Live the First Life
The night was going just fine, I was out with my girlfriend and we were having a great time. As I leaned in to kiss her an explosion rung in our ears and we immediately pulled apart. It was like in movies, when something always happened to stop the couple from kissing. I turned to see many men with rifles executing innocent civilians. They begged for mercy as the soldiers shot them all. They showed no mercy, viciously killing men and women alike. When they reached me they shoved a rifle in my face. “Go ahead, shoot me,” I said. But the man simply spun around the gun and hit me in the head. Everything went black.
I woke up in a run-down house. It was small, cold, the windows were broken, and it reeked of sweat. I saw blood all over the ground, it was from my head. I saw my girlfriend Rachel in the kitchen with a first aid kit. She saw that I was awake and ran over to me. “Oh my god are you okay?” she said. I assured her I was fine and asked her what had happened. Just then a blinding light came through the windows and she threw the bed sheets over me. I heard the door being broken down and a man ask what all the screaming was about. She assured him nothing was wrong and he said “Live the first life,” and Rachel replied “Live the first life.” I asked what that meant after the men were gone and she informed me that the country had been taken over by a cult who believes in something called “the first life.” The first life is what they believe to be a righteous life; they are very violent towards those who do not follow their strict rules. They have brutal executions and publicly humiliating trials. She told me about how the whole vile organization was run by a man and his wife who took over by force. I knew something had to be done about it.
Rachel took me to see a few of our friends, Shelby and Christian, who led the resistance group. They were planning something big and I wanted in. As Rachel and I walked in Shelby screamed and hugged us both. Christian was astonished, “Joseph, I thought you were dead!” “Everyone did, and I’d like to keep it that way, anyways I’d like to get in on what you were planning.” He handed me a knife and explained the plan to me. Rachel and I were to sneak into the emperor’s house and wait inside the door for him and his wife to return home. We would then take a package of important data to the rendezvous point just down the river. Christian and Shelby would have already cleared out the hangar where a helicopter would be waiting for us. It all seemed so simple.
Rachel and I were waiting at the bottom of the staircase as was the plan, however the emperor didn’t show up when he was supposed to and we were starting to get worried. “We should just grab the package and go,” Rachel said. “NO we need to stick to the plan,” I replied. But she didn’t listen, she ran off up the stairs. I ran after her but it was too late she had already alerted the security system. Guards poured in from every entrance. Rachel grabbed the package “COME ON!” I yelled and jumped out the window, but she didn’t follow, instead she ran down the second staircase. As I waited at the back of the house I saw her run out, then there was a gunshot and she just stopped. She stared at me, her eyes piercing my soul and said to me three words “I love you.” A trickle of blood dripped from her mouth and she fell. I couldn’t move, I didn’t have the willpower. This lady was my only reason for living, my only joy and happiness, the only reason I could drag myself out of bed every morning, and now she was gone. I stood there for what seemed like hours. I couldn’t believe what had happened; I was only broken out of my trance when I felt a cold blade pierce my back. I kicked the man off of me and kept running.
I came to a small lake which had frozen over, I knew it was winter but it just didn’t seem that cold out, in fact maybe it was the adrenaline but it felt hot. I noticed a pair of ice skates sitting next to a hole in the middle of the ice, they looked new. The only thing odd about the skates was that one had a red blade instead of the normal silver. I got closer and realized that the red color was blood. I was terrified. I looked into the hole in the ice to find Shelby’s corpse, pale white except for the cloud of blood surrounding her. Her throat was slashed open and her eyes were cold black pits, frozen, unblinking. I couldn’t believe what was happening. Rachel AND Shelby dead? I had to make sure Christian was okay I ran along the ice as fast as could. I could see the river that led to the rendezvous point but as soon as I reached the river the ice shattered and I plunged down into the water. It was ice-cold; I immediately lost all feeling in my arms and legs. The ice river pulled me down and I couldn’t breathe. I had just about given up hope when I felt a hand grab the back of my shirt and pull me out.
It was Christian! As I was trying to explain what had happened he punched me straight in the face and broke my nose. “It’s all your fault you know,” He said. “If it wasn’t for you Shelby would still be alive!” “Christian… I know how you feel… I’m so sorry” I replied. “No!” He exclaimed, “You don’t know how I feel. We had gotten Ice skates so we could cross the lake but when she heard the gunfire she thought you were dead. She stopped and took off her skates. She threw one at the ice which is what made that hole in the ice. I got that one out but when I climbed out of the hole and sat down with the skate I heard her say “Goodbye,” then she took the other skate, tears streaming down her face, and slowly dragged it across her neck.” I was appalled at the vividness of his description. “You know,” He said “It’s not like in the movies. Blood isn’t bright red like candy like it is in movies and people don’t die nearly that quickly. She lied there making gurgling noises until the hole she made broke into an even larger opening and fell in. It was ALL your fault! ALL OF IT!” I fell to the ground, he was right, I caused it.
We knew we couldn’t stay, seeing how upset I was he helped me up and apologized for screaming at me. We had to go, so we did something I was getting very used to, we ran. I could see the helicopter already. As we got nearer and nearer I realized I didn’t know how to fly a helicopter and hoped to god that Christian did. Luckily, he did. We got into the cockpit and took off; we were about 100 feet off the ground when Christian was shot in the head. I couldn’t believe it, not him too. As the helicopter plummeted I realized that the man who shot Christian was the same man who killed Rachel and stabbed me in the back. Then I saw the ground 30 feet away. 20 feet. 10 feet. Then there was nothing but blackness…
I woke up in the smoldering remains of the helicopter. Both of my legs, one arm, and several ribs were definitely broken. I used my good arm to pull myself out of the wreckage. I made it about 5 yards before I saw the same man who killed Christian and Rachel march towards me. When he raised a .45 handgun to my head I knew I was done for.
He simply said four words before he pulled the trigger:
“Live the first life”
Most people don’t know what comes after death, I do. Some people believe that the good go to heaven and the bad to hell which is true in some ways, but has anyone ever stopped to think about people like me? People who do terrible things, kill other people, but do these things for good reasons and noble causes. They are the ones you refer to as “ghosts”dead, but doomed to walk the earth among the living for all eternity. This is truly the worst possible fate, to suffer the loss of all those who you care about and not being able to die yourself.
I tell this story as a warning, do NOT live the first life, do NOT be fooled by their tricks, do NOT give up your loved ones for any reason. Cherish those you love, with all your heart, never let them go, you’ll regret it.
Credited to Thenichols1
Originally uploaded on December 24, 2011
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