Author's Note: Hey there! Uhhh… I really don't know what to say. Sooo… *Checks my mnemonic system* Ah, Yes. This story was previously called 'Shattered Empathy' but me being an idiot and my brain being chaotically wired, I messed up. And I had to rewrite the story. I went from DOTA to Temeraire, because the villain changed a bit, characters were added and some replaced. The M.C. changed too, he went from a shy boy to a semi anti-social boy which is still basically a shy boy.
So if there is anyone who stayed in the ride for a DOTA fic, I'm really, really, really sorry that I let you down.
Oh and… Yuri the dog is now gone. But before someone picks up their pitchfork, I have a really great reason why I did it… And that reason is… He didn't fit. Okay enjoyyy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing, beside my OC's.
Well, I suppose I'll start by introducing myself. My name is Joseph Miller. I'm 18 years-old, I used to be 5 foot 11 inches, with long semi curly black hair that had been curly since when I was a small boy. I'm really awkward to talk to, especially when someone tries to make eye contact towards me. Making eye contact is not really an issue that affected me that badly, but due to me avoiding it, it makes me look like I'm not listening. Eyes are just distracting for me. You would see too much, or you wouldn't see enough. And it's really hard to focus when you're thinking, 'Woah! Those eyes are really blue!', or 'He must have something for me!', or 'Oh! Is that a cataract?!' So. Yeah, I try my best to avoid eyes whenever possible.
I'm into things like about fantasy and stuff about psychology. Never really was into videogames, only played a couple, as I was limited into playing games that had little to no emotions to intervine with my mind. So my childhood was mostly limited to disney shows, non violent videogames and non emotional shows. Yeah, my childhood was boring the least. I can thank my imaginative empathic brain for all the boring stuff that happened on my childhood.
Okay, that would be enough about me, time to set the lights back to the scene. It was November 26, 2019, winter had already set in and it was cold. I worked in a small fast-food restaurant in Jackson, Wyoming. I don't know if you have heard about it, but it's called SubWay. It was already dark around 9:00 P.M. and we were already preparing to close the place for the night. My co-worker, Jacob, was already cleaning the tables, while I was in the back in the fridge placing the ingredients in them.
It had been a quiet day, like most of the time days we spent our time working there. We spent most of the time watching Netflix in our job, while I sometimes bring my fly tying gear with me and fix my lures. You could say we weren't employee of the year material.
As I placed the last of the containers on the fridge a shout from Jacob then came, "Are you done back there?!"
His sudden shouting only managed to startle me, making me jump, and hit my head on one of the containers. Despite wanting to curse and shout back at him, I just hissed and rubbed the back of my head that was hit.
"Yeah," I said before rubbing the spot again. "You could have just come here you know? And checked. Instead of shouting, I just hit my head."
"Sorry," he replied. "Anyway I just wanted to ask you, would it be okay if I held on to The Song of Ice and Fire for a bit? I'm starting to get on the good stuff."
I exited the fridge and locked it, "Sure, just give it back before the week ends, its not mine."
He looked at me with a raused brow, "Then, who owns the book?"
I was hesitant to answer, but eventually complied. "My psychiatrist."
"So, the legend is true," Jacob stated jokingly, which got an annoyed look from me.
"Yeah, the Miller guy is crazy," I responded sarcastically. "Call the mental institue."
He just laughed and headed over to his bag next to mine over the counter. I just sighed in relief that he didn't proceed to question me more about my mental health. I didn't have depression or anything, just have PTSD, though it wasn't as bad when it started. I went from having a panic attack at seeing a gun to just being uncomfortable around them.
I headed over the counter and grabbed my bag on the counter. Looking inside it, everything seemed to be in place and nothing was missing. Then my phone lit up, I took it out and looked at the message it was sent from my mom.
'Don't forget about Sophia's gift for tomorrow.'
I just smiled and looked at the small box in my bag. She'll be shocked tomorrow at what was coming for her. I just sent out a thumbs up emoji to mom and put back the phone in the bag.
"Dude, are you going to go out or are you gonna sleep here?" I looked up and saw Jacob was already outside holding the door open.
"Oh, coming!" Grabbing my bag and swiftly making my way out of the restaurant.
