Chapter Two

Dave opened his eyes; I'm not dead? When he realized all he could see was nothing but a vast white room that stretched farther than the eye could see, Dave had his doubts about whether or not he was still alive.

But I can move around and walk, and there's no pain, so that's a good sign, right? Maybe he was in heaven, he thought to himself, then snorted, as if he was ever a good person.

"Hello," Dave said quietly. When there was no reply, he tried again much louder.

"Is anybody there." Dave frowned when there was no reply again, and his words didn't even echo, which seemed weird to him since he was in a vast empty room.

Although maybe he wasn't in a room since all he could see was white, there was no ceiling and no walls from what he could tell.

"Dave Letterman," said a deep booming voice that seemed to come from everywhere.

The voice was so loud he took a few steps back in surprise.

"Who are you?" He asked, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.

There was a pause, and Dave decided he wasn't going to be getting an answer. Hello, who are you? Why am I here?

'Am I dead?' He said the last part so quietly he could barely hear his voice.

Was he dead? He recalled the memory of the bullet punching through his gut and winced, then there was a solid white light that washed over his body, then he was here, so probably dead would be his guess.

He looked down at his body for the first time coming here.

He noticed he was naked, and Dave would have been more uncomfortable with his nudity if there were other people here, but since he was the only one in the room, it didn't bother him all that much.

He pinched his skin on his arm and felt pain.

Can dead people feel pain? Maybe I'm not dead, and this is just a dream, no wait, you can't feel pain in your dreams either. So best guess is, I'm somewhere in between dead and alive.

There was no reply from the voice. Instead, a screen popped out of the ground in front of Dave, sitting on a pedestal; the screen was at least an 80in screen that was currently black screen with nothing on it.

"Dave Lettermen, you have been chosen for the reincarnation process," the voice said, so loudly this time, it sounded like the air was vibrating.

"What now?" Dave asked.

He knew what reincarnation meant, but he would like to have some details on what it would intel.

Would he come back as a frog, or maybe a human again?

There was no reply from the mysterious voice; instead, the black screen lit up, displaying black words on a white screen.

He got closer to read what was on the screen, it looked like a list of objects, and there was something written on top of the list separated by a black line.

He decided to read the message on top before touching anything else cause he didn't want to touch something that he might regret later.

Message: Please select an object that you previously owned from your past life from the list below.

Note: whatever object you choose will be permanent. There is no second chance, so choose wisely.

Dave looked at the list of objects, and there were tons of stuff on it written in small letters. The whole front page was mostly nails, bolts, screws, washers, all written with their different sizes next to the name.

He put his finger on the screen, careful not to touch any of the choices, and brought his finger up. The screen swiped up like a cellphone screen displaying more options he could choose from the list. The list seemed endless, with the names of food, drinks, even the gum he left on his bedside table.

"So what happens when I choose an object, anyway?" Dave asked while still scrolling down the list. He paused when a new message appeared on the screen above.

Message: You will possess the said object, of course.

"And how does that help me? Will, I just sit as a pencil sharpener for all eternity, until that object gets destroyed, that's bullshit!" Dave said incredulously. A new message appeared after Dave's outburst. He sighed and started reading.

Message: That is incorrect. The object you possess will be nigh-invincible and will turn to dust after two years of being possessed, without having a host.

"What do you mean by, host?"

He was not liking where this was going, and if he had to make a guess, it would be that his fate rested on the chance that someone would find him within the two years of his possessing the object.

The words changed again. This time a lot more words showed up.

Message: A host is an individual who will make a contract with you when coming into contact with the object you possess.

When doing so, the host will be given powers, and you will become a part of him.

The powers the host will get is dependent on the strength of the soul that you possess.

A weaker soul will give the host necessary recovery, strength, speed, and one low-class ability that will be decided by chance.

A stronger soul, however, will give the host exponential recovery, strength, speed, and one high-class ability that is most suited for the host to control.

And in some rare cases, the host will gain the ability to control your energy as a power source.

"So what happens if the Host dies? Dave asked, already guessing the answer. He just wanted clarification.

"Oh, and what's that timer for, that's counting backward?"

He noticed the timer counting down awhile back but thought nothing of it at the time, now it read 3:47.

Message: If the Host dies, you die, and there won't be another chance like this again.

Someone has upset the balance of the world, no the universe.

Someone has attempted to destroy the souls of humankind, and this is a fell safe just in case something like this were ever to happen.

The timer counting down is the estimated time before the reincarnation system is destroyed by the being that wiped out 77% of the human population.

Message: I advise you to choose wisely and swiftly. If you do not decide before the timer runs out, you will be automatically given a random object on the list.

Dave felt his heartbeat quicken. How was he supposed to chooses an item off this list when it went on and on with stupid building materials? It was like every nail that was inside his house was listed on this ridiculous list.

"Could you remove all nails, screws, bolts, and any food-related material off this list," he asked, hoping that would work.

"Yes, it worked," he said, pumping his fist in the air in a show of victory.

"Also remove all wood related items...and clothes," he said when he noticed his jacket was on the list.

The list shrank to a more manageable size, the index barely longer than a page now.

He noticed his 2031 Chevy Silverado on the list and debated on whether just to choose it.

It was an older truck, but it still ran decent enough, and if he was going to possess something, why not his vehicle? It would be easy to find after all.

He still didn't like the idea of being reliant on others for survival, but could he complain when he was at least going to get a second chance? Probably not, but that still didn't make Dave accept this reality wholeheartedly.

He was about to click on the Chevy when a name caught his eye.

'Sarah' was the name of his Synthetic Biomechanical Maid, also known as a Maid Bot, was his nighttime companion as well as his Maid.

Most single guys (who could afford one) would take a Maid Bot as their lover. It wasn't uncommon for a man to lose his wife and decide he doesn't want to get remarried, only to get himself a Maid Bot for a companion and vise versa, for they not only made female Maid Bots but male ones as well.

Dave looked at the timer. It read 45, and he blinked. How could so much time have passed so quickly, had he stared at the list that long?

He took his finger away from the Chevy option and brought it to the Sarah option. He hesitated, for this wasn't an easy choice for him.

He spent many nights with Sarah, thinking of her as his wife, he knew she was just an object, but that didn't stop him from having feelings for her.

He only had her for a few years, and he bought her when they first came out, which was lucky for him cause he only spent $12,000

for his, two months later, they doubled in price from how popular they were.

There were, of course, higher grade Maid Bots for the rich and powerful, but no average person could afford one.

They say that one of the highest grade Maid Bots could grow a personality and adapt to the owner's personality, making it a far better lover.

His Maid Bot was just the basic model, and it could do basic chores like sweep, mop, and do the dishes, with only one setting for night time activities, which was to get on its hands and knees for you.

You could try moving it in a position you like, but trying to force a 300-pound object was not easy.

The skeleton of the Maid Bot was, of course, pure metal, so good luck on getting the thing off of you if you accidentally got stuck underneath it.

Dave's finger shook. He couldn't bring himself to possess Sarah, not when he had so many good memories with her.

His hand dropped to his side, and he looked at the timer. It was at 8 seconds.

He watched the timer tick down until 1 second, and he closed his eyes.

He would let luck decide his fate, it's never failed him before, and he was confident it wouldn't again.

He felt his body become lighter; the light he could see through his shut eyes went completely dark and then nothing as if he blinked out of existence.