City of the Fallen - unedited

Chapter Fifteen

"Wake up, Julia!" A voice startles me awake, and jolts me out of my bed. Once I realize it's Brooke, my stomach ties into a knot, anxious to see her new look.

"Shh! You'll wake up everyone on this floor idiot." Another voice hisses at her. I can't pair a person with it, however.

I open the door and am greeted with two pairs of sparkly eyes. Brooke and Jack stand behind my door. He looks like he doesn't want to be here.

"Oh my..." My voice trails off as my eyes are caught by Brooke's. Hers are blue at first glance, but have hints of a rosy purple color within it. They easily captivated the eyes, it's the first thing I noticed when I saw her.

Jack on the other hand, looked fairly similar. His eyes are now a greyish blue color, but their beauty is a little more cryptic. I don't want to stare at him too much to avoid seeming creepy.

"Julia your eyes... they're gorgeous." Brooke takes a few steps towards me, her eyes wide with shock.

I laugh, happy to see a familiar face after what seems like an awfully long time.

"Oh! You're going to love it here, Julia, I found so many things that I have to show both of you!" Brooke jumps with excitement. "You're going to love training, it's so much better than before. There's so much to do here, we're going to have so much fun."

"How's Nick, did you see him?" I question.

She shakes her head. "Unfortunately not yet. I'm not sure when they show us that part, but it's good that you'll be here when it happens."

I can almost feel the energy Brooke was giving off touch me. "How are you so energetic this early in the morning?"

"It's called being happy, silly, you should try it sometime." She rolls her eyes. I look at Jack to see if he's having the same reaction to her hyperness and he just shrugs.

"When does training start?" I sigh, not ready to go to something else that resembles school. I just want to spend a day exploring. Sometimes I hate being dead, you feel more restricted than before. 

"In about twenty minutes, but we're going to this cute coffee shop beforehand. It has a great view of the stage two city." She informs us, then begins closing the door. "We'll wait here while you change."

I hate when my sleep is disrupted, but being in the Afterworld isn't so bad compared to being alive. It's easier to do everything here, it's easier to wake up and I always feel energized. Walking long distances doesn't hurt my feet and I have a constant feeling of peace within me. Yet the rules here are stricter. Odd.

I grab a white dress from my dresser and slip it over my legs. I understand that my room is designed like this to make me feel more at home, but it just makes me miss it even more. I want to be with Nick and my parents right now instead of getting ready to go to some training program in the Afterworld.