Afterlife (Afterlife Saga)

by Stephanie Hudson

  “Who?” As soon as the name was said, she had my full interest. It was weird, as if some light just went on in my head. Why did that name suddenly have an effect on me, as though I had heard it before, in a dream or a memory I couldn't remember.

  “The Dravens are a family that come here once a year, they are stinking rich, millionaires or even billionaires, who knows. But they own the club and half the town for that matter and like I said, they come here for a couple of weeks every year to this tiny town. But nobody really knows why. They bring in loads of really crazy looking people, I mean really weird looking!”

  “That's strange, I wonder what brings them here?”

  “Like I said, no one really gets to the bottom of it but we get a lot of these ‘visitors’ while they’re here and they all stay at the club.” She said this making “quotation marks” in the air with her hands, for a more dramatic effect. It worked.

  “What do you mean... they, like live there?” She could see my confusion and smiled.

  “It will make more sense when you see the place, trust me. Which reminds me, so are you up for up it, tomorrow night that is, the band’s called the Acid Criminals, they do quite a heavy set, but it’s worth it just for the dreamy drummer.” She was getting carried away with herself and went on talking about the drummer for fifteen more minutes before we arranged a time to meet. I really wanted to ask her more about the Dravens but chickened out, plus Libby was due to pick me up. RJ's easy going nature and friendliness had made the time fly by and I found myself looking forward to tomorrow night. I had a feeling that we were going to be good friends.

  She walked me down to the front entrance of the mall and waited with me until Libby's car was in sight. She continued to tell me about tomorrow night and who I was likely to meet there. One of which included her older brother who apparently was dying to meet me. I couldn't understand why but I figured she had said this to put me at ease about meeting everyone or maybe it was because in a town this small a new girl was probably a talking point. Especially one from England, well hopefully the novelty would soon wear off.

  Libby waited while we said our goodbyes.

  “Ok, see you tomorrow, oh, and don't forget your ID, they’re really strict. Wait what am I saying? You will be working there, ha, I forgot that!”

  “Ok, see you then,” and with that I made my way to Libby's car and noticed she had the window cranked down despite the weather.

  “What's on tomorrow night?” She asked and I smiled as I got in the passenger side and waited for my interrogation.

  “She's invited me to see this band tomorrow night.”

  “You must have made a good impression then, where's the band playing?”

  “Club Afterlife.” Her faced dropped. “What? I'm going to be working there, I think it’s a good idea if I go and check it out before my first shift.”

  “Yeah, about that.” Here it was, I knew what was coming, the TALK.

  “I was thinking maybe a quieter job would be more…suitable to your situation. I mean you don't want to rush into things, if you’re desperate for a job I could see what I could do, maybe office junior?”

  “Oh great, making coffee for thirty people and a whole load of photocopying!” She looked hurt so I quickly added,

  “Look, I appreciate your concern but bar and waitress work I have done for years and you know what I'm like around machines, they blow up if I just look at one wrong, I can’t even get my mobile phone to work without calling China!” She laughed and with that the ache I get when I had hurt someone's feelings faded.

  “Libby, I will be fine and anyway, what is it about this club you don't like?”

  She made a face like she had just smelled some bad cheese and I knew this to be one of those “things she shouldn't say” faces. So I pressed harder.

  “Come on Libs what are you not telling me?” she hesitated.

  “It's just…just you hear some really weird things about what goes on there.”

  “Like what?” I looked at her with a sceptic eye, which she refused to acknowledge.

  “You hear some crazy stuff that goes on there, and with the Dravens coming, I'm not sure you should be there.” This instantly sparked my interest.

  “What do you know about the Dravens?” I asked and she looked confused.

  “More like, what do you know about the Dravens?” Well, she had me there, I mean I had only been here a week and I seemed to know about the town’s favourite gossip.

  “RJ told me that they’re a rich family that come here once a year and nobody really knows why,” I answered as she just stared ahead and for once concentrated on the road which was unusual.

  “Libs!”

  “Sorry, look I don't want to sound like some gossip queen but I just don't like the stories I've heard about them. And no I'm not just being dramatic, but it just doesn't fit, why they come here, why not some big city to do their “business,” why this little country town?” she sounded a bit crazy herself as if she believed they were some secret cult.

