The fog grows thicker and thicker as I feel my body plummet into the darkness. All around me, I see blurry silhouettes of the unluckiest people in the world.
As I feel stiff and numb from the fear of plummeting who knows how far down now, I hear the sounds of fabric flapping as the silhouettes disappear around me.
Oh shit.
My senses come back momentarily as I pull on the cord attached to the strap of my backpack.
Oof.
The parachute opens up and yanks me upwards like a ragdoll, and my gun just shoots out of my hand.
I watch in disbelief as I see my only hope fly away and disappear into the darkness. I feel my eyes tearing up, making my surroundings more blurry than they already are.
Must be because of the wind. I close my eyes as I feel my heartbeat slow, and I snap back to my senses.
My initial fear of the fall is dampened by the parachute slowing my untimely demise. Now that I think about it. I've always wanted to go skydiving. I guess that's one thing off my bucket list. Well, it's a good thing too, since I won't be around much longer.
I chuckle as my impending death has not really sunk in yet.
I open my eyes to look around and notice that things are getting brighter. I can see a few of the inmates all hovering around me, having pulled their cords. I turn to my left and see Danyard gliding a few feet away, holding tightly onto his gun. He is looking through its sight at something far away.
What the hell is this freak looking at in this fog?
I turn my head down towards where his gun is pointed. There is a light shining far down like a star in the night sky.
Actually, there are a lot of them, exactly like what a starry night sky looks like. It is... kind of beautiful.
I squint my eyes as I notice some of the lights getting brighter and... bigger? Wait, am I hallucinating from shock?
I close my eyes again to find momentary relief from the stinging wind. The fog is clearing up a bit now, so I could kind of make out the landscape underneath.
There are what look like trees plastered across the entire span of the land. Some of these have little lights glowing at the top like a Christmas tree. Then I notice the ground, it looks kind of odd. It just looks like plain old dirt, but something about it doesn't seem right. As I squint my eyes again to get a better look at the distant forest, I hear a scream resound throughout the fog, getting quieter and quieter.
My head snaps around, my eyes darting everywhere.
What the hell was that? I search for answers all around me as I grip tightly onto the 3-inch joke of a knife Megan gave us to protect ourselves, fastened around my waist.
I look to my left to see Danyard still falling next to me, providing me a sense of security. He is already aiming his gun in the direction of the scream, searching for any potential threats.
Yeah, I need to stick with this dude for sure.
A shriek pierces my ears as I feel a strong gust of wind blow me towards Danyard. My head snaps back to the right.
The shriek is cut short, and the inmate is already gone. Just a small clearing of fog where he used to be.
What is happening? I feel the fear creep up my body as my body goes cold and I pull out the knife. Something is better than nothing.
I keep looking around, and in my desperation, I call out to Danyard.
"H-Hey! Danyard. What the HELL is going on?"
No reply. Even though fear has me tightly in its grasp, my feelings are a bit hurt.
Suddenly, he points his gun straight at me and fires.
BANG
I feel a spray of blood soak the entirety of my back, and I accept the sweet embrace of death. I guess this is it. I go out dangling on a parachute hundreds of feet in a giant hole.
It is strangely painless but calming. I am not scared anymore. I just close my eyes and wait as I hear chaos erupt all around me. I feel the knife slip out of my hands as I let myself be carried away by whatever force awaits me.
There is a cacophony of screams and gunfire all pounding at my eardrums when I just want some peace in my last moments. I think back to all the things I wish I had done. Or I guess, all the things I wish I hadn't done. It is so peaceful knowing that the struggle is over; all these years clawing at life really take a toll on you. I can finally close my eyes in peace and let everything go.
...
I wonder why it's taking so long for something to happen, though. The gunfire continues as I hear fewer screams and more of a strange gargling sound, constantly bugging me. It is disgusting to hear.
"Shit."
I suddenly tumble and fall as I feel ground on my feet for the first time in what feels like forever.
My eyes fly open in shock, but my body feels numb. I'm scared to move since there is probably a gaping hole in my body, and the pain will be unbearable the moment my brain registers it.
So, I'm just going to lie here.
"Oof, what the hell!"
I feel a kick to the side of my body.
"You alive?"
I look up to see Danyard standing over me, soaked in some black liquid.
"Get up." He scowls and moves onto the next body, a few feet away, lying face down, motionless. He kicks it face up, and I see two gaping holes where eyes should be. I look away in horror.
What the actual fu-
"Here." Danyard throws a rifle in my direction. I'm too shocked to react, so it nails me right in the head.
Ouch.
"Come on. We gotta move." Danyard orders as he gestures toward him.
I shake off the shock and take a real look around me. Everything is black and crimson, with trees with trunks that look like spires shooting up all around me. The branches are strange, bonelike, spiky protrusions that are covered in visceral blobs of flesh. I feel the ground beneath my hand and realize it's a bit too soft. It's not dirt.
The ground is all slimy and squishy, rhythmically pulsing like a colossal heart with veins running all along its surface, serving as roots for the repulsive trees.
A sudden realization comes upon me. I'm dead.
I rip off my assigned uniform and check my body. There is no pain, nor any holes. My jacket is covered in the same bizarre black liquid. Danyard is covered in.
So, this is the afterlife. Is this hell?
"You number 8?" Danyard says annoyedly. He hovers his finger over a button on his wristband. "Gonna move?"
"Are we both dead?" I ask, dumbfounded.
He rolls his eyes and starts counting down. "5, 4, ..."
I dart up and shake off the brain fog. I can't help but smirk as Danyard turns and orders me to follow.
I'm alive!
I think.
Well, if I don't want to die again, I'd better stick with him for now.
I pick up my new rifle and step over the hollow-eyed body as I jog after Danyard.