《Second Chance》


 Chapter 1: Beginning my life... again

    I don¡¯t fear death. I still don''t... even after experiencing it.


    Until a few days ago I was a college student living life dangerously. I hung around people doing crazy stunts off of moving cars. The stuff you see in action movies. My friends were very talented. I¡¯ve never seen one of them with a bigger injury than just a broken arm or a leg. I¡¯m even more surprised now that I think about it.


    I wasn¡¯t really apart of their group. I was more of the outcast, always doing the least dangerous stuff. I might not fear death but I don¡¯t like hospitals so it was the logical choice. I was pretty scrawny. Not enough to be a weakling but enough to be easily hurt. Once I broke my leg just from jumping 10 feet.


    But I¡¯ve always wanted to try something more. Something that I could talk about to my kids and maybe even my grandkids. So, I took up a climbing challenge. I was to climb my way up a 60-foot rusty ladder and take a picture on the roof. Seemed easy enough. The ladder was situated on an old abandoned factory. It wasn¡¯t very stable but I thought nothing of it. I began climbing and after 10 straight minutes of climbing I was exhausted and I realized I was way over my head and decided to climb down. I stepped down 2 or 3 steps and the ladder broke. It snapped cleanly off the wall. I began falling slowly like in a comedy movie. But it wasn¡¯t funny for me as I was the one that will suffer the fall damage.


    My body connected with the ground and I blacked out. After I came to, I realized I was in a cozy sofa in a pure white room. There were three doors, a bookshelf and a desk with a futuristic computer. The doors each had a sign over them. The first one said ¡°Hell¡± the second one was ¡°Heaven¡± and the third one was blank. The desk had a nameplate on it. It was incomprehensible to me. It was in some foreign language. I¡¯ve studied English and Russian in school, but I¡¯ve never seen such symbols before. There were only 3 apparent symbols but that¡¯s as far as my knowledge got me. The bookshelf had a few books in English, a few in Russian and a few in other languages. I could recognize some as Bulgarian, German, Greek and Chinese or Japanese. My friend studied Japanese so he explained the differences to me but I only listened half-heartedly. I picked up the English book. It had a black cover with only the words ¡°Bible¡± in yellow.


    I put it back and through the door came a man dressed in pure white. He had a pretty well-kept beard and amazing hair. He looked like a saint. I stood in awe of the sheer size of this man. He was over 8 feet tall. I¡¯m just a 5¡±11¡¯ kid myself so you can make a comparison. He looked at me with judgmental eyes.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.¡®Mr. Cains, first name Jake. Born on February 7th, 1999. Current age is 20. Nationality is English. Am I correct?¡¯ The man asked as though I was in interrogation. He stood in front of me like a statue awaiting my answer. I mustered up all my courage and replied


    ¡®That¡¯s right, sir!¡¯ I said as though I was in a police station. I have been in a similar situation as my friends are complete idiots and often do border-line criminal stuff so I often go as a witness.


    ¡®So are you aware why you are here Mr Cains?¡¯ The man asked in a condescending tone.


    ¡®I¡¯m afraid not, sir!¡¯ I began to recollect what had happened before I blacked out, but my realization was cut short by the man¡¯s next sentence


    ¡®You died. Date of death was 18<sup>th</sup>of November 2019. And was it a gruesome death. Oh boy, a five-story fall¡­¡¯ The man exclaimed as he turned his gaze to me. ¡®But you know¡­ It¡¯s not your fault. It was actually an angel¡¯s fault. He ran into the ladder while he was coming back from a church and accidentally broke it. He didn¡¯t even notice you there¡­¡¯


    ¡®So, what happens now?¡¯ I looked around and my gaze fell upon the door to ¡°hell¡± and then shifted to the blank sign.


    ¡®Well, you have two options. You either get reincarnated as a hero in another world or I send you back to earth but I will rewind your body and everything around you 5 years. Which do you choose?¡¯


    ¡®Can you even do that?¡¯ I was genuinely curious.


    ¡®Of course! I¡¯m God!¡¯ The man said so confidently it was as if he was preparing soldiers for war. I thought about it. I mean being a hero isn¡¯t that bad. I might even get a girlfriend. I might even fight dragons.


    ¡®I have decided.¡¯ I said with confidence. I realized that I might as well try to sound cooler. ¡®I shall take the latter option.¡¯


    ¡®Are you sure?¡¯ The man asked me as if my choice was weird or taboo.


    ¡®Of course!¡¯ I said confidently. After these words left my mouth, I realized my mistake.


    ¡®Wait, wait, wait! I¡¯ve made a mis¡­¡¯ I tried to say before my soul was sucked out of me. I blacked out


    I woke up in my bed and I looked at my clock which was on my bedside table. It displayed both the time and date. It was the 18<sup>th</sup>of November, 2014. I jumped and looked around. The place looked like my room but something was off. All of my stunt stuff was gone. I checked my phone. I used to have an iPhone which I saved up all summer for, but instead, all I could find was my old Samsung S3. I checked my contacts and I realized that all of my current friends were gone. All of those crazy punks were replaced by my peaceful middle school group. I looked at my notes which I remembered having taken each day at school. I opened the first one and it said


    ¡®17<sup>th</sup>November: Test tomorrow. Math. Bring protractors and pencils.¡¯


    I stared at it and realized that I have school at 8:00 in the morning and it was currently 7:40. I jumped out of bed and searched every nook and cranny for my clothes and my math notebooks. I rushed outside and ran full-force towards the school. Seems like my second chance has begun¡­ but I wanted to be a hero so much more!

 Chapter 2: Schools begun...again.

    I walked into my classroom 10 minutes late because I had no idea where the classroom was or even which class I had. I looked at my furious teacher and excused myself to my seat. She stared me down the entire time I was taking a seat. She was very old. Almost a fossil. I remembered her as she was a really spiteful teacher. Always tried to blame me and my friends for stuff we didn¡¯t do and she would use her authority to bully students that were failing her grade. I think she was fired right after I finished middle school. Sadly time has been rewound.


    ¡®Well, if it isn¡¯t Mister I-Have-No-Respect-Towards-My-Teachers. How was your midday stroll? Very carefree, I assume. Please don¡¯t forget that you had homework.¡¯ She said while waltzing towards me menacingly. I hoped to the man that sent me here that I from the past did his homework. I reached into my backpack and pulled out a notebook. I handed it to the teacher and she took it out of my hands hastily. She skimmed through it and hit me on the head lightly.


    ¡®I assume you know that this isn¡¯t math class. This is English. And unless equations can relate to grammar, you better hope you¡¯ve actually done your homework.¡¯ I realized my mistake and reached into my bag again while excusing myself. My heart stopped as I realized that I hadn¡¯t actually packed anything. The utter shock was easy to read on my face and of course, the teacher read me like an open book. She went towards her desk and wrote into the big book that she would use to write important notes or bad remarks. You could easily guess which one I was going to get.


    We were sitting on double desks. My only option was to either ditch class or share with the person next to me. I lightly tapped the girl sitting next to me. She looked at me and pushed her book towards the middle of the table. I thanked her and started taking notes on a piece of paper I ripped out of my math notebook.


    As I looked at the exercises it became clear to me that I could easily do each and every one of them because I had graduated high-school with an average grade of B. Math was my easiest subject. I''ve always loved the way the equations were formed and I thoroughly enjoyed solving them. English was my second best subject. I used to read a lot of books when I was younger. Mostly English books and rarely Russian. I stopped reading altogether when I was 18. I was too preoccupied with friends and renting an apartment that I forgot to buy books for my new flat. I guess now I will be able to rent a flat without getting ripped off, but I still have to wait for 3 years.


    I solved all the exercises on my half-torn paper and waited for the bell to ring. I looked out of the window. The classroom had 3 rows of 5 beige desks, each accommodating 2 students for a maximum of 30 and a teacher''s desk. Our room had a whiteboard that was almost never cleaned so it had black stains that were very noticeable. On the wall, we had a few cheap painting canvases with stupid projects we did 2 years ago. The windows were older than time itself and I remember a kid actually breaking off a window just by hitting it with a book. To be fair, the book was our literature book, which was around 900 pages. We used it for both 8th and 9th grade. I should have it buried somewhere in my room.


    I was seated on the middle desk on the most-left row next to the window. Our desk was glued to the wall and I was on the outer side of the desk. The girl next to me was also staring out the window. I guess the exercises were easy for her too. I believe her name was Jessy and she was a really good student. Always did her homework and was never late. Something happened later on but I don''t really remember what. I think it happened at the beginning of 9th grade. She suddenly stopped coming to school and nobody heard from her again. Her social media accounts were deactivated and her friends were confused as all hell. But I still have half a year to figure it out. I probably won''t even bother.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    The bell rang and it pierced my ears like a needle. The bell was old and very loud. It used a mechanism big enough to alert the whole school about the end of class. I was lost in thought and was caught off-guard. I jumped a little. Two guys from my class approached me. They seemed eerily familiar, but I couldn''t remember their name for the life of me. The first one approached me and put his hand around my neck and greeted me very loudly. He was a skinny kid with black hair and a buzzcut. He wore army pants and a t-shirt with a skull painted with spray paint.


    ''Hey, Jakey! Did you really hand "that" teacher the wrong notebook.'' his look shifted towards my crumbled sheet of paper with scribbles all over it.


    ''Did you even bring anything other than math?!''


    ''Do we even need anything other than math?'' I proclaimed trying to save my already low reputation.


