Pain blossomed from the back of Jasmine's head and the smell of gasoline filled her nose. Her eyes flitted open, looking up at the murky sky above. She wasn't sure why she was able to see the sky, or why the excruciating pain was radiating throughout her skull. Last she knew, she and her sister had been in the car with their mother. They'd been on their way to visit their little brother in the hospital. They'd been on one of the back roads, trying to avoid the traffic on the interstate.

Jasmine reached a hand behind her head where the pain originated and felt the warm stickiness. She pulled her hand back, finding it coated in blood. She hissed and worked her way onto her stomach, shards of glass tinkling as they moved across the pavement, and pain ripping through every inch of her body.

"Mom? Aria?"

Looking around she saw another car in front of her. She tried to turn her head to look back into the car, but the movement sent stars across her vision. No one said anything back; all she could hear was constant dripping. Jasmine looked down at her leg to see red soaking into the fabric of her jeans. Any movement she tried to make, there was always a part of her body screaming in protest.

The edges of her vision went hazy and she laid her head back down on the road. The darkness was trying to pull her under. It was a test of her will, and she felt like she was losing. 

A shadow passed by and Jasmine tried to move her head to look, feeling like it was full of lead. A man walked up, nearing their wrecked car. 

"Please. Please help. My mother and sister. I need to make sure they're okay." Her words were slow and mushed together. Her tongue feeling heavy as she tried to move it to speak. 

The man walked right by, not pausing to look at her, not offering any words of comfort. He walked around to the other side where her sister and mother should have been. 

There was silence for the longest time. She wasn't sure how long it lasted, time just seemed to drag on. 

"Jasmine!" It was the first sound she'd heard in who knew how long. 

Her sister ran around to her side of the car. She looked perfectly fine, her short black hair perfect as it always was, her hazel eyes wide with fear. How could she be fine when Jasmine was near death? Jasmine's lips tried to form the thought she had in her mind, but nothing came out. 

The man who had walked by her earlier came back around. He seemed anxious. He grabbed Aria's hand and they both disappeared. She had to have imagined it. It must have been a hallucination. Or maybe it was just a dream. The entire thing was a nightmare, it had to be. But the pain she felt was very real, even as everything started to go numb, there was a part of Jasmine that knew this was happening. She just had no idea what it was. 

They'd been in an accident, that was clear, and somehow her sister had been completely fine while she lay there bleeding out with God knew how many injuries. 

Time kept slipping by and Jasmine was fairly certain no one would be coming. The road they'd been on was rarely used, having two cars pass each other was a rarity. The man appeared again, this time without her sister. It was like he'd materialized out of thin air. How could something like that be possible. Hallucination had to be the answer. 

A tingling sensation overtook Jasmine and her eyes slid shut. 

When she opened them again, she was standing. Looking down, she was looking at herself. It was like an out of body dream where she could watch what was happening to her. She noticed that she was far worse than she'd originally thought. She had felt the pain, but she hadn't been able to see the damage. 

"I'm sorry to do this to you, I really am, but you're the first one I've been to in a long time who was still salvageable. It's nothing personal, but I just can't do it anymore."

Jasmine's head whipped around to the voice. The man was standing next to her. 

"What are you talking about? Who are you?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I go by Albert. I help ferry the souls to their door on the other side, giving them a safe passage after their bodies die."

"No, really. Who are you?"

Albert met her with a level stare, letting her know that he was very serious. But if he was telling the truth, then what did that mean for her sister. What happened to Aria and her mother?

"What do you mean I'm the only salvageable one?"

"Your body isn't dead yet. Your soul can still inhabit it. For now at least. It's the first one I've come across in years. Death rarely leaves souls with a body that can still hold the soul."

"Death?" 

"Yes, Death. Death gets the ball rolling. Death is in charge of making sure every soul leaves their body at the right time."

What was the crazy loon going on about? Jasmine was utterly confused. 

"What do you mean you can't do it anymore?" She asked.

