> the beginning of the end
>  by Konics
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> Ch1
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	In 2012 everyone joked about the so called “end of the world”. Some people believed it would actually happen. When the date finally came upon us many laughed. When the day ended and it seemed as though nothing had happened. The next morning we all woke up and something was different. We thought nothing had happened...... we were wrong. On that day a barrier fell. Few people noticed till the next day. That barrier kept our world separated from another plane. When it fell several people went into comas. Some disappeared all together, I just passed out. When came to the sun was shining brightly. I stood up to find myself in a large field. I had passed out in the city so why was I way out here in the middle of nowhere. I walked around for a while only to find the field had no end. Just when I was beginning to panic I ran into a wall I hadn't seen. 
“Owww.....” I looked up at the wall to find.... nothing. There was nothing there. The wall was just... gone. I stood up and felt for the wall with my hands. It was there I just couldn't see it. The wall was almost completely solid but with some considerable force I could push through it. The wall was like a mass of sun hardened puddy or some form of dense jelly. As I pushed through I felt like it was squeezing me to death. When I finally got through I felt a surge of relief hit me quickly met with a surge of pain on my face. I tried to stand up but I couldn't get any higher than my knees. So I crawled around to find something I could use to lift myself up. 
“Where am I.” The field I was in was now covered in grass and surrounded by hills. There was a forest near where I was. My only thought was “finally something I can use to stand up”. But as I got closer I realized the place was really creepy. Before I got there I started to get really tired. So when I got there I crawled over to one of the trees and curled up under it. I was extremely tired though I didn't know why. All I did was push through some gunk and crawl over to a tree. There was no point in fighting it now. I was to tired to move so I curled up under the tree and slept there.


I seemed to wake up almost instantly. This time I was back in the city where I had passed out earlier. It was as if nothing had ever happened. What had happened? I hadn't noticed at that point but there were cars wrecked everywhere. Freaked out by the seemingly instant change in scenery I ran home as fast as I could. When I got there my dad was crying on the couch. I had only ever seen my dad cry once and that was when his dad died. 
“Whats wrong dad?”I sat there waiting for an answer. It never came.
“Why did it have to be him?” he suddenly asked. I didn't know what he was going on about. 
“Dad. What happened? Why did it have to be who?” At that point my grandma walked in and sat down next to him. She seemed just as sad but holding herself together.
“Just remember hes in a better place now.” Who was in a better place, what was going on? Did someone die?
“DAD! GRANDMA! Whats going on!?”Just then our neighbor Bill walked in. 
“I'm sorry about Dalton, Lance. He was a good kid.”What? Now it was just getting weird.
“I'M RIGHT HERE SEE!”I jumped up and down in front of them, snapped my fingers in front of them. 
“I just don't know why it had to be him. Why did he have to die?” my dad said between sobs.
“I'm not dead I'm right here! Look see.” I went over and slapped my dad on the back. But I didn't or rather couldn't slap him. My hand went right through him. I tried again starting to panic throwing myself at him. Again I went through him. “What....whats going on?”I stared at them. They continued to cry. I couldn't take it. My legs turned to jelly beneath me and I fell to the floor. I just sat there as I felt tears welling up in my eyes. Then I curled up on the floor and cried till I once again fell asleep.

I woke up later on. I was back under the tree that I thought I fell asleep under earlier. My body was sore all over. I sat there for a few minutes thinking that maybe that was just a dream. I looked over at the sky and saw a hawk in the distance. 
“Cool bird.”I looked back down at where I was laying. I could feel the mud coating me. I was all muddy from my sweat no doubt from the nightmare I had. It was a really creepy nightmare. I looked at my hands...hands....hooves? “WTF!” My hands weren't there anymore. All that was left was a furry stump hoof thingy. I looked at my feet and they were the same. I was also covered in red hair. It was hard to tell but I think I was turned into a... pony!?!?
> CH2
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“Its ok, Its ok. I'm still asleep that's all.” I said trying to make sense of it all.“Yeah, still asleep” I turned to the tree. “Ok time to wake up. Here it goes.” Then I smacked off the tree as hard as I could. “OWWWW!!!” No this wasn't a dream. The tree had proved that and added some more pain to his body. “Ok it isn't a dream....where am I?” I looked around. The place seemed vaguely familiar. There where tall mountains in one direction with something that looked like a giant castle, and a semi-large village in the other. Being that I was new here and wasn't good with people anyways I decided to stay away from both and head into the forest. It was pretty dark and creepy, but my only other choice was to head into town as a pony. That didn't seem like a good idea to me. I mean going into town as a talking pony was bad enough, but what if when I got there the government tried to dissect me. That didn't sound to appealing. I didn't care where it was a pony walking into a town and talking would cause mass panic.

“DON'T GO IN THERE!!!” Huh? Is someone yelling for me. I turned around to find....to find.... A SCREAMING PONY RUNNING AT ME! 

