Chapter 1: What's In A Name

Zane couldn't remember how long he had been waiting in line for his time to enter the oversized and shimmering doorway into Afterlife. The door that called to him even now across time and space beckoning him to come. A call he could not resist, nor did he want to.

Thinking for a moment, Zane couldn't actually remember what he wanted. Struggling to recall much of anything as memories seemed to swirl around the edges of his mind, just outside of reach. He actually couldn't remember much of anything about anything from before joining the line; only a vague sensation of a life lived well that ended abruptly and prematurely. But there was little else he could remember, not of his mother, his father, his friends and colleagues. None. He wasn't even sure of his name; at least he wouldn't have been if not for the bracelet around his wrist. Not that it mattered. But it did help to give him some sense of self.

The little metallic bracelet that read "Zane, Male, 17, #2A786306." Even now, as he looked at it, the bracelet gave him no indicators of memories. No faint stirrings to remind him of who he was or used to be.

All the other spirits near him in the line had the same dazed and confused look on their face that he did. Overhead the Reapers floated about, ensuring that all the spirits complained. Their long flowing robes obscuring their features. Zane was ok with that. He didn't need to know what they looked like under the gowns; the way they moved about already implied they weren't living things. Just like him, they existed in some sort of state that wasn't life.

The closer to the tower he got, the more the Reapers would shout out commands as they kept the lines neat and orderly moving every forward. Occasionally, Zane could see the Reapers stop and take spirits away who asked to be removed, no longer wanting a chance at a second life. He didn't see any of them again, but for whatever reason, Zane didn't think anything untoward happened to them, only that they missed out on something they would never get the chance again.

The passage of time meant nothing to any of them. Zane guessed the total amount of time he had waited didn't measure in hours but by days and weeks, if not more. The only measurable change was that his consciousness lingered in a perpetually dazed state, like all the other spirits, perfectly docile. That is, until they reached the front and gradually become more aware.

Once Zane found himself in the shadow of Afterlife, he knew the wait wouldn't be much longer. An oversized billboard above the entrance to the tower gave some indicator of how much longer he would be waiting. The sign rapidly changing as the message went from "Now Serving #2A761302 through #2A779032." Zane knew it was going to be his turn soon, his number quickly coming up.

With the gradual return to awareness, so too did his senses return as Zane began to hear the Reapers around him. The Reapers giving an endless briefing. Addressing the aimless souls like himself, whose only goal was to reach the doorway.

The nearest Reaper to him stopped floating for a moment and addressed him, sensing that Zane and the others around him were all aware. Their numbers fast approaching.

"Greetings Honored Dead," The Reaper said through the cloth facemask it wore.

"My brothers and I have guarded over your souls as you've made your way to the Tower of Rebirth, what you humans call Afterlife. Inside the tower, you will gain the chance to live again. A chance to feel the sun on your face and the warm touch of another person. But it is not without risk, and it is not without danger. For those who wish to quit, you may do so now without harm done to you and proceed to whatever heaven or hell awaits you. Just raise a hand and ask to be done, and one of my brothers will collect you shortly."

"But for those of you who wish to live again, you must traverse through the tower, facing its dangers and its monsters. On the top floor, you will find the waters of life, ingest this and you will be reborn, or take a feather from the phoenix that drinks from those waters if you wish to go back to the life you once had, but be warned, the greater the reward, the greater the danger."

"As you approach the doorway, many of you will be taken at once. I cannot tell you how the journey will start or what your initial experience will be. It is never the same. I can only warn you that it will be difficult, listen to the instructions you received carefully. Attention to detail will help you progress forward."

"Remember this warning always, should you fall within the tower, there will be no rebirth, and no afterlife, only oblivion. You have been warned. You have my best wishes, honored souls. Welcome to the Afterlife."

Above head, a loud alert clicked as the numbers on the board changed. "Now Serving #2A779033 through #2A787705"

Zane, along with thousands of other people, stepped forward into the opening of the tower and pressed their bodies into each other as they crowded the glimmering portal and disappeared.