I’m so cold…

     The world moved awkwardly under me. What happened? The last thing I remember was me and Anthony playing a game on the fighting machines. Then there was a loud bang and someone pinched me.

     “Ashley!” Anthony cried out to me, but he was so quiet. 

     Why is he so far away, he was right next to me a minute ago. 

     “Ashley, stay with me,” he said again. 

     I opened my eyes, he was staring down at me. Why am I on the ground? I tried to tell him I’m fine, but my voice caught in my throat and no words came out. He turns and calls out to someone, but I can’t hear what he said. I’m so sleepy, I just need to close my eyes and rest.

     Once I wake up, I’ll feel better…

     “Ashley, get up, you’ll be late to school!” Mom yelled upstairs. Waking me up from my nightmare. My heart was pounding in my ears as I sat up in my bed. The last remnants of the nightmare faded away as my clock ticked out the seconds. My door opened as mom stuck her head inside. “Are you up?”

     “Morning mom,” I gave her a shaky smile.

     “Everything okay sweetie?”

     “Yea, I just had a bad dream,” I replied. “I don’t really remember it, but it scared me.”

     “Well if you’re alright come down for breakfast then I’ll drop you off,” she said closing my door as she left.

     I got out of bed and changed out of my pajamas, putting on the uncomfortable uniform we were forced to wear. I'm glad I'm graduating in a few months, so I can throw these things away. Sitting at my vanity, I put on simple makeup, no time for anything more than just simple foundation and eyeshadow.

     “Ashley, hurry up, we need to leave in fifteen minutes,” Mom called again.

     “Coming!”

     I grabbed my backpack from its hook behind the door and ran downstairs. Mom made my favorite breakfast, French toast, hash browns and sausage. I ate in relative silence, the only sound that could be heard was the low click of the grandfather clock. I finished as mom went to start the car.

     “You need to be more responsible, Ashley,” Mom said the moment I buckled myself in. “You’ll be graduating soon and joining the workforce. Unless you’ve decided to go to college.”

     “I don’t know what I want to do yet,” I said, looking out the side window.

     “You need to decide, your future is important.”

     “Maybe I’ll go to the same school as Anthony.”

     “Where is he going?”

     “The Technical Institute. He’s going for computer aided design.”

     “Do they have anything you’re interested in?”

     “I don’t really know, but I can do general studies until I figure it out.”

     “Ashley, you need to take this serious. College isn't cheap, you’ll need a good job to pay it off.”

     “Don’t I have a college fund?” 

     “It's not enough to cover the entirety. But we’ll talk about this later,” she said, stopping outside my school. “Have a good day, sweetie, I love you.”

     “I love you too, Mom,” I said, kissing her cheek before hopping out. 

     I ran up to the front door, my skirt fluttering slightly. Making my way to my first period. 

     “Hey, Ash,” Anthony said as I took my seat.

     “Hey,” I replied, taking my binder and book from my bag. The bell rang as the teacher walked in.

     “Alright, class settle down,” Mr. Sanchez said uselessly. Everyone knew not to be rowdy in his classes. Not that anyone really wanted to anyway, world history is kinda boring. I took notes as usual, we were allowed open notes on tests, and they were definitely needed. The arms on the clock ticked down the time remaining in class. It felt like the took an eternity to count down the minutes.

     Finally, the bell rang and everyone collected their stuff and left for their next classes. I had math, which most people hate. But I really enjoyed it. I wasn't the best at math, so when I solved a problem, it made me feel great. Plus, it had my second favorite teacher in it. My first favorite was my next class.

     “Hey,” Kristine said as I arrived to art class. 

     “Yo, how are you?”

     “I’m at school,” she replied, sticking out her tongue. “You?”

     “Same, though this class always makes me feel better.”

     “You were always good at drawing.”

     “I'm not that good,” I said, feeling my cheeks grow warm.

     “You are better than you think.”

     “Anyone would be good at something if they did it for years,” I said. I had been drawing since we met in elementary, but I didn’t really take it that serious.

     “I'm serious, I think you would make a great artist, maybe for manga or cartoons,” she said, taking my hand.

     “I…  I don't know.” 

     “Welcome, everyone,” Ms. Andrea said as she entered. “Today you are continuing your portraits.”

     I retrieved mine from our classes cubby and set it up on my easel. Something seemed off about it, but I couldn't exactly figure out what. The lines looked the same, and the little color I had already applied was correct. But no matter how much I look, it still looks off somehow.

     “Something wrong?” Ms. Andrea asks.

     “No, I just was making sure it looked right.”

     “It looks great to me, like usual your art is excellent.”

     “Thank you,” I smiled.

     “How would you feel majoring in art?” 

     “I hadn’t really thought about it.”

     “You should give it some thought, I believe you could be very successful in the art community,” she said before walking over to help a student. Kristine flashed me a smug smile.

     Art class ended sooner than I would have liked. I had a free period afterward and went to the library as usual. I was at my usual computer reading web novels, the librarian had allowed me access to the site.  Monsters, magic and adventure were a secret love of mine. Every Christmas, I asked Santa to give me the ability to use magic. Of course, I know better now, but every time I woke up powerless, I was sad.

