Earth. Year 2029. Nigeria_ Lagos
Cole groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, squinting and instinctively bringing his hand up to shield away the dappled light. After adjusting a second later, he yawned and stretched, feeling like it was the best sleep he had had in a while.
Looking around, he frowned, he was surrounded by trees, immense towering trees.
And then in that moment, memories seemed to snap back in place, his eyes shot up, his heart leaped out of his chest as he immediately shot to his feet looking around in vigilance.
He was in a forest, an exotic one at that. And as far as his eyes could see, which wasn't far, he was surrounded by dense foliage.
The sun barely pierced the canopy, only a few areas allowing light to filter through, which lent the entire view a serene feeling.
The air was fresh and cool, and the ground, surprisingly, wasn't damp. The forest was quiet, yet also alive with the subtle sounds of nature's activities.
The rustle of leaves carried no wind, and though unseen, something in the shadows seemed to breathe with him.
But how was all this possible? Unless he was having a dream – a disturbingly real one – but no, this was impossible.
It wasn't just because he'd woken up in a forest instead of his apartment. It was because he knew, definitively, that he wasn't supposed to be anywhere at all.
Why you ask? Well because he fucking died.
"Oh God, I sure hope this ain't heaven… or hell?" Cole muttered
Cole crossed himself out of habit, then glanced skyward, half-expecting golden gates or fiery pits to materialize. Instead — trees, maybe this was his hell.
After all he wasn't a fan of forests, in fact, he was terrified of them—of the things and creatures they hid. Surely, God knew this.
So either God had forgotten his profound fear of forests, which was impossible, or this was his own personal hell, specifically designed for him.
"Ohh, God…"
But then as Cole was freaking out…
[Ding]
[Requirements met…..]
[System loading...]
[1%...] [32%...] [100%]
[System Online…..]
[Welcome host]
Cole was stunned. He stood there for a second or two frozen in place looking at this blue screen that seemed alien yet so familiar.
Because this... this changes everything. It meant no heaven, no hell, just…
"Ooh fuck."
FLASH BACK.
"Phew, I guess that does it," Cole breathed out.
It had been quite some time since he cleaned his apartment, after all he's a dude without a wife or girlfriend and lives alone.
But this day, he woke up feeling like it. Like he was in the mood for some cleanup which his apartment desperately needed.
He couldn't really remember the last time he cleaned.
As a single man living alone, the apartment was predictably cluttered: unwashed dishes, empty food packets, papers strewn everywhere, and piles of unwashed clothes, just like how you would expect a house like his to look like.
So he woke up early, washed the dishes and clothes that by the way cried tears of joy for finally being clean after millennia.
So long story short, he cleaned up. And right now, he had just taken the trash t the bin outside.
Breathing out with tiredness, he dusted his hands with a sigh and then walked back in.
As he was ascending the stairs, he had a commotion from upstairs, as if someone was running at top speed descending the stairs, and then a shout of help.
Cole paused with a frown, "Nana?" he recognized the voice.
It was his elderly neighbor directly opposite his door, a very understanding and caring old woman. In fact most people on the apartment called her Nana.
So what the hell had happened?
But before Cole could rush out to find out, the rushed steps reached him, and that is when he saw him, a dude in black, putting on a mask and carrying a bag.
"A thief?" Cole wondered.
I mean, he could get the fact that he was a thief but was the dramatic choice of clothes really necessary? Who does that?
Black clothes, black mask? Does he think he's in a movie and he's the star, or something?
But Cole wasn't given time to think, the thief was rushing at him with a moment that could topple a truck. However Cole wasn't going to let him get his way.
Because in this building, you could hurt anyone else and walk away, but Nana? Yeah, this dude chose the wrong kind of old woman to steal.
Cole could already hear the sounds of more footsteps and shouts coming down, and others climbing up.
So he decided to tackle this dude just enough to slow him down, good thing he didn't seem to have a weapon.
One Moment Later.
Cole found himself in the forest. Turns out he wasn't as strong as he believed himself to be. The thief had already built momentum while he had almost zero momentum.
The moment the two collided, the thief, rather than tackling him, bent low.
Cole's stomach landed on his shoulder, and with such a maneuver, it was easy for the thief to simply throw this inconvenience away without even breaking his sprint.
Cole found himself falling down the stairs, not because of the force but because the thief practically carried him on the shoulder and threw him down the stairs without even breaking the sprint.
And now for a normal person to fall from the second floor, there might have been a chance to survive, barely, but the way Cole fell was rather… brutal.
Neck first.
So yeah, his neck cracked against the stair rail — silence swallowing everything before the blackness came.
There was no grand, dramatic exit, no "Truck-kun" moment, but either way, things certainly worked out.
And now here he was, feeling bamboozled.
[Ding]
[The Beginner's Gift is ready, does host wish to receive?]
A/N: The name Cole is pronounced as, KO..LE. His name is read as Cole but he was often called KOLE, so it stuck. I will be using KOLE from now on.