1 That’s not so bad…right?
"Try not to push yourself too much Chris." A young lady whispered as Chris walked down the stairs heading straight for work.
"Don't worry about it Jewel. I will be back before you know it." The tall bronze skinned man assured his lover before wrapping is arms around her waist and strokes her dark and silky hair. "I am gonna go buy groceries would you like anything?"
"How does Steak sound?" He asks while looking into her hazel brown eyes. "Sounds great love, I will cook the best steak you've ever had." She assured him before pressing her lips against his.
Chris leaves soon after in his Forf Mustang racing down the streets of Chicago. Hardly does he arrive when he is instantly welcomed by his boss.
"You're fucking late, again!!"
"Great to see you to Mr. Gordon." Chris brushes off his behavior as him being his usual self.
"Boss yell at you again?" A voice thundered from across the office. "Yep, the usuals man." Chris sighs and chuckles and immediately catches a bottle of soda that was soaring across the air.
"Nice catch." A tall man with ivory skin and dark brown hair complimented him before sitting next to him. "I was the quarterback on your team, captain." Chris reminds him. "No need to remind me man." He chuckles as he downs the soda in his left hand.
"Boss wants the plans for the new bridge done by Friday or he is gonna have our asses on a wall."
"Damn it James, I told you to help hold out the foundation plans on my date." Chris scowls at him. "Sorry man, I already had plans of my own, besides... we can get it done quick and easy." James assured him calmly. "Yeah flirting with more girls."
"Hey I gotta get this right that's why I am still searching, you feel me?" James asks and Chris ignores him before getting back to work
"I wish I had a better partner." Chris sighs silently and immediately receives a bump on the head. "Harsh much?" James taunts him with a grin. "You lucky I don't do boxing anymore, now let's get to work." Chris announces before pulling out his laptop.
The duo finalize on the plans a few hours later leaving them hungry and tired. "Coffee break?" James asks and Chris nodes eagerly.
Arriving at a nearby cafe, the barista turns on the television. "There are Reports of an accident at one of the malls downtown that have left several injured and 3 killed." The reporter announces as Chris keeps watching the news. "Damn poor folks." James sighs and silently sips his coffee.
The pictures of the three dead people leave Chris quaking in his seat as he sees the picture of his Fiancée. "Oh no!" James whispers in shock as he witnesses his best friend go through a mental breakdown.
"No no no no no it can't be! It just can't!" Chris yells as tears flow down his cheeks. "TURN IT OFF!" James demands and the barista immediately turns off the television.
"Bro calm down!" James demands while holding down Chris. "LET ME GO!! I HAVE TO KNOW IF THIS IS TRUE!!" Chris screams at James and immediately bolts out of the Cafe. 'She can't be gone! She just can't!' He thunders in his head as tears of disparity stink his eyes.
He arrives at the scene of the crime and runs through the yellow tape. "Hey you! Stop this instant!" One of the law enforcement officers roars at Chris.
He side steps all the guards and tries to climb the ambulance where Jewels' corpse is being loaded. Hardly had he arrived when he was tackled by two police officers. "That's enough buddy!"
"I HAVE TO SEE HER!!! JEWWWEEELLLSSS!!!!!" Chris cried out helplessly as he was unjustly handcuffed and the ambulance doors closed.
Jewels' burial was held a week later. Chris couldn't look anyone in the eye the entire ceremony. Not even at her parents.
1 Month later…
Reaching out for a few bags of chips, he looked to his jeans and noticed a little girl pulling them to get his attention. "What's wrong mister?" The little girl questioned his spaces out expression.
Chris smiled and gave her head a small pat. "Don't worry about it kiddo, I just lost something a while back and can't find it." Chris assures her and the girl smile. "Well I hope you find it sir!" She says and smiles before running back to her mother.
The sound of his ringtone awakes him from his trance. He looks at the wallpaper of his Lock Screen noticing the wallpaper of him and her on a date. "I really need to change this wallpaper." He sighs and picks up the call.
"Hey man, how you been?" James asks softly. "Shitty and you?" Chris answers while reaching out for steak in the freezer. "Come on man, don't be like that… listen the boss understands what you are going through but you haven't been at work for 3 weeks. You gotta come back man or they might fire you." James warns Chris and a long awkward pause soon follows.
"… fine I will be there." Chris sighs angrily before declining the call and paying for the groceries. He drives back home and enters his lonely and messy apartment. "Yeah I was supposed to clean."
