First Chapter First Draft No Title

 Below is a first draft of a first chapter for my novella. It's terrible, but I wanted to show you how things can begin. I began with a female character who has died (I do know the details). She walks into the world beyond and is greeted by a driver. He takes her to where she needs to go. Everything else I created in the last hour - it is not good, but it is a start. FYI: First drafts almost always suck:

     Woosh, the door opens, and she steps into the alley. Across the way is Tony's Pizza, next to it is Arcade Shoe Repair, and in front of her is a 1963 black Lincoln Continental convertible. The rear passenger door is open and he's waiting for her.

     "My lady," he said, with a nod and smile.

     "Mimm kay," she said, getting into the car. "What is this?"

     He waits to answer, as he moves around to the front of the car. Opening his door, he climbs in, sits, and starts the engine. "This is the Arcade." He said, looking back at her, "but the first question should be, what was before this? I have to know what I need to explain, before we get there."

     "I don't know," she answered, "and get where? "

     "Wow, a blank slate," he said, driving to the street at the end of the alley and making a right turn. "As for where, that's the place you go next. Maybe that'll ring a bell."

     "Still don't understand." She said. "None of this makes sense. Why are you?"

     "No, no, no, it all makes sense," he said, continuing down a street with limited traffic, but all the cars are identical to the Lincoln he is driving. "Everything has a point, we might not know what it is, but it does. Oh, and I'm Driver or the driver. I am what I do. See, that's my point in all this. I ... we, there's more than one of us, wait for you to come out and we drive you. I don't know where we're going, but I can get you there. That's my purpose. Does that make sense?"

     She doesn't answer, as she realizes they’re riding in a large city. The street is one way, and she notices all the street signs have markings she doesn't recognize. She spots a bridge in the distance and guesses that's part of the route. Nothing is familiar and she tries to remember anything before the door. "I don't even know my name." She said.

     “That could be a good thing," Driver said, "it's not for me to say, but I've learned this all has a reason." He moves to a center lane and begins crossing the bridge. "I've never liked driving over these things. Not sure why."

     He doesn't even know all the answers to his own questions, she thought. I bet he came out of the door, got into a car, and they took him to someone who told him he'd be driving the rest of us around. I hope the hell I don't have to do that. This car is too large.

     Once across the bridge Driver turns right onto a less busy street. They're still in the city, just a different part and she notices a huge building ahead of them. It's a sports stadium. Probably for football, she thinks, then smiles because she knows what football is. Across from it is another structure, less attractive, and as the car turns into it, she realizes it is a parking garage.

     "Are we there?" she asks, noticing that all the cars parked are Lincolns.

     "Almost," Driver answers, continuing until he spots two empty parking spaces together and he pulls into one of them. "Sometimes these things are too damn big, and yes we are there. At least you are. I'm just getting you where you need to go."

     "So now what?" she says, looking at the rows of identical vehicles. "Why am I here?"

     "There," Driver points to a car parked three rows away. "Sticking out like a sore thumb. That's a 2019 Ford Fusion. Kind of boring, if you ask me, but I bet it's easy to park."

     "What am I supposed to do?" she asked, and for the first time she sounds nervous.

     "I don't know," Driver snapped. "Listen, this is how things work for us. We walk into the alley, get in a car, and go to our place. That white car is your place. That's why you are here. I told you before, everything has a purpose. This is yours, and you'll figure out what it is once you get there."

     "I'm scared," she said.

     "We all are," Driver said. "I understand, but you really can't get hurt. We're dead, at least for now. That car is part of the next for you. Go on, before you get into it take a moment. the why will come to you."

     Driver opened his door and reversed the path around the car until he was on her side of the Lincoln again. He opened her door and took her hand, as she got out of the car. He smiled.

     "I'm still scared," she said.

     "I'll be parked here," he said, "you'll never be without a ride."