was no one—no answer. Only his own voice, warping and twisting back at him, filled the void with a haunting chorus.
He stopped, feeling a shiver creep over him. Where was he?
A thought stirred in the back of Alex's mind, faint and fragmented but growing clearer with each second. He tried to focus, piecing together the memories that felt almost slippery, like they were resisting his grasp. He remembered… the convenience store, the fluorescent lights casting harsh shadows, the late-night quiet broken only by the hum of refrigerators and the shuffle of footsteps.
Then, Nicole's voice was calm and steady. She'd been right there beside him. The masked men burst in, demanding cash, that ugly leer directed at Nicole. And he'd stepped in—he'd tried to be the hero.
A bitter smile crossed his face as he thought back on it. "Brave," he murmured, his voice lost in the echoes. How silly he'd been, standing up to them as if he could protect her. He'd barely even thought, just acted, his own recklessness leading him to this strange void.
And what did it matter, anyway? No matter what he did or how many "brave" acts he pulled, he knew someone like Nicole would never see him that way.
He was just another nineteen-year-old kid, a part-time store clerk and business student, aimlessly drifting. Even if he had saved her… she wouldn't look at him differently.
The thought lingered, heavy and hollow. Alex swallowed, feeling the ache return as the emptiness around him pressed in, amplifying every quiet, self-doubting thought.
He was always there, just enough to be seen but never noticed. He was not the kind of person who made anyone stop and pay attention.
As Alex's thoughts spiraled in the silence, a voice suddenly cut through, sharp and dripping with disdain. It echoed from all directions, yet he couldn't pinpoint its source.
"Well, if you knew no one would bat an eye at you, then why on earth did you do it?"
The words were cold, almost mocking, laced with a strange amusement. Alex spun around to find the speaker, but the void remained empty, swallowing everything except the voice.
"Why step in? Why play the hero?" it continued, each word pressing down on him like an accusation. "You knew it was pointless. You knew she wouldn't see you any differently. So… why?"
Alex swallowed, his pulse quickening as he struggled to respond. The voice felt like it was reaching straight into his mind, pulling out the insecurities he'd tried to bury. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.
"What's the matter? Nothing to say? Or do you realize now how foolish it was?" The voice chuckled, a low, dark sound that sent a chill down Alex's spine. "You went in knowing exactly how it would end. Maybe even hoping for it. Isn't that right?"
He clenched his fists, feeling a flicker of defiance despite the weight of the words bearing down on him. "I… I didn't think," he finally managed to say, his voice barely a whisper. "I just… did what I thought was right."
"Oh, how noble," the voice sneered. "But nobility means nothing when you're left broken and bleeding on the floor, does it?"
Alex winced, the memory of the blade's sharp pain flashing through his mind.
Alex exhaled a resigned breath in the stillness around him. "You're right," he muttered. "I knew it was pointless, but I did it anyway."
Silence filled the void before he spoke again, glancing around as if expecting to see someone. "So… what are you, exactly? Some kind of Grim Reaper? Death God?" He paused, squinting into the dark, trying to discern a figure or face. "Or something else?"
The voice let out a long, exasperated sigh as though utterly unamused by his guess. "Unbelievable. When they find themselves here, most people are frantic, begging, grieving, bargaining for another chance. They think they didn't deserve what happened or plead to go back and fix it."
Alex shrugged, oddly unfazed. "Not much I can do about it now, can I?" he replied, calm and almost indifferent.
A beat of silence, then the voice spoke, sounding faintly incredulous. "Why are you so calm?"
Alex tilted his head, feeling strangely detached, as though his situation had already sunk in, and it just… didn't bother him. "Because I don't have anything to lose," he answered simply. "If I'm dead, it's no big deal. I mean, I didn't leave anything behind worth hanging onto. I could be reincarnated or judged or tossed into heaven or hell—it doesn't matter much to me."
A low chuckle echoed through the void. "How remarkably detached," the voice mused, almost amused. "You think you're ready for anything that comes next?"
Alex shrugged again, not out of bravado, but with quiet acceptance. "Why not? Maybe whatever's next is more interesting than… well, what I had going on back there."
The voice let out a sound somewhere between a chuckle and a snort like it was trying—and failing—to hold back laughter. "Interesting? Oh, absolutely. But…" It paused, letting the word hang in the air with a tinge of irony, "Not going back there? Sorry, kid, but I'm afraid I can't grant that little request."
Alex frowned, trying to process the meaning behind the voice's words. "Wait… you're saying I have to go back?"
"Oh, you're catching on." The voice seemed to delight in his confusion, its tone dripping with amusement. "See, as much as you're done with that life of yours, someone up the line isn't done with you just yet."
Alex felt a flicker of frustration, the first real feeling he'd had since he'd arrived in this strange place. "So, I'm just supposed to get dropped back there? Like nothing happened?"
"Not quite," the voice replied, a hint of something darker slipping into its tone. "I don't usually do this, but for you, let's just say… there'll be a few changes."
"Changes?" Alex echoed, wary but curious.
"Oh, yes. Consider this your second chance—or maybe your chance to live something far more interesting than what you had. You'll have something to make it worthwhile."
The voice sounded almost gleeful now, as if relishing some grand, hidden secret. "But you don't get to sit back and float away to the afterlife, no matter how much you might want to."
Alex was silent, his mind racing, a strange mix of anticipation and apprehension pooling in his chest.