As I made out, he shut and locked the door, before handing the keys to me. "It's your turn to open the place tomorrow, I'll be late, I have to help my dad tomorrow with fixing the motor."
I nodded before going towards my car, unlocking it, I heard Jacob blair his motorcycle's horn at me when he passed, to which I just waved at him. Opening the door I threw my bag at the front passenger seat, before coming in. My home was a 45 minute drive, so it was a bit far, but I can still get up and about. I started the engine, and drove off. It took a few minutes before I entered onto the highway, which was mostly dark and only a couple of cars passed by.
The drive was smooth for the past fifteen minutes, until I saw the silhouette of a deer, to which I slowed down to avoid it, only to hear a blaring horn followed by a bright light coming towards me. I barely had time to brace before the car collided with mine. The sudden force made my head shoot to the steering wheel, although luckily the airbag activated and cushioned the impact. Everything was blurry as I waited for my vision to restore, the crackling noise of fire and the smell of gasoline filled my senses. My adrenaline started to rush in, as I tried opening the door, only to realise it was jammed, I then tried to move to towards the door to my right, only to feel a sharp pain from my leg, that made recoil back, I took a look down and saw a sharp metal piece pierced through my leg. I tried to free myself from it, but it was no use, it pierced through deep and I didn't have the space to move effectively. The heat was already so intense, that I began to sweat, and being desperate I tried to force open the jammed door to no avail. Then the sounds of cracks started coming from the front and sure enough when I turned, the glass was beginning to break from the heat.
"Come on!" I shouted, trying to force open the door again.
My heart was already racing, I could hear it beating faster and faster. Then, I heard another loud crack and sure enough, I knew I was done for, the windshield collapsed and flames started to come in, I could feel my skin melt from the heat, as I screamed. Slowly the pain started to hurt less and less as my vision started to get darker, as my burnt to crisp body started to shut down. My last thoughts were how will mom and Sophia take this, and probably also that Jacob would be very mad tomorrow that I didn't show up, but at least he can keep the book. Crap, Fredrick is going to be mad too!
So, I died. And it was a horrible death, it was not quick and I'll never forget the feeling of being cooked to crisps alive. But then, as you may see or read, I'm still alive. Well, I don't really know what happened but I did find myself in darkness. All darkness and ringing of my ears were all that came to my senses. The place was a void. Not the blackness that you simply find behind your closed eyes, but a dark abyss and nothing else. Where there had been pain, there was now nothing. It was like being submerged in an impossible darkness, nothing to touch and feel.
There was no up and down, no left or right. I could not even tell if my eyes were open or closed, and what seemed to be minutes felt like hours for me. Maybe time is different here, or maybe I'm just impatient.
Then various images and flashes began to go around me. The police finding my charred body. The sorrowful look of Sophia and mom when the police showed up at our door. And the snowy scene of a graveyard, with people that I recognized to be my relatives, wearing dark winter clothing and a couple of my friends. I could see some people trying to pry Sophia's hand from my coffin as they prepared to bury me.
Seeing my family like that, especially my sister, was heartbreaking. I really wanted to see her grow up, but it seemed that was impossible.
Slowly the flashes of light and images began to disperse, leaving me in the dark empty abyss once again. Leaving me to ponder in my thoughts, was this the afterlife? An empty dark void of nothingness?
For what seemed to be an eternity, a small speck of light appeared and hovered in front of me.
"Hello," I said to the small ball of light, before realizing that I could speak and move my arms.
I didn't know what to expect, but I waited for it to do something or get a reply from it, but it just hovered there.
"Um, are you here to take me out of here?" I asked, still it did nothing. I then lifted my hand to try and touch it, but before I could touch it I once again talked to the ball of light. "I'm going to try and touch you, so don't be mad, okay?"
Despite it not replying, I just nodded at it, and took its silence as a yes. My hand then extended and touched it, to which I immediately regretted. The moment I touched it, fire started to spread all over me, and it immediately reminded me of the way I went out. But this was different, it wasn't as bad as the one in the crash and I really didn't feel my skin melt, but it still hurt. As I screamed, my vision slowly blurred before blacking out.