~Raven~
When I jumped off that cliff, I was fairly certain that I would survive it. But, as usual, I was wrong. Sort of.
See, I was dared by my one and only friend, a boy with untamed brown hair named Andy, to go cliff diving. And being the stubborn, prideful girl that I am, I couldn't just refuse.
The morning of the jump was chilly and windy. It was Spring, so even though it was early, only seven o'clock, there was a pale yellow light filtering through the clouds, which were grey. Everything was grey that morning. The water, the sky, Andy's sweatshirt, the one he had received from me on his 14th birthday. That was just a little over a year ago.
I looked over at him as we approached the ledge of the Palisades.
"Are you really going to do this?" he asked me. His expression was worried, and something else I couldn't quite place. " I mean, what if you get hurt, Raven?"
I scoffed, trying to lighten the mood and convince him I wasn't scared. But I was. I was terrified.
"Please," I joked, looking into his eyes. "I'll be fine." But I could tell that he could see through my act. He knows me too well, I thought.
We had arrived at the top of the cliff face. I looked down, my stomach churning, similar to the dark waves below. They looked cold, and unwelcoming. I shivered.
Andy shoved his hands into his pockets, and stared at me apprehensively. His amber eyes met my coal colored ones, and I hesitated before taking a deep breath, zipping my black jacket up to my throat, and positioning myself to jump.
The wind whipped my feathery black hair around my face. My knees bent and my body tensed up, coiled tight like a spring, waiting to be released. I crouched a bit lower and prepared myself. Raven, I thought. This might just be the stupidest thing you've ever done.
"Wait!" Andy yelled, "Please be careful. Of the rocks. And the water. Try to keep your head above it. And I'll be down at the shoreline to get you in a minute. Okay? Be careful."
I gave him my signature half-smile, but it was fake. I was scared. Without looking at Andy again, I jumped.
I felt like I was flying. The wind howled in my ears, sounding like a wild animal. I found myself with a huge grin on my face, the biggest one I'd had in awhile. A real one, too. Smiling was hard for me these days. But here… here I was free. I didn't feel like me anymore, which was good. I didn't feel like Raven anymore. The girl with anxiety and depression. I felt like the bird I was named for, soaring through the clouds. The speed of the wind forced tears into my eyes, and I howled with joy.
This was the fun part. The falling. But once I hit the water, all the air was knocked from my lungs. I couldn't breathe. The water around me was too dark to see how deep I was, and my chest was burning from lack of oxygen. I accidentally took in a gulp of the icy salt water around me and choked.
So this is how I'm going to die?
Air bubbles swirled around my body and the current pulled me around like a rag doll. The water was so cold it burned, making me feel as if my body was encased in fire. My head spun, and the only thing I could think was no… no… no…
I caught a lungful of air when I was pushed from the surface, but my small bit of luck didn't last long. I saw the sky for a short second, and then the sea slammed me into the jagged black rocks.
It hurt. A lot. I heard the sickening cracking and snapping of bones and the pain filled my mind until what little vision I had went black around the edges.
Remember how I said earlier that I was only sort of wrong? Well… here comes the 'sort of'. After I hit that rock, things got weird. My heart beat wildly, erratically, with no rhythm whatsoever. And then… it stopped. I stopped breathing. My heart stopped beating. I was dead. But… still alive. Somehow. I looked at the sky, and it seemed to dissolve, crumbling apart until a new image materialized. It was a lobby. A small, fancy lobby. There were people milling around, chattering to one another in dry, wispy voices, not quite forming recognizable words, or at least not that I could tell. A closer look told me that they weren't actually people. When I looked at them, their skin seemed almost translucent. I could see their skulls. Through their skin. They were spirits. This isn't a place on Earth. It can't be.
A sign on the lobby desk read 'Welcome to the Underworld! Please take a seat.' Way to be subtle, I thought. I couldn't believe it.
So right now, a normal reaction would be to be scared. Terrified, even. But I am not normal. I jumped off a cliff. For a dare. And for some reason, this all felt very familiar.
Apparently, I had been staring at everything for a long time, because I heard an impatient, 'ahem' behind me.
I whirled around, and saw a man. He had chocolate-colored skin and dyed blond hair. Now, I have dyslexia, so I've never been good with reading. But this guy's name tag was written in cursive. That was like murder on my eyes.
"Uh- er… is your name… Chiron?" I finally stuttered. I probably shouldn't have said that. His eyes narrowed and he sighed, obviously irritated.
"Young lady, are you by any chance dyslexic?" He asked, in a monotone.
" Umm, yes. Yes, sir."
"A.D.H.D, too?"
My cheeks warmed and I felt a blush creeping up my neck. I didn't like to talk about these things… but I answered anyway.
"Yes, sir, I am." I mumbled.
"Ah… I see. Now, young lady, do you know why you're here?" He questioned. I shrugged.
"No, sir, I don't." I was starting to get a little frustrated. I hated when people call me things like 'young lady'. I mean, I'm 15.
