Monstro City

Chapter 1 - "Happy Deathday!"

   I feel like I've just jumped out of an airplane, but I'm falling blind. Nothing surrounds me, no green world beneath, no blue sky above, only darkness. The cold air rushing through me gives me a hopeless feeling. I can't make sense of it; all I know is that I'm terrified.

   The fall is normal at first, and then my body spins and turns as if gravity has failed, and what was down . . . is now up.

   The air hits me hard, knocking all of my thoughts away. Memories begin to fade, one by one, faces blur, and my life vanishes, and it feels as if the air is cleansing them all away until there is nothing left, until darkness is all I know.

   I continue to fall, but I am no longer terrified. I close my eyes as I feel the smooth air run through my fingers like water. There's something comforting about not remembering, about not knowing why I'm falling or why I'm scared.

   I'm not sure how long I've been falling, but it feels like an eternity. My face is cold, and my mouth is having difficulty closing due to the chattering of my teeth. I may be wrong, but I believe that if I move my limbs, my body will crack like an ice sculpture that has been hammered to pieces.

   I try anyway, moving my limbs, stretching where I can. It doesn't hurt, but I can feel the temperature decreasing fast — maybe becoming an ice sculpture isn't too far from reality.

   I twirl my body in the air and look up at what I presume to be the sky. I'm falling on my back and notice a tiny light staring at me.

   In an instant, the light expands massively like a tear in the sky, exploding with light particles that appear to be from another world. The tear spreads wide and blinds me with a heavenly glow. My body begins to feel an unusual pressure; I'm falling quickly, but I'm also being drawn in by this tear. Gravity and the tear are suddenly fighting to claim me.

   The tear makes a loud, monstrous noise, as if it's upset that it can't swallow me up into its mystery. The sound is eerie and, to be honest, painful.

   It occurs to me that I might be the one resisting. Will the pain stop if I let go and submit to the tear? The intense pressure from both sides feels like it's about to rip my body apart. I can't make sense of it either, but I have to give in.

   I end up being right.

   As soon as I clear my thoughts of any struggle, the tear instantly wins. I plunge through the magical opening and come out on the other side, rolling on a cold, flat surface. My head is spinning wildly out of control, and for a moment it even feels like my brain is rotating in my head. I lay there for a moment, my eyes tightly shut.

   I have zero recollection of . . . well, anything, but I am certain that this is not normal. It's as if someone implanted a virus in my brain that temporarily erases important information while leaving the basics intact so that I'm not a mindless zombie.

   I take a few deep breaths, bracing myself to open my eyes. Once I feel somewhat comfortable, I open one eye, as if having a closed one keeps me totally safe.

   That's how it works, right?

   It doesn't last long. Both eyes open at the sight in front of me. I'm laying on a bridge that stands over nothing, floating over dead space cloaked in thundering clouds. It's frightening, yet so beautiful at the same time.

   I hear a bolt of electricity behind me and quickly crawl away as I turn around to face it.

   My mouth is wide open as I stare at the tear that I came through. It looks different on this side. It's much larger, with more cracks running around it like they're veins clinging to a wall. I can't see anything inside, but it shakes and groans every now and then.