Chapter 1: Fates Derailed

The funeral was short and sweet, the repast had been carried out with love and care, but the aftermath of the home-going had left Jeeve with a dull, aching feeling in his heart. Jeeve sat forlornly at the train station, waiting for his train to Lake Shore California. His extended family had suggested it to him after the incident, then grief stricken and depressed, he hadn't given it much thought, but now with a wee bit of rationale had decided it was a good idea.

His train wasn't scheduled to arrive for another hour, so he took the time to reflect on the past week's events. "I lost all of them . . ." His morbid mantra had did little to ease the pain he felt inside, his whole family dead and he wasn't there to stop it. "What could I have done? tackled the sniper?!" Jeeve threw his face into his palms and sighed, to be killed on a family vacation was much more dark than it sounded.

??

??His family had been planning to go to Disney World for ages, and being the lazy millennial he was he hadn't put in for the time off in advance. So he begrudgingly said farewell to his parents and sister as they drove off to to the wondrous resort without him, he had no idea he'd be saying his final farewells to them.

A deranged gunman had somehow smuggled automatic weapons into the theme park and had opened fire on the patrons. His family had been separated during the commotion and each one met a different fate. His father had taken a bullet to the head, the doctor assured him that the trajectory combined with where the bullet landed made for a quick and painless death. It made Jeeve rest a little easier at night knowing that, but his mother and sister's deaths would continue to haunt his dreams for many years to come. His mother and been trampled to death while looking for his sister. The stampede had left her so disfigured that he had to close the casket for the funeral. His sister had died just as terribly as her parents, she got caught up in the swing of the crowd that she was pushed off a railing and fell 40 feet to the ground. Her casket was also closed for the funeral.

Jeeve felt bile coming up in back of his throat and reluctantly swallowed it. The last thing he needed was to lose his lunch in a dingy old subway. Jeeve felt his anxiety getting to him, so he made the wise decision to continue in the book he was reading

Jeeve sat up and reached for his bag, pulling out a leather bound book and began to flip through it. He had found it while cleaning out his parents attic, the best way to describe the book was . . . Strange and that was putting it lightly. The book was about . . . Animals? Or at least he thought it was. There was apparently some ruling order of animals who oppressed and controlled the others. At first Jeeve thought it was some journal that his grandpa kept, but the more he read on, the more the story seemed to jump off the pages. Though if he had to be critical, he would complain of how slow the story seemed to be. He had read into at least 100 pages and no major characters had been introduced, just the omnipresent evil force that kept the people in bondage. Even with the endless amount of pages left, it just seemed like the story wasn't finished.

Jeeve continued to spill through the pages of his unnamed novel when his reading was interrupted by a homeless man begging for money. "Please sir! I haven't eaten in days! I need a dollar just a dollar please?!" Jeeve let a sympathetic smile form on his face, he had always had a soft spot for the impoverished. Jeeve reached into his wallet and pulled out a 20 dollar bill giving it to the man with gusto.

"Thank you sir! Thank you so much! I could never repay you for this!"

"As long as you get a good meal, That's enough for me." The old homeless man hobbled away with a smile on his face, leaving Jeeve alone to himself to ponder the encounter. "I feel like there was more to that old man than what he led on . . ." Jeeve would have continued to ponder, but his train had arrived 45 minutes early, so he grabbed his duffel bag and began to board the train. Jeeve took an exaggerated look around the boxcar and sighed, of course he would be on a train by himself. It just seemed so fitting that a depressed individual would be on an isolated trip by themselves.

Jeeve took his seat to the nearest window seat and began to rest. He couldn't even remember the last time he had gotten a goodnight's rest, it honestly felt like ages to him. The train began its rocky acceleration westward, causing Jeeve's book to fall out of his lap and slide across the floor. "Here you go pal." Jeeve reached for his book absentmindedly before jerking his hand away from the man before him. Stuttering nervously Jeeve asked "Where'd you come from? There was no one here a minute ago!"