“GET OUT QUICK!!”I ran as fast as I could from the screaming pony. Straight into the woods. It stopped at the wood line and continued to scream at me. Not knowing it had stopped I kept running as fast as I could. I was scared half to death. I kept running and running until I was sure I had lost the pony.

“Wheew, that was close. Now where am I?” That was a good question. Where was I? In my blind attempt to escape the talking pony I had gone so far into the forest It was impossible for me to know where I had come from. That stupid pony had scared me into a death trap. That stupid talking pony.....stupid talking pony....talking pony?  What am I an idiot. Someone who is just like me runs straight at me and I'm scared stupid. “Ugh...idiot idiot IDIOT!”I smacked my head of a tree in anger of my own stupidity. Which was quickly followed by me passing out from the impact. 

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I woke up  in my living room. Where was I? What had happened? Then the memory hit me like a dump truck full of cinder blocks. My eyes started to water again. Was it true? Was I really dead? I tried to pinch myself but to no avail. I sat there and looked around. The room was empty and a total mess. My dad would have never let the house get this messy. I loved him but he was a complete neat freak. It would drive him crazy to see the house like this. Once again it felt like something really heavy had hit me. The reason the house was like this was because of the shape my dad was in. He was grieving over my death the last time I saw him and that must have made him forget everything else.
My eyes were almost spilling over with tears at this point. I needed to take a walk, clear my non-existent head. As I walked over to the door I realized I had no way to open it. “Great now what am I going to do?” I wen to bang my head off the door in depression when..... my head went through the door. “What the....” I proceed to walk the rest of the way through the door. It felt weird but I guess death had some perks. When I got over my shock I noticed there were cars wrecked all over the street. 

“How did this happen?” I wondered. Suddenly a dark and ominous voice answered my question with another one.

“What you don't remember?” I looked around to find no one was there. This things voice just seemed to echo out of the woodwork. “Ha look around you. What do you see?” I did as it said and looked. All I saw was a bunch of wrecked cars.

“What am I supposed to be looking for?”I asked.

“Anything. Everything. You want to know how you died don't you. I can help you, but be warned this is a steep path you now walk. Do you think you can handle whats at the end?”I hadn't thought about it till then but I was curious how I had died. My mind was completely void of any memory of my death.

“I want to know. I can handle it.”

“Good. Though I have my doubts. Look around you for a good clue.” I looked closer at my surroundings. Now I could see some blood on the street. I also noticed there were no people in the area. I turned around and looked at my own house. It looked the same save the mess. Then I saw a note on the door. I walked up and read its contents aloud to myself.

“ To whom it may concern, I'm headed to the town service for today. If you really need me call my cell though I doubt I'll answer it. Lance” What was the service for I wondered.

“The service is at the school. You'd better hurry or you'll miss it.”Scared by the sudden reappearance of the voice I fell backward down the steps. I smacked my head off the ground and felt a sharp pain in my head....pain. I felt pain? I was dead how could I feel pain. “Oh the little boy thought death had relieved him of all his pain? Boy your pain has only just begun.” Then I remembered something. I was going for a walk and there was a loud noise. Like and unbearable ringing in my ears. It caused me to fall to the ground and....and....I couldn't remember the rest. “So you found a piece to the puzzle. Good for you, but that piece made you want more didn't it. Now off to the service with you. You had better run or you won't make it.......On second thought I think I'll take you there, when you wake up you'll be there. Then I fell asleep before I could utter a word of protest.

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I woke in the woods again. Why was this happening to me. Was this deaths cruel joke?
It wasn't very funny. It seemed to have become night out. I stood up and stretched before realizing my head hurt. That as I soon found out was the least of my problems. As I looked around I found myself to be surrounded by wolves that looked to be made of wood. Ha someone must have put them there to scare me when I woke up. 

