10 Minute Tales, Part 2

Aug 19 - Afterlife

He gasped and sat up. He was in a void, a black nothingness filled only by a plain ball of rock. He reached out for this rock, but something was wrong. He couldn't see his hand. He looked for his other one, and it too was gone. He panicked for a while and looked around. There was nothing except the rock. He rode the panic out, soon panting quietly. He eventually grew quiet and leaned to the rock, looking it over. He frowned slightly when he saw a curious handprint on it.

"The hell...?" he mumbled to himself. No sooner had the words fled from him that the rock changed, glowing a fiery red. "... wait, what...?" he looked it over, shuddering slightly as he realised. It looked like his idea of hell. "... uh... freeze." he tested, intrigued. Sure enough, the fiery red dulled to an icy blue, and clouds formed around the rock. "... it changes with what I say... What's going on, anyway?" he looked around at the void again. "Okay, think..." he closed his eyes. "What happened, anyway...?"

-----

He remembered walking along the road, late for the meeting. His job depended on it. Why had he left it so long?
He remembered the blazing heat beating down, the sky missing all clouds. He was used to the rain, but it was long gone now.
He remembered the sound of a car, louder than it should be. What was going on?
He remembered looking to the side, seeing the vehicle. The driver was panicked, and his own fear was growing.
He remembered pain.
He remembered laying down. His whole body burnt with ice. He couldn't move.
He remembered blurred lights, fuzzy noises. He didn't understand any of it.
He remembered nothing else.

-----

He opened his eyes again. The darkness still surrounded him, the frozen rock floating before him still.

"... I guess this means I died." he sighed, looking up. "So, what, this is the afterlife?" He waited for a moment, hoping in vain that some deity would answer him. Silence. He looked at the rock, frowning. "So, you change as I want, huh? Well, let's see..." he willed for it to grow, and it did. He felt as though he was falling towards it and panicked for a moment, but soon came to a stop painlessly. The weather was a powerful blizzard, the winds howling and whipping the snow everywhere. He didn't feel any of it. He raised his non-existent hand, feeling the wind wrap around him and travel through him. "Okay, well... this is kinda boring." he raised his other hand slowly, raising the temperature gradually. The winds grew stronger but the snow faded and vanished, forming stinging rains that passed through him harmlessly. He smiled as he settled the winds with another gesture, the rain forming oceans. He raised islands, seeding plants that covered them all. He paused after this; what animals would he bring into being? He frowned as he considered his options. So many choices, but only one could be made. "Okay, uh... let's try this." He raised his hands once more.