Chapter One

Walking down a dark alleyway is no shock for me. I don't have a permanent place to sleep. I only eat because I steal, but right now it's getting harder and harder to do so. Curse the modern times.

Video cameras. Who would've thought?

Anyways, I was extremely hungry and I wanted to eat soon. I was close to a grocery store but I'd already stolen from them and they caught me. They knew my face.

I sank down to the ground. My stomach growled hungrily. "I can't get food," I said. "I'm sorry." Oh, great. Talking to your stomach was a sign of craziness.

I'd never died of starvation before. Maybe that would be a better way to go. Maybe I'd actually die doing that. But what if I got sent back to my body? Would the hunger go away, or would I just die again?

The thought was terrifying. I couldn't let that happen.

I heard screaming from a couple streets over. It sounded like a young girl. What on earth was a young girl doing out on the streets in the bad part of the city this time of night? Whatever situation she was in, it was her fault.

But maybe she had food. If I saved her from whatever was attacking her, maybe she'd give me money. From the sound of her high-pitched, wailing scream she was a petite little girl.

"Stop!" she screamed again. "Take it all, take all the money!"

That's when I made my decision.

Whoever was mobbing her wouldn't get that money.

I would. And then I was going on a shopping spree.

I raced down the street, stumbling occasionally. A couple of times I almost passed out, but I made it to another alleyway.

A teenage girl, dressed expensively, was being cornered by another teenager, but this one was gruff and mean looking. He obviously had street cred.

He was holding a silver gun to the girl's temple and she was tossing her wallet away from herself. Just as he bent down to pick it up, I sighed and said, "Hey."

He turned around, looking surprised that someone was stopping him from cashing in on his money. "Give the girl her wallet back," I said. I was getting really hungry and I couldn't stand very well. "Now."

"Punk," he said. "Why don't ya come down here and fight me for it?"

I shrugged. "Alright." He gave me a sneer and then he lunged forwards at me, positioning the gun and getting ready to shoot me. Just before he could aim I ducked down, rolled, and gave him a high kick to his chest.

He grunted, dropping the gun. I picked it up instantly and aimed it at his head. "Don't shoot," he cried. "Please, don't shoot me…"

"Get away from here," I said. "Don't come back. Leave town. Do whatever. Just leave."

And he did. He high-tailed it outta that alley, screaming like a little girl. As soon as he was gone I groaned, the hunger taking over. I really shouldn't have fought like I did but I couldn't help it. Who doesn't love the feeling of a good brawl?

I sank to the ground as the girl picked up her wallet and ran over to me. "Oh my god, thank you so much!" she cried. I didn't reply.

"Hey, are you okay?" she said like a dimwit.

"No!" I screamed. At this point, I didn't even care about her money. Even if I had it I wouldn't be able to get up, or get anywhere. I was going to die, and then die again, for the rest of eternity. I had to accept that.

The girl picked up the gun that the boy had dropped. "It's mine," she said when concern flashed across my face. "He took it from me."

Well, at least she had some sense.

"Look, I'm really sorry if I'm wrong, but I don't think I am, so…" She trailed off, not finishing the sentence.

Before I could react she'd raised the gun to my temple.

I didn't have the energy to duck. She pulled the trigger.

I floated out of my body, seeing myself and the girl from below. Figures that she actually knew how to defend herself. She probably guessed my intentions. She had street cred.

That just figured.

Before I could think a bunch of curses at her – I can't talk when I'm dead. Annoying, but true – I'm sucked into the funnel that is the next dimension. The spirit of a young, five year old boy flew past me, tears running down his face.

At least you got where you were going, kid. Don't cry for that.

Cry for what you've gained.

Never for what you've lost.

I didn't resist. This time, I wanted to go back to my body just so I could put that girl in her place. And what did she mean about "being wrong?" I'd ask her that…before I killed her.

And then, yeah, I'd take her money.

I was pushed backwards, back into my dimension, back into reality, back into the living. I wondered which life I was on…hundredth? Two hundredth? Who knew anymore?

I gasped as soon as I was returned. I didn't die again because of my hunger, as expected – instead I felt a little more strength flow through my bones. It wasn't enough for long, but it would sustain me through the night.

"So I was right," the girl said, reminding me she was there.

Immediately I grabbed her shirt collar. She dropped the gun in surrender. "Jeez," she said. "Don't know who I am?"

Why wasn't she surprised at all this returning to life business?

"No," I said. "No, I don't, and I don't care. You just fucking shot me in the head. I think I'll return the favour."

"Ha," she said, smirking, "I don't think you can."

