Revival

Chapter 2: THE FIRST TRIAL

25.4.2018

"Just two seconds left on the clock. The Panthers are down by one point. Eric passes the ball to Roland. Can he make it count? He pulls up a shot from 12 feet away with just one second left on the clock...AND HE MAKES IT! THE PANTHERS HAVE WON YET ANOTHER GAME WITH A LAST SECOND SHOT FROM ROLAND!"

My teammates pounced on me after I made the shot. "You nailed it again dude...that's 3 in a row!" Eric said. He is really the best player on the team.

"If I didn't get your pass, I could have never made the shot" I said modestly. But somehow the coach looked grim. I went up to him. "Is something wrong, coach?" I asked.

"Roland, you have always been saving the day for us at the last seconds. But we need to win matches convincingly to stand a chance in the tournament coming up next month" Coach pointed out.

Thomas, our captain, signaled me to ignore the coach and join in with the team for celebrations. "Ok, coach. I'll try to do my best and will inform the team 'bout your thoughts."

"The coach has lost his mind, dude. Don't give a damn to what his pessimist brain has to say." Michael, our team's center, advised me.

"So Roland, are you coming to the pub with us? C'mon, dude! You always say no. And you have been the main reason we get to celebrate after every match..." Eric asked.

"You know I am against alcohol, and I feel really awkward in parties. You guys enjoy yourself. Michael can take in my share of drinks. Guys, I gotta hurry home tonight. See you in practice tomorrow" I explained. Lame excuses, but I couldn't help it. I hate alcohol and my teammates are always ready to get high on it.

So as always, I began my lonely stroll home. I was taking big strides today because I could see the dark clouds hovering over me ready to soak me to the skin any moment. A few yards in front of me, I could see a small commotion. After taking a closer look I realized that a car had run over a kitten crossing the road and the driver rather than repenting was furious why was the kitten in his way. "Poor thing" I thought. I couldn't let it be the driver's remorse even after death. Then came an idea, an idea which changed my life. I remembered the strange program and what it had said about bringing the dead back to life. "I wouldn't mind giving up a day of my life for bringing this adorable guy back to life" I thought to myself. So pushing past the driver of the car, I picked the corpse bathed in blood with my hands.

"Where are you taking this piece of shit?" The driver glared at me with his dropping brown eyes. I could tell he was drunk.

"Someplace where you can't curse it anymore..." I didn't look back after answering and kept walking because I knew he would be cursing at me now.

After a long walk, I finally found an empty alley where I could carry out my weird experiment or at least bury the cat if the CD was really a prank. I set it down on the alley. It was oozing with blood and now it had spilled all over my shirt. Even the very sight of it made me wince in sympathy. I had to give those instructions a shot, even if I ended up making a fool of myself.

So gripped its tiny paw with two fingers and whispered, "I wish you were alive." I paused. "20 years."Nothing happened. Great. Just great. So this was a stupid prank and I walked right into it. I wondered if any of my friends had planted a secret camera on me to record all this.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain on my back, as if someone had stabbed me on either side of my back. The pain magnified every second. "Was this really not a prank? Was it meant to kill me?" I thought. Then the feeling of pain started to change. It like my bones of my back were expanding. I broke a sweat. I wanted to scream on top of my lungs. The pain was simply unbearable. When I touched my back I got blood on my hands. "So this is how I end? Killed by a magical spell..." At that instant the pain started decreasing. It was as if someone had heard my silent cry for help. After a few moments, the pain complete disappeared. I heard a small cry of the ground. It was the kitten, on its paws licking my shoes to console me. It didn't have a single scratch on it.

I left it there hoping it would find its mother on its own because I had to clear my mind about what exactly just happened. Did I bear the pain as a price to let it come alive? There was no way to know for sure except...I had to get the CD back from the trash and see if the file contains something else I don't know of. Surely there had to be an explaining for this pain. I spotted a medical store nearby. "I should get some first aid" I thought.

As I walked towards to take a look through the glass if the store was open I was astounded. It was not the medical store but my own reflection that struck me. I had huge white feathered wings on my back...