     Novels were the closest thing to magic I realized, so I started eagerly reading stores about it. I quickly ran out of books, and that's when the librarian at my public library told me about web novels. There was a seemingly endless amount of them available. I got lost in reading as usual, the only sounds were the turning of pages, clearing of throats, coughs, and the ticking of the school clock. I finished my chapter as stood up to head to the cafeteria for lunch.

     “Hey ash, let's get something to eat,” Anthony said, meeting me at the library door.

     “Skipping class again?”

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     “Only the last few minutes,” he said defensively. “So we can get to the cafeteria early.”

     “Suuure,” I teased, poking him in the side. “Though I am hungry. Let's go.”

     I blushed as he took my hand. I intertwined our fingers and leaned up to give him a kiss. Which he returned with a smile. As we turned to leave, I felt something in the air. A tension I couldn't place. I looked around the room, but everything seemed normal. But the harder I looked, the more something felt off. The clock ticked loudly on the wall above us.

     “What's up?” Anthony asked.

     “Something feels weird,” I replied. The ticking seemed to slow down, growing louder when I felt a tugging.

     “Let's get to lunch before the bell rings,” Anthony said, a hint of urgency in his voice.

     I continued to look around, the ticking growing louder. The air felt tense, taut like a rope ready to snap. Anthony pulled on me again, his voice becoming more urgent. As I turned to follow him, the wall exploded, throwing books and shelves across the room and knocking me down.

     “Ashley!” Anthony cried out to me, but he was so quiet. 

     Why is he so far away, he was right next to me a minute ago. 

     “Ashley, stay with me,” he said again.

     I opened my eyes, he was staring down at me. Why am I on the ground? Something tugged at my mind, half remembered. This felt oddly familiar, like something similar happened before.

     “I’m fine,” I groaned. Every part of me hurt. Anthony held his hand down to me, lifting me to my feet. “What happened?” 

     “We need to leave now!” he hissed at me.

     I started to move, but froze in place as something lifted itself from a pile of books. The thing was blurry, a black stain on the world that I had trouble discerning. Its form was dark and shifting, but it stood tall, its head brushing the ceiling, forcing it to hunch over. A second, smaller shadow leaped through the hole in the wall and struck it with a long-bladed weapon. The weapon collided against something with a wooden thud.

     It was more than half the size of the larger creature. But taller than me by about a foot. The large shadow swung its weapon, throwing the small shadow into the shelves across the room, before it turned its attention to me. In one swift motion, it leapt at me and swung its weapon horizontally, knocking over shelves and desks in its path. Time seemed to slow as I watched the large weapon approach me. Anthony jumped in front of me and pushed me down, the weapon whistling above my head and hitting him in the side.

     With a sickening crunch, he was thrown across the room and hit the wall, landing in a pile of tangled limbs and blood.

     “Anthony?” I said, my voice breaking. Behind me, a third shadow struck the creature, knocking it away. The sounds of combat filled my ears, but it was dull and hollow. “Anthony?” Tears ran down my cheeks as I crawled over. 

     “So cold…”

     “Please stay with me…” 

     “Ashley,” he coughed, blood flecking from his lips. “...run.” I grabbed his hand, but it was so cold.

     “Please don’t leave…” 

     “I… love…” his breath rattled in his chest as the light left his eyes.

          “Anthony?” I shook him, he's too cold. And limp, his eyes stare at me, but I'm not reflected in them. A fourth shadow came in and picked me up. It tried to say something to me, but I couldn’t quite understand. The world seemed to shift, slightly fading from my sight, the forms of the shadows slightly settling before everything snapped back to normal.

     The shadow holding me placed me in the hall and pointed away. I started to follow its instruction, and it turned back inside. A few steps later, I turned around, something was up, and I was going to see what.

     Peeking around the corner of the door, the library was a mess, broken shelves and tables everywhere. Books and papers lay scattered across the floor. The first shadow was standing upright, unobstructed. Which confused me, it was standing taller than the room was now. The library seemed half in existence, the shadows were partially solid now, I could almost make out the shadows. 

     The three smaller shadows faced the larger one, two standing in front of the third. There was a flash of light as the fourth laid its hands on the second, and it stood straighter. The larger shadow lifted its weapon, threw back its head and bellowed, which I could hear. It was deep and loud, hurting my ears.

     It attacked, trying to hit the third shadow, which rushed forwards ducking under the large beast's legs, swinging its sword and slicing the beast's legs. With a roar of pain, it lifted its foot to stomp the third shadow. But slipped on its blood, landing heavily on its backside.

     “Leilei now!” the third shadow shouted, his voice light but authoritative. 

     The second shadow lifted its weapon, a strange light gathered around it. Just before it could strike, the beast roared again and kicked Leilei, sending it flying again, as it crashed through the wall beside me. The shadow solidified slightly, and I could see a beautiful girl lying unconscious. She had long silver hair tied up in a loose ponytail. Her skin was delicate and pale, like porcelain. Beside her was a weapon nearly as long as I was tall. Her armor was polished but had a large dent from where the beast kicked her.

