Forums → Art, Music, and Writing → Rate 1st chapter of my novel please

OVER THE EDGE

To merely live in the self- perpetuating human aquarium we so blatantly call society is not survival. Only when the will of man is cast into the unfurling darkness of the unknown, where society is absent and the only constant is the will to live can we truly survive. That is when we are truly among equals. Only when we take the leap over the edge into the darkness can we truly validate our existence in this world. Very few dare to careen over the edge but those whole do are forever bound to that wonderful darkness and have the privilege and curse to take it where ever life may take them. But there are those that leap over the edge, rushing into the darkness and there are those that are pushed. The only difference is those who merely live die but those who let a part of them die survive.
The man awoke abruptly and looked around and gazed upon his unfamiliar surroundings. He soon remembered he was on a flight to Brazil for a much needed vacation. His long hours at the office had taken their toll. He was a young man in his mid twenties but looked considerably older. He was very pale due to the long hours under the florescent lights and meals substituted for vending machine cuisine did not exactly supply the vital sustenance for a healthy physique. His nights awake were also evident in his appearance but that was not a result of this hectic work schedule. The cause was the same dream that awoke him on the plane, the same one he had been having for months on end. The dream started with himself floating on a vast ocean of pure black but despite the unusual surroundings he was calm and happy but as he lay floating immense trees, all pure black began to rise from the depths. They grew so high they blotted out the sun and within the trees indistinguishable unknown entities emerged. As they slowly moved toward the man he immediately woke up.
Casting aside the odd feeling of anticipation the dream always left him he remembered the pilot making an announcement that they were currently flying over the dense Amazon Rain Forest. He stared in awe out the window at the canopy slowly creeping out of the dense mist. The sight was an once of a life time experience for a man that rarely left the office but seemed oddly familiar. Then there was a loud blast and the manâs entire world was consumed in darkness.
The man awoke to the sound of rain hissing on the jungle canopy. He gazed upon this surroundings. It was night time he and he could make out the dismembered carcass of the plane and at least a dozen human bodies pouring out of it. The man found it odd that he found this sight more familiar than the view he had waking up on the plane. He tried to move. His arm was broken. A few ribs where shattered but his legs where fine and he suffered no major lacerations. He stood up and noticed he was suffering from a hefty concussion and every breath brought him pain.
Casting everything aside he got up and surveyed his surroundings. He was surprisingly calm. The forest seemed like home. He noted that there was virtually no chance of rescue in this dense tree cover and the stench of rotting flesh in the jungle was bound to lure unwanted visitors to the location. He knew he had to move. But where? The man began to think. He came to the simple conclusion that water moved downhill and water meant civilization so he must move downhill to find water and hopefully salvation. It wasnât much of a plan but a plan none the less and was better than doing nothing. Those who live put their lives in the hands of God and in the hands of others. But those who survive take hold of their fate and adapt to their surrounding rather than hoping their harsh reality will conform to their whim. Planning is a hallmark of survivors and this ordinary man unknowingly had the tools in him all along.
Everything seemed to die on that plane. Along with the dead passengers the manâs fear, doubt and desire for anything beyond his own survival perished on that plane. Others had lived through the crash but they were dead to the man. He would make the journey alone. He trudged silently of into the swelling darkness, casting his newfound will against the indomitable whim of nature.