[ WP ] A Sci-Fi Changing of the Guard Story

I often found myself wondering how I would die. I always expected some sort of traumatic death like a car crash, for example. It simply seemed reasonable to me. I ’ d be driving down a road late at night and end up hitting a bump and careening into a tree. For me, it seemed right. 
 
 Life is weird like that though. I didn ’ t die in my car. I didn ’ t die on my bicycle either, which my family will be surprised to find out. I died in my bed, which is strange for someone in their early twenties. Not entirely sure how or why, but it happened. I ’ m actually not that torn up about it. For me, it was simply like falling asleep and then waking up here. 
 
 Here is an interesting concept. I ’ m not entirely sure where here is. For me, I woke up in a park. Not a specific park but something more generic. It was like someone had taken every park scene from every happy movie and put them all into one location. At first, I was a bit confused. I clearly had been in bed, but now, here I was in a place I ’ ve never been before. I almost started to panic, until I saw him. 
 
 He had stepped out from behind a tree. He appeared older than me, yet seemingly timeless. He was well dressed, in a tailored three-piece suit and was smoking a pipe. As he approached, I stood and brushed myself off. A warm breeze tousled my hair and I felt at peace as he stood before me. He outstretched his hand and I shook it. 
 
 “ My name is Why. ” 
 
 Why. That ’ s a strange name, I thought. 
 “ I ’ m here to be your guide, to show you through this place. ” 
 At this point, I still hadn ’ t opened my mouth. I, for some reason, didn ’ t feel the need to say anything. I did, however feel compelled to follow this man, Why. As we walked down from the hill that we stood on, I began to realize that a path had seemingly appeared before us. As we moved down it, the path widened and looked as if it was well traveled. We quickly approached a copse of trees. 
 
 At this point, it seemed strange. I didn ’ t remember those trees being there, I should have noticed them from the hill. Where did they come from? Was I just not that observant? I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could, Why cut me off. 
 
 “ You didn ’ t see those trees, because they weren ’ t there. You, control 
 
 this world. To the best of my knowledge, we are in between the world of the living and the world of the dead. This, however, is not a place where you would like to stay. ” 
 
 My mouth closed, my eyes narrowed, then returned to normal. 
 
 “ So I ’ m dead. I should have expected that. How else could I be wearing 
 this? ” 
 
 I had been wearing my favorite outfit; nothing out of the ordinary, except it appeared brand new. In that moment, I realized I wasn ’ t wearing my glasses, either. As I looked down at my hands, my scars were all gone. 
 
 “ Wow. So I really am dead. This is interesting. ” 
 
 The man looked back at me and gave me a smile. 
 
 “ Son, this is just the beginning. ” 
 
 We made good time through the trees, appearing next to a beach. The surf pounded the shore and the breeze off the ocean smelled of brine. Why turned back at me, then pointed. At the end of a jetty, there was a single monolith. 
 
 “ That is the way out of here, to the next journey. ” 
 
 His eyes focused on the monolith and he moved quickly down the beach. I started after him, but my shoes began to get caught in the sand. I couldn ’ t keep up. I growled in anger as a pulled my feet from the sand, one at a time. The sand looked as if it recoiled at the sound, releasing me. I sprinted after Why, and made it to the jetty as he 
 reached the monolith. He turned back to me and spoke. 
 
 “ My friend, my job here is done. This was my final task, my final guiding. You will be the next guide and you will be informed to when you can take your own rest. It is then, when you will be able to make your own journey to the next place. You must remember to keep moving throughout this world. Do not let them slow you, keep them focused on moving forward. Getting trapped in this world is possible, and dangerous. You still can control the world immediately around you, but the recently deceased has a much more complete ability to do so. ” 
 
 He paused, and looked at me, his face apologetic. 
 
 “ I ’ m sorry that I can not give you any more information about where we are. I suppose I will find out soon enough. Best of luck, chap. ” 
 
 His hand touched the stone and he was gone. Why. Why? Why. Y. 