“Ha Ha veerrry funny,”I said sarcastically, “you can come out now!” My laughing was soon meant by growling. I looked at the wolves again. They were....moving!
> CH3
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“SHIT SHIT SHIT!!!!!” I was running for my life from wooden wolves. WOODEN FUCKING WOLVES! How in the hell was that even possible. I looked behind me to see if they were still there. Yep. 
“FUCK!!!!”  I was gaining some ground but they were still within running distance. Damn these hooves. If it weren't for them I'd try to fight. Hell I dont even know how I was able to run...gallop in this body. I guess its just one of those fight or flight things....o I pray these thing cant fly. So there I was running for my life when I saw this weird bunch of trees. Thankfully I was far enough ahead of the wolf...things to try and climb them. It wasnt very easy but I somehow stumbled up the trees. I looked down from my new perch.
“Yeah fuck you to!” The wolves were clawing at the trees trying to reach me. I thank god these freaky little thing really cant fly. I took a moment to survey my surroundings. If I wasn't hopelessly lost in these accursed woods before then I certainly was now. I seemed to be in the tops of some weird apple trees with gray apples.*gurgle* Speaking of apples I have no idea when I last ate. I tried to grab one but....it refused to come off. 
“What the?” I pulled harder and harder, but the stem of the apple was like fucking elastic.“What the hell *gurgle* you know what screw it.” I looked down at the wolves again. Either they'd wait there for me to come down or I'd starve *gurgle* You know what I think this body's stomach is mocking me. 	“Well at least it cant get any worse.” Just then a huge thunderstorm came. I was soaked in an instant.	
“...Of fucking coarse. You know what fuck you Murphy who ever the hell you are.” It seems the wolves had gone to find shelter but I didnt dare leave the tree. I must of sat in that tree for ten minutes when the storm just...stopped. There was no trickle. No rays of sunlight slowly peaking through the clouds. The clouds just left as soon as they had came, but they did leave behind this huge rainbow. 
“Woah” I had never seen a rainbow that bright. In fact I hadn't seen many rainbows in my life. I climbed a little higher in the tree to get a better look. A little higher. I poked my head above the tree tops and saw something weird. The trees seemed to have an electrical charge going through them. Then it hit mine.
“GAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH” Being as I had no hand and could not even attempt to grab a branch I fell. My head smashed through a small branch before my back collided with the main part of the tree. Before I passed out I couldn't help but think that someone somewhere must really hate me.
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“uggg.You know what if I never sleep again it'll be too soon.” I sat there. I was at my school in the parking lot. So that voice had kept to its word. I got up and prepared myself for whatever might be behind the doors of a place that had always been a headache for me. I walked into the doors and was kind of surprised by what I saw. There was a giant memorial on one wall covered in faces in frames. On the other side of the room was half of the town crying. I recognised some of them but others where faces I didnt know. Some random preacher was standing at a podium in middle of the room. I sat down by a table and prepare for what he was going to say.
“We are all gathered here today to honor those lost. In an unknown series of accidents 173 of our fair cities residents were killed. More than half of them being students. We all mourn for this tragic loss. BUT WE ARE NOT ALONE! Cities all over the country, all over the world experienced the same phenomenon. They are all grieving! Though it is unconfirmed it is believed 3000000 are dead with 50000 missing around the world. This is the time to be there for each other!” I couldn't take it. I walked out of the building, or rather phased through the doors. A image of rivers of blood filled my mind. I stumbled into the parking lot and leaned against a car (I have no idea how I did that) and dry heaved. Being as I was dead I guess puking is impossible. Well I guess if it is possible I don’t want to know what comes out. I sat there dry heaving over the images my head was producing. 
“So how'd it go?” Damn that voice. I swear its just there to antagonize me. “remember anything yet?”
“No.”
“Well thats a shame. Maybe a walk around town will do you some good.” I was pushed forward by an invisible force and fell flat on my face. I turned over to find a tire in my face. Again I heard and unbearably high pitched noise. I saw the grate of a car coming and me and instinctively held my arms up to block the impact. I opened my eyes after a minute to find only the tire in my face again. 
“What was that....”
“Remember something. Of course you did.” I sat there staring at my hands. What had just happened... “That look of confusion on your face is just priceless. But enough of that. You have a town to explore.”
“Ok?”I got up and started walking. This voice was starting to get annoying but I was ever so curious on how I died.  I walked for what seemed like hours till something snapped me out of my daze. I heard sirens and looked over to see a building on fire. I rushed in without thinking. 
“HELLO!!! IS ANYONE IN HERE!!” Just then the firefighters rushed in right through me. “Oh...right...” I walked through the fires feeling the burns but not caring anymore. I watched the firefighters saving people as I could do nothing. Ready to give up I sat down against a wall on the far end of the building. Fire surrounding me I put my head in my hands and sat there. Then I heard something.
“help.” I looked around but couldn't see anyone. “help...*sniff* please help us!”  I looked next to me where an old closet was. I looked inside and saw two little kids trapped inside. One little girl and boy with the younger being what seemed to be a four maybe five year old girl. The older was passed out on the floor pinned by the clothing bar.
“HELP US!” I didnt need asked again. I ran to the nearest firefighter and tried to get his attention.
“HEY! THERES SOME KIDS TRAPPED OVER THERE!! HEY!!!” I tried for a few minutes only to find how truly helpless I was. I ran back to the kids trying to find a way to help them. A fallen coat rack had blocked the door. I tried banging on the the door with little results. The fire quickly approaching made me only worry more. 
“DAMN IT!!” I grabbed at the large coat rack with little results. “COME ON!!!” I tried again and....it moved a little. I tried again and it moved more. The third time it was away enough to open the door. With some effort I got the door opened and the girl was crying. I ran into the closet and removed the bar from the boy. He woke up when I tried to slap him.
“Hmmm..Wha?” He looked at his surroundings and snapped awake. “Sara come on we have to go!” With that they both ran into the room. I smiled as I watched them run out into the hallway which was only barely on fire. I layed down on the floor feeling as though I had finally did something worth while. When I heard some screaming. My eyes flew open only to see a large chunk of the ceiling land on my head.