They say life can take interesting turns. Most of the time that means things like, studying for one thing but stumbling across an opportunity for something else. Maybe even living your life as a normal office worker and suddenly finding yourself involved in events you never could have prepared for. Hell, I'll even take a chance meeting with just the right person changing the course of your life due to pure luck. Whoever "They" are, I don’t think they thought an "interesting turn" would be just that. I mean that literally, a physical turn into an interesting place. Well maybe not interesting. More existentially frightening.
Let me take a second. Rewind a few moments. What was I doing? Peeing, yeah I woke up with a full bladder and nowhere near enough sleep to be happy. Okay, so after? Well clearly I went to the bathroom. I may have been exhausted but not enough to soak my bed. Yes I remember now, a good 90 second leak, four or five scratches to one or both ass cheeks, and a good shake. Always gotta shake it before yah stow it. Flushed the toilet because I'm not an animal, I have roommates after all. Then I opened the bathroom door and then the door to my room, where as I turned into it I was standing in a white room. Just like that. Well, not quite a room. This is the existential part. You see, a room implies walls. But when I look ahead of me or to my sides it seems to go on forever. A room implies a ceiling. But when I look up, the white goes on and on. A room implies a floor. This is the worst part you see. Because when I look down not only am I met the same blank infinity, but I don’t feel a floor with my feet. I am standing, but feel nothing under me.
It's at this point my mind begins to spin up. The moment before I was nodding off on my feet, the next I am fully awake fighting back a fight or flight response. This is because I began to realize that, not only to I not feel the Not floor I am standing on, I don’t feel anything else. No moving air flow. No vibration in the Not floor. There is nothing else to break this all white hellscape no matter where I turn. This all white hellscape I am just now realizing isn't giving off light, I can see with clarity but no matter where I position any part of my body it creates no shadow. Even on myself if not the not floor, or not walls. Jesus Christ there is no sound except my increasingly panicked breathing. And my heart, let's not forget my heart. God it's so loud in my ears, is it supposed to be that loud or is it because everything else is so quiet?
Jesus fucking Christ I don’t feel any temperature. It's not hot, it's not cold. It just is. Aaaaand there goes my sense of gravity. Is that because there isn't any? Was there gravity before and it just vanished? Was I ever standing in the first place, or have I been floating this whole time? Christ on a bike this is just becoming annoying now. I'm operating on about 4 hours of sleep and - oh for fucks sake I just noticed I'm not even tired. Like I was before I ended up here and now I feel as if I could start my day right now. Where the hell is this! God dammit I am going to wrap my hands around someone's-
"I think this is the best time to make myself known then?"
"Wha?"
"I don’t think I have ever seen anyone, mortal or immortal, go through the emotional gambit that fast. I am honestly impressed"
"Who the fu-"
A woman was standing about ten feet in front of me. As if she had always been there. Now that something was in my sight, some other point of reference, much of my other senses crashed back into some semblance of normalcy. I felt I was standing once again, although the no floor feeling was still there. Her voice filled my ears in a way I couldn’t have been prepared for. Not just because it was the only other source of sound in this never ending empty eternity, but because it held a quality I don’t have the words to fully describe. It was pleasant yes, beautiful even, but it held a weight to it. Not a weight of charisma, though I could already tell she had that as well, but it felt…more. Realer in a way that made my own fumbling responses seem like the echo you would hear down a tunnel. A shadow pretending to be the original. My eyes, finally having something to lock onto, brought the image of the most beautiful woman that could exist. It was almost painful to take in unprepared. And I don’t mean the "Classical Beauty" you would read about in a book. If you listen to any real artist speak on the nature of beauty they will tell you "all beauty is found in contrast" meaning the most beautiful things exist in that space where white and black meet. Her voice was firm and full yet she was shorter than my 5'9 height by at least 5 inches. Her hair was nearly all long as she was tall, a color of blonde that seemed to shift up and down in intensity when you looked away. It at first seemed to be straight but with a moment of focus you could see small waves with each seeming to cradle the other as it flowed down her back. Her skin was just under that shade of pink that one would call a healthy glow, the offset of paleness giving her a feeling of purity. Her face was free of blemishes save a small scar like mark in the middle of her left cheek and a mole under the right eye. Her face held a look of youth that vanished when I met her gaze. The blue of her eyes were shockingly ordinary but the focus and humor behind them pressed me down into the not floor as much as the maybe gravity might be.
Fuck me where did all of this flowery nonsense spew from? I know I have an expansive vocabulary but Jesus this is getting ridiculous. If I have to focus on something in this blank hell hole I guess I should be happy it's a pretty woman. Oh yeah, I could do much worse than her. Dear god look at those things, she's got some crackin ti- ARE THOSE ANGEL WINGS!
"There you go again. Lasting light, you bounce back quicker than most."
Her voice snapped me back into the moment. Her statement more so.
"Quicker than most? What the hell does that mean? Who the hell are you and where is this nightmare space I'm going to assume you brought me to?"
A small smile flashed across her face for a heartbeat, before I could ask why she spoke.
"I will answer all of your questions, though out of order. My name is Amariel. I am a Lesser Deity. You may think of me as an angel, a goddess, a messenger, or anything else. But know that no matter what I am here to help you. As to where you are, it is a space between moments in between worlds. It is empty like this because of previous times people like yourself were brought here. If we prebuilt a space using things you could recognize but were not familiar, the people would fall into a sense of danger and their distrust would make the following process more difficult. If we used familiar places people would be confused how they arrived there, which would again make things difficult. And if we constructed the space to look like the place you were occupying before the transfer, the fear most people felt upon a being such as me appearing in their bedrooms or the like would-"
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"Make things difficult. And someone walking into a void of sensory nothingness is better how?"