    ''Well... we do need math.'' the other guy exclaimed. The other kid was a chubby kid. He wasn''t exactly stupid but he wasn''t the brightest. He was stronger than the average kid but he wasn''t a brute. He tried his best and that was what drove people towards him. But I still couldn''t remember his name. Guess he doesn''t really leave an impact?


    ''Howard, please don''t ruin my joke.'' the skinny kid said in a deep, deprecatory voice.


    ''Got it chief!'' the fat kid, whose name was apparently Howard, exclaimed full of energy.


    Then I realized that I have no idea what was our next class. I looked towards Howard and the other kid.


    ''By the way... what''s our next class?'' I asked but I was aware that I sounded like a complete idiot.


    ''Actually...We have no idea! We came to ask you since you always take notes during school.'' I realized that I had forgotten about my phone completely. I reached into my pocket and took it out. I opened the notes app and I scrolled all the way down. I saw a note named ''Schedule'' but under it was a note with a name I couldn''t recognize. It wasn''t neither English nor Russian. It was eerily familiar. I checked my schedule and found out we had more English then after that, we had math. I wasn''t too keen on spending 6 more hours in school but I needed to endure it.


    7 hours later I was walking home from school. The math test was easy and the exercises we did in English weren''t anything special. I was with Howard and the skinny kid, Mark whose name I learned through conversations. Our school was pretty much surrounded by dark alleyways and small roads. There weren''t that many cars and most of them didn''t speed.


    I looked around and saw two girls bullying that girl I sat next to. I didn''t really think anything of it. I decided not to butt in as I''m not really that strong and I will probably get my ass kicked. My friends and I walked home safely.


    I opened my door to my house and was greeted by my cat. His name was JJ and he was a black cat. I didn''t know what breed he was but that didn''t matter.


    I went back to my room and decided to explore my old files on my phone. I almost instantly remembered the note. I opened it and it looked like scribbles. I ran it through google translate. Nothing came up so I thought nothing of it... Until I googled the note''s name. I got redirected to some site called ''thelostlanguages.org''. There I found a language that looked exactly the same. I opened the page and apparently, that was an extremely old language believed to be spoken by the gods themselves. It suddenly made sense to me. I took a pen and paper and wrote the language''s alphabet and how to read it. To my surprise, it was actually just really old English. Only the letters were different.


    I slowly but surely translated the letter. I probably made a few mistakes here and there but it was coherent enough. It said:


    ''Dear Cake Cains,


    Hello from the heavens. Hope you are doing well. I have written this letter so I could explain what I forgot to explain during our meeting in heaven. First things first you will die again when your time come. That was estimated to be during your 20s.


    I have a humble requesd. A lot of people around you have suffered a terrible fate and have lost their lives in ways unfulfilling. As follows they have gone to hell. Some for suicide and some for murders.


    Please try to save them. If you succeed I will grant you passage onto the heavens


    Sincerely yours,


    -God''


    I immediately knew what to do...

 Chapter 3: Beginning of my journey… again.

    I sprinted out of my house as fast as I could. I probably broke a vase or two but I didn¡¯t pay much notice. I ran towards the school full-force. I bumped into a lot of people but all I did was apologize quickly and continue running.


    I went back to that corner I saw the bullies and their victim, but all I saw was an empty alleyway. Not a soul in sight. I looked around and saw the girl trying to walk away, but falling every step and taking all her power just to stand up. I called out to her. She looked at me with pitiful eyes. I told her to sit down and called an ambulance. I looked around me once more and noticed the amount of blood on the walls. I almost puked myself, but I held it in.


    As the ambulance drew closer I put my hands in my pockets, put on my hood and started to walk away. The girl tried to say something but I couldn¡¯t hear her. I walked away as the piercing sirens struck my ears. Some male voice called out to me but I ignored it. I didn¡¯t want to get involved in the drama that comes from these types of beatings. I just quietly walked away. I decided to get some food on the way home.


    I got home really late. I was used to walking at night, but that was when I lived alone. The problem is that I¡¯m a 15-year-old so I¡¯m living with my parents. I got home and the first thing I saw was my dear mother sitting on the dining room table. I immediately headed to my room.


    ¡®You¡¯re late.¡¯ she exclaimed with a calm yet eerie tone.


    ¡®Yeah, sue me¡¯ I said sarcastically.


    ¡®I have some very good lawyers, I will have you know.¡¯ she had obviously caught onto my stupid remark.¡¯So, what¡¯s up? Did you have a secret date or something?¡¯


    ¡®I just went out to eat and it took longer than expected.¡¯


    ¡®Why go out when we have good food I¡¯ve cooked?¡¯


    ¡®Yeah, I¡¯m sorry. Anyway, I¡¯m going to my room.¡¯ I said while closing the door to my room. I jumped on my bed and started playing games on my phone. I looked at the note I had used to translate the message. I thought about it and realized that if I don¡¯t save the people around me I¡¯ll go to hell or even worse¡­ get reincarnated again. I fell asleep pretty quickly as I was tired from all that happened.


    I woke up at around 7:30 in the morning. It wasn¡¯t a pleasant morning because I had to go to school. I put on some clothes I found lying around and began walking to school. I met up with my friends and we began walking together. Both Mark and Howard were there.


    We were so bored that Mark and a kid named Tom began an argument I had personal experience in¡­


    ¡®Look¡­ all I¡¯m saying is that I¡¯m a strict atheist.¡¯ Mark said while stretching his hands behind his head.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡®If God didn¡¯t exist then how was the earth created?¡¯ Tom defended his point.


    ¡®Evolution¡­ duh!?¡¯ Mark answered in a condescending tone.


    ¡®Evolution is just a myth perpetuated by Darwin.¡¯


    ¡®How is it a myth when it has been scientifically proven?¡¯ I began thinking about that. Evolution has in fact been proven again and again. Even I know that¡­ but I¡¯ve also seen God face to face. I¡¯ve even gotten a pseudo-message. My head began to hurt so I just left it at that but they didn¡¯t stop arguing until Howard mentioned his favorite restaurant joint. After that everyone started talking about food.


    We arrived at our classroom 10 minutes before the bell rang. I sat at my usual place and began patiently awaiting our first class. It was math and I was more than ready with my stupid Messi-themed pencil and my football themed pencil-case. Hell, I don¡¯t even watch football. I only bought these is because they were on wholesale. I couldn¡¯t care less back then anyway.


    I looked to my right and noticed that the girl wasn¡¯t there. I was kinda worried but it didn¡¯t involve me so I tried not to think about it too much. The bell rang and with the piercing sound, the teacher walked in. She was a sweet, old lady who exceeded at teaching and explaining math. She was the sole reason why I was so good at math. I really liked the way she taught and explained everything thoroughly so even an idiot like yours truly could understand. Hell, I even passed with flying colors the following 2 years.


    I began thinking. I¡¯ve been rewound therefore I actually know every person¡¯s life in the next 5 years. Well, the most memorable and the people I kept in contact with. That could be a sad thing. That really sweet, old lady¡­ she died in a car accident in September of 2015. A drunken trucker hit her on the side of the road. Mark failed his college exams and resorted to drugs. He died in the summer of 2018¡­ Overdose. Tom became a cult follower and was involved in a mass suicide in December 2019. My father died in a terrorist attack in 2018. My mother subsequently killed herself in mourning. I could recollect most of the people I knew¡¯s deaths in the next 5 years. And then I remembered my stupid death. Falling off a ladder¡­ can my tragic life end in a more idiotic way?! And to top it all off it wasn¡¯t even my fault?!


    I almost lost it. I was about to start screaming when the piercing sound of the bell struck my ears. It actually calmed me down a bit. I took a moment to recollect my thoughts and decided to get some lunch. I stood up from my chair and headed towards the cafeteria. I bought a small juice carton. I looked to my right and saw the girl from yesterday. She still had bandages on. When my eyes met hers she shifted her look towards my juice carton.


    ¡®You want one?¡¯


    ¡®Yeah, sure.¡¯ She looked really uncomfortable so I thought that would calm her down. I walked over to the counter and bought another small juice carton. I handed it to her and she took it.


    ¡®By the way¡­ thanks for yesterday¡­Um¡­ I gotta go now. See ya!¡¯ Before I could say anything she fled. I wasn¡¯t really feeling into running after her so I just let her be.


    I finished my juice. Threw it in the garbage can that was seated right next to the entrance to the cafeteria. I began to head towards my classroom when I was stopped by a guy I¡¯ve never met. He was about the same age as me. He had short, wavy, brown hair and deep blue eyes.


    ¡®Can I help you?¡¯ I asked politely.


    ¡®Hello, can I ask you a question?¡¯ He replied almost instantly.


    ¡®Sure. Go ahead.¡¯ the guy turned towards me and stared deep into my soul. I was a little flustered but I stared back.


    ¡®Have you met God?¡¯

 Chapter 4: Meeting my partner in crime... again

    ¡®Have you met god?¡¯ His words like butter slipped out of his mouth with such confidence.


    ¡®I have. But who are you?¡¯ I stared, unable to wrap my mind around the fact that there was a person who knew about my meeting.


    ¡®I¡¯m Michael.¡¯ He looked at me with those deep blue eyes. ¡®I¡¯m in the same boat as you. Actually to be honest this is my second time.¡¯


    ¡®Second time? Does that mean you were reincarnated twice?¡¯ I was astonished.


    ¡®You might be smarter than you look.¡¯ Michael said sarcastically. The cafeteria was right next to the entrance of the school. He looked towards the entrance.


    ¡®Do you want to take a walk?¡¯


    ¡®We have school¡¯ He looked at me.


