1 { CHAPTER - 1 } A place beyond life

[Act - 1]

He felt air on his face and something chilly on his right cheek.

When he began to stir from his thoughtless slumber, he felt chilly all over, not just on his cheek.

His body was chilly since he was resting on the cold ground, and the air he felt on his face was air from his nose that had rebounded back off the earth.

He could feel his body becoming chilly, but he couldn't open his eyes or move even one inch.

'It's cold. But I can not move'

He attempted to speak, but his lips refused to move. He attempted to listen to his surroundings, but all he could hear was the buzzing in his ears.

His head hurt worse when he attempted to listen, open his eyes, or move. It seemed as though he had been in an accident.

'Argh, my head hurts. Did I get in an accident?'

He knew in his thoughts that parts of his senses had been suppressed based on the present condition of his body.

Yet they have not been taken away from him since he can still feel cold and hear a persistent buzzing in his ear.

Thus, rather than trying to employ all of his senses. He attempted to concentrate on one.

'I need to listen carefully'.

He concentrated on his hearing, and though it still hurt in his brain, he heard something.

At first, he mistook the commotion for that of the people gathering around the accident scene. But then he discovered something crucial.

The first thing he noticed was that there was far too much noise for it to be a regular collision, and there was also no sound of a police siren or any other automobiles around, only humans.

The second thing he observed was the language spoken by others around him.

Instead of terms like "What happened here" or "Call for an ambulance". There were words like "Someone, help me" and "Where am I".

It didn't take long for him to realize that everyone around him was terrified. In other words, he was not in an accident, but the problem was quite different.

Yet, as he was constantly attempting to interpret the noises around him, suddenly he began to feel better.

His headache began to lessen, and his eyelids began to lift.

He found himself resting on the ground when his eyesight returned and he could see with his eyes.

But this wasn't just any old earth. This one was different from the others he'd seen, which were composed of either earth or cement.

While still labouring, the man summoned the courage to push himself to his feet.

"What the-- Where, Am I?"

He squeezed his eyes and banged his head in the air. And when he looked at his surrounding, "shock" was the only thing that ran through his brain.

The ground below him is completely white, even whiter than marble. It was like someone painted the floor with the purest white colour.

And standing upon that land, with different clothing on everybody, were hundreds or maybe even thousands of people.

All had worried/confused expressions on their faces.

Voices filled with questions were travelling in the surrounding.

But as he looked up, his eyes widened in surprise.

The sky, like the earth, vanished. It was merely "white" instead of the sky with clouds.

The term "confusion" was insufficient to convey the entire issue. It was beyond just that.

"Where did the sky go...?"

He, too, got perplexed, just like everyone else.

But, just as he was contemplating the events unfolding around him, he heard a loud 'Ding' noise.

He swiftly turned his head toward the sound, but it wasn't just him who heard it. Everyone turned to face the source of the noise.

For a brief while, all was silent.

Everyone noticed a large screen in the air displaying certain figures.

[Total number of people: 1001/1000]

One thing became evident to everyone after staring at that screen and not just him. There are now 1001 individuals present in this location.

This only added to everyone's confusion. They began to wonder whether this was some kind of death game or something.  

Some people speculated that this was a large hoax. While to some, it was all just a dream.

'The screen clearly shows the number of individuals present, and I should presume that whatever is going on is genuine. This isn't an illusion or a prank, it feels much too real.'

While pondering this, he became aware of something.

'Hmm? Isn't there something wrong with that screen?'

"###### ##### ######## ###### ## #####"

He heard a sound. Not just him, but others also.

"#### ######## ############ ###### ##### ### ## #"

Everyone had a confused look as nobody understood the meaning of that sound.

"##### ..... Oh, is this alright?"

The sound spoke after a little quiet.

"Humans! Consider yourselves fortunate to have gathered here!"

They heard a voice but couldn't discover a body to whom the sound belonged.

Everyone turned around to see where the voice was coming from, but nothing was understood.

"Those of you who have come here were fortunate enough to be saved!"

"WHO ARE YOU? WHAT DID YOU DO TO US?"

A person in the crowd raised his voice and posed a question.

"Yes! Please tell us where we are!"

Others began to raise their voices in response to his. But suddenly the voice spoke out.

"Quiet!"

Everyone became quiet with that one word. The voice then stated.

"He will talk himself to answer your inquiries."

Suddenly, a light dropped from the absent sky above, in front of 1001 people.

A golden glow that appeared to be light from the sky above.

Suddenly, as though to maintain the silence, everyone froze.

Nobody was able to speak, move, breathe, or even blink. It was as though they had turned into living statues. The only thing that kept them alive was their heartbeat, which they could hardly hear.

Then, from the golden light, a second voice said.

"You are the last of humanity"

CHAPTER - 1 - TO BE CONTINUE