The Resurrection of Eric - Preface
#1 of The Ressurection of Eric
After substantial internal debate, I've decided to post my new story publicly on this account.
While comments are disabled, you are invited to five star rate and fav the chapters if you like them. I'll use that input to gauge if I should continue the project. So if you want to see more, vote! ^^
A few notes to consider... If you haven't read my first story, The Life of Another, you may find yourself a bit lost when it comes to understanding things like chakras. That said, it should flow well enough on its own. Also, italics is used for multiple functions depending on the context and can indicate either thoughts, foreign language or emphasis.
I realize the preface is fundamentally similar to Chapter One of Life of Another, and that's intentional. This is basically a 'what if' scenario where Eric has to go further to find a new home. Chapter One of this new story will be along shortly!
The Resurrection of Eric - Preface
© Jake Atkinson
Reality is overrated. The slogan had gotten stuck in my mind on the way home from work. It was one of those commutes where, no matter how I turned or changed lanes, I ended up behind the same guy. He drove a primer gray SUV with little to set it apart from the sea of other vehicles stuck droning home on the overcrowded, worn down highway. Its only claim to personality came from two decals. The lower left corner of his back window bore the statement "Reality is overrated" while the opposite corner was occupied by a rainbow colored canine paw print.
"Damn it." I said as I braked firmly. "We were making good time until this sudden stop. I think I see flashing lights in the distance, great... an accident. Ah well, better stuck in traffic after an accident than to be in it, hope they're alright."
I had developed a nasty habit of talking out loud in my empty car. Spending two hours a day commuting on top of a mind-numbing data entry job, alone in the windowless basement of an aging concrete office building, had pushed me to such one-sided conversations. I eased my usual death-grip on the steering wheel and let my mind wander as traffic came to a total stop.
"Yeah, you're right. We're almost home. Just relax and try not to think about working out, showering and eating a five for $5 TV dinner, just in time to get to bed so I can get up tomorrow and do it all over again."
I sighed, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound like that. Some of those dinners aren't half bad. I don't know how they can make rice, bean paste and an enchilada that tasty for only a buck."
With the traffic showing no signs of moving, I considered putting the transmission into neutral so I could take my hindpaw off the clutch, but something made me keep it in gear. "How was school?"
Of course there was no response from the empty seat beside me, nor did I expect one as I glanced in the rear-view mirror.
A few cars back I could see the taller, brighter headlights of a big-rig with orange marker bulbs along the roof. The glare of mixing lights produced a rainbow halo at aura's edge that expanded rapidly as it approached in silence. Too late I realized it wasn't stopping. The crash as the truck impacted the car in front of it was followed a moment later by another as it was shoved into the next in line. I spun the steering wheel hard right and floored the accelerator in an attempt to escape over the shoulder. But the twenty year-old engine revved reluctantly, my hatchback lurching into the turn just in time take the impact broadside.
I felt nothing. Reflexes had taken over and my consciousness was out of my now dead body.
That was the main benefit of my deviance, that I could thrust my consciousness out of my body and into an astral plane of existence somewhere between everyday, physical reality, and the spiritual realms that people inhabited between their mortal lifetimes. Unfortunately though, I had only minutes to find a new body to reside in or my life energy would succumb to vacuum of the infinite void.
No longer limited by the constraints of my corporeal brain, my mind was able to expand in awareness far beyond the standard senses, but I still couldn't find an available host. I needed a living body without a soul already attached and the search was pushing me beyond my previously perceived boundaries. Flashing through incomprehensible worlds, I fought to maintain my sanity until suddenly a beacon sang out, its resonating call pulling me back from the brink. I raced towards its familiar frequency and discovered a world I could understand.
With a shuddering gasp I awoke in my new form, and promptly fell off the floor.