Return 2 Afterlife

The seconds go by as I stare out the large gaping window. Minutes roll by full of sharp silence. I watched young kids fly on the streets on small bikes heading towards the ice cream shop. My gaze didn’t break from the outside world but my voice broke the awkwardness.

“You know, Jo loved riding his bike as a kid. Although, by the time he was 16 he turned into a muscle car guy.” I chuckled slightly. “Now I don’t even know.” I watched people pass each other on the streets.

“I’m glad you’re talking about when Jo was alive, Claire.” Doctor Ann mentioned as she scribbled through her notes.

“How’s your sleeping schedule?” she asked. I shrugged my shoulders and turned my body towards Doctor Ann but kept my eyes fixed to the streets.

“I can’t sleep,” I mumbled.

“Have you tried?” She said, analyzing me. I chuckled and finally looked towards her.

“You don’t think that I’ve tried? I want to go back, no, I need to go back.” I snapped. I crossed my arms and turned my attention back to the window.

“Claire,” Doctor Ann sounded concerned.

“When you say go back, do you mean-”

“Afterlife.” I interrupted without breaking my gaze. I could hear the scribbling of the pen again.

“I’m not crazy,” I said, Doctor Ann looked up at me.

“I don’t think you are. My main concern is that when you say you want to go back to Afterlife you mean, committing suicide.” There was another awkward silence between us.

“After your accident, you mentioned that you can only enter Afterlife if you die.” I shook my head slowly, indicating she was right.

“Claire, I’m going to give you medication to help with your sleeping.” Doctor Ann ripped off a piece of paper and handed it to me. I sat down and sighed as I took the paper from her hands.

I sat in the corner of my living room listening to the rain hitting the window. Each tap created a different sound, no two were the same. I slowly let my body lift off the ground and headed for the bathroom. My eyes caught the mirror and the person in the mirror just stared at me while I stared right back at her. In her eyes, I could see a small glimpse of what looked like Afterlife and when she blinked it went away. I felt myself tugging on the world I left behind, even if it was for only a minute. There was this gnawing need to get back and see Jo. I opened my mirror and watched the girl in it move to the side. My mirror cabinet held very few items. My toothbrush was one of them and so were my sleeping pills. The yellow-orange glow of the bottle seemed to have called my name.

“Claire,” it whispered to me. I shook my head slightly and brushed off what I heard. But then I heard it call out again.

“Claire,” it called again and this time I couldn’t move or breathe. I stood still in my bathroom hoping no one was in my shower or right behind me. I let the thought pass and I closed the mirror without another glance at the girl in front of me, afraid I would let her down again. As I walked out of the bathroom, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see my neighbor with a dish, smiling softly.

“Hi,” he started.

“H-hi,” I muttered.

“I know we’ve never officially met, but I heard you just got home from the hospital and I read the report on what happened.”

“Read the report?” I questioned.

“Yeah, I’m a police officer. I-uh, I had to read through reports of the day and yours popped up. I’m so sorry.” he apologized and handed me the dish.

“I made you dinner. Chicken and rice. Nothing special, just something I hope could cheer you up.” He handed it to me and I gave a slight smile.

“Please, come in,” I motioned for him to enter. He passed me and I got a whiff of his cologne. Strong yet intriguing. He was wearing a black v-neck t-shirt with a black and white flannel. Definitely a cop off duty. I pulled out a chair from the table and let him sit as I started the oven.

“Can I offer you a drink? Water, soda, beer?”

“I’ll have a beer. Nothing like cracking a cold one after a long shift.” he said with a smirk. I popped open two beers and handed him one.

“I uh- I wouldn’t know.” I chuckled and sat across from him at the table. “I’m in school, to be a private investigator, and uh I only work a shitty minimum wage job.” I sat down across from him and took a swing of my beer.

“Damn, private investigator? That sounds like hard work and long hours.” he said as he also took a swing of his beer. I laughed slightly and sighed.

“Not so sure that I will continue after all of this.” I started to bite my cheek and remember that my best friend was also a PI, and even though she is in jail for shooting me and setting up Jo’s accident, I still don’t think I can do the work we did together. I looked this cop in the eye and realized I never asked his name. “I’m sorry I totally blanked out, what is your name again?” He snickered but answered kindly.

