Alright guys, heres another chapter. Caught bronchitis yesterday and I feel like absolute crap. Won't stop me from writing though.
New Beginnings
Am I dead? I thought to myself. When I opened my eyes I found myself in a white plane, devoid of anything and everything, or so I thought. As my vision started to clear I made out the outlines of two figures standing 6 feet away from me. The figures came into focus and I found myself saying something I never thought I'd ever say again.
"Mom? Dad?" I asked in a barely audible tone. I felt like getting up, hugging them for an eternity. All of a sudden though I found myself unable to move. Instead, I stared in awe at my parents.
"Hey there champ." my father said, placing a hand on my shoulder and giving it a squeeze. At this point tears began rolling down my cheeks. I never thought I'd get to see them again!
"We're so proud of you honey, you've grown into such a fine man." my mother said with tears in her eyes, embracing me in a hug. They never did get to see me grow up, as they died when I was just 15. The memory was still fresh in my mind. I had just woken up from a phone call when the police officer broke the news to me. I cried for hours, beating on the walls and drinking heavily from my Dad's liquer cabinet, trying to dull the pain, trying to find an escape from the misery.
"Thanks to my friends." I said giving an awkward chuckle. It was true, after drinking for about a month I ended up meeting Joshua at a park while I was still half drunk. We talked, with me slurring my words a little and him giggling. Joshua had been a bit childish even then, maybe even a little more so. We became good friends after that and later found out about each others love for music. He had been the reason I quit drinking. My mind flashed back to the scene in the van of him crying and I flinched.
We had met the rest of the crew years later when we were out at a poker game. They were their own little group at the time and me and Joshua just strangers, but over time we created an unbreakable bond and created our band. My parent's house had been reclaimed about two years before that and I had been living with Joshua since. But eventually we moved out as not to burden his parents any longer and moved in with the rest of the guys in the van, who refused to let Joshua bring in his massive collection of plushes. I still remember he pouted for a few days after that, but eventually was able to sneak in a few of his favorites. We mostly played at clubs and restaurants, only having played in public once or twice, excluding the day we had all lost our lives.
"Son, it's time to make the biggest decision you will ever make." my dad states. What? What did he mean? What decision? "You get a choice, you may stay here with us," he gestured to a large door with light seeping from the cracks of the frame. How did I not notice that before? " or you can have a second chance at life, a fresh start." Oh the irony, I thought to myself.
"What do you mean a second chance?" I asked hesitently.
"You will know when it happens." he said. How was I supposed to choose between the two when I didn't even know what he meant?
"I... I" Suddenly I found myself at a loss for words. I shook away the tears and looked up to my dad and mom, trying to find the answer in their eyes. Questions started filling my mind. Of course I wanted to live again, but at the expense of not being with my parents? Was it worth it? I finally reunited with the two people I love the most, I can't just abandon them, right?
"Don't stress Nick, even if you pick the latter we'll still see each other again one day." he said calmly. But I want to be with you now! I screamed inside my head. It had been 8 whole years since I last saw them, and I never wanted to leave their side.
"The place you will find yourself needs people like you Nick, to guide them, show them right from wrong." Mom said. Wait... what? I'm no leader! And where I will find myself? I shook the tears from my face and looked back up. What do they expect me to do? I thought about my answer carefully and for what felt like an eternity before I talked again.
"I... choose a second chance." I said trying to keep my voice level, but the fear, confusion, and sadness still made its way in. Did I make the right choice?
"Good decision son, now go get em slugger." my Dad said with pride. "Don't worry about us, as I said, we'll meet again one day. Now, go, your friends are waiting for you." he gestured to a new door that slowly appeared meters away. But I have so many questions! My friends are waiting for me? What? My parents then embraced me tightly, letting go and stepping back, smiling.
I stood their froze for a while, but eventualIy forced myself to walk past them and towards the door, twisting the handle. I looked back at my parents one more time before opening it and stepping through.
I sat up with a start, eyes wide open and panting. I could feel grass underneath my hands and my eyes quickly found Joshua, sitting and playing with the blades of grass. "Hey, you're up! Guys, guess who decided to wake up!" Joshua yelled out with glee.
"Dude, we've waiting hours for you to come to." Samuel said with a smirk. "Pretty cool though, huh? Didn't think I'd ever get to see a blue sky again after that incident with the van."
"But where are we is the question." Jack said flately, pushing his glasses up. "I've been all over the state of New York and not once have I ever seen this place. On top of that, we have no scars from the accident and no bodily damage whatsoever." Joshua tried piping something up but he was interrupted before anyone noticed him.
"What are you suggesting Jack?" Samuel asked. He looked just as confused as anyone else in the group, having woken up just after Jack. Again, Joshua tried to say something but was interrupted a second time.
"I don't exactly have a theory of what's going on, I just know for certain that theres no way we're in New York." Jack responded to Samuel.
"Guys!" Joshua yelled, pointing to a sign that read 'Zootopia 5 miles away'. Everyone stared at the sign blankly.
"Wait a minute... you don't think..." said a wide-eyed Jack. "That were in that animal world from that movie we saw yesterday?"
"What are you talking about?" asked Samuel, who fell asleep before the movie even began.
"You'd know if you wouldn't sleep through everything that didn't catch your attention, now would'nt you?" sarcasm filling Jack's voice.
"So... uh... should we... get going?" I asked, still dumbfounded.
"I... suppose it wouldn't hurt." a look of doubt filling Jack's face.
"Let's go then." Samuel sat up, offering a hand to Jack. Together, all four of us started down the dirt path from the hill we found ourselves in to the city of Zootopia.
That's all for now guys. Like I said I feel pretty terrible and am coughing a lung up so there may or may not be another chapter for a few days depending on how well I'm recovering. I've been waiting for reviews, mainly wanted to know if y'all would like longer chapters and if I'm doing well. But from what I understand theres something going on with FanFiction and no reviews are being posted. Oh well haha until then, have a great day!