    ¡®It doesn¡¯t matter if we ditch. Unless you are an idiot you probably finished high-school. Doesn¡¯t that make the tests you take a bit easier?¡¯


    ¡®I guess you¡¯re right. But where are we going?¡¯ I asked but instead of answering he began walking towards the exit


    ¡®You coming?¡¯ Michael asked and continued walking.


    We walked without saying anything. We went to a park that was pretty close. The bark had a small artificial pond and a few bridges that were mostly used for ¡®romantic scenes¡¯ between couples. I¡¯ve never really had a relationship so I¡¯ve never seen it in real time but I¡¯ve heard stories. I think a friend of mine proposed to his high school crush on one of those bridges. Pretty clich¨¦ if you ask me. Funnily enough, he got rejected.


    Mike leaned on one of the fences of the bridge we were on. He looked onto an old abandoned building in the distance. He stared at the top of it and began to tear up. He sat there for around five minutes after which he wiped his face with his sleeve and turned around to walk back towards the school. He laughed it off. To be honest, I was kinda curious but I guess it¡¯s something I shouldn¡¯t pry into.


    We got back into the school and we went our separate ways. During class, after getting yelled at again, I thought about that building. Maybe that place had something to do with his death. My death was hilariously stupid but I had no idea about his. I decided that I should just wait until he was ready to tell me.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    School dragged on and on, but it ended at last. I immediately headed home. I found some pretty rocks so I decided to take them with me. I passed that alleyway which the incident last night happened. I looked towards it and saw a few people sitting there. I ignored it and continued walking. I didn¡¯t think much of it until I heard a scream. I turned around and saw a man with a knife approaching the group. He was an old man, presumably homeless. He wore a torn coat with torn jeans and was waving around a rusty, old hunting knife. He was noticeably drunk. He swung his knife around and yelled at the group. He shifted his look towards me. I looked and him and he turned towards me. He yelled some nonsense.


    He continued swinging that knife at me. I began walking toward him.


    ¡®You¡¯re coming to me, huh!?¡¯ was the only comprehensible sentence he formed.


    ¡®I can¡¯t kick your ass without coming closer!¡¯ was the only thing that came into my mind when I heard his threat. He came running full-force toward me. I threw the rocks I had collected and one of the rocks went into his eye. He stopped for a moment and the people of the group jumped him. One took his knife and another put him into a hold. I realized there was no longer a need for me so I just walked off. Nobody even noticed me going off as they were too busy calling the police.


    As I got home I realized that I threw the rocks that I wanted to keep. That was a sad loss so I mourned over it for the next 2 minutes. After that, I decided to explore my room. I knew I had some really messed up stuff hidden under my bed and behind my closet. I gave up shortly after as I realized I didn¡¯t have the legal age to buy stuff like that yet. I decided to work out for a bit before going to eat. My workout was cut short as I got a message from Michael. He had found me on Facebook and messaged me there. The message said:


    ¡®Meet me at the church next to the abandoned building we saw earlier today at 17:00 sent 16:43PM¡¯


    Problem is I live 30 minutes away from that church so I grabbed some pants and ran out as fast I could. That was the only I could get to the church in time. I didn¡¯t know any shortcuts to the park because I hadn¡¯t really explored the surrounding area that much. I just ran as fast as I could.


    After 20 straight minutes of running, I arrived at the church. It, like the building next to it, was abandoned. It was also very run-down, almost like a crack house. Did I just commit a sin by comparing a church to a crack house?


    I walked in through the door which was pretty much falling apart. Inside Mike was lying on the seats to the side. I walked up to him. I realized that he was soundly sleeping. I poked him to wake him up. He didn¡¯t wake up at first so I decided to walk out to the nearest shop. I bought a small water bottle. I came back and poured the water right onto his face. He opened his eyes and exclaimed.


    ¡®Oh! You¡¯re here! Great! Do you know why you are here?¡¯ He said half-asleep.


    ¡®I¡¯ve got no clue but you called me on such short notice that I guess it¡¯s something important.¡¯


    ¡®Not really important but a good tip. I will show you how to contact God.¡¯

 Chapter 5: Meeting God… again.

    ¡®I will show you how to contact God.¡¯ were the last words Mike said. I looked at him with an expression which was a mix of confusion, surprise, and admiration.


    ¡®Well¡­ show me.¡¯ I urged him to continue. Michael turned towards an altar on a podium and walked over to it. He put his hand on the podium. There wasn¡¯t any light nor was there anything special. After around twenty minutes he twitched and fell back. I caught him in the last moment before he fell off the podium and broke his neck. He looked at me and said:


    ¡®Your turn.¡¯ He got back on his feet, went behind me and pushed me toward the altar. After some hesitation, I put my hand on the altar. As soon as I did that, I blacked out.


    I woke up on that one familiar couch. The tall man I¡¯d met around three days ago was standing in front of me. Well, he wasn¡¯t standing. Actually, he was sitting in a very fancy office chair. He noticed me and stood up.


    ¡®What is that you want from me?¡¯ He said raising his hands to his sides to assume a godly posture.


    ¡®Do I have a limit to what I can ask?¡¯ I wanted to get that cleared up. Usually, the all-knowing beings limit your questions to something like three at a time.


    ¡®You have about an hour. Somethings should have been explained in the message I entered into your phone, correct?¡¯


    ¡®Yeah, I saw. How many people have been reincarnated?¡¯


    ¡®Two people currently. You and Michael.¡¯


    ¡®Do I have any kind of superpower, like in those fantasy books?¡¯


    ¡®No, but your 15-year-old body is capable of the same things as your 20-year-old body. I honestly don¡¯t know why, but if I were you I would start lifting.¡¯ He said sarcastically.


    ¡®I have one last question. How is it possible that both you and evolution exist?¡¯


    ¡®I created the most primal animals and let evolution take it from there. It¡¯s like an automated correction system but instead of correcting, it has a chance of fucking it up more.¡¯


    ¡®If you were omnipotent, could you heat a burrito too hot that even you can¡¯t eat it.¡¯


    ¡®Who said I was omnipotent!? I just have complete rule over the universe and I¡¯ve seen more than every other being. I know history because I¡¯ve witnessed myself.¡¯ I looked at the man in sheer awe. I couldn¡¯t really think of anything else to ask. He returned to his seat at his desk. I looked up and asked the ultimate question.


    ¡®Can my fate be changed?¡¯ God looked at me, intrigued. He looked like he didn¡¯t expect that question. ¡®You said I will die again due to my fate but is it possible to change that?¡¯ The man stood up and grabbed my shoulders. He looked me straight in the eyes. He had beautiful, round, brown eyes.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡®I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s up to you. If you don¡¯t do anything different, your fate won¡¯t change. You are the first person that has had that question. Even Michael didn¡¯t ask me that. He lived his life and died at 19 twice. I¡¯ve never witnessed someone change their fate. I don¡¯t think it could happen but I have a high chance of being wrong.¡¯


    I shook off his hands off my shoulders.


    ¡®If I change my fate, what could happen?¡¯


    ¡®I¡­ don¡¯t know. In the whole universe, no one had done that.¡¯


    ¡®You know, I want to go back now. I feel satisfied with your answers.¡¯


    ¡®Okay. If you have anything else to ask, come on a Thursday between 5 PM and 6 PM. That¡¯s when my connection with the world is strongest.¡¯


    ¡®Wait¡­ I thought time was a human concept.¡¯


    ¡®You thought you idiots could come up with something as complicated as that!? You only gave it those stupid names.¡¯ His tone changed from calm to agitated.


    ¡®Alright. Send me back.¡¯


    ¡®See you, kid. Stay safe.¡¯ He squeezed those last words before I blacked out.


    I awoke with my hand still on the altar. I felt numbness crawl through my body and I began falling backwards. Fortunately, Mike was behind me so he caught me. He helped me get back on my feet and instructed me to the exit. The exit was an emergency exit, used in case of a fire. It was much closer to the altar but Mike wanted me to use the other one so I could see him sleeping and wake him up. I didn¡¯t know if he was really lazy or really smart. Well, lazy people are smarter¡­ I think.


    I went home quietly. I tried my best not to alert my parents who were either furious at me for running out without saying a word or they are sleeping soundly, oblivious to the charade that happened not more than 5 minutes ago. I was kind of anxious about going home. I could either get away with it or get in big trouble. I could get a hotel or sleep at a friend¡¯s house. Only problem was I had 2$ worth of pocket change and my friends definitely won¡¯t take me in on a whim. My only option was to return home and suffer the consequences.


    I opened the front door very slowly as to not alert any members of my family. I had to be most wary of my dad, who was notorious for being able to wake up for even a mosquito¡¯s buzzer. I¡¯m around 50kg. and that makes my footsteps pretty easy to distinguish. I sneaked around with my hands tucked up like and walking on my tip toes.


    My footsteps made almost no sound¡­ ALMOST no sound. Nevertheless, the unobtrusive sound of my steps was heard by the man himself. I realized as soon as I heard his steps above me. Our house has two floors. On the first floor is our kitchen and living room and on the second floor are the bedrooms. It¡¯s not a big house by any means. I hear the steps above me slowly move towards the stairs. I drop all of my outdoor items and ran towards the kitchen as quietly as possible.


    ¡°Jake!? Jake, is that you!?¡± he yelled in his drowsy voice. I made my voice to match.


    ¡±Yeah, I¡¯m just get a¡­ a water. Yes¡­ one...um... water.¡± I was so anxious I didn¡¯t even notice the mistakes in my grammar while I was speaking. Luckily, neither did my dad.


