Darren was confused. He was numb yet he sensed much pain, deaf but he heard everything, in darkness but there was a great light. It was the light that was surreal. It was a solid white, yet the faint outlines of people walking around him was, barely, visible. But concentrate as he might on the luminescent creatures, he couldn't really tell if they were there.
As he floated, how he didn't know but he did, he was yet again smashed with the images. They were various pictures, of the past and what he thought could be the present- or the future. Danny laughing....Samantha on the day they adopted her....Sammy crying out in the night. And images of the clubs. Pictures of Daniel strumming away on his guitar. A face that, in the blinding light of the club (mixed with that of this place), smiled lovingly at him. Images of the first kiss. Emotions still filled Darren at these, but they were far off, yet so close. Danny holding Sam as he was told the news. The first time Daniel had said he loved him. The first time they had given themselves, body and soul, to one another. Then suddenly the image of Dan's detorted face and crumpled figure, returned with a blinding fierceness. This is when Darren realized this horrible truth. He was dead. He screamed against this knowledge. It echoed silently on the brightness. Grief that had never come to him swept him in a tidal wave. Death had claimed him........But!
He was still aware of things. As he looked around again he noticed everything was becoming more clear. The people around him were pale, and garbed in white, but they were there. A man walked towards him. The guy was older then Darren, perhaps in his thirtys, but with little hair, and the amount he did have was gray. He was a tall man, with a stocky build, and a round chin. As he approached he heard a voice and knew, although the man's lips had never moved, it was him speaking.
::Follow me, Darren. Things are different now, stay calm and you'll feel all right::
::NO:: Darren screamed back:: I HAVE TO GET BACK TO DANNY! AND SAM....THEY NEED ME...I CAN'T DIE, NOT NOW, NOT THIS WAY!::
::Its all right:: He responded, placing a milky
hand on Darren's shoulder and leading him towards a floating table.
:: Everyone feels this way after they've discorperated.
And don't fear the images you'll be getting in a moment::
Right as the last word was spoken Darren's vision was bombarded with more scenes. Samantha slumbering in he crib. And the picnic they had had just last week. Dan's smooth stomach as he lay on the blanket, watching the sky. Sam eating Cherrios. Even an image of Daniel in a towel floated in amongst the innocent ones. As they subsided Darren spoke again, although this time more calmly.
::How had you know those were coming?::
::I am, as you would call them, an angel, and have that power::
::If you have power then Send Me Back To THEM!::
::Soon enough you'll be on to your next life, just we need to do things::
::NO- NOW! Find some way to get be into another body now!::
::This is a 'in progress' thing sir, we have to find a birthing person first. And then modify your memory.....You can not, under ANY circumstances return to your other life. A new one is what you get, But first we must talk to Mable.::
At this he turned to the short pudgy woman with red hair. Oddly enough Darren could hear him speaking with her as clearly as though he were talking:
::Mable, this one seems to need to return more quickly then some others. Do you have any openings soon?!:
::Well I have on in the U.S.-Conneticut ....one in Brisbane......OH! and one in Another, smaller, town in south Australia-seems a lot of people died there to-::
Darren jumped into the conversation, ::THE TOWN IN AUSTRALIA! QUICKLY! HOW DO I GET THERE!?::
::Well honey ya go through those doors, but fir-::
The woman never finished because Darren was already racing thru the cloudy mist to the opal doors. As he was disappearing the man was yelling for him to stop.
The clouds enveloped him and the light pressed in on him. Before he realized what happened, the images of Danny and Sam were mingled with that of his new birth.
A smiling face of a young man. Passionate kisses. Warm arms. Moans. Cooing of the new mother. Ecstasy. A yawning cherub baby. Hugs. Beeping of monitors. Sounds of music from Dan's guitar. Tears of happiness and exhaustion. Visions of himself singing to the smoky crowd. A voice humming to him. Sam being held in his arms. Cheerios. Doctors looking after him and his new mom. And then the last, of Samantha and Danny saying good-bye to their lost love, faded as the visions of Darrens new life, as Damian, overtook him.
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