Vivimus

 

Elevated beyond all measure, we came.

The deepest depths and lofty heights, we saw.

Armies felled before our might, we conquered.

And through it all, we live.

 

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The omnipresent void was certainly not where one wanted to be. An endless expanse of inky blackness unmarred by any physical formation. And yet two people, a male and female, were slowly trudging their way forward. Each silent step sent wisps of ethereal darkness wafting out from beneath their feet dissipating into the low haze of darkness covering the pitch-black floor.

“I knew we should have taken a left back there,” the man snarked.

“Oh yeah? Shall we head back? Surely, we can trust your amazing instincts that got us into this mess. Who in the world sticks their head into a black portal on a wall in an alley?” She shot back.

“Hey, I wanted to stay at home and play some RPGs,” he said weakly. “You were the one that wanted to go out.”

“Oh, come on!” She shouted. “We just finished our first-year exams, and it was a nice day. You always stay inside anyways. Not like this new game will be any different to the last with you always playing that stupid barbarian class; doesn’t it get boring playing the same thing over and over?”.

“Like you can say the same. Always picking a wizard for the ten years we– “he paused, and his eyes narrowed a fraction. “Is that… a McDonalds?”

The girl smirked at him and said, “Still think we should have taken that left?”

He glared at her, huffed, and started walking towards the store at a brisk pace.

“You know, when they said they had stores everywhere I didn’t think it would mean, you know, everywhere” he remarked. “Well, I hope they have some food, because I’m starting to feel pretty hungry”.

The girl rolled her eyes before running to catch up.

As they approached the classic features became more apparent. A huge glowing ‘M’ atop a metal pole stood like a beacon at the front of the property. The void fog remained a couple of meters back from the property, dissipating into nothingness before it wafted closer. Fake plastic green hedges lined a path to an open seating area with a small playground just the entrance to the establishment.

Opening the door, they found more seating inside and a black and white chequered floor with a wooden service counter at the back of the room. A large menu was affixed to the top of the wall behind it with what seemed to be countless rows of items. Beneath the menu stood a young blonde lady wearing a black uniform hunched over her phone, idly swiping to-and-fro across the screen.

The pair looked at each other, shrugged, and walked up to the counter.

“Hi, sorry to bother you this, er, evening. We’re wondering if you could tell us where we are?” he asked.

She sighed, glanced outside, and said in monotone, “The void”, before quickly going back to her phone.

“Ah right, I seemed to have missed out on those geography classes while school.” He said snidely.

A sigh was his only reply.

“Ignore him, he’s just grumpy. Do you know of a way to get back home?” his partner questioned.

The lady sighed one more time before shutting off her phone and saying. “I’m sorry to say going back to your own reality is almost impossible,” she said, “Not like I could be bothered finding out anyways.”

“Fine,” he said curtly, a little colour seeping into his cheeks, “We’ll just get some food then. Let’s see what you have.”

They both looked up at the menu and started to read through the options.

“What the fuck?” they both whispered.

Now looking directly at the menu, they both realized it contained a list of befuddling length. The menu seemingly able to contain an almost infinite number of rows, and yet, when they looked at it peripherally the board remained the same size. Unfortunately, both their gazes got stuck attempting to read over the first row.

“Look lady is this a joke? Nothing on that bloody board is even legible!” The man said, his voice at a low growl.

“I’m sorry, we’ll try to include your language in the future,” The dull lady droned.

“Well would you be able to tell us what you do sell?” The female of the pair placated.

“We here at Meta Inc. pride ourselves in the best metempsychosis services,” the servicewoman droned, eyes already back on her screen, “Would you like to order?”.

“…what?”, they said faintly, their faces slack.

Spying some characters at the end of a row the man, with a quick shake of his head to clear his confusion, asked, “Quick question, what kind of currency do you use?”.

The blond looked up from her phone, tilted her head, and said, “We only accept M-Credits of course”.

“We were dropped in here three hours ago. Do you think we have any money?” the girl replied tersely, “Do you have anything that could get us back home for free?”.

“Something free?”, she said incredulously, almost dropping her phone. She quickly recovered and, finally standing to her full height, said with a sly smile, “We do have something that caters to your… needs. It would take you a little while to get home, but you could get there eventually. I think it’s a great offer, personally.”

“No. Nothing good comes free,” the man replied, “There isn’t anything else? At all?”

“Well, you could work here for a while I suppose. It would only take you,” she contemplated for a second before continuing, a small devious smile on her face, “about one hundred of your years. So only fifty years between the pair of you.”

The pair stared each other in the eyes before nodding and returning the insincere smile.

“We’re leaving”, they both said decisively.

With that parting statement they both turned and starting walking towards the exit. Just as they reached the door the woman’s voice softly called out from behind the counter.

“Good luck out there,” a cheshire like smile full upon her face, “you’ll need it.”

The duo stopped in place.

“Shit. We can’t go out there again, who knows when – if, we’ll see something again,” the girl whispered.

“Surely there must be something else out there?” he replied gravely.

“Did you see something in that void that I didn’t?” She deadpanned, “That bit- lady, knows something, and I don’t want die of starvation or any wacky monster out there”. The girl sighed, squared her shoulders, and marched back to the counter dragging the man behind her.

“Alright blondie, how do we get home without working here for fifty years?” she asked.

“The people upstairs, so to speak, get to choose a metempsychosis or transmigration for the both of you. They will decide your world, powers and bodies for their enjoyment. And if your life entertains them, they will send you home right where you left off.” The servicewoman said with a smile.” And to forestall any questions, no, if you worked here for fifty years, fifty years would pass for your bodies and your world.”

“Why are you so fucking happy about this?” the girl asked heatedly.

“Every being that I convince to take this option gives me a pretty nice bonus at the end of my shift.” She said with a giggle, and then continued with a slight frown, “not to mention I do get to make a few choices regarding your placement, so choose your next words wisely”.

After a couple of seconds, the man shoulders slumped, and with a sigh he asked resigned “Do we get to know anything?”

The woman looked down at him quirked her lips and said, “You’ll be inserted into your bodies after they’ve aged for five years. You’ll know the verbal common language of the area and you’ll both at least have passable talent.”

The man glanced at his companion, who nodded at his look, turned back to the woman in black and steeled his nerves.

“We accept.”

With a cheeky wiggle of her fingers, she waved them goodbye, “Oh and please don’t die too soon. It would be such a hassle if you did.”

The moment the last syllable left her lips they both vanished without a trace.

 

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 On the outskirts of a city slums sat a large, dilapidated building. Where once were elegant carvings, paintings and statues now stood only pale imitations. The wooden walls looked to be made of patch repairs and wind freely coursed through the building causing the wood to ominously creek and giving a deep chill to all its occupants. Most rooms were occupied with sleeping children, a single tall woman was awake preparing a meal of thin gruel.

Within one room slept two small children. Their small forms huddled next to one another shivered underneath the threadbare blankets. Just as the sun started to crest on the horizon their eyes snapped open. They laid there for a few seconds basking in the sensations before they held their breath and tentatively reached down towards their pelvises.

One of them let out a relieved sigh.

The other an unearthly shriek.