    ¡±Go to sleep otherwise you¡¯ll be late tomorrow!¡± He yelled down across the house. If his steps didn¡¯t wake mom up, that shout definitely did.


    After my dad went up again, after waiting for a bit I also went to my room. I was really tired so I just went to sleep immediately. Next morning I woke up and my phone was charging, which I didn¡¯t really think about. It was at 100% so I guessed I just put it before I went to sleep.


    I checked my phone, as per usual, when I noticed a strange message from an unknown number. It wasn¡¯t even from this side of the country. I opened the message expecting one of those ¡°Nigerian Prince¡± types of scams, but instead, I was met with something even more surprising.


    UNKNOWN /06:54\ ¨C Hello Jake. I¡¯m not someone you recognize nor do you know me personally, but I have been watching you from afar and I know you quite well. Please meet me at 16:00 on Friday. Please note that I am a friend, not an enemy. I only wish to talk.-

 Chapter 6: Meeting the cult... again.

    School dragged on slower than usual. I mean¡­ I was supposed to meet with a cult for crying out loud. I personally didn¡¯t hold any beliefs¡­ Well before I met God himself. I just hope to God that it¡¯s not a hood-wearing, people-killing type of cult.


    The day finally came to a close. My gut was telling me that I shouldn¡¯t go, but ultimately I was curious. I wanted to know why they reached out to me. I wanted to know what they are planning to do with me. Curiosity killed the cat.


    I arrived at the specified place. There wasn¡¯t anyone there except for a man in a weird, fuchsia and grey robe. He was leaning against a fuchsia Bentley with a smug grin and his arms crossed. He glared at me with a satisfied expression.


    ¡°So you¡¯ve come. I guess I should introduce myself¡­¡± He pushed himself away from the expensive car and lifted his hands in a ¡®Y¡¯ position.


    ¡°I am the one true messenger of God. I¡¯m the leader of the Neichsia¡­¡± As he said that, hooded men surrounded us. Their hoods were the same colour as the man in front of me ¨C fuschia.


    ¡°¡­ THE ONE TRUE CULT!¡± He began approaching me. His walk was that of a man with a lot of confidence. He put his left hand on my right shoulder.


    ¡°I could help you, my child. You may be delusional right now¡­ but I could save you.¡± He said compassionately.


    ¡°Delusional!? Save me!? I don¡¯t need your pyramid schemes or some essential oils. Stay the fuck away from me.¡± I was frightened. I felt no need to hold myself back. The robed man tightened his grip on my shoulder. With one swift push, he pushed me on the ground.


    ¡°Holy shit¡­ I thought you couldn¡¯t swear.¡± I heard a familiar voice as I was recovering. The ring made of hooded men began to fall to the ground as loud shots were heard. In the distance, I saw a figure wielding a weapon. The person looked familiar but I just couldn¡¯t put my finger on it.


    The robed man ran towards the Bentley, and he almost ran me over. I lucked out. The man began to walk towards me. He was wearing army pants and a bulletproof vest. He walked towards me slowly, checking the bodies and making sure they weren¡¯t going to attack. I took a closer look and realized who it was. It was Michael. He saw me and rushed towards me. He picked me up from the ground and reached for his pocket.


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain later, just tell me: Can you shoot?¡± I nodded and he handed me a Smith&Wesson 380ACP. It was a fairly small handgun to go along with his AKM247T.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    He ran towards a parked ¡°Jeep CJ-5¡±


    ¡°Can you drive?¡± He threw the keys towards me.


    ¡°Hell yeah, I can.¡± I replied while getting in.


    ¡°Go to that abandoned building next to the church.¡± He said while putting on his seatbelt.


    ¡°Got it, chief.¡± I started the car and drove away. It was probably weird seeing two 15-year-olds drive in a jeep with one wielding a fucking AKM. Lucky us, the cops were on doughnut break or something because we got to the abandoned building undetected.


    Mike took the keys out of the car and got out briskly. We sneaked in through the back entrance while abandoning the jeep. We moved through the floors towards the top. Once we got to the top, there were two camping tents. Both grey. Mike got in one and came back out almost instantly without his weapon. After putting my handgun down, I began to head for the stairs back down. Mike stopped me.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± He asked me confused.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I looked at him even more confused than him.


    ¡°Where. Are. You. Going?¡±


    ¡°I. Am. Going. Home.¡± Mike looked at me sympathetically.


    ¡°Bro, your parents¡­ they were kidnapped. I saw them when I was coming to your house.¡± My head began spinning.


    ¡°What..? How..? Why..? I need to lie down.¡± I felt myself feel get lighter and lighter. I began falling.


    ¡°Wake up, kid. This is your reality¡­¡± A familiar voice called out to me.


    I woke up. It was dark outside, with me under the stars. I jumped up and saw Mike sitting on the edge of the seven-story building we were sitting on. He was starring out to the nothingness of the stars. I walked over to join him. He looked at me.


    ¡°So you woke up, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­ Mind telling the whole story behind my parents.¡±


    ¡°Maybe later. Now let¡¯s just enjoy the night sky.¡± I looked toward the city. The abandoned building was at the edge of the city and it had a great view.I¡¯ve got to admit, it was pretty amazing. Just sitting there, knowing that shit was about to go down, yet enjoying the view anyway. I loved it.


    Michael looked towards the train tracks. He looked at it like it was some weird fantasy. He shifted his gaze upon me.


    ¡°Jake, have you heard of the ¡°Great Train Robbery¡±?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I have.¡± Mike¡¯s gaze shifted once again towards the tracks.


    ¡°In 1963, seventeen guys stole money from a train heading from Glasgow to London. Their take was 2.6 million pounds. Do you know why I¡¯m telling you this.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°There is a train arriving a week from now. It¡¯s travelling from Los Angeles to New York. It is carrying at least 1 million dollars. And we are going to hit it.¡±


    ¡°We are going to do WHAT!?¡± I yelled and almost fell off the building.


    ¡°We need money to bust out your family. You in?¡± I thought about it. It was my family that I was saving. I couldn¡¯t¡­ I shouldn¡¯t pass this opportunity.


    I looked at Michael¡¯s stiff expression.


    ¡°Fuck it, I¡¯m in.¡±

 Chapter 7: Pulling it off… again

    ¡°We do not offer cigarettes to minors.¡± A shopkeep said to the 14-year-old standing in front of him.


    ¡°I just lost my ID¡­ C¡¯mon, help a friend out.¡± The girl said while sliding the cashier a ten dollar bill. The man was unfazed.


    ¡°Get out of the store, please.¡± The shopkeep said while reaching for his phone.


    ¡°Well, fuck you too, buddy.¡± The girl walked out while flipping off the poor shopkeep. ¡°Now, to find that shithole Mike calls a ¡®Hideout¡¯.¡± The girl headed to the abandoned building that was towering over the shop, that was located right next to the school.


    Back at the hideout, Mike was setting up a whiteboard. for which I paid for. We also bought a lot of markers. Better safe than sorry. Mike began writing on the board. It looked so complicated, that I fell asleep. When I woke up Mike had already finished the detailed explanation of our plan. I walked over to see what exactly we are doing. Mike saw me approaching and began explaining.


    ¡°Ok, one person goes inside the cart and takes the money, which is stored in crates. One person helps with transporting the goods to the car and finally, one person drives the getaway. Got that¡± I examined the plan and found a slight mistake.


    ¡°This is a three-man job, is it not? I don¡¯t see a third person around.¡± I looked around.


    ¡°I got that covered. She should be arriving any minute now¡­ any minute now¡­ Well, she¡¯s late AND she fucked up my introduction.¡± As soon as Mike said that a girl showed up at the stairs to the roof.


    ¡°No problem Mikey. Anything for an old friend.¡± She said while ascending up the stairs. She looked around, but she stopped her eyes on me. She looked at me for a second, but Mike took her attention.


    ¡°There you are, for a moment I thought you weren¡¯t coming. C¡¯mere and let me explain again.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ Okay.¡± Mike explained again. I didn¡¯t really listen the second time. I was just sitting on an old leather couch. It wasn¡¯t exactly clean, but it was the most comfortable thing in this shithole. I spaced out and when I came back to, Mike had finished his explanation of his plan. I got up from the couch and the 14-year-old girl ran up to me.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m Lizzie. You can call me Liz.¡± That name sounded so familiar to me.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Jake.¡±


    ¡°Obligatory meeting, done. Now, why are you doing this?¡±


    ¡°Long story¡­ I can tell you.¡±


    ¡°Nah¡­ I¡¯m good, it¡¯s just that Mike¡¯s plan is bad and I don¡¯t think we are going to do anything anyway. That train is armoured to the teeth.¡± She hit me on the back before I could answer, and went towards an inflatable tent.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    I went and got into my own tent. Tomorrow was the big day. As I was lying in my makeshift mattress, made from folded blankets and feathers, I was awoken by a loud thump. I heard someone yell out


    ¡°Shit!¡± I carefully opened my tent and saw a familiar figure sneaking around. He was wearing a fuschia-coloured robe. What a defining feature. I jumped out of my tent and locked eyes with him.


    ¡°What are you doing here, you old bastard!?¡± He scattered to put something in his pocket.


    ¡°You¡­ You might think¡­ You might think you¡¯ve caught me but I¡¯ve got¡­ got one last trick.¡± Mike came out of his tent with that illegal weapon. The man standing in front of us pulled something out of his pocket. It was a smoke-bomb. The whole rooftop was covered in smoke, which obstructed our view. We heard running towards the stairs.


