Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Ghostopia, Chapter 1: Life After Death

(Note: This purely fictional story is a product of the writer's imagination and should not be taken as an actual depiction of the afterlife. Allow to simmer and enjoy! )

"CHEESE!" Black square hats flew up in the air.
The fresh graduates of the Class of 2004 let their cheers ring throughout the campus. After three years of sticking together, they now were officially a part of the big outside world they'd heard so much of. Boys and girls whooped with laughter as everyone posed for those once-in-a-lifetime photos.
"Um, Emily," A spectacled young man approached a girl in his class. "Would you, er, mind taking a picture?"
"Hold on, Darren. Right after these guys. CHEESE!"
Suddenly terrified shrieks echoed round the scene. Everyone fled for their lives, covering in fear. Everyone except for Darren who froze in place. He felt this enormous weight pressing down on his heart. It twisted and contorted, squeezing the life out of him. Then everything went black.

Black.

Black.

Darren's eyes opened much later. Slowly a checkered ceiling of orange and black came into focus. Rather sluggishly he peered to the right, then the left. Something didn't seem right, but he couldn't really put his finger on it.
Wait a minute. Wasn't he at the graduation? Where had everyone gone?
"Robin? Thomas? Guys? Speak to me!"
He tried getting up from his lying position, only to find his legs badly cramped. Nevertheless, he succeeded after a whole lot of teeth-gritting.
Curiously enough, he was in a medium-sized room large enough to fit a class. On one side of the wall was a wide bookcase containing only one leather-bound book. The rest of the room was glaringly bare.
Still very much in a daze, Darren plodded over to the bookcase and reached for the book. There were no words on the cover, nothing but a rough scaly surface. He flipped it open.
"Welcome to Ghostopia. You are now no longer one of the living and have become a Ghost. Please step through the bookcase to complete verification of your citizenship."

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