A/N: This and the next several chapters are the 1st person point of view chapters of At Soul's End. I'll be uploading the five that have thus far been updated in the story. More chapters may be added in the future. 

1 of 5

Darkness surrounds me as I slowly become aware of my self. It seems as if I’m floating, detached from the world around me. Where am I? Why is it so dark? Am I alone? I shouldn’t be. But why shouldn’t I be? The first thing that finally catches my attention, pulling me from this questioning  limbo of black, is the sound of shuffling, rustling, low moans. Finally dim light begins to seep into my awareness as my eyelids flutter open. I can see my body stretched out in front of me, stained clothing covering my chest and legs, dirty sneakers on my feet. With some difficulty I try to move my limbs, the muscles twitching more than obeying my commands.

I will my stiff neck into action, finally getting my head to turn to the side. I seem to be in a long but narrow space. There are others like me ambling around down the corridor. They seem just as aimless and dazed as I am. When I turn my head to the other side I can see a sliver of daylight coming from an open doorway not too far from me.

I’m confused about so many things. Why am I here? Where is ‘here’? Despite the others moving around I feel like I’m separate from them; different, alone. Deep inside I know I’m supposed to be with someone in particular but whom? I’m not sure. Why do I feel like a part of me is missing? My mind is a blank slate and I find this fact to be very disconcerting.

A breeze wafts in from the doorway, replacing the stale, pungent air with something light and almost alive. In comparison, the fresh air tastes honey sweet on my tongue and I want more. With much effort I eventually coax my stiff muscles and joints into action, finally pulling myself up onto my feet. Groaning deep in my chest after such exertion, I manage to shuffle towards the door. The air smells clean and crisp and I take a moment to revel in it before looking around.

The sun is bright in my eyes and it takes a moment for them to adjust. A concrete parking lot stretches out in front of me. Vehicles are parked here and there but none of them are moving. There are others wandering around but, although I am one of them, none of them belong to me. How do I know this? What does it mean that they don’t belong to me? And if they aren’t mine, where is the one who is mine?

Beyond the parking lot are tall buildings, a mountain range in the distance. Despite being in a city, nothing moves; no cars can be heard, no voices of people, no machinery in the distance. The only sounds are the blowing breeze, the call of birds in the distance, and the low moans and shuffling feet of those around me. The city is nothing more than a skeleton, the vital organs having been removed.

Uncertainty surrounds me as I begin to walk. I have no destination in mind, no intent that leads me forward. I don’t know where I am so where I’m going seems just as irrelevant. With nothing else to guide me I just follow my feet. Somehow I know they will lead me where I need to go if, indeed, there is some place I’m eventually supposed to be.