Ten Seconds To Change

Part One

        How long do you think it takes for your entire world to completely and utterly end? For me it only took 10 seconds. I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself and should start from the beginning. One month ago I was on my way to what was supposed to be the best night of my high school life, Prom. I had the perfect dress, the perfect date, and limo filled with my best friends and their dates; that was until a drunk driver ran a red light and t-boned the limo. I remember the moment so clearly it's terrifying. Issac, my date, had just told a joke about lemons and bombs that had everyone in stitches. My best friend Lily had just passed out flutes of sparkling cider made of the prettiest glass and Issac had just given me a sweet look that made my breath hitch and my heart fluttered.

        Then it was as if the car imploded; glass, blood, and screams filled the air. We rolled over, once, twice, three times before the limo stopped on it's roof. I could see Issac hanging limp next to me, his entire body broken, bleeding, and covered in glass; the car had hit his door directly. My vision was fading in and out and I could faintly hear some sort of cry coming from across the limo. I tried to reach out, to take the broken and bloody hand of my childhood best friend turned boyfriend but I could barely lift a finger. Two shaky breaths leaped from my lips in a feeble attempt to call for help but as soon as they joined the heavy oxygen swirling around me my eyes slowly closed and my world went silent. In ten seconds I had lost everything, including my life.

****

        I opened my eyes expecting to see the shattered inside of a limousine filled with the rapidly cooling corpses of my closest friends, or best case scenario, a hospital of some sort. I did not expect however, to see a stunning meadow.

        “I'm dead, oh my Lord I'm dead.” I said my entire body shaking furiously. I tried to sit up but my head exploded in pain.

        “I thought there wasn't supposed to be any pain in Heaven! Oh my gosh, what if I'm not going to Heaven?” My brain was a jumble of incoherent thoughts all wizzing past at once, confusing the heck out of me.

        “Relax, you're not dead.” A deep voice said from the general direction of my feet. I sat up, much slower this time and tried to crawl away from the boy holding an ax.

        “Get away from me or I'll—I'll—I'll stab you!” I screamed slowly setting to my feet just as some sort of knife appeared in my hands. I screamed and dropped the knife as if it was as hot as molten lava. The second the weapon touched the ground it disappeared and I screamed again, promptly falling on my bum.

        “What was that?” I gasped looking from the spot where the knife had disappeared to where the the boy was calmly cleaning his fingernails using a knife of his own.

        “Your weapon of course,” He said using a tone as if he was stating the most obvious thing in the world. “You did threaten to stab me.” All I could do was blink at him, my eyes wide and mouth hanging open. The boy —I suppose I can't really call him a boy, he looks more like a young man— sighed and took a step towards me. I shrieked and scurried backwards.

        “Don't you dare come a step closer!” I said just as a small rose bush erupted between me and the mysterious man, stopping any forward motion on his part unless he wanted a face full of briars.

        “Interesting.” He said raising an eyebrow. “Listen miss, you have two options: come with me or stay here and ultimately end up somewhere you definitely don't want to be. They'll be here within five minutes so you better choose fast.” He said running his fingers through his black hair in wjat seemed to be frustration.

        “How do I know going with you isn't somewhere I don't want to be? How do I know you aren't some creepy serial killer or something? I don't even know your name! I don't even know where I am.” I said rising to my feet once again.

        “You don't. My name is Micheal, you're in Aria, and unless you come with me right now you will die.” He said extending his hand to me, I shook my head forcefully and stepped back.

        “There is no way I'm going with you!” I screamed and he shrugged, an almost sad look in his eyes.

        “Alright darling, at least I can tell them I tried. I'm not going to kidnap you.” Micheal said just before chanting in a foreign dialect using absolutely unpronounceable words. His body started to glow and ripple as he every so slowly became transparent.

        “There! Get her!” A horrid voice growled from behind me. I spun around to see a terrifying beast of a man riding an even more terrifying horse point right at me. Ten more men almost as equally grotesque erupted from the trees surrounding the little meadow I was in and charged straight towards me. Something in me practically screamed at me these men were evil so I chose least crazy option, I turned and practically tackled Micheal just as he disappeared, taking me with him.