Warning: this is set post-Everfound and there are spoilers.
Also, I don't own the Everlost trilogy or any of Neal Shusterman's characters.
On a cold January day, six-year-old Brad Morgan sprinted out onto an ice-coated pond. His friend had dared him to run all the way around without falling, and he was determined to do just that. "You're gonna owe me five dollars," Brad taunted as he neared the finish. he spoke too soon, though, because as he stepped on a thin patch of ice, it broke and he fell through.
Suddenly submerged in freezing water, Brad frantically tried to swim to the surface. His body began to grow numb, his kicks turning into little more than leg spasms. Brad inhaled a lungful of icy liquid as his short life flashed before his eyes.
A tunnel formed before him, and Brad's fear evaporated. he was no longer cold, tired, or numb. Warmth flooded his body as he flew down the tunnel, reaching for the close-yet-distant light. Brad knew in his heart that he was dead, but suddenly this didn't seem to matter so much.
Brad grew closer, a smile spreading across his face as he touched the light... but it wouldn't take him. The calm he felt faded away, the light beginning to dim.
"No!" Brad screamed as he started to fall from the tunnel. He grabbed for the light, yanking fistfuls away, but nothing happened. Then Brad tumbled through the blacker-than-black walls, exhaustion overcame him, and he sank into a dreamless sleep.
Brad woke slowly, scared and confused. When he had fallen in, the pond had been covered with ice. The water around him had been murky and dark. Now multicolored leaves floated on the surface, casting shadows on the sandy bottom. Small fish swam past him, close enough to touch, though they had never gone near him before. What scared him most, though, was that although he was underwater, he didn't need to breathe.
The memories of the tunnel, and the light, began to return to him. Brad shook his head, trying to deny the unavoidable truth. Maybe he was dreaming. But as his mind searched for an explanation, a school of fish swam straight through him. This confirmed it: Brad was dead.
He tried to climb from the pond, each step putting him almost ankle-deep in the sand. This was normal, though, so Brad didn't find it strange that he was sinking into the ground. That is, he didn't find it strange until he was back on normally solid ground.
Brad's thick winter coat and snowpants were soaked, oozing water over the tops of his his too-small boots. His hat half-covered his eyes, but no matter how hard Brad tried to straighten it, he couldn't. The hat wouldn't budge. Water from the hat dripped into his eyes, blurring his vision. For this reason, everything being out of focus didn't seem that weird.
Brad spent so long looking around that he was in the earth past his knees by the time he realized that he was sinking. Panicked, he dragged himself out and started walking. That's when he realized he didn't know the way home.
A/N: Hope you liked it! I have plans for Brad: crazy, Everlost-worthy plans. This story will have fairly short chapters and, hopefully, frequent updates.
Please review! It only takes five seconds and I LOVE reviews. ;D