Soul Between Lives

Alex had just opened his eyes and noticed the old man talking with another person when the old man turned around and chucked an orb at him.

This time when Alex felt his lungs fill with fragrant air once again he didn't even bother to completely open his eyes and just lay on the grassy field he found himself in.

[Ah, I could have used the sun to find my way back. Unless that planet was tidally locked to its star or something else unexpected... Just how fast was I flying to get that far from land so quickly?]

Alex wasn't paying any attention to his new surroundings and was content to just analyze the situation he found himself in previously as a bird.

[What was with that strange weather? Even the marine life below the water's surface seemed to be swimming away from the storm as fast as they could. Does that mean it was a storm powerful enough to even affect the deeper water? As much as the old man says that it's expensive reincarnating me so much, someone or something else seems to be going to great lengths to get me killed... Perhaps!...]

Before Alex could fully comprehend his sudden realization, the ground started quaking and snapped him out of his thoughts. A loud regular drumming was shaking the ground and building in intensity as if a bunch of horses or maybe cows were running right at him. As Alex sat up and looked around all he could see was the tall grass bordering the flattened area around him blocking his view of everything but the greenish sky above.

[What the H*ll is that?] A strong feeling of dread spread through his heart quickly turning into terror as whatever was coming was getting closer and much louder with every smashing impact among the thunderous rumble.

Alex had barely gotten his feet under him and was starting to stand up when the grass next to him was split apart by a giant hoofed foot that took no time to split his head and send its gooey bits flying.

...

With a gasp, Alex was back in the blank space and the old man was already throwing an orb at him.

...

[Where was I?] It took Alex a moment to get his thoughts back together. After the succession of quick transitions, his mind was fairly scrambled. As the pieces fell together his heart started to despair.

[Do I really have no other choice but to keep dying?] Alex sat up while rubbing his eyes. He was back in a human form again and it seemed to be his original body. Looking around, he was in a forest with pools of water all around him. [It's almost like a swamp here.]

The memory of his first death after reincarnation came back to him and Alex quickly scooted as far away as he could from the nearest body of water. [I want to yell out and call for help but would that attract my next killer?]

He sat there for a few minutes trying to come to a decision. Part of his mind was ruled by thoughts of survival. But just as dominant were thoughts of dealing with the old man and remembering his partial plan to just keep dying until the old man gave him more of his time.

[Is there really any point in prolonging this new life?] As he thought this he felt it would be a real shame to just kill himself and waste the body he now occupied. He felt sad at the thought of letting all his cells die because of his betrayal. [I'd be letting myself down...]

Wiping his runny nose he thought, [I doubt I'd be part of this world for long anyway and it's not like everything goes to waste. Bacteria and other things will eat me and my flesh will become part of the natural cycle of life and death.]

Alex looked around at all the treetops up above. [These thoughts aren't very comforting... Spilling your Ice cream is still sad. Alex remembered a time he handed a little girl a double triple scoop of her favorite flavored ice cream only to see her excited face burst into huge tears after she dropped it all on the ground. It was a bit of a heartbreaking memory. [I hate feeling sad for others and I hate the feeling of my intentions being wasted.]

"God! Even after I've died so many times I'm still afraid of making mistakes!" He felt slightly embarrassed after yelling that out loud and checked his surroundings again.

[Wait, whats this squishy thing under my palms?] Looking down Alex gasped in horror at what he saw. An army of leeches had been swarming all over his body without him even noticing. As Alex tried to throw them off, he started rolling around but all he could really do was scream as his fluids were drained by these filthy, voracious bloodsuckers.

After a few moments, he still had the strength to roll around but not even the fat leeches that were filled with his blood were letting go even after they were squished and popped like rotten balloons below him. His blood just kept draining as the ground around him was covered by slick, wriggling slugs from h*ll eager for their meal. In desperation and fully knowing it was already his end, Alex got on his hands and knees to stumble over to the nearest pool of water.

Throwing his head into the fetid water that was teaming with a frenzied swarm of leeches would normally be the last thing Alex would want. But after a leech started biting into his right eye, he only wanted to die faster rather than suffer this torture any longer. With frantic willpower, he forced his lungs to take in the swamp water and every time his brain screamed at him to get some air, he would force his body further into the swamp and breathe in more leech-filled water as if to fool himself into thinking the swamp water was the air his body was demanding. Eventually, he passed out.

...

Before he came to his senses in the blank space, Alex was dry heaving while curling into a ball on his knees. The barest of sane thoughts had only just passed through his head by the time the swirling darkness took his mind away.

It took a long time for Alex to recover his senses. He didn't even take much notice or even care as he was killed two more times by wild animals. Each time Alex appeared in the blank space the old man had only taken the time to throw an orb at him.

[That f*cking old man. This is torture. Even trying to stay alive is torture. I've truly had enough of this.] Having been lost in thought, Alex finally looked around and saw a breathtaking view of mountains and meadows with streams and butterflies stretching out before and all around him. "Ugh, such a lovely sight just hurts at this point."

Trying his best to ignore the beauty of the scene, Alex was focused on looking for anything he could use to kill himself with. Finally, he found a stone small enough to lift but large and heavy enough to smash his head if he tried. [I hope this works the first time.]

As he lay on the soft, cool ground and took a good hold of the rock next to him, a large shadow blocked out the warm sun above him. Looking up Alex saw the silhouette of what looked like a large griffon diving right at him.

"Oh no you don't! NOT THIS TIME!" Alex awkwardly lifted the large rock above his head and smashed it down onto his face without a second thought. He succeeded in smashing his face in but didn't die immediately. What killed him was thrashing around in excruciating pain with his head still trapped under the rock until his neck broke.

He was back in the blank space before the griffon had landed next to his corpse. "We were too late!" the female rider peered down at the lifeless remains of Alex before asking aloud, "But why would he do this to himself?"