"I can't keep transporting the souls. I'm tired of doing it, of dealing with every soul that leaves its body. It's too much for me, I've been doing it far too long. There's only one way for me to end it, and that way is you."

He was looking down at Jasmine's body, sadness in his eyes that disappeared in a flash, replaced by determination. 

"I've been trapped with this curse for too long and there's only one way I can be free from it."

"What's that?"

"I have to pass it along to someone else. Someone who's still salvageable."

Albert crouched down next to Jasmine's body. Her long black hair splayed out on the ground and eyes closed. Her skin was pale, but not ghostly pale. Not yet. Her heart was still beating which meant she was still alive. That was just perfect for what he needed. 

After a moment longer, Albert reached out to Jasmine's wrist, his fingers wrapping tightly around, and his palm pressed firmly to the inside of it. He let out a sigh and his shoulders relaxed as he took his hand away. Jasmine looked down. There where his hand had been, was a crescent moon shaped mark. It looked almost like a birthmark, but Jasmine knew it hadn't been there. 

She looked down at her wrist, and the mark began to form there before her eyes. 

A silver light formed in the center of her body's chest springing up and making its way toward her. Jasmine gasped and the light touched her chest, filling her with an uncomfortable tingling warmth. 

"I'm finally free," Albert whispered. 

A light burst from his chest and seemed to shred him from the inside out. He disappeared into nothingness, leaving the space near her, empty.

A tug pulled at Jasmine, and she started moving toward her body against her own will. The light that connected them acted as a string pulling her back to the body lying on the ground. 

Jasmine gasped loudly and her eyes flew open as she quickly sat up. She was surrounded by glass shards and pain shot through her body. She looked down to her wrist, finding a crescent moon shaped mark. The first real clue telling her that Albert hadn't been a horrible dream. 

If that were the case then that meant her mother and sister were ...

Jasmine shot up off the ground despite the pain and made her way to the other side of the car. She looked around, finding her mother inside the crumpled heap of metal. Her eyes were open wide, completely lifeless and Jasmine had to turn away. She couldn't even bring herself to look at her sister. She didn't want to know what she looked like. She'd rather remember as she'd seen her standing next to Albert, even if that had only been her soul as he'd said. 

Hot tears slipped from her eyes and made their way down her cheeks. Her mother and sister were dead. That thing had taken them and then he'd disappeared. 

I have to pass it along to someone else.

It was what he'd said before he touched her wrist, before the mark had formed there. What had he done? What had he passed on?

Another man appeared this one taller and broader. He was wearing sunglasses, and his mouth was set in a stern line, his hair cropped close to his head. He made his way over to Jasmine, not stopping for a moment to look at the wreck. He wasn't interested in it at all. 

The man stopped before her and she could feel his eyes assessing her. She fought the urge to cower under his unseen glare. 

Pulling the sunglasses off, Jasmine got the first look at his dark brown eyes. They seemed almost gentle, quite different from what she'd expected. His eyes rested on the mark at her wrist, and Jasmine's other hand went to cover it, not sure why.

"You poor thing. You don't even know what's happening do you?"

Jasmine shook her head quickly. 

"We were on our way to see my brother. He's sick." Jasmine's voice shook as the tears threatened to take her into full on sobs. 

The man shook his head as if he were sorry for what was happening. 

"You're not going to be making your visit, I'm afraid. My name is Marcell and I'm a Guide."

"What is a Guide?" Jasmine asked quietly. 

"I advise those below me, and I take care of new people such as yourself. It's always difficult when we get one like you though."

"O-one like me?"

"You were created by an elder. One who grew tired and wanted a way out. He knowingly broke the law to destroy himself, and left you in his place."

"What are you talking about?" The pain in Jasmine's head had been increasing and it was full blown migraine by that point. 

"I mean that he passed on his title to you. You are now a Bridge."

************

So this is a bit that I'm doing for the #JustWriteIt challenge for August. I've used it to sort of create an origin story on the character I'll soon be writing in my book BRIDGE OF SOULS. This is the character who will be known as Aria. You will find out soon enough why she goes by that name instead of Jasmine.