“I never introduced myself, my bad. I’m Thomas. Apartment 402.” He reached his arm across the table over our beers to shake my hand. I took it with a smile and shyly said,

“Claire, my name’s Claire.” He smiled, let go of my hand, and sighed. He put his hands into his front pockets.

“Alright, thank you for the beer, but I’d better get going, I have a lot of sleep to catch up on.” He got up and started for the door and I followed. “I just thought I would bring over a little dinner for you since you’ve been in the dumps lately. I hope it helps.” he flashed a small smile and I did as well. I leaned my head against the door and smiled bigger.

“Thank you, it definitely did and I’m sure it tastes great. Get some good sleep, it was nice to meet you, Thomas.” He smiled and nodded towards me.

“You as well, Claire. Have a great rest of your night.” he walked off down the hallway as I slowly closed my front door. I walked over to the dinner and decided to heat it up. I put a portion on a plate and put it into the microwave. I pressed a minute and a half on the microwave and watched the light go on and the plate twirl. All of a sudden, I hear rumbling in my room. I turn around and my door is closed. What the fuck? I thought. I started for the door, maybe a stray cat got in through my fire escape earlier. As I reach for the doorknob, I hear it again. My heart was beating, every shuffle behind that door was proof of something living in my apartment when it should only be me. My brain starts sending alarms to my whole body and I start to shake. It started to sound like banging. I tried to turn the knob but something, or someone, had locked the door from inside. I was pulling and turning as the banging and scraping got louder. It seemed almost impossible to get whatever was in there out. Then finally, after what felt like twenty minutes of fighting, the sounds suddenly stopped, and the doorknob gave in. My hands were sweaty, I was worried about what could be on the other side. I twist the knob and slowly open the door. I peep my eyes in through the small opening I created and see nothing. I start to open the door more, and nothing. Nothing, no one was in my room. Yet there were bangs and shuffling clear as day. I looked around to see nothing had been touched or moved. I was still shaking and my heart was still racing. I backed out of my room and closed the door. My legs bumped into the coffee table and scared me. I quickly turned around to see the coffee table with one picture frame. The picture Jo knocked down before I went to Afterlife. I picked it up and sighed. “Is this your doing, Jo? Are you behind this?” I needed to sleep. I needed to see Jo and to go back to Afterlife. I ran to the liquor cabinet and popped the bottle of vodka open and started to chug. Surely this will get me to pass out, right? Wrong. Ten minutes go by, then thirty, and then an hour. I finished the handle of vodka and slumped down next to my couch. I stared at my bedroom door. I was sort of hoping something else would happen. Some other sort of noise or movement behind that door. Another ten minutes goes by, nothing. My eyes started to drift and my head got extremely dizzy. My eyes took a turn and my eyelids shut on me and I passed out.

Darkness surrounded me and all I could hear was my own echo. “Jo?” I called out but got no response. I called out again, “Jo!” No response. I started to get agitated and ran as much as I could in the darkness. As I ran, the light started to appear and I stumbled upon this old house that looked like it had been abandoned for twenty years. It was just in the middle of the woods, vines tangled all around it and moss everywhere. I looked all around in hopes of Jo but nothing seemed to be moving. It was like I was in a stand still picture. I walked towards the house and observed its nature like structure. As I walked up to the house, I heard a ghostly voice behind me say, “GET OUT.” I turned around to see nothing, no one. “JO!” I screamed but still no answer, just the ghostly voice repeating, “GET OUT, GET OUT!” I started to run the other way and just tried to get out of the horror. I ran and I ran until my eyes darted open and my sweat poured down my face. I looked around and saw that I was still on the floor of my room. The sunlight shone through the window and my eyes squinted to try to adjust. Dammit, I thought. I threw the vodka bottle in the trash and grabbed my keys. As I walked out, Thomas was turning his keys to his apartment. I smiled, “Hey,” I started. “How are you?” He finished locking his apartment up and turned to me.

“Hey, I’m alright, the question is how are you?” His eyes sparkled as he said that. I chuckled, I truly was in a nightmare 24/7 but I didn’t see the point of telling him that.

“I’m better, definitely sore from surgery still.” I joked, he seemed to like it.

“Well I’m glad to see you out and about. Where are you heading?” he asked.

