Prologue
"See you Monday, Justin!"
I turned around and smiled at my boss, Alan, giving him a wave.
"You bet!"
Walking out of the shop, I clicked my car keys, unlocking the doors of my Corvette C7 with the track package on it. I noticed a couple younger teenagers glance at my car as I turned it on via remote start, the engine literally roaring to life as a plume of blue tinted flames shot out of the exhaust tips at the back. The kids jumped back a few feet, allowing me clear access to my car.
Walking up under their stares, I smiled as I spoke to them while I opened my driver side door.
"Some day, if you do well in life, you'll be able to obtain one of these. Just do what you have to do and keep your feet on the ground."
Chuckling, I got in, put the key in the ignition and actually started it. Putting it in gear, I drove away, being sure not to wake the small town I worked in since it was definitely one in the morning.
I suppose I should tell you all a little bit about myself.
My name is Justin Whitlock. I am twenty-five years old and I work in construction, mainly framing houses. I work from evening into night because I hate mornings and tend to be a night owl. As I turned onto the backroad country highway I normally take, I glanced down at my passenger seat, sighing at how empty it was.
Yes. I was a single man at twenty-five with a decent, but a bit slim, build.
However, what really hyped me up were the four books lying on the seat. The complete collection of the fantasy series called the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. I have always loved those books. Started reading them in third grade, and finished all four within a week as a third grader. After all these years, the books never get old and I tend to check them out from my town's public library once a month or once every other month.
As I drove, I noticed lightning forking across the dark sky and rain began to fall. Sighing at the notion of me having to rush out of my car to get inside my house while exhausted, I tuned out the weather, choosing to instead listen to the hum of my engine with every shift and change in the RPMs. While turning a corner, a bright purple and blue flash lit up my vision, blinding me. I couldn't see anything and then I felt the impact of me slamming into something.
Then everything went black.
I felt warm liquid dripping on me when I came to, and I could smell the scent of gasoline and oil. I could see the dim lights of my dash and… and… oh god.
In the brief flashes of lightning that would light up the sky with blues, purples and white, I could see that my seat belt had literally torn right into my body. The restraining strap across my torso had ripped into my sternum while the horizontal strap had nearly cut me in half. The strangest thing was… I felt nothing. Not the slightest amount of pain.
Nothing.
I felt completely at peace, as if I had accepted and resigned to my fate that my life was at an end. Twenty-five years old… killed by being literally blinded by the light.
I smiled, coughing a bit as blood trickled out of my mouth.
I suppose there are worse ways to go.
As my heartbeats began to slow, I turned to look to my right, to my passenger seat where the books still laid.
A shame I wouldn't be able to return them anytime soon.
As my vision darkened and I felt my soul beginning to release itself from my broken body, I watched in fascination as the four books began to glow in correspondence to their color: blue for Eragon, red for Eldest, gold for Brisingr, and green for Inheritance.
I closed my eyes, feeling so very tired and just wanting to nap for a little while, I heard a rumbling voice in my head.
No… you are not finished. You have another purpose and will fulfill it well. Come. Come to us and we shall guide you into ushering in an era of peace.
And then I knew no more and everything turned white.