"We found the jarring and undeniable nature of a space you would have deemed impossible before helped the process move more quickly. And as to my earlier comment, the way you took in and processed your new environment was quite fast even compared to most other sentient lifeforms throughout creation."
"Uh, thank you? Amariel uh my lady."
"There is no need for flatteries or titles. As I said, I am here to guide you through this process and give advice when needed."
"Ok Amy, what process could possibly involve kidnapping me and bringing me to a place I will need therapy to deal with."
"Amy? That is quite a jump from my lady."
"Well you said I didn’t have to flatter or worship you. And as I just said, you kidnapped me via trauma space. I figured whatever this leads to, I earned the right to call you what I please."
"The speed in which you process and deal with information is frighteningly swift."
"Thankies."
The goddess shook her head and continued.
"You do not have to worry about damage to your psyche from this place. From the moment you were taken from your world I have protected you from any and all harm. If you take a moment to examine yourself you will see the truth of my words."
I did just that. I spent a few moments to finally slow my racing mind. Aside from the adrenaline that was already waning from my sudden change in environment, I didn’t feel how one should when grappling with an existential quandary. The wrongness of this space should have driven me into a dribbling state of panic or at least unconsciousness. None of the unfortunately familiar signs of trauma were there. I don’t know how to feel about that. Is this just protection from an effect before it can happen to me, or has she altered my mind in some way? If she has and she doesn’t change it back am I really me anymore? I have my own list of shit wrong with me but that is too much. Wait she can hear all this cant she?
Amy smiled and answered my questions.
"Yes I can hear your mind. No I have not touched your mind in any way. I am simply preventing anything that would affect you in a negative manner."
"That seems like an annoying short description."
"Don’t take it as an offense. You are literally incapable of understanding the underlying mechanisms framing my existence."
"So tiny mortal no get god stuff."
"Exactly."
Damn I'm starting to like her. Just the right amount of sass without talking down to me to make me feel stupid. And of course she could hear that.
"So before I continue to make an ass out of myself is there a way you could make this horrible place less…you know, horrible?"
The space changed instantly. I could feel the floor beneath me. Yippie! I could see walls, a floor, and a ceiling. A small flow of air moved enough to flutter the feathers on Amy's wings. The strange not light didn’t change but honestly it didn’t bother me too much. The walls and ceiling were about 20 or so feet from where I stood, and with that sense of closeness came a comfortable temperature.
"Is this enough. I hesitate to do anymore. It may prove to be a distraction from why you are here"
"Sure. I'd love to know what the hell all of this could be for."
"Then I shall begin. You, Killian Creed, have been randomly chosen alongside 999 other people from earth to be transported to another world. There are two reasons why this process is happening. The first is, if not good, it is at least neutral. The second may be hard to come to terms with. The first and primary reason is the enrichment of the destination world. On many planets in many realities the flow of progress and energy can, if not watched carefully, reach a point of stagnation. Civilizations idle or war with themselves. The peoples reach bottlenecks of growth or discovery they cannot move beyond. Despondency and apathy spread until, even if it takes millennia, all life dies and the world crumbles. By taking people from differing worlds, people with vastly different lives and experiences, it acts as a surge to the world preventing the stalling force of stagnation. The energy you will be given before you enter does the same for the energies of the world itself. An injection of fresh possibility. The second reason is for entertainment. One of the higher powers, long before I ever existed, decided to use this process to alleviate their boredom. After a few iterations it became what it is now. More people than necessary are chosen, this does still help the world, and they are watched. Some of my compatriots or those higher up the chain even become sponsors, giving tasks or goals in exchange for specific rewards. With this, let it be known you will be transported to a new world. You will be given abilities and powers, not only as the energy for the destination world, but as the karmic balance for removing you from your life forever."
She stopped speaking but my mind continued to churn. I am a game piece. This week's episode of celestial T.V. I won't pretend I had a life to be excited about. A pitiful go at self-employment, barely making enough to pay my bills and feed myself, all so I don’t have to get a "real" job and face my inner demons. Hell, I know had this goddess brought me here to ask me if I wanted this, there is no reality I would have said no. But that's the problem. It would have been my choice. I would have heard that spiel, understood the terms, and agreed in a heartbeat. The taste of being entertainment would have been easier to swallow knowing I made the choice for super powers or magic or whatever it's going to be. But being told what is happening to me. Being told what I must do. Being told what to do has never gone over well with me.
I looked into Amy's eyes. She waited quietly. Letting me process what was told to me in my own time. This being clearly meant me no ill will. She didn’t make this decision, just the arbiter of choices made by those above her. I could understand that. With nowhere else to direct my anger I balled it up, and twisted it toward something constructive. I would take this thing pushed onto me. This fake choice. And I would grab everything I could get my hands on. And then I would grab some more.
I saw something in the Angels eyes. Nothing I could point out specifically. Maybe it was a focusing of attention. Approval? Whatever it was it vanished so quickly I began to think I was mistaken, only to see something else as I had that thought. Is that surprise? Something in me screamed to keep quiet about it. Some wispy still forming thought deep in the back of my mind. Even if all of my thoughts were heard by her that something forced me to not acknowledge it aloud.
"Ok Amy, seems I have no choice in being here. If that's the case. There is only moving forward. So tell me, what happens next?"