“Anywhere but here.” I answered quickly. He looked me up and down and took a deep breath in.

“I’m going to the coffee shop down the street, if you are interested you can come with me.” Thomas smiled wide and I got butterflies in my stomach. I knew not to trust anyone anymore, especially strangers. But he did make me that kick ass chicken parm and that’s what sold me. He seemed like a guy I could trust, very similar to Jo. I nodded and we started our way down the stairs. The entire walk to the shop was so comfortable. He didn’t ask any odd questions or make any sudden movements or act awkwardly at all. He was joking with me and just made me feel human again. He walked me back up to our apartments hand in hand.

“I had a great time,” I started. “Why don’t you come over?” I gave him a smirk. He smirked back and chuckled.

“Wish I could, got cop duties in the morning.” he said with a sigh. I looked down a little embarrassed but replied with positivity.

“Of course, no I understand.” I gave him a smile and then started for my apartment. He then broke the small awkward silence.

“You know what, I’ll take you up on that offer, maybe a beer?” My body straightened up with happiness. The first I had felt before Jo died. I quickly turned my key to my apartment and pulled him in. We started making out and made our way through the apartment. He slammed me down on the couch and I kept kissing him. I pulled him closer to me and that’s when I felt it, my strength weakening. I started to feel dizzy and nauseous. I stopped kissing him and pulled back holding my head.

“Are you okay?” he asked. He started to move himself off of me and let me come back into consciousness.

“I just feel super dizzy and weak.” I groaned.

“That’s because when I was putting sugar in your coffee I also slipped in a little extra something. You’re dying, Claire, again.” He started to smirk a more evil smirk this time. “Remember Kelly telling you about that new guy she was seeing? Well that was me, I told her to get rid of you and your family because you were weighing her down like an anchor. I finally got to her and showed her the truth.” I gasped for air as much as I could. I pulled myself down from the couch with the little might I had, I army crawled as fast as I could to get to my little dresser. “You can’t do anything, Claire. You’re going to die now.” I reached my arm up to the drawer, pulled out my revolver and shot him. I let out a loud scream as I pulled the trigger. He started to bleed out from his chest and fell down immediately dead. I picked up my phone off the floor while moaning and groaning in pain. I dialed 911 then thought, no, I can see Jo again. I let my body writhe in pain, I was shivering just watching the other dead body on my floor. It was taking so long for this to settle into me, I could almost see the light, the holographic world that was presented to me long ago. The room began twitching and changing, Thomas’ body disappeared, and I could see large silver and gold eggs flying above my head. I felt myself regain the strength I once had and I got up. I looked around just to see a normal community. No Jo like last time. I ran to where it looked familiar. My apartment complex. I saw it pop around the corner and was curious. Maybe that’s where Jo is. I thought. I ran up through the door, through the hallway, and up the stairs. Eyes followed me as I chaotically panicked. I ran up to my room and found out it was unlocked. No keys in afterlife. I opened the door to see no one. I poked my head in around the kitchen and living room, no one. That’s when I was thrown into a chokehold as I crossed my bedroom door. Thomas had me held tight in his grip. He pulled me back into my room and started fighting with me. I fought back hard. This was my new life and no one was going to mess with it.

“It’s been a few days, I guess things work differently when you die. I had enough time to find you.” he said through gritted teeth.

“What do you want?!” I screamed at him and elbowed him in the stomach. I finally got myself free from doing that.

“Revenge.” I had absolutely no idea what he meant but I was not backing down one bit. I threw a punch at his face and drew blood from his nose. I guess you can still bleed in afterlife. I charged him and knocked him to the floor. I started throwing my hands and protecting myself from his big large arms. He pushed me over and got on top of me. “Not what you were expecting from me being on top where you?” He flipped open a pocket knife. “Now that I know what’s on the other side, maybe we should find out if this is it.” He brought the knife closer to my neck and I pushed his arm up to defend myself. After about 10 seconds of fighting, I heard a gunshot. Thomas started bleeding from the same spot from where I shot him not 5 minutes before. He started to fall on top of me and I pushed him away. I panted from being in such a chaotic moment. It took me a moment to finally get myself up. When I looked up, I saw myself, like a futuristic version, of myself.

“Welcome to Afterlife.” I said.