"Try me," I sneered. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Why, an Eternal, actually," she said, shrugging the best she could in my grip. "Can't you tell?"

I sighed through gritted teeth. "Don't know, don't care." I picked up the gun with my other hand. As I did so, she began to laugh.

"Shut up," I said, right before positioning it on her temple and firing.

I didn't get up for five minutes.

I was too preoccupied in my thinking about the girl.

It wasn't the fact that I'd killed her that was getting to me. I'd done that many, many times before. Too many lives I had released.

No, it was the fact she knew things I didn't.

She knew that I wouldn't die, and she also knew something else – like, what was an Eternal? It seemed that she knew a lot of things I didn't, and now I was regretting killing her.

But she was dead. And I wasn't. I had to get some food.

I stood up slowly, taking one last look at the dead girl's face. Her eyes were wide open – in the night, the chestnut colour looked completely black. I couldn't make out any other details of her face in the night, but I remembered her eyes.

I remembered them because they used to shine.

I ran my fingers through my hair, and then turned around, walking out of the alley.

For some reason, I left the wallet in her pocket.

Just as I was about to turn away, I heard, "Hey! Leaving so soon?"

I spun around, crouching down, getting ready for a fight. The alley behind me was too dark to see who it was. I had a thought. But I couldn't be right.

She walked back out of the alley, extending a hand. Her chestnut eyes shone again.

"Nice to meet ya," she said. "From one Eternal to the next."

"But…how…you're like me?" I gasped. "You're immortal?"

"Got that right," she scoffed. "Just takes me a little longer to get back to my body."

"How many?" I demanded immediately.

"Three others," she said. "You're the last one roaming free."

"Roaming free?" I cried. "So, what, are you going to take me and lock me up in a zoo?"

"Not really," she said, smiling. "Depends on your definition of zoo. We just have to get you there before the Raze show up."

"Raze?"

"Evil beasties. They're immortal, but they can be killed – they won't return to their body," she 'explained.' It didn't satisfy me, though.

"That's great. There are a lot of 'evil beasties' on the streets, girl," I said, shaking my head in disgust. "I was coming here to save you from one of them, and then, yeah, steal your wallet. That's not happening now.

"Now I want to know exactly who the hell you are and what you're doing talking to me. I'd leave by now but you've revealed too much about yourself. Now I'm going to shut up and you're going to explain things to me right now."

Was I mad?

Oh, fuck yes, I was mad.

"I can't," she sighed. "I can't do that here."

"Well, you better. It's not like I'm inviting you for tea or anything."

"I don't have to. The Raze could come back, and honestly," she said, pausing briefly for emphasis, "we're in the middle of a dark alleyway."

"Actually we're at the front of an alley."

"Whatever."

We both stared at each other, before I finally said, "Start talking."

"No," she exclaimed. "I will, but not here. Humans can see us too easily."

"And we're not human, obviously. Still. Does it look like there are any humans around here to see us?" I gestured around, making my point clear.

"Maybe yes, maybe no," she said, "but there are Raze around. Three Eternals haven't been identified by them yet. You're one of them. I'm not – they'll recognize me."

"What are Eternals? Why don't you start there?" I suggested, because right now she was doing a very poor job of explaining.

"We're Eternals."

"Got that, thanks."

"Well, that's all I'm going to disclose."

"Let me guess, I should feel privileged," I snorted.

"And you'll feel more 'privileged' when I explain everything," she groaned in frustration, "but I will not do that here!"

"Yeah," I said, bending down, getting ready for a fight. "Yeah, you will."

"God. You're so difficult," she sighed. "I really can see why you're the Death Eternal."

"Explanations, on that last sentence too," I snapped, tired of her games.

"I don't want to do this," she said. She began rifling through her denim pocket, apparently looking for something.

"You already said that," I spat at her, fury in my words. "You've done a better job explaining that then you have the rest of it!"

"I wasn't talking about explaining," she whispered. "I was talking about something else."

"Like what?"

"I'm really sorry, I so don't want to do this…," she sighed. She pulled her hand out of her pocket and played with a small, cylindrical object in between her forefinger and thumb.

"What's that?"

"Nothing," she said, just before she leaned over and pushed it against my neck.

It happened so fast I didn't have time to move. I felt a stabbing pain in my neck and immediately my vision grew blurry. I felt extremely dizzy and sank to the ground.

"Sorry!" she said, pocketing that cylinder. "Had to."

What the hell did she drug me with?

My head thumped against the cold ground, but I managed to make myself proud by cursing at her about a million times.

The last thing I saw was her taking out a cell phone.

Then I was dead to the world.