    When the smoke finally cleared out, the man was gone. Along with him, our plans were gone too. Mike and I exchanged looks. We were doing this. Liz came out of her tent, coughing because of the smoke. We waited for the tents to clear out too and then we finally went to sleep.


    The next day, we took our baggage and put all of it into the trunk of the jeep Mike was driving. It wasn¡¯t very big so the inflatable tent had to go. We all got in and Mike put on some music. Liz and I were riding in the backseat while Mike was driving.


    We were nearing the tracks. Mike handed me a note.


    ¡°Lizzie ¨C Getaway.


    Michael ¨C Helping hand.


    Jake ¨C Searcher/Helping hand.


    Pass this on.¡±


    I did as the note told me and passed it onto Liz. She took it, skimmed over it, made it into a small ball of paper and threw that ball of paper towards Mike. It hit him straight on the back of the head.


    ¡°Bite me.¡± Mike said passive-aggressively. I looked towards the small handgun Mike had handed me. It had a full magazine, which I was hoping to stay that way.


    ¡°Hey, Jake! Don¡¯t kill anyone, just injure them. Our goal is to get the money for a ransom, not to cause casualties.¡± Mike warned me.


    ¡°Alright, I got it.¡± I replied


    Mike got us to a pretty long stretch of flat-land next to the train tracks. The train was approaching.


    ¡°So¡­ how do we stop the train?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We aren¡¯t stopping it, you¡¯re jumping.¡± That was the last thing I wanted to hear.


    Mike floored the car and began driving parallel to the train. He urged me to jump. With my life flashing before my eyes, I jumped towards the closed cart. I caught the small handle that was above the door with one hand and the other I used to wiggle the handle. Luckily, it opened quite quickly. I got inside and began scavenging. I found crates labelled ¡®Bank Of Slavarbete¡¯. I lifted the crate and walked towards the opening of the cart. Mike was awaiting my throw. I mustered all my strength and threw it. Somehow, it made it. I repeated the process twice and then Mike told me to just jump back on. Sounded easy enough.


    I took a step back and launched myself forward. Liz got the car in the perfect position for me to jump on the last millimeter of the car. I was so close to death¡­ again.


    Liz stopped the car and we inspected the money. 1 million in cash. Liz was slacking off on the side like she does. I decided to sit on the tracks after we had counted them. I sat down and I realized that if we don¡¯t launder the cash, we would get in huge legal trouble. Suddenly, I heard a strange laugh behind me. We all turned to face the man again.


    The cult leader appeared again.

 Chapter 8: Defeated… again.

    The man was leaning against his Bentley, maniacally laughing. He stopped himself and looked at me.


    ¡°All of that for his parents.¡± The cult leader said. Liz stood up and pointed towards the man.


    ¡°Fuck off you old bastard. We can offer you half of the money.¡±


    ¡°Well then, negotiation is not possible, I assume. Perhaps I should kill off your parents.¡± He put his hand up and two hooded men came out of his car with my parents. They were tied up and looked beaten up. One of the men grabbed a gun and aimed it at my dad¡¯s head. He pulled the trigger. A loud bang was heard. I pulled out my handgun and shot the man that killed my father. The other man shot at my mother and then tried to hide. Mike got him with the rifle. I shot the priest in the knee. Mainly because I was a bad shooter and I missed.


    Mike was about to kill him when I stopped him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a better idea.¡± I tied him up with the rope he had tied up my parents and, with the help of Mike and Liz, carried him to the tracks. We sat at the jeep and waited. Around an hour later, another train was approaching. I walked over to the tied up man. I got right on top of him.


    ¡°Your first mistake was fucking with me. Your second mistake was fucking with my family. Your final mistake will be that you didn¡¯t kill me.¡± The man mumbled as I got out of the train¡¯s way. The train was coming closer and closer. As the train came closer, the tape with which we had gagged the man came loose.


    ¡°You will regret this! I AM THE ONE TRUE PRIEST. I AM GO¡­¡±


    His words were cut short by his untimely demise. I took a bundle of money and threw it onto the rails.


    ¡°Compensation.¡±


    We got in the jeep. It was a long, silent ride home¡­


    ¡°See ya, Jake. Talk to you soon¡± Mike said as he took off. I began walking towards my house. When I entered my house the eerie silence kept me on edge. I couldn¡¯t forget the image of my parents dying. I couldn¡¯t sleep at all. The empty house, the usual sound of the T.V. no longer there. JJ¡¯s usual meows were nowhere to be heard. He must¡¯ve been caught up in this whole thing. Poor thing. The house was a mess because of the kidnapping. I walked over to the couch. I lied there motionless for over five hours. Just thinking. I didn¡¯t get a wink of sleep. I decided to go to school.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    It was a Thursday. I got to school on time and everyone greeted me normally. Nobody knew about the past two weeks other than Liz and Mike. The girl I had saved came to me and asked for my contact information. Her name was Ellie. Tom came over to greet me and to say I¡¯ve got a message in some weird cipher. I took it and put it in my pocket. Mark also came over to greet me. Howard just gave me a full bag of chips. He had called it a ¡®new, revolutionary, filled-to-the-brim chips¡¯. The guy was imaginative, I¡¯ve got to give him that. I spend the whole day doing normal stuff. In the breaks, I would get to translating the message. It was obviously from God. It took me a long time to translate it, not because it was long, but because I was tired.


    When I got home, I did some homework, watched some T.V. and after all that, I translated the message.


    ¡°Come meet me this week. Along with Mike and Liz. I expect all three of you to be there. ¨C God¡±


    I called up Mike and he said he had received the same message. We agreed where to meet and then he hung up so he could phone Liz. To be honest I was expecting this. We killed 3 people and they killed 3 others if we count my cat. Of course, God wouldn¡¯t be happy but what happened next was something nobody could¡¯ve predicted.


    I arrived at the meeting place. Liz and Mike were already there. We greeted each other and walked in through the emergency exit. We placed our hands on the altar simultaneously. We all fainted. When we came back to the man himself was standing in front of us. He looked at Michael.


    ¡°Michael Klein. You have failed 3 times. You will be banished.¡± God said with a furious look on his eyes.


    ¡°Failed!? I didn¡¯t fuck up as badly as last time.¡± Mike started pleading.


    ¡°No comments. You will suffer the consequences.¡± God looked at me. He lifted his hand and I felt ill. I began falling. I felt the life escape me and my soul no longer wanting to stay in this meek body. The last thing I remember was the plead of Mike. Liz looked at me. She grinned. I looked back at her and still felt a slight familiarity between me and her.


    I fell to the ground. The last thing I thought was that I deserved that. I had a mission, yet all I did was steal money. I didn¡¯t save anyone. I didn¡¯t help anyone. I was a failure all throughout. I wasn¡¯t what I was hyped up to be. I was a nobody. Why did I even get reborn? Why didn¡¯t I choose the fantasy world? I could¡¯ve gotten a good life. A better life and yet I chose this stupid reality.


    These thoughts filled my head. I began losing consciousness. I felt like death was close, but a voice called out to me. A voice so meek and so brittle that it could heal my imaginary wounds. It was soothing. It was my ray of hope in this darkness. It was none other than the one I met all those years ago.

 Chapter 9: Losing...again.

    I was seventeen-years-old at the time. I was still new in the group. My friends were daredevils. I felt like I wasn¡¯t good enough. I still had my old friends, but I was cutting ties with them quickly. A lot had happened in the last few years.


    I was drinking in an illegal bar. A shady place where the most spoiled brats gather. It was a breeding ground for stupidity. It was my scapegoat. Or at least it was, until a girl, one year younger than me, approached me. She sat down next to me and ordered a small shot.


    ¡°Alchohol is bad for you.¡± I said jokingly.


    ¡°Oh really. Thanks for the advice Mr. Drowning-my-misery.¡± She replied sarcastically.


    ¡°Yeah, cheers.¡± I put my glass up high.


    ¡°You mind listening to my problems and I will listen to yours?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡± That night we talked and talked about our troubles. It was pretty calming. More soothing than the shitty alcohol they served. Her name was Lizzie Stone. Sadly she had been a victim of suicide. I never thought I would hear that tender voice again until¡­


    I woke up. I looked around me. I was lying down on an inflatable mattress, which wasn¡¯t the comfiest mattress but it was something. I was on the rooftop of the abandoned building where Mike and I made the plan. But I couldn¡¯t see Mike, only Liz was in my view. She was doing something on her phone while sitting on the old couch. I decided to talk to her.


    ¡°Hey, Liz.¡±


    ¡°Well, good morning, Jake.¡± I Looked around some more.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Mike?¡± I continued to look around. Her expression became grim.


    ¡°He¡¯s¡­ He is dead, Jake.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± I was shocked.


    ¡°He pleaded for your survival, and he succeeded¡­ but it had to be a fair trade.¡± She looked down. I was mortified. I felt like I could throw up. I had to lie down for a few minutes.


    After I began feeling better, I walked to the edge of the building. I stood there, the cold breeze hitting my face and the night sky shining down upon me. I didn¡¯t want to believe Mike was gone. I remembered what God had told me. I remembered my mission. I had to save people. I had to stop suicides and stop massacres. I knew what to do.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    I began running towards the stairs. Liz saw me and quickly followed.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± She said while gasping for air.


    ¡°We need to stop a suicide.¡± I continued to run down the stairs. I didn¡¯t remember who the person was, I just remembered the place and the time. I strangely remember things like that, yet I forget names quite easily. We finally got the bottom where Mike¡¯s jeep was. Liz had taken the keys before Mike was killed. I took the keys from her, started the engine and took off. Liz was on the passenger seat.