"Well, young lady, please, explain to me what exactly were you doing that ended with you arriving here of all places?"
This was going to be embarrassing.
"I sort of… jumped off a cliff ?" The ending of my sentence went up like I was asking a question. "But I wasn't trying to kill myself or anything!" I explained quickly. "It was for a dare." That didn't sound much better.
"You… jumped off of a cliff… for… a dare?" Charon asked incredulously.
"Well, yeah. I thought I would make it."
"Well, young lady, you didn't. As you can see, you're in the waiting room of the Underworld."
I looked at him questioningly.
"That's another thing," I said. "Is this really the Underworld? Like, the Underworld?"
Charon sighed again.
"Yes."
"Well, then…how am I still alive?"
"You're not."
"Yes. I am. When my heart stopped beating, back at the beach, I could still see and hear. I am alive."
Charon looked nervous. He pulled at the collar of his dress shirt, and fanned his face with his hand.
"You know something. What is it?" I asked.
"This is not good. No. Not at all. The last time this happened…" Charon murmured to himself quietly, but I caught bits and pieces. "Broke the oath… they all have… what am I to do with…"
He was interrupted by a loud voice.
"CHARON." the sound boomed throughout the lobby. The spirits covered their ears and began to wail. Charon looked up, panicked.
"Ye-yes, my lord?" Charon said.
"LEAVE HER TO ME." the voice demanded.
"Yes, m-my lord." Charon said, sloppily bowing and rushing away into a back room.
I watched him go before turning towards the sound of the voice, annoyed. I'd met people like him before, people who thought they were better than others, and like making them feel insignificant. Who did he think he was?
"RAVEN." the voice spoke.
"What do you want? You can't just boss everyone around like that. What's wrong with you?" I said, narrowing my eyes. I wasn't even concerned that he knew my name. A mass of black began forming in the middle of the lobby. It seemed as if all the shadows in the room were solidifying in front of spirits wailed and bowed down.
A dark-haired man suddenly walked out of the cloud. He wore black robes that flowed like water when he moved. Power radiated from him.
"You sound just like your mother." He said, a small, sad half-smile flitted across his face. His voice was soft, and low.
"How would you know?" I asked.
"You'll have to find camp soon. You'll understand then. I promise."
"I don't even know you! Why should I trust you?" I said.
He stepped forward and touched my forehead. His hand felt like ice.
"Be brave." He said.
"What-?" I started. I couldn't finish. The man had somehow sent me back to the beach.
I was on the rough sand, and Andy was crouched next to me. His eyes were filled with worry. And tears. I gasped, then coughed up what felt like a gallon of water
"Raven! Oh gosh… you stopped breathing! I thought I lost you! I'm so, so sorry Raven! I should never have dared you to do this. Oh gosh…"
"Hey…" I croaked. My mouth was dry and my head was pounding. I frowned, cleared my throat, and tried again.
"Hey. It's fine. I'm fine. Okay?" That's better. "Help me up?" I asked. Andy nodded, still crying. I reached my hand out, and he helped me stand. He brushed the sand from my back. I had to lean against him to keep from falling. We slowly shuffled towards Andy's car, a dark blue pick up truck. He opened the door, and helped me in. I leaned my head against the cool window. Who was he? What was he talking about? I didn't figure that the camp he had mentioned was anything good. What should I do now? Questions bounced in my head. Unfortunately, I had no answers.
Andy and I drove in silence. At least, for awhile. Andy broke it.
"R-raven?" he questioned. I looked over at him, slightly bothered that he interrupted my silence.
"I-I'm really sorry." he said. Guilt was written across his features.
"You're forgiven." I replied, grinning to try to lighten the mood, but failing, as I had a coughing fit before I could continue. "Besides, cliff diving is really cool. The jumping part, I mean." Andy returns the smile. The silence continues.
I try to relax, as I just freaking died, but of course, my luck isn't that great. We're halfway to my house when a car slams into the side of Andy's pick up. I yelp, and wrench around in my seat, trying to get a better look at who did it. I can't see much, as the driver's sunglasses take up half the face, but I see that he is male, and wears a determined look on his face, which is heavily scarred. His jet black car smashes into our car again, on the passenger side. On my side. Andy's car swerves, and we're heading straight for a tree. The man knocks us with his car one last time, and we crash into the forest.
"Andy!" I shriek. I see his terror-stricken face, and the blur of green and brown out the windows of the car, before we smash into a tree. I remember feeling weightless, then a searing pain in my head. I remember thinking that I hadn't known there was so many different kinds of pain until today. Then I blacked out.
I wake with a pounding headache. My hair is covering my eyes. I feel dizzy. I go to move my hair, but jerk my hand away quickly as a splitting pain jolts through behind my eyes. Blood covers my fingertips where they touched my head, and I groan. I try to get up, but my ankle burns with pain and can't support my weight. I sink to the ground. Andy, I think. I hear a noise, it sounds like twigs snapping. I turn behind me just in time to see Andy rolling over on the forest floor. His features are almost completely covered in blood.