True Death Experience

This horrifying creature has skin that looks both scaled and feathered, and four eyes that glow intensely of a color I have never seen. It looks to be ten times my height and stands on two legs. It opens its mouth and releases a bone-shattering roar and I can see three rows of ragged, razor-sharp teeth.

This monster, no, this behemoth, steps closer to me and then strikes at me with its massive claw's hand, or whatever you would call that monstrous limb it has. At the last second, I dodge it, and out of instinct, I draw the dark sword out of thin air in time to parry its second oncoming strike.

Once again this behemoth roars, stunning me for a split second, and it strikes me across the left side and I go flying through several trees, and I can feel my spine shatter. I watch helplessly as the behemoth starts to head over towards Kaya.

When the behemoth gets close enough to strike Kaya, I see a black flash and the creature roars as if in pain. I look to see where the flash of black came from and I make eye contact with Kayda, and she is holding a long black scythe. Kayda jumps off the back of the behemoth and lands on her feet and rushes over to me.

"Are you okay?" Kayda asks me with worry, and I try to respond but I am unable to speak. I look at Kayda and I can already tell I am dying. She stares at me with a look of grief and pity. Slowly my vision starts to fade, and the last thing I see is Kayda getting up to attack the behemoth once again.

When I come to, I find myself in an empty white void. I have been in places like this a few times before, this appears to be one of the realities a passed Twila enters upon death but I can't find the Twila who resides here. I take a step forward but am met with a resistance that draws me back. I crouch down and lie my hand on the ground, but I am met with air as if there is no ground.

I stand back up and stretch my hands out expecting resistance, but I am met with none, so I take another step forward but I am pushed back. What the heck is going on? Where is the Twila that resides here, and why can't I move? Suddenly I hear an ancient voice in my head.

"This is your death, and you are not allowed to be here yet, leave if you value your precious existence," the ancient voice demands, "Leave before you lose your chance to live again." And once again I am met with silence. I look around once again but I still fail to see anything but a white void stretching infinitely.

All of a sudden I feel a pull from inside my body drawing me away, and the next thing I know I am enveloped by an intense light. When I crack my eyes open again I am met with darkness, I am not in the void anymore, and I can't even move, where am I? I try to look but my head won't move, and I can feel myself being suffocated. Wait... Am I underneath the ground? If that is so what the hell, I need to get out of here before I die again.

I try to dig myself out, and although I make slight progress I can feel my strength fading quickly. I keep on digging my way out, and when I am about to give up and feel my hand break the surface. When I finally get out I am met with the mortified expression of Kaya and Kayda.

"What the Fu—" Kaya exclaims as if she has seen a ghost, "You have been dead for two days what the hell, don't wait till we bury you next time, you looked like a fucking zombie with how you dug yourself out." Kayda just sits there dumbfounded and speechless.

"Sorry, but I can't control how long I stay dead," I remark, "Not like you are supposed to come back to life after you die you know." Kaya glares at me with her arms crossed and turns her head away in a slightly pouty manner.

"Next time just stay dead, it would be easier for all of us" Kaya remarks but I met with a slap from Kayda. Kayda has a determined face as she glares at Kaya and rushed to me and hugs me. She looks up at me and smiles gently.

"I for one am glad you are okay," She says kindly, "I hate Kaya, she is mean." With that Kaya gets up and storms off leaving behind a couple of sentences of curse words lingering in the air as she departs. I look at Kayda and grab her hand.

"I think we should get out of here, there might be another one of the behemoths," I tell her, and we start to head in the opposite direction of Kaya, hoping to find a way out. Kayda hugs close to me for the longest time until after a while she appears to gain the courage to walk on her own.

"About the last behemoth," I start, gaining Kayda's attention, "Why didn't you tell me you can fight?" She looks at me and frowns slightly, then opens her mouth to speak.

"Fighting is tiring," She says, "I don't like doing it, and when I do I usually just get in the way." She looks down at her hands and I can see little bruises and welts all along the fingers and palms. "My scythe is heavy and hurts my hands, I only use it when someone else needs help, if I am alone and about to die I just let myself get killed, I mean I come back to life anyway." She continues to walk alongside me, and I can't think of any way I can respond to that so I just keep my mouth shut and we wander outside the forest in an uneasy silence.