    We arrived at a factory. For me, it was very familiar. It was the beginning of my journey. It was the place where I died. But that didn¡¯t matter, because it wasn¡¯t my turn. I remembered there was a guy who jumped from here. I looked up towards the roof and sure enough, he was climbing the same ladder that I did. I climbed after him. I was climbing when suddenly I looked down. The view¡­ it made my body stop moving. I froze. I guess I had PTSD because I could not move. I looked up and the guy had already reached the top. I concentrated on my goal and finally, my body began moving. I didn¡¯t look down, I only looked up. I got to the top.


    The guy was at the edge. He had his arms raised and ready to do it. I yelled at him.


    ¡°Stop!¡± he turned around and looked at me. It was my childhood friend, Creed. He had short dark hair and he was a really fit. He used to be a fighter but after his family passed away, he gave up. I used to look up to him, but slowly we drifted apart. He was an important part of my childhood and just the thought of me forgetting about his suicide was sickening. I was truly disappointed in myself.


    ¡°Jake? I thought you had forgotten about me!¡±


    ¡°Why would I!? You are my best friend!¡± I felt guilty about saying that. At least Creed moved away from the edge. I went and hugged him.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, bud?¡± He began crying.


    ¡°So much¡­ So much has gone wrong, Jake.¡±


    ¡°Tell me everything.¡±


    Creed told me everything. His story was really sad. I couldn¡¯t leave him alone. I decided to take him with us to my house. He talked with Liz too and they became really good friends. When we arrived at my house, I told him about everything. Our goal, the reincarnation, Mike. After that, I asked him one simple question.


    ¡°Will you help?¡± Creed looked me straight in the eyes as he said.


    ¡°Of course.¡± He said without skipping a beat. I told them to catch up on some sleep as we will look around the city for people to save. I also went to bed as I had been pretty tired. It was a Sunday so I could go to school tomorrow and be on the look-out there. I soon began to fall asleep.


    I woke up in an unusual place. It wasn¡¯t anywhere I¡¯ve been before. It looked like a giant library. It had shelves upon shelves. There were a lot of horizontal rows, but each had 12 vertical rows. On the top were nameplates with numbers. From left to right, the ones in front of me were numbered ¡®2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021¡¯. I realized those were years and the 12 vertical rows were months. I reached for December 2014 and pulled it out. I opened it up and inside were the names, places, reasons and times of death of all the people who¡¯ve died. It was sorted by city, so it was pretty easy to navigate. I realized that I could use this to save more people.


    With this, I knew that my plan was set in action. A plan to achieve a different goal than what I had in mind. I had to save as many people as possible. I had to become a messiah for all the people that have had their lives taken away. I had to save as many people as I can so I could kill God.

 Chapter 10: Betting for my life… again.

    I woke up from that strange dream. I was supposed to go to school and help people there... yet I am gambling to save some guy in a speeding car. How did it come to this? You see...


    When I woke up, I got dressed. Liz had already made breakfast. Creed was still sleeping on the couch. I quickly ate the breakfast, which consisted of sunny side up eggs and water. Guess it was the bare minimum as we were saving up the money from the heist. I went on my way towards the school.


    On the way, I saw a man run in a cold sweat. He ran right in front of me. He continued and several men were behind him. I was curious so I followed suit. The men arrived at a dark alley. Two of them surrounded the poor guy. The little snitch I was, I called the cops. I probably couldn''t do anything against two possibly armed men.


    I heard a scream. It the was the guy they were chasing. Something urged me to step in, so I yelled at the top of my lungs.


    "STOP!" the two buff men looked at me.


    "That your kid!? Ha, he is probably a pushover like his dad." The men lifted me up like I was nothing and threw me next to the guy who had bruises.


    "What''s going on?" I asked because I was confused.


    "What''s going on is that this idiot fucked up and now he owes the boss ten thousand dollars." They kicked the man. He threw up blood. He was a very feeble man with short, curly brown hair and blue eyes. I had an idea, which was probably not the best idea I could come up with. I stood up.


    "I''ll win the money back."


    "What''cha saying kid. Sit back down before be beat you like your old man." They didn''t take me seriously.


    "You wanna fucking try?" I tried to sound cool.


    "You know what kid, I''ll feel bad beating you up without you doing anything so I''ll ask the boss." I breathe a sigh of relief. I didn''t know what I was getting myself into.


    A limo arrived not more than ten minutes later. The cops were nowhere to be seen. The guy and I were dragged into the limo by the buff men. Inside was an extremely buff man. He had a big scratch on his left eye. He looked me over and then looked at the buff men.


    "This is not his son, you idiots. This is just a random kid!"A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "Boss, he has a challenge for you." The scarred man laughed.


    "A challenge!? For me!? Let''s hear it!" All of the men looked at me. I mustered all the courage I had and finally said it.


    "I will win this man''s money back." The man raised his eyebrow. He scoffed over right in front of my face.


    "You don''t know what you are getting yourself into." He chuckled a bit. He ordered the men to bring him a poker table. I knew the rules of poker, but I''ve never won a game in my life.


    The man put his hand on his face with only one eye peeking out. He stared me down and said in a devilish voice.


    "Boy, I will tell you now so you can run away. I have the devil''s luck. You cannot beat me and these games." He smirked. Now I felt like I needed to beat him. The table was put in between us. One of the buff men began dealing. Without even being able to see my cards, the boss yelled.


    "Raise!" I looked quickly at my cards. I knew I had the upper hand.


    "Raise!" I yelled too.


    "RAISE!" The boss yelled again. I smirked.


    "RAISE!" His expression changed. He looked troubled for a second, but almost instantly changed into a poker face.


    "RAISE!" The boss yelled once again. I yelled again.


    "RAISE!" The boss finally gave in. The bet was well over the original goal. The man put his cards down first. He had a full house. He smirked once again. I put my cards down too. The boss''s expression became grim. I had 4 kings and one 4. All red. It was "Four of a kind." and it was of higher value than a "Full House". I smirked at the boss.


    "Guess your luck ran out." He smiled.


    "Guess you win, kid. I don''t want to give you money... but I can tell you a secret." I nodded. "Get the jackass out of here." As he said that, the men put a napkin to his face and he fell asleep.


    "By the way, my name is Angelo Padrone." The man introduced himself and extended his hand. I took it.


    "I''m Jake Cains." We shook our hands.


    The man''s expression changed. He took the nearest knife and pointed it towards me.


    "I will teach you how to meet the Devil."


    "The Devil?"


    "That''s right, kid. I made a deal with the Devil a long time ago. It was for gambling luck. He told me that if I ever lose, I must show him the man who overcame the luck of the Devil."


    "Are you saying that I can make a deal with the devil." I realized that my plan was still ongoing. The devil was the natural enemy of God.


    "Are you ready, kid?" I nodded. Angelo took the knife and cut his pinky finger. Blood seeped out and he put it over my head. I began to feel ill. I lied down and fell asleep.


    I awoke in a reddish palace. I was on a comfortable couch opposite a big, red throne. On the throne was a man, over 10 feet tall. He had horns and burned wings. He looked at me.


    "Who the fuck are you? Who left their unwanted child on my fuckin'' sofa!" He inspected me again. "Wait a second. Are you Jake Cains? Did a kid like you really win?"


    "It was me... sir!"


    "Listen... drop the formality, call me Lucifer. I can make a deal with you for my hell power or my luck. Which do you choose?"

 Chapter 11: My first challenger… again.

    I looked at the demon in front of me.


    ¡°Do I only have two options?¡±


    ¡°Yes. You must choose one, and only one.¡± I began thinking. I reluctantly choose the ladder.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you hell power.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a surprise. People never choose the power thing. They always go for luck. And that amount of power is abnormal¡­ Are you thinking of killing God!?¡± Lucifer laughed.


    ¡°Yes, I do.¡± The Devil stopped laughing and looked at me in sheer shock.


    ¡°Seriously!? Jeez, hit me up if you need help.¡±


    ¡°You got it, Lucifer.¡± I closed my eyes. I heard the last goodbye and I fell backward.


    I woke up in Angelo¡¯s car. I had a lingering feeling¡­ like my hands were burned. Angelo looked at them and exclaimed.


    ¡°Kid, your arms! They are beet red.¡± I looked at them too and I saw they were red. Angelo quickly poured cold water on them, but the water was boiled almost immediately. I felt a sharp pain in my elbow. It was also on fire. Angelo resorted to the last possible thing he could. He squeezed the finger he cut over my wound. I felt the blood go into my skin and the pain slowly faded away.


    ¡°You better not use that unless you absolutely need to.¡± Angelo said while patching his finger up.


    ¡°Thanks. But I guess that power is useless if I can¡¯t control it.¡± I thought aloud.


    We arrived at our destination, which was my house. Angelo gave me his number and dropped me off. I opened my door and I was greeted by Liz¡¯s cooking and Creed dozing off. So homely.


    ¡°Yo, welcome home.¡± Liz said, then she saw my hands. She stopped her cooking and took a look at my hands.


    ¡°What happened? Did you burn yourself?¡± I explained to her briefly about the new, uncontrollable power. She was very understanding and let me off the hook. I really needed sleep too, so I¡¯m glad she didn¡¯t make a fuss out of it. I went to sleep on the couch next to Creed.


    When I woke up, neither Creed nor Liz were nowhere to be found. I searched the entire house. I decided to look outside. I opened my front door, but blocking my way was a man with hair as white as wool and eyes like fire. He took a step towards me. I instinctively went backward. He leaned towards me, in a condescending demeanor.


