Prologue

Grey

I was biding my time. I was angry and trapped again. Worst of all I was torn again. I was torn between those two. I didn't know how to choose, one felt wrong yet so right at the same time. I was making an important choice. But then the thought struck me and I smiled. What if I didn't choose either this time?

Chapter I: Death

Marcus

I walked out of the job interview. Just as usual, it was a terrible one. I didn't know why, but every single time I went for one I turned into a blubbering fool.

I had spiked black hair, blue eyes and wore a pair of circle rimmed glasses.

I had been the best basketball player in grade 12 at school. I could sink baskets consistently from half court, A scout had found me and I could have been part of the NBA. But the team soon realized I had some 'issues.' I could not play under pressure, I just couldn't do it, I would miss baskets every time I actually had to play in front of others. You can't be like that if you want to be part of the NBA.

I was sick of life at the moment and just wanted to let it go. But I couldn't possibly be so selfish as to kill myself. Some people still loved me.

I decided to take a short cut back home, I just wanted to go home and stay there forever. This short cut was located in a back alley, a sketchy place, but nothing bad had ever happened there and I always used it.

But this time was much different. I felt something press up against my neck. It was cold, hard steel.

It was a gun. I didn't have any money what was I supposed to do?

The holder of the weapon pressed it into my skin and then I heard the persons' voice. "Hey, Rudi, you want to join, blow this person's head off and you're in."

"What!?" this time from another voice, much higher pitched and sounding frantic. "I-I can't do that," he stuttered.

"Well then you do not get my money," the voice said angrily, this person seemed to have a quick temper.

"Come on! Seriously? He is your dad too!" They were related apparently.

"And I don't care! Just shut up and kill him!"

That got my attention. I heard the shuffle of feet as one of them moved. The gun began to shake against the back of my neck. Beads of sweet fell down my face and to the floor.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," spoke the higher pitched voice.

"You don't need to do this!" I needed to save myself, I didn't want to die. Strange how I had been contemplating suicide, but as soon as someone came around that could and possibly would actually kill me I really wanted to live.

"Yes I do," he paused, "if you knew the whole story you would understand."

He was going to take the shot, that is when I just had to think one last thought: 'please God, don't let me die, I'm not supposed to yet, I wanted to change the world and I still can. If you let me go, in fact, you must really suck at your job, I bet I could do better than you!'

But little did I know I would change the world much more dead than alive.

I heard the sound of a gun shot for just a moment. Then I died.

And so ended the life of me, Marcus Rodfield Stuart. And that's when everything got really strange.

I awoke standing on nothing. I was somehow alive and of course this startled me. I looked around me, I was standing on nothing, I was in nothing apparently. No walls and no boundaries. Just a never ending white void that seemed to expand forever, which it might possible.

I scratched my head and to my surprise a spark flew off my fingers. I took my hand down from above my head and examined it. That was weird, or was I in a coma or something weirder than even that and this was all in my mind. I just wanted something to stand on, grass, dirt, clay, concrete, mud, anything that I could truly stand on. Then I looked down and looked at green grass expanding around me throughout the void, random slabs of concrete placed around me and mud swirling above my head.

I had got something I had wished for, I was God, or at least had the powers of Him. I could make my own world. I thought it was great and so nice and amazing.

But I would soon realize one thing.

Be careful what you wish for.

Rudi

I stumbled backwards, I had just killed someone. How could I have pulled the trigger? I shouldn't have killed him! He was innocent as far as I knew. I had no authority to decide who lived and died.

Yet I had just made a decision that was not mine and now many would not even get to say goodbye for the last time. Somebody out there loved this man; family, friends, whoever they may have been. I had just taken this poor person away from them.

I heard claps from behind me and spun in fury. "Good job little bro, now dad can get better and you killed someone to heal him. You've truly earned him his hospital bills."

"Shut up," I muttered under my breath.

"Sorry, what was that?" he said it so casually, as if killing someone wasn't even an act of pure evil.

"Shut up!" I screamed at him, "How could you be so heartless!? Don't you care about dad!"

"Yes, I'm the one who put him in the hospital after all. I want him better just as much as you."

"What did you just say?" I had never heard that information before.

"It wasn't me in person, but some person from another gang named" he paused, "I can't really remember her name, but she shot him and told me to kill some dude or else she would kill dad."

"But...... you used me! And just so you wouldn't get your hands dirty?"

"Sorry bro, these hands have got dirty enough for six people to carry the punishment."

I lifted the gun up, aiming it at his face. "Whoa now, slow down, you don't want to carry my death on your conscience too, now do you." Spoke, my brother, Tim.

I really wanted to kill him, but he was right I couldn't kill him, he was my brother after all. So I ran away, down the back alley and said four words, "I'm turning you in!"

Tim

I really had not wanted to make my brother, Rudi, kill that guy. But my father needed to get better. I should not have to go to jail for something like that. I had to get to Rudi and knock some sense into him before he got me in jail.

I then ran after him. I pulled my pistol, of which was identical to the one I had handed Rudi, out of its holster and ran at full speed after him. I yelled at him to stop and that I was doing this to help dad. But he ran on until he found our car we had parked far away. It was really my car, but I let him use it. I'd simply told him that I had to make a quick stop on the way home, we had got out of the car and into the back alley. Then I waited for the guy to show up I was supposed to kill.

I panted; he had got to the car before me and was now driving away. But as he pulled the car out of the parking spot and sped through the parking lot. That is when the unexpected happened. Rudi slammed into another car at high speeds. I watched it all in horror as his head bent back from the whiplash. He appeared rather uninjured, but the person in the other car was not so lucky.

