Chapter 2: Stories from the Afterverse

“Death is inevitable.

Birth is inevitable.

Life is inevitable. 

But how you live it is up to you.” 

The voice quickly explained that the Afterverse was the way to Vurth, the new world that everyone goes to after their death. “You don’t understand, I need to go back to Earth. See, I can breathe fire, and I use it to protect the world.” The voice didn’t trust me. “I’m sending you over.” it said. I screamed as I was sent to a new world. The world swirled around me. I got knocked unconscious. Hours later, I woke up at a random house. What was this place? I got up to check the surroundings, and found a note. It said, Welcome to Vurth. This is Starting Manor. Clues will appear as you traverse. I put the note on the table. I went outside, and found another sign. It read, To get back to Earth, you need to win the Vurth International Games. What are these games? I wondered. I walked down the path, and saw another sign. The games are a way of deciding true power. Any powers you had on Earth can be used, as well as anything you carried from Earth when you died. Also, they are team battles. I finally realized that I needed my fire breath to win this. I checked if I still had it, half expecting to not. But a flaming breath came straight out of my mouth. 

     “This will easily get me to the top.” I smirked. But inside, I wasn’t fully sure. I mean, I had a lot of trouble with Uncle Brody, and he could very well be on Vurth now. If he wins, he could terrorize the Earth when he made it back. I decided to start learning some type of martial arts using my phone. But there was no service. I should have expected that. I kept walking down the trail until I saw the last sign. Go to the city to get evaluated for the contest. You are only allowed to participate if you have a special power, or some really powerful tech. Good luck, and safe travels. I had a lot of questions in my head. Where was this evaluation? Was Uncle Brody on Vurth? Would he be participating in the competition? There was too much to think about, so I took my mind off it completely as I walked into the city to be evaluated. 

     A different kind of sign was in the window of a shop. It read, Redwood Global Evaluation. This was the place! I walked in, and there was a man vaping behind the counter. He gestured for me to take a seat in the back room, so I did. After a couple of minutes, he walked into the room. “Listen kid, there have only been 1000 people who have made the evaluation, and you are not gonna be one. So let’s get this over with quickly.” He connected some wires to my head, and told me to think of anything that would help me bear pain. I thought of Elise. A crackling noise started, and it quickly escalated. Soon, the machine was in my brain, trying to bring out all my bad memories. They started reaching my brain. The sadness of losing my family, the searing sensation of the sun, all of it came flooding back. 

     I kept thinking about Elise. I would do anything to protect her. I loved her with all my heart. I burst through. The man just stared at me. “That was amazing!” he said. He sent the report down, and I was on my way. Suddenly, I felt something. Elise! She was on this planet! 

     The next morning, I started searching for her. I looked everywhere, but she wasn’t in the city. At day’s end, I had finished exploring the entire city. The following morning, I flew to Rockfort, the neighboring city. There was nothing at Rockfort either. The tournament was coming up in three days, and I needed to prepare. As I was flying back, I saw a speck of black on the horizon. I swooped down lower, and gasped.