3rdlife: Prologue

The end came swift then not at all. Everything blurred around Jethro. The broken glass from the bathroom mirror laid around him, he could he his reflection in every bloody piece. The same lost expression that filled him with hatred and fear and dread until the volume pushed him to the edge. He was hanging on to a thin line, one that he hoped the long cuts on his wrist would break.

His mother was knocking on the door, “Jetty honey, are you alright?” She sounded a thousand miles away.

Thinking of the mess that she would have to clean up, he started to cry. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” His voice was defeated and weak. He didn’t know if it was his mother he spoke to or himself. He didn’t want to die. There was a part of him, deep down, that clung to life. Nails breaking from scratching at the cliff. There was a part of him that wanted to be saved.

He felt light headed. The noise of his mother’s frantic voice was fading. His eyes flickered under their weight, “I’ll be there soon dad.”

“Don’t go,” Jethro was surprised to hear a breathless voice. Looking up, saw a girl standing before him. She was tall and dangerously thin. Her short gray dress hugged her bony body, showing off every little curve from her long legs to her chest. She knelt down to his level. Her blood red hair was cut short, framing her pretty face. Lips as red as her hair and smoky gray eyes. Devil or angel, it didn’t matter to Jethro; he wouldn’t mind spending an eternity with her.

She gave him a wicked smiled, “You’re not going anywhere.” The lock to the bathroom clicked and his mother rushed in. Darkness fell over him, but not before the girl vanished before his eyes.