A/N: This is how its going down boys (and possible girls). I got really bored and I decided to do something that no one has ever done before. I'm gonna write this story one chapter at a time, only every single chapter will be 3 stories at once. Basically, Jess will take a dark path, a light path, and a path in between the two and you can decide which path you want to follow! Chapter 1 will be the set up, then every chapter from here will be 3 chapters. You'll see how it works.
Disclaimer - Obviously, I do not own Terabithia or the characters they all belong to Katerine Paterson and I (thankfully) am not making any money off this story.
Chapter one:
Roads Both Wide and Narrow
Jess Aarons, a young boy who had just lost his best friend, sat next to the familiar creek behind his house. It's current had died along with Leslie, but it still had water. Just not as much as it had in the past. A single tear streamed down Jess' cheek as he stared blankly into the cold, rushing water. He hugged himself tightly, not wanting to let go. Why did you have to go? Jess Aarons questioned as another tear streamed down his cheek and dripped into the creek. He shook his head in remorse and stood to leave the creek. He headed towards the fort hoping to find more comfort there instead of the death site. Jess was referring to his best friend Leslie of course. She had died nearly a year ago. They had told him she had died from a bad hit to the head and then had drown in the creek. But Jess believed something else had done it, something evil.
Suddenly, Jess froze dead in his tracks. A chilling wind blew that made it feel as if his skin would rip off to the bone. Jess shivered and fear overtook his body. He slowly passed the old, run down pickup truck when suddenly. The wind blew through the window and the chimes started to jingle, it was the same sound that Leslie had told him were the prisoners of Terabithia rattling in their chains. With a rush of the wind, a voice spoke behind him.
"You are a fool, it was all your fault. You killed Leslie." Jess froze. In complete shock he stood with his hands shaking in the freezing wind.
"Who are you?" Jess yelled in raged.
"I AM DEATH'S MASTER!!" A figure appeared right before Jess. Materializing before him form the feet up, stood the evil one: The Dark Master as Leslie had called him.
"Go away!" Jess shrieked and fell back onto the forest floor. Sweat burst forth from his forehead, but froze to his skin like icy diamonds.
The Dark Master leaned forward just an inch away from Jesse's face and shouted, "NO ONE COMMANDS ME!" His long talons rapped around Jess' neck .
"Please! M-m-mercy!" Jess screamed. Shaking, Jess grasped at the dark taloned fingers.
"Why should I spare you?" The Dark Master smiled in amusement as he gripped harder.
"Be-because I-I'm not brave enough, (cough), to die!" Jess pleaded as tears streamed from his eyes. The Dark Master threw him hard and Jess hit his back hard on a tree truck.
Jess lay on the ground motionless. He was too weak to do anything but lay there in pain.
Jess scolded himself. He is right, he's dang right. It's all my fault. If I didn't go to the museum or if I asked her to come with us I could have saved her! Why do I have to be so selfish? Jess struggled to fight back tears, but they found their place falling down his cheeks. He did not wipe them away, but he did try to banish his thoughts but he found out couldn't. Leslie meant too much to him to just dust her off his shoulders.
After lying there to what seemed to be an eternity, Jess struggled to his fee and sighed to himself. He gazed up into the trees and threw up his arms like he had seen Leslie do once when she talked to the Terabithians.
"I will never forget you Leslie!" Jess shouted at the top of his lungs. He paused and nodded in approval to himself before he fell down and sat against a tree in the fetal position. Tears found his cheeks again, and his face felt hot like he had a fever. Suddenly, almost out of magic, a vision exploded into his mind.
Jess saw Leslie casually walking up to the rope. She paused and smiled to herself, "I hope Jess has a good time by himself." But she could help but allow a single tear to slide down her cheek and fall into the dark green grass below.
She grabbed the rope and found her place at the top of the log. She threw her shoulders up in determination and jumped into the air. But instantly, like a trap had been sprung, it happened. No, the rope did not break. But Jess saw the Dark Master materialize onto the ground on the other side of the river. With a massive curved sword in hand his spun it three times in his right hand before lowering the blade into position. With all his force, he thrust the sword forward into the incoming, screaming Leslie. The force from the rope swing, combined with the force of the thrust, drove the sword right threw her gut all the way to the hilt of the sword. Her screaming vanished as if her voice had been taken away from her. Then she collapsed limply on the sword, but was still breathing heavily. She looked up at the Dark Master and spoke in a whisper,
"Why?" She whispered and her voice sounded like the whisper of the wind. The Dark Master leaned over his blade and hissed into her face. Tears streamed down both Leslie and Jess face as the Dark Master spoke with anger, "You have been slowly stealing away my only possession!"
"Jess? You say he's your 'possession'?" She asked with a twitching smile on her face then her expression changed to complete shock. "I see you now for what you are... and NOT WHAT YOU PRETEND TO BE! It doesn't matter who you are, my Jesse will kill you for this!" Blood started to trickle out of the sword wound and began to drip onto the forest floor.
"Fool! That foolish boy could never defeat me!" The Dark Master shrieked now a breath's length from the girls face.
Leslie look away with tears then looked back up at him, "He has bested you in the past, he can do it again." Her voice was starting to leave her. Her breath quickened. The Dark Master snarled at her and twisted the sword ninety degrees in her gut. Leslie cried in pain, as she lowered her head resting her chin on her chest. A minute later, after the crying became intense, she spoke again very faintly and in between gasps for breath, "This... is... a promise." She panted and breathed deeply, gasping for air once more, "You will die... by Jess' hand."
