I sighed, pushing back from my desk and glaring at my homework. My teacher had given me an extra four sheets because I called them out on getting their facts wrong. Sixteen times four is not, in fact, forty-eight. He's a college teacher; how the hell did he get this wrong?! Unfortunately for the class, I knew the answer was sixty-four, and just had to share that little nugget of wisdom. I glance at the other three sheets left to go and groan. Standing up, I walk out of my room to the kitchen, grabbing a granola bar on my way outside.
My small apartment was near enough to the college I go to that I could just walk there and back, thankfully not having to share one of the tiny dorms where the closet has more space than the room itself. I take a leisurely stroll around the block, waving to a few of my classmates that I pass. The town I lived in was small, but quite nice. The streets were clean, no meth addicts on the corner, few if any robberies, and everyone knew everyone. The plain, whitewashed front of my apartment building comes into view as I round the corner, a sigh escaping from my lips as I remember the homework.
My life was, for lack of better words, boring. I grew up in this little university town, and the things that kept me going through all this monotony were games and novels. I always loved RPGs games, though most of my time was spent reading fantasy novels and doing schoolwork. I always wanted to be a blacksmith, forging weapons for the hero, or maybe a mage, channeling the forces of nature to strike down my foes. Anything other than what I was now. I spent so long researching and daydreaming, that I could tell you from heart the exact steps to make a longsword, or a battleaxe, but had trouble with thirty-two divided by eight. Oh yeah, and how much blood it takes to make said longsword. It's 360 to 370 people worth, by the way. I went inside, resigning myself to another grueling night at work with ramen for dinner.
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As I sat back at my desk, a screeching from outside drew my attention. I glanced at the window just in time to see the glaring headlights of a pickup truck barreling straight at me. The moment it took to register was too long, as the wall exploded; debris spraying everywhere, tearing through me. Brick crunched against bone, glass shredded skin, and shards of wood impaled my side. My agonizing screams were cut short by blood welling in my throat, coughing and gagging through the flaring agony as the truck rolled back slightly, the driver completely in shock at the spray of gore and viscera that had just splattered against his windshield. People rushed from all directions, and many stopped and vomited when they saw the state I was in. My entire left side was simply gone, reduced to a fleshy, pulped mass, splinters of bone flecking the splash of organs, yet somehow I continued living, still hacking up blood as people screamed and called for an ambulance.
Why can't they just be quiet? I thought, the screams slowly fading from my awareness, my vision beginning to dim and the pain dulling. Couldn't they see that an ambulance would not help at this point? I closed my eyes to the horrific scene in front of me, the last thought I had was simply: Finally, I can sleep.
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A faint glow seeped through my eyelids as feeling slowly returned to the rest of my body, the faint whispering of wind reaching my ears as grass rustled nearby. I awoke with a start, remembering the truck and the horrific feeling of blood filling my lungs as I slowly died. I cracked open my eyes and blinked a few times, confused by the sight of tall, healthy trees and gleaming green grass, with a small stream burbling and meandering between them. One simple thought went through my mind:
WHAT THE FUCK?!