POD

Hello Readers,

I wrote the following story in a boring lecture. I have an idea to develop it into a full book. If I did that then this extract would appear in chapter 2. I would love to see what you think of it, and whether you think it’s worth extending. Thanks, Ashley.

“Any more Earth people?” Someone said. “No? Slow day, usually more.”

Slowly I opened my eyes. I was in the middle of a crowded room. Lizard people, aliens, monsters and all types of indescribable creatures stood around me, all facing forwards. Everyone, including myself, was wearing a black robe, with the hood down.

“Last call. Earth people.” The same voice.

I stood still, not knowing what to do. I was from Earth. Other voices now spoke, in languages I had never heard before. People slowly left the room.

“You.” Someone shouted.

The crowd separated revealing someone, about double my height, walking towards me.

“You look like you’re from Earth. You missed the last call by a couple of minutes. Follow me. You won’t have to wait for the night shift if we can catch them. Troy’s running late tonight.”

The man I followed was different from everyone else. He wore his hood up and I couldn’t see anything beyond the darkness. He lead me out of the room and into an empty hallway. The walls were soft, yet looked metal. I reached out and touched them. It succumbed to the pressure like a pillow. I looked down and saw that the floor was the same. The corridor didn’t seem to have an end. Everything was white. There were passages on both sides, but I couldn’t see them until they were right next to us.

“Was it this one?” He said, as he stopped at a turning to the right. “Or the next one? Sorry about this. I don’t do the Earth group.” He paused. “We’ll go down this one. It’ll lead somewhere.”

I followed him down the new corridor, which looked no different from the last.

“So how. What happened?” He said.

“What?” I asked

“What happened to you to get here?”

“Happened?”

“You know, how did you die?”

I took a second to take it in.

“I. Don’t. Remember.” I whispered.

“Ah. Most are like that. Don’t worry. It’ll come back to you.”

We carried on down the corridor in silence. I thought about what happened. Images shot into my mind. The knife. Red water in the sink. I could piece it together, but I couldn’t actually remember it happening. We carried walking on down the corridor, and then made a left. The new corridor was much shorter and led into a circular room. The room was filled with other humans, who were all looking at a hooded man on a stage at the far end of the room.

“Phil.” The man next to me said. “Got another one, here.”

“There’s always one. Thanks.”

“See you later.” The man next to me said and left.

“Hey, come closer.” He waited for me to get closer and join the back of the crowd. “We were just establishing that you are all in fact dead. I’m the carrier of your soul, and am here to help you adjust to your new way of… living.”

A couple of people laughed.

“We have it pretty good here. Now that you’ve been here for a while you will soon realise that everyone speaks the same. I may sound like I’m speaking English, but I’m not. I find that everyone is speaking locknec’. The language from my planet, Thighlo. So that’s good. Before you ask, no one is really sure why this happens. But I’m sure there’s a reason. Now. You will be given a flat in a building full of your own kind, after about six months you will be asked to move into a new location, to make room for other newcomers. You will be glad to hear that everything’s free, and you don’t really have a job, just a hobby. Something you will contribute to society and others. You help others and others will help you. Hopefully we can all live in harmony.”

“Are we in heaven?” Someone close to the front asked.

“Heaven? You can call it that, I suppose. You aren’t divided from the worst of your kind. Here you have a new beginning, but act out and you will be thrown out. This is a good place, and we have no tolerance. I will be leading you to the flats in a minute. I’m just waiting for the all clear from the last group, so we can use the hall there. We are running a bit late today. Save your questions till then. Shouldn’t be long now. Apart from that. Welcome to POD.