    ¡°Are you Jake Cains?¡±


    ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m Jesus Christ.¡± I took another step back.


    ¡°Impossible...¡± The son of God was on my doorstep. I grabbed the collar on his silky robe.


    ¡°What the fuck did you do to them!?¡±


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.¡°I¡¯ve killed them.¡± He laughed. ¡°I killed them all. That girl. The fat kid. The fit idiot. The army kid. I killed and now I¡¯m here to kill you.¡± He laughed maniacally.


    I felt anger I¡¯ve never felt before. I felt power I¡¯ve never felt before. The lingering sensation came back to my body, but this time, it wasn¡¯t only my arms. It was my whole body. The flames engulfed me. I felt the power of the Devil in my body. I couldn¡¯t think straight anymore.


    ¡°Finally a challenge!¡± Jesus exclaimed. He swung at me. I blocked it without any effort. He attacked me again and again, but I blocked him. He attacked once again, but I grabbed ahold of his arm. He swung with the other, but I grabbed it too. I threw him across the street with minimal effort. Jesus flew through a few houses and crashed into a truck. I began to walk towards him but I was surprised to find he wasn¡¯t there. I looked around and found him behind me.


    ¡°Guess I can¡¯t underestimate you, huh?¡± He began attacking without skipping a beat. Attack after attack. Block after block. We were fighting at the speed of light. I couldn¡¯t even attack. He finally broke through my defense and hit me into the ground. He got on top of me and began to choke me. I felt the life slip away, I felt the flames go down as my blood had gone into my pores. It felt hopeless, but then suddenly Jesus got knocked down and he began to bleed.


    ¡°YOU THINK YOUR SHITTY KNOT CAN KEEP ME DOWN, MOTHERFUCKER!¡± A familiar, female voice shouted. It was Liz. She was wielding Mike¡¯s AK. Jesus was shot, but he still got up. He tried to attack Liz, but I tackled him. She smiled, took aim and shot. Her bullet passed by my face and killed Jesus. I could finally rest. I sat down and she helped me up. I tried to thank her, but I was knocked down. It was a small quake. Something emerged from the rubble. It was Jesus.


    ¡°You think y..you can k..kill me... mortal? I¡¯M IMMORTAL. I¡¯M FU...¡±


    ¡°Take that immortality and shove it up your ass!¡± Liz yelled out loudly, cutting Jesus off. He looked at us with his fiery eyes.


    ¡°I will kill you all¡­ but not now.¡± A bright flash blinded us and he disappeared.


    ¡°Where are you hiding, you pussy!¡± Liz began shouting but to no avail. He was gone, probably back to heaven.


    I guess there¡¯s salvation for me anymore. I know what must be done. I looked at Liz who was looking around for the escapee. I shifted my view towards Creed who was burying the RPG. Money well spent, huh? I had a plan. I called Liz and Creed over.


    ¡°Fuck the long-term bullshit. We are attacking Heaven. Right. Fucking. Now¡±


    ¡°WE ARE DOING WHAT!¡± Liz yelled out.


    ¡°I think I was pretty clear.¡±


    ¡°Listen, Jake. With Mike¡¯s death and your loss, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to go in alone. We should gather more people and...¡±


    ¡°I have an idea, ok?¡± I pulled out my phone, but she was having none of it.


    ¡°What¡¯s your idea? Call the fucking police!? We are alone right now. Creed is our only comrade.¡± I grabbed her hand.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t right. We have so many others.¡± She looked confused.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I released her hand and got on the phone. I scrolled up and there I found it.


    It began to ring.

 Chapter 12: Revenge...

    I called up Mark, but he wasn''t answering. I tried calling Howard but instead of his voice, I heard an older man answer.


    "We request 10,000 in cash. Give it to us at the underground subway or we kill them." The man hung up and my heart sank. Liz looked at me, put her hand on my shoulder. I dropped my phone.


    "Mark and Howard were kidnapped." I stuttered. Liz knew them from some of the stories I''ve told her.


    "It''s okay, Jake."


    "It''s not fucking ''Okay'' Liz. They are defenseless. They are just kids for fuck''s sake. I''ve got to go." I began walking, then running, then sprinting.


    I arrived at the abandoned subway construction because I felt they would be there. As luck would have it, they were right there along with two armed men. Mark saw me and yelled out. Howard also saw me, and so did the two armed men. One aimed his gun at me.


    "Stop or I will shoot." I looked him dead in the eyes.


    "Shoot me then... no loose ends, huh?" I came closer and closer to him.


    "Stop or I will fucking shoot you, dumbass." At this point, I was right in his face. I leaned in and whispered.


    "Fucking. Shoot. Me. Then." I got the pistol Mike had given to me right to his abdomen. I pulled the trigger and a loud bang was heard. The man fell limb and I kicked him to the ground. The other guy dropped his gun and cowered in fear. I began walking towards him. I smiled.


    "I''m fucking tired of shits like you messing with me." I shot him. I quickly untied Mark and Howard.


    As we were going, I looked at the bodies. I shot them both. I didn''t even feel the trigger. Was I going crazy? Was I a psychopath? Am I fucking twisted? What is happening? I began to ask myself these questions. I began to question my sanity. I began to feel abnormal. I puked on the floor. I couldn''t hold it in. How could I murder two people without feeling anything? I guess I am crazy. I should embrace it. I shouldn''t care. I didn''t need anything else, just a weapon and bullets.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    As I was about to give in to the madness Liz grabbed my shoulder. She looked so compassionate.


    "Are you ok?" That''s exactly what I needed. Someone to pull me back into reality. My worries were instantly drowned and I felt hope again. I stood up and I saw Mark and Howard waving at me. They were at the exit to the main street. We went home and along theway they thanked me.


    We got to my house and I called Angelo and his crew over. Mark called over almost the whole class. Only one person came,though. It was the girl I had saved. She greeted me and introduced herself as Penny. I guess I hadn''t asked for her name after all. Liz called some of her old band members and Creed didn''t call anyone over. With Angelo''s cartel, we had well over 200 people. I gathered them all in the living room and I stood on the table.


    "Listen up people, we are about to do something legendary! Something in which, if we succeed we would have our names in history books. We are about to commit a sin so big, that we are guaranteed to burn in hell if we lose. We must stay together, we mustn''t betray each other and we must trust each other." I looked at Liz. She smiled and nodded.


    "Men and women... we are about to kill God himself and all of his minions."I tried my best to motivate my comrades for the showdown that was coming. We only had one chance to pull this off. We had to be quick and precise. We had to be united and we had to be willing to risk it all just for a simple assassination. We had to kill the highest being there is... We had to kill God before he killed us. We are attacking tonight.

 Chapter 13:...is a dish best served hot...

    We prepared for a battle. We were to go into the altar room and reverse the effect. I had sent Mike and Creed to work on it while our weaponry was being prepared. I overlooked all of it, from the armory to the people''s lives. It definitely took its toll on my sanity.


    I sat in my room while trying to get it together. I was drinking. I don''t know what, but it was something strong. Liz walked in. She sat down on the bed.


    "Do you want some?"


    "Nah...I''m underage." She smirked.


    "Well, so am I."


    "You shouldn''t get drunk right before the battle." She took the bottle from my hands and drank from it before braking it on the ground.


    "There go my sorrows."


    "Shut up, Mr. Drowning-my-sorrows." I chuckled.


    "Yeah, yeah." I flapped my arm around. "I didn''t want to hear that, again." She grabbed my face and looked at me.


    "You gotta do it, man. These are all men who rely on you. You mustn''t give up." Herreposeful voice really picked me up. I got it together and continued with my duties.


    The time came. We had successfully made the altar able to take up to a thousand people at once. We all put our hands on it and we felt determined. We all blacked out. When I came back to I was face to face with a familiar figure.


    "Mike!? Mike!? Can you hear me!? Mike!?" I began trying to reach it but I couldn''t. It was moving further away every time I reached. Suddenly the figure looked back at me and he began crying.


    "I''m sorry, Jake." He spoke in a brittlevoice. I reached out once again but to no avail. I felt my eyes close forcefully even though I tried to open them so hard.


    I awoke amidst the many people who accompanied me. We all woke up at the same time. They all looked around confused, but I began walking.


    "Come on, are you coming or are you just breathing hard?" I walked towards a big door. I opened it briskly and I marched forwards. But the doors closed behind me. I looked back and I heard steps so I shifted my gaze towards a familiar figure. I was shocked.


    It was Mike, but something was slightly off. His blue eyes seemed redder. He seemed madder. He looked at me and I looked back at him.


    "M...Mike? Is that you?" I slowly walked towards him. I tried to put my hand on his shoulder but instead, he took my hand and he twisted it. He didn''t say a word. I knew I had to fight him. I reminisced about all of the things we did together. The heist, him sleeping on those churchchairs. My heart sank and I felt forlorn. I knew I couldn''t do anything but I wanted to try. I wanted to save him... but there is no saving him, is there. I had to fight. I had to win so others could live. I had to defeat him. I felt the hatred bundle up inside me and I felt the Hellfire ignite. I felt the power again. I leaned in as close as I could.


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon."I''m sorry too, Mike," I whispered softly.