Jodi

I just needed to make a quick stop to the grocery store. I hopped into my red car. It had a couple rusty spots, but I could live with that. I felt the car move forward and down the asphalt drive way. The small grocery store was relatively close to my house.

I had blond hair and blue eyes. Not too much to me. I was just an average person. I also wore blue jeans and a red hooded sweater. I just loved flying. Flying was my dream; right now I was working for my pilot's license.

I had been driving for about five minutes and was about to drive my car into the parking lot outside the grocery store when BAM.

With a loud crash I felt my neck jerk to the side. I heard a snap as my neck broke. I lifted my hand up and felt the side of my neck that had gone through too much stretching and not to my surprise there was blood. My vision was fading and I knew I was dying.

I didn't want to die, not today; I had children that I needed to take care of. I had a job. I had family and friends. I had a life. I just had to ask God in that moment why I had to die. It just was not meant to be this way. Not yet. People needed me. I needed those people. If God let me slip away into the abyss of which death was to me; I thought that I could do a better job at running the world than God.

Rudi

Everything was hazy. I opened my car door and stepped out, knees wobbling with every unsure step. I slipped on my own feet and fell to the ground. I tried to stand up, but only fell to my knees. I then vomited all over the black, asphalt. Besides this I was almost completely unharmed. Just a couple scrapes and bruises. My car wasn't fine. The front bumper had a huge dent. The car, however, was not the main thing on my mind. The person in the other vehicle was. I stumbled over as the world spun around me. Spinning and spinning, when I saw the persons face I could barely recognize them. But I could still make out who the person was I had just hit. And they were dead. Unlike the other guy I had killed, I knew this person.

"Mom," I whispered hoarsely as my vision slipped into blackness.

Erl

I watched the whole scene from the sidewalk. The two kids running down the back alley, it seemed a bit suspicious in the first place. But when I noticed the gun located in their holsters one of the persons thighs I knew something was up. I spied and even watched as the kids just stood there. One seemed confused, as if he didn't know what was going on. They whispered something to each other. The shorter one seemed angry. I could make out some words and from them I concluded that the shorter one was named Rudi. I didn't expect to witness this, another man walked down the alley way. From the opposite side that I was on, so I did not have any chance of stopping him.

Then I saw one get shot in the back of the head. Blood seeped out of the wound. My breathing became heavier and my pupils became larger. To think I was seeing this, I had always wanted to help someone, but how could I help someone who was dead? I sighed, what was I supposed to do now. I heard one of them scream at the other. Then I heard footsteps and a voice shout, "I'm turning you in!" I flattened my body against the brick wall that I was standing by, graffiti coated almost every inch of it. The one ran past me, then was soon followed by the other. I knew that I had no weapon to protect myself from them, but really I needed to stop this. I followed after them.

Tim

I did a cowardly thing then. I didn't want to deal with my mistakes so I ran.

Rudi

I felt myself awaken. I was being shaken by somebody. An African guy, he was wearing a black suit and a red tie.

"Are you okay?" He asked me, the look in his eyes showed me that he really cared.

"Not really, I'm fine from the crash, but......." I choked back tears, as I tried to continue the sentence.

"I know, I saw the whole thing. I saw you in the back alley and everything after that."

I gulped and sat there. I was speechless. What could I say? "So you were the only witness?"

"Yes, I think so." He said it immediately even when I was still holding the pistol in my hand. I began to shake. What was I supposed to do?

I didn't need to do anything, because right at that moment Erl fell over on top of me. Dead. I sprang up off the ground, I could feel my heart beating in my chest. Why was everyone dying around me!? I couldn't go on living any longer. So I lifted the gun to my head and pulled the trigger.

Then I died.

Erl

I stood over Rudi. He was shaken from the events that had just occurred. Anyone would be, including me. I wanted to help him. As I spoke to him suddenly something strange happened to my mind, body and heart. It felt as if I entered them and what I found was despicable and a strange man stood with a silver mask upon his face.

"I told you this was what you were." I stared at him, what was he talking about? I had never met this person in my life. Then another man in a different colour mask stepped up. This one was gold.

"Sorry, but you need to die in order to let life go on for many," the man in the gold mask spoke. He stared at me and sighed then lifted his hand and a fist full of pulsing light making a low booming sound began to glow and brightly grow through the small gaps in between his fingers. I then realized that he was going to kill me. No this couldn't happen now! I wanted to live! If this happened then God had no credibility, I still needed to get married, find the love of my life! If God let this happen I could easily run this world or any other better than Him!

But the beam of light hit me.

And I died.

Tim

I ran away. But I stopped half way home. How could I run away from myself? It was impossible. What had I done!? I had destroyed a life and possibly two. I needed to go back and help Rudi!

So I turned and sprinted all the way back. My left rib cramped up, but I really didn't care. Rudi was my brother and I didn't care what I had to do. I would get through this with him and we would save dad.

But when I returned I found a black man in a suit lying beside Rudi. The man was dead and so was Rudi.

A bullet hole was in Rudi's head. I had driven Rudi to do this! I had killed Rudi with my twisted self! Then I cried.

Then something strange happened to me. My mind felt like it was torn between two realities. It hurt. I screamed; I knew I was dying in that moment. But I couldn't die; I had to set everything right! If God let me die then he lost all of his wisdom in my eyes. If he let me die I could easily be better at him at running this world.

But I died anyway.

Gold

I was watching all of this as it happened. This couldn't work out the same way it always did. This time good would prevail.

This time Silver would not destroy everything.

I knew how this worked. They would all be given godly powers and make their own worlds, with their own creatures to inhabit it They would also all choose one person to inhabit their worlds. It appeared they were choosing Rudi. I watched Rudi split into four people. All identical in every way. It was beginning once again. All I could do was just hope they would have more sense this time.