(Hey everyone! Thanks for reading the first chapter! Let me know if you'd like more, and feel free to share your thoughts.)
Another day, another hour wasted.
I stared at the screen of my phone, scrolling aimlessly through apps I didn't care about. The same old notifications, the same people, the same useless posts. It was all so... dull. I had been doing this for years—just existing, not really living. It was like I was stuck in a loop, a never-ending cycle of nothingness. The same places, the same routines, the same people. Every day blurred into the next.
I had nothing to look forward to. No goals, no ambitions. I was just... here. Wandering through life with no destination, no reason.
My feet dragged on the floor as I walked down the sidewalk. I wasn't really going anywhere. I never did. My steps were mechanical, a reflex more than an action. I didn't care if I was heading toward work or just out for another aimless stroll—I wasn't doing anything that mattered.
And then, I just kept walking. No thought behind it, no plan. Just putting one foot in front of the other, feeling the weight of my existence in each step. The world around me felt distant, as if it belonged to someone else. It wasn't mine. Nothing was.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
That's all I was doing. Existing.
I wasn't paying attention, not really. The sound of the city—horns, chatter, footsteps—faded into the background. I was numb to it all. My mind was elsewhere, maybe in a different world entirely.
That's when it happened.
A flash of motion.A sudden, jarring sound.My body jolted.
Bang.
The world around me flipped in an instant. One moment, I was walking. The next, I was on the ground, my side screaming with pain.
I blinked, trying to process what just happened. Did I just get hit by a bus?
I could feel my heart racing, the adrenaline kicking in. My mind was weirdly clear, but my body felt far away—like I wasn't fully attached to it anymore. The sound of people shouting and running around me faded in and out, like I was listening underwater.
Well, this is new.
I stared at the cracked pavement beneath me, trying to catch my breath. Okay, so I wasn't dead, which was a plus. But that didn't mean this wasn't a hell of a way to shake off the monotony.
Is this what excitement feels like?
I should've been freaking out. I should've been terrified. But I wasn't. In fact... a part of me was almost glad. Not about the bus—obviously—but just that something finally happened. Something I didn't plan. Something that wasn't scripted.
For the first time in years, I wasn't bored.
I forced myself to sit up, wincing as pain shot through my ribs. People were yelling, calling for help. Someone was on their phone. Others were just staring.
I couldn't hear them clearly. It all sounded distant, muffled.
I smiled a little.
This... this was different. A break in the loop. For once, I wasn't watching life go by—I was in it.
I took a deep breath, sharp and painful. The world still felt far away, like I was sitting behind a screen watching myself.
Then things began to shift.
The pavement blurred. The light around me dimmed at the edges, and the voices grew even more distant. My limbs started to feel... heavy. My chest tightened. My hands wouldn't move.
Wait—
My body didn't feel like mine anymore. My head lolled to the side as the sounds around me disappeared into static. My vision darkened.
No... this couldn't be it. Could it?
I chuckled—quiet, breathless. Of course. After all these years of waiting for something to change... life throws a bus at me.
Figures.
I wasn't afraid. Not really. Just... curious.
My thoughts started to slip, like sand through my fingers.
Guess this is it.
A low hum filled the void where sound had been.
The last thing I felt was the tiniest flicker of satisfaction. A strange, stupid little spark inside me that said, Well... at least it wasn't boring.
And then...
Static.