The man smiled and replied "Well a minute is quite along time wouldn't you agree? Say I didn't know you were into history books." Jeeve gave the man a long look before snatching his book back. It was odd but he had to say this man cleaned up nicely. The man was clean shaven with slicked back hair, and wearing a crisp, black three piece suit. The watch on his left wrist was one of the most exquisite things Jeeve had ever seen, the thought of this man being an illusion ran rampantly through his mind.

"Amazing what 20 dollars can do for you isn't it?" Jeeve opened his eyes and mouth wide and screamed "THERE'S NO WAY YOU'RE THE HOMELESS MAN I JUST HELPED!" The well dressed man chuckled loudly before replying

"Well I am and I'm also not him, It's a very complex situation, but that's not why I'm here my friend oh no!"

"Uh then why are you here?" Jeeve's mind began to come up with all kinds of weird and outlandish scenarios. "Oh my God! Am I dead? I died didn't I?! And right now we're on a train to the afterlife! No No! Maybe you're a government agent here to recruit me to avenge the death of my family?"

The man again laughed at Jeeve's ignorance and replied "Well I'm not here to recruit you but I can tell you you aren't going California anytime soon."

"And why not?"

"Because you're needed elsewhere, and that's all I'm going to say." Jeeve couldn't believe his ears, he was needed elsewhere! "What does that even mean? Are you saying I got to go do something else?"

"There are those out there who are in desperate need of your help."

"Me?! Help people? Sir no offense but I think you're off your rocker. I couldn't even help my . . . " Jeeve paused midsentence and really took a good look around the train car before continuing. "You know what? Why don't you level with me for a sec? What's really going on here? Because I have a feeling I'm indeed not on a train to California."

"The man sighed and said "You Jeeve have a gift. You just don't know it yet."

"Okay well that's just cheeky isn't it! Well I guess I'm going to embark on some grand adventure to find the meaning of life then! Thanks mysterious old man who's supposed to be my guide!" The old man's smile had vanished and was replaced with a look of sadness. " I get it, believe it or not I really do get hoe you feel right now. But there are people right now suffering, people who are searching for a hero."

Jeeve shot the man an angry look and shouted "WHAT HERO!? I'M NO A HERO! I'm a clerk at a convenience store, I'm a part time college student, I'm just a regular guy. I don't even know who're you're talking about?!"

"The people of Alteria are looking for their hero." Jeeve's face contorted in confusion "Wait what do you mean Alteria?" The man's smile returned with a new found gusto "Alteria is the name of the world that's in dire need of your assistance. Though you should know all about it, you've been reading the history of our land for quite some time now." Jeeve gave the man a suspicious look, then quickly began flipping through the strange novel. Sure enough the name Alteria came up multiple times, along with descriptions of flying machines and advanced civilizations. Jeeve quickly dropped the book and shuddered "Who on earth are you?"

The man's smile left, and he was instantly swallowed in a bright light. When the light faded, the man was no longer in a sleek black suit, but a more fitting white garb, with a nicely accented cape to boot. "I am no one on earth, but on Alteria I am a messenger. My duty was to come and deliver unto you a message." Jeeve confusion only grew more and more "My head is in all kinds of pain right now. Okay let's take this thing one step at a time. Even if all these things you're telling me are true, how on earth would I even get to this magical land called Alteria?"

"Go to sleep." That simple reply from the messenger just added to the confusion he was experiencing. Frustrated, Jeeve stood up and turned away from the messenger. "This can't be real. I probably got mugged and am now lying in a ditch somewhere unconscious! Yea that's it! I did take the back streets on my way here, so I probably got roughed up by the neighborhood guys." Jeeve turned around to see the man gone, leaving him more frightened than relieved.

Jeeve sat back in the chair and began massage his aching temples. "Nothing makes sense anymore . . . "

"I don't know whether to be frightened or glad that he's gone. Though I do know I'm taking a nap." He let out a desperate yawn and began to recline in the rigid chair. "I know I'm going to regret falling asleep, but God am I tired." Jeeve relaxed, letting his eyes close and fell asleep to the rhythmic rocking of the rickety old train.