DoppleGanger

-PROLOGUE-

Where do you go when you die? What do you do once you get there? Well...I would tell you the answer, but I'm dead, and I can't communicate with the living. I don't remember dying, and I couldn't tell you how it happened. I've always secretly hoped that I would die a memorable death, and that people would remember my name after I died. Like dying on the Titanic. That would have been pretty cool. I can't be disappointed yet though, because I haven't found out what actually happened to me.

I wish I could tell you that I'm in Heaven right now, surrounded by rainbows and clear water beaches, and exotic animals, but that's just not the case. If this is Heaven, then you sure don't want to end up in Hell.

I'm alone. Well, at first I wasn't, but now I am. When I first got here, a giant man had woken me up, and he resembled an angel, in presence, but he was certainly not beautiful like one. His face mimicked that of a gargoyle, and his eyes were red and yellow like a hot fire. His body shimmered and glowed against the blackness that surrounded me, and from the sides of his shoulder blades sprouted large grey wings that looked as if they were alive. He had been responsible for telling me I was dead. Of course, at that time, I was terrified, and probably would have ruined my pants if dead people could pee.

After he left, I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to do. I just kind of sat there, in the dark, all alone. At this moment, I am still sitting in the blackness. Was this how I was to spend eternity? Is this the 'afterlife' everyone used to talk so much about? If it is, then I feel horribly sorry for anyone who suffers from Nyctophobia in their lifetime. Luckily, I was only cursed with Cynophobia, and so far I haven't seen any dogs (Up here?), but then again, there isn't much of anything where I am.

A few minutes? Hours? Days (I don't have any perception of time here) passed, and still nothing. Wow. Being dead is really boring. As a child I used to ask my dad what there would be for me to do in Heaven (I was a weird kid). Could I still play baseball? Could I go swimming at the beach? Could I eat whatever I wanted, not having to worry about my health? He would just say to me, "I don't know Adrien. I'll find a way to let you know when I get there, I promise." I would just laugh, because as a kid, nobody ever believes that their father is actually going to die. They are invincible. However, 10 days after his 43rd birthday, my father passed away from a heart attack. I was only 12 years old. He never did keep his promise, and I never actually did expect it to be possible, but the thought of my father in a happy place still comforted me.

All of a sudden, an ear-drum bursting suction sound jolts me back into 'reality' and the atmosphere around me twists with a multitude of greys. It kind of reminds me of a tornado, but I'm not afraid. It's mesmerizing. I stare incredulously at the 'walls' around me that are expanding indefinitely, and the further they move from me, the more light seeps into my vision. My vision is turning white and the light is so bright it's burning my eyes. I closed them. It isn't helping. I can feel a sensation of flying, and I think I'm moving upwards. I can't really tell. It's almost euphoric in a sense, nothing like I've ever felt before. I lift my arms above my head like I did when I was a kid pretending to be Superman, and I'm shooting into the sky. Aside from the white-noise, I hear someone screaming. Is there someone else here? Maybe I'm not alone after all.

I feel my throat burning.

It was only me.

When did I start screaming?