    I punched him as hard as I could and he went flying. I walked over to pick him up but he stood up on his own. He brushed my punch off and attacked me. I tried to dodge but he hit me in my nose. I recovered and I hit him back. While he was recovering I punched him in the abdomen. He fell to the ground. I grabbed his neck and I began squeezing, but I didn''t feel hatred. I didn''t feel anything but commiseration. I didn''t want him to kill him... but I had to. As the thoughts of our days together piled on inside my head I began squeezing harder. He finally stopped breathing and I released him. I felt sorrow and regret I hadn''t felt in a long time. I broke down crying. My tears immediately stopped the fire on my hands, but they didn''t stop the lingering sensation ofgrief I felt.


    The doors behind me opened and Liz ran in. She saw me crying on top of Mike''s corpse. She walked over.


    "Jesus... Are you okay?" She said in her doleful voice. I cleaned my tears up and got up on my feet.


    "I''m fine. Let''s continue." We began walking towards the endless void.


    We walked and walked and we finally arrived at God''s throne. He was there, sitting calmly and await my next move. I ran towards him and I tried to punch him. He stood up, grabbed me mid-run and threw me across the void. He began approaching me.


    "Mr. Jake Cains. Long time no see. You don''t seem to know what you are doing, are you?" I felt my anger bundle up again. "Mike was weak, he was useless to me. Jesus was an idiot, but you... you, my boy, are useful. Come to me and leave the unneeded people behind." I felt even angrier. My hand was on fire. I swung at him again but he dodged. I swung again and again, but he dodged again and again. He grabbed my arm. He pulled me upwards.


    "You are a thousand years too young to face me." I kicked him with all my might. I saw a bit of blood.


    "How... FUCKING DARE YOU!" He was mad. He grabbed me by my neck. His eyes were bloodshot.


    "Not so godly now, are you?" I quipped.


    He threw me across the void. I hit my head on some hard surface. I looked at Liz and she was evacuating. I saw blood running out of my body. This was it. I was dying. I never had any chance, did I? I began to close my eyes. Iconceded my death. I breathed my last breath.


    I woke up.

 Chapter 14:...again.

    I woke up.


    I looked around me. I finally realized it wasn''t real. My girlfriend woke up too and she looked at me.


    "Are you okay, honey?" She asked half-asleep.


    "Yeah, just had a bad dream." I got up from my bed. I looked at my alarm clock and I saw it was 8:30 AM. I beginschool at 9 AM. I quickly got dressed and ran out of my house.


    I arrived just on time. My classmates made quips about my late arrival but that was it.


    "So, Jake, you are turning16 in a few months, right?" Crood asked me.


    "Yeah."


    "Invite me, okay."


    "You got it." I walked to my desk. I did my work for the day and I walked home. During my walk, I felt a strange gaze during the whole time, but I brushed it off as just being anxious.


    I woke up at 7 AM this time and I had time to make a normal breakfast. I made eggs and bacon. Elizabeth got to the kitchen around 30 minutes later than me. It was a Saturday so we didn''t have to go to school. We decided to watch TV all day to relax.


    During the ads, Elizabeth looked at my arm.


    "I''ve been meaning to ask for a long time but what is that tattoo on your arm?" I looked at it too.


    "I... don''t know." It was a strangely inverted pentagon. I didn''t remember getting it, but I brushed it off as a stupid mistake I''ve made in the past. I and Elizabeth snuggled and we fell asleep on the couch. I woke up the next day and I made an omelet for the both of us. We ate and we were happy. Nothing could ever ruin this. We went to our bed and I braced for school.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I woke up and I looked over to where Elizabeth was sleeping. She wasn''t there. I looked everywhere for her. She was gone. I looked around more and I found a note on the fridge.


    -I''m sorry Jake. I''m leaving. I can''t handle this happy-go-lucky life anymore. Eat properly.


    Elizabeth-


    My heart sank.


    That day I skipped school. I fell into depression and I shut myself in. There wasn''t a day where I didn''t contemplate suicide. I couldn''t handle it anymore. I went to the abandoned building I really liked and I put my foot off the building. I was ready to jump but I hesitated. I wasn''t afraid to die, but of the thought of not having done anything with my life. That''s what scared me.


    "STOP!" I heard a familiar voice call out to me. It was a girl who looked really familiar but I couldn''t put my finger on it. She ran towards me. I stepped away from the ledge. She ran towards me and she hugged me.


    "Please... Not again!" She cried out desperately.


    "L... Liz?" I remembered... slowly but surely.


    "How... How do you remember me?"


    "How could I forget you!?"


    I looked over her shoulder to see everyone from the crew on the same rooftop. Everyone was there. Everyone was there to stop my suicide. I began to tear up. I hugged Liz even more tightly.


    "I''m sorry for everything, Liz." I didn''t want to let go of this moment. The one happy moment I''ve had in a long time. But I knew it couldn''t last forever.


    I released Liz and walked over to our small army. Everyone from the last attack was there. It probably wasn''t even a month after that attack. Angelo was there with the mafia, and the one guy I saved. Howard, Penny, and Mark were there too. Also a bunch of people I''ve never even met. Apparently, they were saved by Liz and now they want to contribute. This was all of the motivation I needed to organize a new attack. It was our redemption. Our saving grace. It was our second chance.

 FINAL CHAPTER (15): Ending it all.. again.

    We arrived at the old church. We did the usual thing we do and we got to heaven. I was face to face with God again.


    "You''re back?" He looked at me shocked.


    "I''m back for you."


    "What are you even going to do to me. I''m literally invincible and this time you won''t get away alive."


    "I will defeat you no matter what. In the name of Mike."


    "Mike? That guy was utterly useless..." I felt a strange feeling well up inside me. It wasn''t anger, nor was it happiness. "...Well, aren''t you all useless anyway." I felt the feeling well up even more. I began to feel the tattoo start to burn. I began to think of that time I began thinking about suicide. The time I died. The time Mike died. The time I couldn''t save my friends. All of those times made me the person I am. I began to slowly walk towards God.


    "Look, God. All of the times I was down, all of the times I felt like I couldn''t win, I always pushed through and I always came on top. You reincarnated me and I''ve never felt more alive. But you see, I still feel unfulfilled. That is because I don''t hate you, nor do I hate myself. I hate the bad things around us. I hate life but I don''t really hate it. I hate the feeling of disappointment when I fail. I hate the thought of death or the fear that nobody will remember me. I hate living a monotonous life, yet I am afraid to take risks. I do not understand myself and I still don''t believe that you exist. But these are things that keep me going. These are the things I love and hate in this life. These are the things that keep me going until the bitter end. We all end up 6 ft. under..." I hugged God tightly. "No exceptions."


    I began to burn. My whole body was on fire and so was God''s. I felt a feeling of dread and anticipation.


    "LET GO OF ME!" He began to struggle and I hugged even more tightly.


    "It''s time for you to face the same fears we all do. We aren''t different, are we? I fear the thought of death and so do you. You dread that fateful moment where all of it comes to a halt and you cannot do anything about it, don''t you?" God stopped trying to push me away.


    "Why has it come to this, Jake. I''ve always liked you. I always gave you a second chance and you never delivered. I believed in you. I didn''t want it to come to this."


    "Neither did I, God. I''ve never felt such dread in my life. Trying to hold on to you feels like holding onto that last thread of life. That last hope. The light at the end of the tunnel." We were already half-dead. "But there is no light, is there. We are dying, God. We are not going to survive. Neither me nor you."You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    I looked at Liz who was struggling to keep calm.


    "I''m sorry for everything. I know I never mentioned my plan and I''m sorry I couldn''t help you even more. Howard, you keep eating bud. Angelo, thank you for this power. I know you didn''t intend for me to die like this. I''m sorry. Finally Penny. I''m sorry I didn''t help you earlier. Thank you for your help everyone." I noticed I was already almost dead. I yelled at the top of my lungs.


    "LIVE ON! CARRY ON AND DON''T GIVE UP..." Those were my last words.


    "I like you, Jake." Penny cried, but it was already too late. ''I''m sorry I couldn''t return your feelings'' I thought to myself. I could only look over them from heaven. Liz was crying and Howard was comforting her. Angelo was comforting Mark and I could only look on as my close friends cried for me. This wasn''t heaven, it was hell. I couldn''t cry, I could only feel empty on the inside. At least I will see Mike, my parents, and my other friends again. I won''t be lonely. It was over. God went to the bottom of hell because he had lost.


    My funeral was really sad to watch. People were crying and weeping about my death. Our house was sold to a small family of three.


    Liz, later on, married Howard. They had a child, whose name was Jake. Howard had actually gained some muscle after all the things that happened.


    Mark married Penny after her heartburn had healed. They had two children. One boy and one girl. They were named Mike and Eli.


    The man I had saved actually joined the mafia. Angelo lead a war against other mafias. He wanted to clean out drug smugglers and child molesters. He succeeded and he died peacefully at the age of 102 years.


    Mike and I have been playing chess, checkers and other board games. We got really good and we''ve been trying to one-up each other for over ten thousand years now. It''s fun.


    When God first became a god, he and Satan struck a deal. If God was ever defeated, Satan would torture him in the depths of hell for all of eternity.


    Jesus is actually a pretty chill guy when he isn''t following God''s orders. He never really wanted to attack us, but he couldn''t refuse a family member''s request. We became good friends and we commonly make quips about each other.


    Life went on and no one knew that God was dead, but I knew that future generations were free from reincarnation. My second chance ended successfully.


    X,XXX,XXX YEARS LATER


    The creator of the universe was right next to me as we were both sitting on chairs looking at a flat T.V. in a dark room. I couldn''t see him at all. He asked me calmly:


    "Do you wish to try again?"


    "I think I will pass. I''m too tired after all that."


    "Your choice."


    "Actually you know what... I want a second chance after all."


    "Good luck then."


    -The end-