Ever-changing (on hold)

Chapter 2 PoV Connor/Joshua

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Connor's PoV

I wake up on a park bench. Where am I? I have absolutely no recollection of how I got here.... wherever here is. As my mind clears some, I look around and see that I'm on a bench in front of a small park.

When is it? I get up and look around for a clock of some kind, with no luck. There's a guy walking out of a building near by, so I decide to ask him.

"Excuse me, sir, do you have the time?"

He completely ignores me and keeps walking. I ask someone else.

"Miss, do you know what time it is?" No answer.

"Sir, do you have the time?" No answer.

"Ma'am, do you have the time?" I ask, getting frustrated. She simply walked away, texting.

"Does anyone even see me?!" I yell. Normally this would get some stares, but the pedestrians just kept on their way.

"I can see you."

"Ohmygod!" I nearly jump out of my skin with the little girl from earlier just inches from my face.

"Hi Connor" she said happily to me.

"Why won't anyone answer me?" I cry. I know, what would the kid know? But hey, I was desperate.

"Because you're dead."

I'm taken aback. "What did you just say?"

"You're dead, Connor. A spirit. A ghost. You're as visible as the air around us. Just accept it now, because you can't do anything about it yet."

My heart pounded and my palms started to sweat. This can't be real. This must be a dream. Either that or I'm going mad.

"No," I say, shaking, " you're lying. I can't be dead."

"But you are, Connor. There's no going back. You're one of us now."

"No," I say before yelling " No! None of this is real! You're a liar!" I turn and run as fast as I can, ignoring the girls calls.

It's not true. It can't be.

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I run away.

It's funny how your mind seems clearest when you're most confused. For the first time I notice the soft wind blowing through my hair. For the first time I notice the cries of kids at a near by park, just becoming noise in the background of everyday life. I feel the rays of the sun shining on my back, so much that I can almost feel it slowly burning my arms and neck. I see every leaf on every tree, every bird in the sky. I finally notice the things that make life the way they are, things we all take for granted.

For once my feet feel the ground they're running on, like they're being pulled back down with each stride.

My heart is beating faster than it's ever raced before, and it feels good. My whole body tingles and my head is light, but in a way that gives me a buzz rather than a headache. I feel a sense of exhilaration I've never experienced, something so raw and powerful that it puts all my senses on edge, making everything sharper than it should be. This is the first time I've pushed this hard, the first time my whole body is on fire and I can't stop. What scares me most is that I don't want to.

The feeling of being pushed to your limits is not easily forgotten.

I run until my legs burn to no end and my lungs scream for air. I don't know how long I've been running, but my whole body throbs dully with my racing heart. I slow down to a walk and eventually a stop to take in my surroundings. I've ended up at a big bridge over a river, rushing fast beneath me. As I stare at the foamy rapids below, I start thinking.