     I knelt down to check her, she was still breathing, but was knocked out. A scream pulled my attention back into the room as I saw the third shadow swinging its weapon faster that I could see. Black blood spraying out in every direction, but the beast seemed unfazed. When the second shadow went to perform a big strike, the beast struck out with its palm, throwing the shadow backwards.

     “Merik!” the fourth shadow cried, her voice was soft and melodic. I watched as her form started to materialize. She was facing away from me, so all I saw was her long golden tied up and peeking out from under a beautiful gold and white veil. In her hands, she held a staffed, topped with a sun like symbol. 

     The third shadow leapt back to its feet. Its form solidified into a handsome man, short black hair outlined a soft but fierce face. A snarl on his lips, he spat out a glob of blood and hefted his short blade once again. He was wearing chain mail and leather armor, a cloak fluttered from his shoulders. 

     “You stupid ogre, how’d you get here?” he said, not expecting an answer. “Ishira, check on Leilei.”

     “You are more hurt,” she said, her voice filled with worry.

     “Fine, heal me then check on her.” he ordered. 

     She went to dash over to him when the ogre swung its club at her. He dashed over to her, pushing her out of the way as the club landed on his back. Ishira picked herself up, her white robes stained crimson.

     “By Illaria’s divine light, heal,” she chanted as she was engulfed in a shimmering golden light. 

     The ogre lumbered over, its heavy footsteps sending tremors through the ground. It laughed, its deep voice like gravel, mocking the girl. It lazily swung its weapon back and forth, black blood flowed down its body in rivulets. It stopped just before the girl, its face twisted into a mocking smile. The girl was going to die, but her face wasn’t filled with fear, rather resignation. 

     I let out a gasp, and she looked at me, her face changed to surprise and shock. The ogre lifted its club, preparing to strike the girl, who continued to stare at me with a sad look.

     “Look out,” I screamed, pointing at the ogre. Something shifted inside me, a weird hot feeling began swelling up from deep inside. My veins felt like they were on fire as the heat spread throughout my body. It moved to my finger where it began to gather, before a small ball of fire formed at the tip of my finger, and shot out. Hitting the ogre in the face, knocking the beast on his back as his face burned. It screamed and pat its face trying to put out the flames.

     Ishira took advantage of its panic to run over to Merik, laying her hands on him, she said a prayer, and he was surrounded by light. He stood up with a groan the same time Leilei began to stir. While she was healing the man, she turned to me and spoke.

     “You should have left when I told you. Now it's too late,” her tone was forceful, but filled with sadness. I was confused, first by what I assumed was magic and then her words. A million  questions ran through my mind.

     What was happening? Why was there a fantasy monster here? Why was I able to use magic? My thoughts were interrupted by Leilei standing up, her armor rattling as she got back to her feet. 

     “What are you doing here?” she asked seeing me, shaking her head she continued. “Now’s not the time.” She picked up her weapon and dashed over to the fallen ogre. Hefting her sword, she once again gathered light around it. Just as the ogre put out the flames, she shouted and brought the weapon down on the ogre, removing its head in a flash of light and a spray of blood. Its body twitched a few times before lying still.

     “Now come out here,” Ishira said.

     I stepped out from behind the remaining bit of wall. The room was destroyed, and was beginning to fade away. I looked for Anthony’s body, but there was nothing where he was, not even his bloodstain. The clock on the wall had stopped ticking.

     “Uhh hi…” 

     “Why is she here?” Merik said sitting up.

     “I don’t know. I told her to leave,” Ishira responded.

     “I'm sorry, I was curious,” I apologized, bowing.

     “You don’t need to apologize. But you should have followed my instruction. Now that you’re awake, it’s impossible for you to go back to sleep.”

     “What do you mean?” Unbidden, a memory flashed through my head. Anthony and I were hanging out in the mall. Playing a fighting game at the arcade. I was thoroughly thrashing him when people started shouting. We turned around as saw people running from something. There were a few loud pops and a few people fell. Anthony dived behind a machine as a man walked past the window. He pointed at me and there was a pop, I felt a pinch in my chest and something warm began to flow down my chest and I fell over.

     I’m so cold… I fell over, my body shaking as tears streaked down my face.

     “Look at what you did,” Ishria said to Leilei who was kneeling next to me.

     “It’s not my fault, how’d an ogre even get to the lobby anyway?”

     “No, but if you would’ve led it away, then it wouldn’t have smashed through her Afterlife,” she said in a haughty tone, “but no you just had to smash the thing right through the wall.”

     “I'm sorry,” she said more to me than Ishira. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your afterlife.”

     “Afterlife? So I’m really dead, then?”

     “I'm sorry,” she said again.

     “You don’t have to be, you didn’t kill me.”

     “No, I'm sorry because now that you’re aware that this is the afterlife, you can't go back.”

     “So am I going to pass on then?”

     The three of them looked at each other, their faces equal parts worried and sad.

     “No,” Ishira said, “now that you are awake you’ll be taken to the Tower.”

     “What's the Tower?”

     “It's where the souls of the dead fight for another chance at life,” the three of them said in unison.