“Oi, Penny! You wanna go get some food?”

I look up from my desk at Regina, my best friend. I shrug my shoulders and smirk,

“Sure, why not.”

I grab my bag and we head out of the class. I’m Penny Gracefeld, by the way. Nineteen year old film student at the University of Georgia. I got red hair, I’m 5’7”, and I got a slight southern accent. Not thick enough that all my i’s disappear.

As we walk down the hallways, Regina asks me,

“So, what are you doing your project on?”

I stretch and say,

“How The Walking Dead revolutionized a lot of what we see on streaming services today. Specifically, how the show had no problems killin’ off main characters, even to its own detriment.”

Regina rolls her eyes and says,

“You really love that show, huh?”

I nod my head proudly,

“Yuppers! I sure do! No show before brought people together like The Walking Dead did. Of course, that was before the people behind it got stuck with this boomerang story-telling. 

Where they take a literal month to come back to characters.”

Regina nods her head,

“Yep. I remember your presentation from last year where you talked about it. Anyways, what do you wanna eat?”

I look up, thinking. I’m about to answer when suddenly,

*BANG!*

*WHZ!*

A loud bang rings out from behind us, and something whizzes by my head. Immediately, I push Regina into the hallway to our left, before dashing there myself.

*BANG!*

*THCK!*

I grit my teeth as I feel a sudden burning sensation in my left side, just below my ribs.

*BANG!*

*SNAP!*

A third round goes off, slamming into the wall beside me with a snapping sound. During all of this, my perception of time seems to warp as I shove Regina into the bathroom, following right behind her. She screams as another shot whizzes by, hitting me in the arm. As we get into the bathroom, I shove Regina into a stall and set up behind the door to ambush this fucker. Alarms start blaring as an intruder alert echoes throughout the hallways. Suddenly, the door slams open as whoever is doing this kicks the door open. 

I slam into the door, shoving it right back into their face.

“Gah!”

I step in front of the door and see the dude I rejected two days ago, wearing a trench coat, cargo shorts, and a my little pony t-shirt. In his hands is a pistol. I reach for the pistol, grabbing it. But, he recovers from his daze and fights against me. 

*BANG! BANG!*

Two more shots rip into me, one in the stomach, the other in the chest. If it weren’t for the adrenaline, as well as Regina, I’d probably have already collapsed. I point the gun to my left, and start lifting it up. He suddenly jerks his arm, and fires off a shot.

*BANG!*

I feel blood start filling my throat as well as coating my left side. I instantly start to feel tired, but I keep fighting. I feel my strength start to wane as he pulls the gun back to me, firing off two more shots. These two hit me in the chest.

I begin to feel faint, but then I hear Regina’s crying. Strength starts to come back to me as I pull the gun away from me, to my right, away from Regina. I lift it up, and position my finger in a way that makes it impossible for him to pull the trigger again. He starts throwing a tantrum, fighting like a child to try and point the gun back at me. Almost like he thinks he’s the main character, and can’t be beat. I suddenly jerk forwards, slamming my head into his nose. The gun falls from his hand, to which I quickly turn it around and fire it into the base of his skull, causing him to drop. I point the gun at his head and keep firing over and over, until the pistol is empty, mirroring the inside of his skull as pinkish, red liquid leaks from the back of his skull. 

I drop the gun, and put a hand up to my neck as my strength starts to leave me. I stumble back into the bathroom, and say, through gurgles,

“It’s… Safe…”

I fall over in front of the stalls, losing consciousness as I feel blood leaving my mouth.

…

…

…

…

…

Huh?

Is this what death is? Unending darkness?

…

…

…

This is.. Pretty -

“Boring, right?”

I jump as I hear a voice echo out from all around me.

“Welcome to the afterlife, little one.”

I look all around, seeing nothing buck darkness all around, when suddenly, through the darkness, an even darker figure appears. Two glowing, golden eyes and a deep, red halo appear in front of me. I can’t make out the facial features due to the darkness surrounding us.

“Let’s change the scenery up.”

I hear a snap, and suddenly find myself sitting in a comfortable cabin, with a cozy fire burning in a fireplace. In my hands is a teacup, full of the most amazing smelling tea I’ve ever smelled. I’m cozied up in a large blanket, and I notice how… I haven’t had a body up to now. It’s a weird sensation. I felt as though I was formless just a second ago, but now I’ve suddenly been crammed back into one body.

“Yes, death is quite the experience.”

I look up, seeing a woman with pitch black skin sitting on the chair in front of me. Strangely enough, despite her rather terrifying appearance, I feel comfortable near her. Like I’m near a loving mother. I’m about to speak when she suddenly speaks again,

“Yes, I am a goddess. The goddess of the abyss, or death if you would prefer it. My name is Seraphim. Sera for short.”

I nod my head and say,

“I-I’m Penny…”

Sera smiles at me and speaks softly,

“You lost your life doing a heroic deed. Killing that one person saved the lives of 11 others, including your friend Regina. Not many people can fight for that long with those wounds.”

Good… Regina survived. I’m so glad…

Tears start to streak down my face as I think about everything. How my life was just suddenly ended, and for such a stupid reason too. Was my entire life up to that point worthless? Did I even matter?

“Yes, you did. One of the people whose life you saved would turn out to be the person to find a cure for lung cancer, saving the lives of millions. Another would go on to start a company focused on feeding people in less developed countries, saving the lives of tens of thousands. Inadvertently, you saved the lives of well over one million people. You may not have a legendary tale that will be told forever, but you died a heroic death.”

I feel the regret in my body begin to leave as the goddess tells me the exact words I wanted… No, I needed to hear. The goddess continues speaking,

“For your heroic actions, I’ll be reincarnating you into a fictional world you love. You’ll have access to the basics, inventory, basic gear, a system, the whole shabang. Oh… If that's your favorite fictional world, I’ll have to scale back some of the stuff I was going to give you… Alright, I believe I have everything sorted out. To open your inventory, just say inventory, for your system, say system, and for the point store you say store. I know you read isekai manga, so you should have the basics down already.”

The goddess reaches out a hand as a string of blue line leaves her finger and slams into my chest. Excitement fills me as I realize… I may be able to use magic! If this truly is like an isekai! She waves at me as a portal opens underneath me. I hear her voice as I start to slowly drift into it,

“Be careful, dear. The world of The Walking Dead is unforgiving. And you won’t be isekai’d again. This is your last life. Have fun!”

Wait… The Walking Dead?

No… No… NO! Yeah, I love the show, but that doesn’t mean I would want to live in it! FUUUUUUU-

…

…

..

I suddenly feel grass between my toes. I hear birds chirping, and feel the sun on my skin. The humidity hits me like a train. I open my eyes, finding myself standing in a clearing in a forest. Out over the trees, I can see a familiar, yet twisted city. The smokey ruins of Atlanta.

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AN: The first 20 chapters are up on the Patreon. You can join for as little as $1 a month.