Leslie looked up into the face of the Dark Master, then looked back to Jess. She smiled at him before she fell limp at the end of the blade. The Dark Master seemed to come a revelation and screamed in madness. He quickly punched her hard in the gut, sending her limp corpse flying off the sword and into the river. Jess shivered and jumped when she fell into the water, causing it the water to explode violently. Water droplets shot in all directions and onto the bank as her body slowly drifted down the river.
"NO!" Jess screamed and he charged forward with all his strength. The Dark Master looked up and smiled at the enraged boy. Jess attempted to punch the shade but he disappeared away into black vapor and passed around behind him before becoming a solid again. Jess turned and scowled at the Dark Master who towered above him almost a full head in height. Lucky for Jess, he was a good length away from the wraith.
Finally, the shadowy figured smiled cruelly and spoke. "Foolish mortal... do you want to die?" At this he drew his sword and spun it once on his left side and once on his right and pointed the tip at Jess.
Jess shook his head and tears burst from his hopeless eyes. Jess screamed madly and charged head on at the shadow and his blade. As he approached the Dark Master swifty, the wraith didn't even flinch as Jess punched him in the gut. It was as if the Dark Master didn't even seem to notice. Time had frozen it seemed to Jess as his mind raced in circles. Jess could hear no sound, except for his own panting breath. Then, taking Jess completely off guard, the Dark Master drew a dagger in his left hand and stabbed Jesse right through the heart with lightning speed.
"Gah!" Jess screamed in pain as he watched the dagger plunge into him. He felt his body weaken and his strength fail him. Pain quickly over took his thoughts and actions. He then closed his eyes, as he felt a sense of shame overtake him. His head rolled back as tears of failure poured out.
"Is that... all there is? No challenge? No... resistance?" Then the Dark Master punched Jesse hard in the face. He fell off the end of the dagger and into the grass beneath the shadow. Jess saw Leslie's pleading face again in his mind. The way she smiled one last time at Jess before she died.
Then, with hatred erupting into his body, Jess spoke, "I promise you... revenge." Jess felt his strength leave him and almost swear he had felt his soul being ripped out of his body. He felt the Dark Master throw his body, then a splash of cold water. His mind was thrown into a black eternal oblivion.
"No!" Jess shouted and he shook violently. His clothes, especially his shirt, were drenched in sweat. Jess quickly felt his chest to find no hole, he looked down to confirm he hadn't been stabbed. That evil, cursed wind picked up again and Jess stood to his feet ready for any attack that would be real this time. An evil laugh mocked him from behind. Jess turned around quickly to see the Dark Master standing with his arms crossed across his chest. The wraith extended his right hand and gripped it tight as he spoke,
"You see? You cannot defeat me. I am the immortal life. I am... the beginning and the end!" The Dark Master laughed at him.
"You killed- you killed her! You did it!" Jess shuddered with rage.
"I think its safe to say that I won this time. You aren't worthy to fight me... yet. It wouldn't even be a challenge!" The Dark Master taunted and grinned but Jess foolishly charged in rage. The Dark Master waved and whispered, "Farewell!" and then he vanished.
Jess froze and cursed to himself. Then, in rage, he shouted into the forest, "I promise you revenge!" With hope leaving him, Jess looked down to see a scroll. He kicked it as hard as he could in anger, but then realized that was a bad idea. He ran after it and picked it up. There was a single block of text. Jess put his finger on the first word of the text. It seemed it be bursting out of the paper. A tear fell onto the scroll and Jess breathed heavily as he began to read the text out loud.
THERE ARE DOORS AND PASSAGES
AND REALMS THAT LIE UNSEEN
THERE ARE ROADS BOTH WIDE AND NARROW
WITH NO AVENUE BETWEEN
DOORS REMAIN CLOSED FOR THOSE
WHO IN SAD VANITY YET HIDE
YET WHEN BELIEF IS CHOSEN
THE KEY APPEARS INSIDE
WHAT IS LIVED WILL SOON PASS
AND WHAT IS NOT WILL COME TO BE
THE ROAD WITHIN MUST BE TRAVELED
FOR ONE TO TRULY SEE.
Jess stared at the text, "Its a riddle." he thought out loud. He had never been good at riddles but he gave it a chance anyway. "Lets see Doors and Passages and Realms that lie unseen... it must mean like Terabithia! There are road both wide and narrow... with no avenue between." This stumped him. What could that mean? "I think it has to do with our actions... like the wide and easy road is evil and the hard and narrow road is good. I think I get it! Doors remain close... in sad vanity yet hide. Belief chosen... key appears inside." Jess was stumpted again. "Does that mean that nobody can see Terabithia unless they believe in it? Yeah, I think thats it." Jess sat down under a tree with the scroll and read on mumbling the words to himself, "Lived soon pass, and is not come to be, road within must be traveled for one to see. AH! I get it! It means that what is in the past is behind me and what I belief in will happen. I gotta travel the 'road within me' as it calls it to see how to defeat the Dark Master!" Jess felt suddenly smart.
Jess stood, rolled up his scroll, and took it with him as he ran back to the bridge that was now the entrance to Terabithia.
A/N: I learned so much just in the amount of time I was writing Revenge and Redemption. So now I'm exploring a new thing. Once again all chapter after this one, that I write will come out in three chapters. Example, (Chapter 2: Dark Path, Chapter 2: Neutral Path, Chapter 2: Light Path) and you can choose to read them all, or just read one. Also, the Dark Path will be what happens when Jess takes the wide road. And the Light Path is the Narrow Road of course. Neutral will be the standing story line that is a combination of both where Jess cannot decide who he is. Remember! Reviews, good or bad, are always wanted.
Update- Some typos have been fixed.