He then cooks himself some dinner and receives another call. He looks at the number and immediately recognizes it. "Hey Bianca." Chris sighs.
"Hey Chris, I won't ask if you're okay and I know you aren't feeling that good right now. But listen, you can't keep acting this way… it wouldn't have been what Jewels would have wanted for you. She would have wanted you to move forward… do you understand?"
"I understand Bianca, and you're right… I need to get over myself. Thanks for the encouragement." Chris says while wiping the tears off his face. "It's you against the world Chris, make sure you win."
"I will." Chris answers and Bianca hangs up on him.
'Starting tomorrow, things will be different! I believe it!' He thought to himself that time with sheer will and confidence in himself.
Dressing to his best, Chris immediately ran out of his apartment building, climbed into his car and raced towards the construction area for the bridge him and James were working on.
No sooner had he arrived than James noticed his signature mustang. "Glad to have you back man." James grinned. "Good to be back. So where do we start?"
Chris handled all the final touches required to make the bridge's foundation firm and steady along with the construction workers he had on board. Everything seemed to be going well until one of the construction workers that were relocating a massive load of steel pipes collided with the support beams.
Several gigantic pipes Rained from above towards the unsuspecting James. Chris quickly reacts pushing James out of the way and getting crushed by the sheer weight of the steel pipes!
"NOOOO!!! GET HIM OUT OF THERE!!!!" James roared!
'Is that it? Does my life really end at 27?'
'Can't even move, oh yeah everything but my head has been crushed.'
'Damn there is so much I haven't done… sorry James, we had a good run didn't we?'
'I only hope I am able to meet Jewels Wherever I am heading.'
'I guess dying is not so bad…'He thought to himself before taking his last breath.
Chris then immediately wakes up in what seems to be his room. Without saying a word, he gets off his bed and walks towards the door. The door slides open and he is welcomed by the boundless abyss beyond his room.
Chris takes a step back only to be kicked out by the room and he is sent flying at hyper speed through the darkness into the light! Chris screams as he is propelled through multiple rings of light at speeds that could have ripped a rocket into two.
"Woah woah woah!!!!" He screams as he stops high up in space looking down at the earth. "That's amazing!" He whispers with glee before he is pulled towards the sun. "No no no no!!!!" He screams as he draws closer to the gas giant that turns from yellow to blue, green and finally Red!
"What the fuck!?" He screams in bewilderment. "Where am I going!?"
Chris then falls into a throne room of some sorts with multiple stone pillars arranged to surround a round room. Thrones of different designs rest next to those very pillars with different designs and markings on each. He looks towards the sky only to see the pillars slowly breaking down into pebbles floating into the deep dark abyss of space.
Chris soon realizes he is naked and panicks for a brief moment before coming to a realization "Huh but there's no one here. I bet I have nothing to worry about."
"Are you sure about that?" A voice immediately thunders and Chris freezes in place. "Face us little boy!" Another voice boomed soon after.
Like a lost child, Chris slowly turns to face his commanders.Chris gulps in disbelief of what he is witnessing.
Chris gazes upon the beings one by one starting with the giant white and gold dragon with wings that look like crystal shards of beautiful golden light. An ever burning phoenix with feathers made of flames hotter than the sun soars down and rests oh it's thrown. A dark and purple Panther with hints of smoke radiating from its purple eyes climbs down the pillars and slowly walks to it's throne while glaring at the more insignificant human standing before him.
Chris turns to another dragon that looks like the ocean it's self as it rests on its seat. 'A leviathan?' Chris thinks to himself. "Correct boy." The leviathan thunders with a chuckle of delight. "No one is able to notice my form at first glance haha!" The leviathan thunders proudly.
"Quiet Valor , you are making a fool of yourself." A serpent with a female voice slithers past Chris and also rests on it's throne. The serpent was made of rocks, vines and magma!
"Quiet the two of you." A giant eagle roars from above and settles as well. The eagle had broad and wide wings that had the favor of the winds under each feather. Hardly had Chris made sense of it when it had immediately transformed into another bird with six wings.
"Welcome human to the throne room of the Six pillar Primodials!" The phoenix announced with a kind but powerful feminine voice. "It is here where we will decide your fate, whether you get to live or die." The dragon of light announced and chuckled living Chris petrified for what's to come next.
