Jaime Egan flew down Michigan Avenue on her normal bike ride; she could see boats out on the Lake, the Sears (she refused to call it "Willis") Tower, and every huge skyscraper in the Chicago skyline. She slowly came to a stop, and waited for the little man to appear on the cross walk light. When the sign said go, she pushed off the pedals and went to cross the street to get to Grant Park. She didn't see much, but she could hear the screams of a police car, which was nothing unusual, but then she felt a slam against her side, heard the screeching of brakes, felt the wind through her hair, and then black, nothing, silence.
The only light she saw was a teeny, tiny, pin head size beam that seemed a mile away. She wanted to see what it was, but the force of the crash kept her flying around, not towards the light but to the left, into the dark, into nothing.
She awoke in the park; she was woozy at first, as if from a long sleep. She looked around, the cars passing by looked blurry, faded, and there were no boats out sailing on the lake, there was nothing, it looked closer to March than June.
"What, what happened?" she shuddered. "Oh my God!" Jaime was sinking into the sidewalk like it was quick sand. She pushed up on a piece of concrete than was brighter, more real, and pulled herself out. And then she noticed something very strange, a something no one had seen for over a hundred years.
"Oh my God!" she gasped, Jaime had read about this. She saw beautiful stucco buildings, and attractions, empty ice cream stands, and the original ferris wheel. Jaime was standing in the middle of the Columbian Exhibition of 1893.
The Chicago world's fair had been one of the greatest things ever to happen in the city. It was where the original ice cream cone was made. It was a world showcase of everything that our world, at least the one of 1893, had to offer.
"Hey! You!" someone screamed. So, Jaime wasn't alone, "You new here?" A girl dress in a black Rolling Stones concert t-shirt, dark black jeans, and combat boots yelled. Behind her cowered a dumpy boy with short red hair, he wore a white shirt with spots of dirt on it and green cargo shorts.
"What? What?" Jaime was befuddled beyond belief.
"Yup, we got a newbie. For starters," the girl spat, "Got a name?"
"Jaime." She stuttered, "Who are you?"
"I'm Taz and this is Waldo, welcome to Everlost."
"Everlost? What's that? We're in Chicago." Jaime even more confused.
"It's where you'll be spending eternity, c'mon." Taz motioned her to walk with them.
"What do you mean eternity?" I Jaime laughed, this freak couldn't be serious, "I'm gonna go home now, nice meeting you."
"Uh, you're not gonna go home, because yes, I mean eternity, 'cause guess what sister? You're dead. This is Everlost, this is your afterlife. Get used to it." Taz stated plainly.
"What do I do then?" she asked. What did this girl mean? She wasn't dead, she was probably just unconscious, being revived by paramedics, and this was just some weird dream from being hit on the head. "I'm not dead."
"Oh, you're dead, trust me. This isn't just some hallucination, or I would be awake by now." She cracked; her voice was like a whip, cruel and sharp.
"Then can I just hang out with you guys until I wake up?" Jaime asked.
"Oh great, an eternity with this chick is gonna be a blast." Taz joked with Waldo, who still hadn't said a word.