The streetlight flickered gently to the rhythm of mosquitoes' flight, in this mild September night. The wind softly blew its breeze through Aiden's hair as he gazed at the stars, sitting on a bench, legs stretched out, feet dangling between the road and the sidewalk.
- "Ahhh what a pain, tomorrow I have to present my thesis project, I haven't even started it. What a pain…" he complained, his gaze still turned toward the bright stars.
He waited like that for hours, passersby becoming increasingly rare as the night continued its inexorable invasion over the world. A thin mist now escaped from his mouth, the temperature had dropped considerably when he finally decided to get up and head home.
- "A man must face his destiny and confront his mediocrity!" he encouraged himself. "I'd do anything to escape all this, there's no worse suffering than getting embarrassed."
He walked with his head down, still lost in his thoughts, and suddenly at the corner of the street, two flashes lit up suddenly, so suddenly that the surprise made Aiden jump. His earbuds fell from his ears, he stared dumbfounded at these two lights approaching inexorably.
The deafening horn snapped him out of his reverie, he jumped to the side thinking he'd dodge this speeding car going way too fast for a city.
Bad luck, the driver seeing that Aiden wasn't moving had the reflex to turn his steering wheel in the same direction Aiden was dodging…
And just like 1 + 1 = 2, the same logic applied here, Aiden took the bumper straight in the ribs and was sent flying against a lamppost.
The pole shook, the bulbs swayed dangerously, ready to fall on an already pitiful Aiden.
The truck now stopped, with a bumper still smoking from the impact, saw an elderly man emerge from it, a cigarette in his mouth, slightly reddened cheeks, probably alcohol or anger starting to take over his entire face.
- "Fucking kid, couldn't you watch the road?!! Because of you my truck got completely wrecked! Do you know how much that costs??? he screamed at Aiden.
The man approached Aiden, who had very weak and wheezing breathing, moans escaped from him, testifying to an enormous pain he couldn't contain, and from his mouth then escaped a spurt of blood that stained the grayish and dusty sidewalk.
Seeing this, the trucker suddenly stopped, his face turned pale, the alcohol couldn't hide the gravity of the situation and the realization had drained his face of all possible colors.
DAMN KID!! I'm gonna end up in jail because of you! he screamed again.
In rage, he struck the lamppost that was supporting Aiden's Z-shaped body. The lamppost then swayed again and very dangerously, the bulbs that were already hanging by a thread didn't need more to begin their journey downward.
In a sharp whistling sound, they fell at an ascending speed, directly onto Aiden's head???
A sound of shattering glass coupled with a spongy sound of splashing rang out and without another word, it was darkness.
SHIT! The trucker fled, opened the door of his smoking truck and sped off at high speed into the dark night.
Aiden's POV:
- "I'm revising my opinion on the greatest pain in this world, who's the asshole who said it was being embarrassed in front of a whole class?"
That was the only thought crossing my mind as I bled out and felt my bones grinding against each other, they had been displaced and broken so much.
My eyes burning with pain, watched this man who must have had a pitiful life, worrying about his truck and not even calling an ambulance.
- "I'm really gonna die here…"
What a frightening thought for us living beings to tell ourselves we're going to die, yet I swear to you it's so soothing… I'm lying a bit, I'm hurting a little here but if you don't get all your ribs broken you should be fine I think!
I didn't have time to think about other things before a dull pain struck my skull and darkness invaded me.
A darkness so deep you could get lost in it, a darkness so dark it would make a good cover on my luxury car that I never had in this life.
- "Shit what am I thinking about, I'm dead… Wait how can I think when I'm dead???"
I then open my eyes, wait wait wait? I open my eyes?
Yes I thought I was dead and yet I open my eyes and what greets me isn't pretty.
Dirt, dust, a burning sun, people running everywhere, a man grabbing me by the collar and dragging me I don't know where while screaming at me with an absurd question whether I wanted to die or not.
Asshole I'm already dead, what kind of stupid question is that?
I adjust my eyes, I look around me a bit and what do I see???
Humanoid shapes, dancing behind large wooden automatons that seemed to be controlled by their dance chasing the inhabitants who hadn't gone back home.
- "IT'S CURFEW TIME, ANY HUMAN FOUND OUTSIDE WILL BE SHOT DOWN, OBEY THE GREAT MAHORA THE DJINN OR DIE!" screamed one of them before I was thrown into a house whose walls were made of stone bricks.
- "Now those are good load-bearing walls," I told myself before passing out again.