  “You think its drugs?” Although it didn’t seem likely, as that would be more fitting to a big city environment, not little Evergreen falls, New Hampshire.

  “No, I mean.... oh I don't know, it just doesn't feel right, I mean they bring all their own staff including bodyguards, which Frank thinks is really strange, I mean why would they need them?”

  “They bring their own staff? I mean that's a little strange but I guess they must entertain really important people and just want things to be right.”

  “Yeah I guess,” was all she said but didn't looked convinced and this didn't seem like the only thing that bothered her about the Dravens, but knowing she didn't want to say more, made me all the more determined not to let up!

  “Come on, I can see there is more to this story!” I insisted.

  “It's just one story I heard and before you ask a million questions I don't know much on the details!” She was getting touchy now as the truth unfolded.

  “So what was it?”

  “A girl went missing....” She said in a low voice and I couldn't help feel a shiver go down my spine when she said it. I could see I wasn't going to get more than that out of her, so I dropped the subject, not really knowing if I wanted to know more anyway. Not if I was going to start working there.

  When we got back to the house there was an urgent sounding message for Libby on the answer phone asking her to call the office. Libby worked as an interior designer for a company in Portland and she lived for it, so as soon as she heard that a potential client had changed his appointment date and that their presentation was nowhere near finished, she went into panic mode.

  “Look I have to go but will you be ok on your own?” What, was I five? Of course I would be fine, did she really think I couldn't cope on my own for an afternoon.

  “I'll be fine, look I could do with a wind down, a good book and a cup of tea and I'll be set, don't worry about me Libs.” I finished this with a hug and with that she was out the door and running to her car, I barely had time to shout…

  “Not too fast Libby, take it easier on the gas!” she pulled a face and waved as she sped off down the gravel drive.

  To be honest I really needed sometime to myself as since I had arrived here Libby had not wanted to leave me alone, well since the “Incident” I hadn't really been allowed much time to myself and considering the circumstances I could see why people were so afraid of leaving me.

  I decided to go for a walk instead of the book and tea idea, so I grabbed my new coat and my keys. I decided to try the walk Libby had shown me the other day, the one with the amazing view. The sky was clearer now and it was still early afternoon so I would have plenty of time to make it there and back before anyone got home.

  I followed the footpath that had been created through years of exploring feet until the undergrowth got thicker. I loved walking. It’s the only time that I felt free, the only time when you can be yourself with no one judging you. No one to have to
act in front of, and most important I could let my emotions flow through my body with ease. To cry when I wanted and to not feel guilty about whom it may be affecting.

  But today's walk was different, as now that I was finally alone to feel these things and let the overwhelming sadness and depression sweep over me, I found there was none and it had been replaced by a wave of unanswered questions and a sea of curiosity. I kept finding myself thinking about the Dravens. Who were they? Why did they even come to this tiny town? And most importantly, when would I finally get a glimpse of them for myself?

  I would have to restrain myself tomorrow night so as not to bombard RJ with loads of questions. I was hoping she would have been more forthcoming on the subject but once she had mentioned the drummer, he had become the main topic of conversation. The one thing she did say, which I found to be very disappointing was that no-one hardly ever saw any of them. As soon as they arrived they spent all of their time upstairs in the VIP lounge, and of course they had their own private party guest list that no-one who lived in the town was ever included on.

  I didn't really understand why I was so fascinated, why I was obsessing over them but at heart I knew it wasn't “them” I was dying to find out about, it was him. As soon as RJ had mentioned the name Dominic Draven, I had latched onto it like a good murder mystery book you couldn't put down! By the time my brain had calmed itself down and started to get some real life perspective, I had arrived at the spot I had been looking for or so I thought.

  I frowned as I saw a natural looking archway framed by the trees. I didn’t remember this being here the other day and I was sure I had taken the exact same route with Libby. Maybe we came at it from a different angle last time, yes, that must be it. I convinced myself of this long enough to pass through the entwined branch arch but not before looking back over my shoulder one last time.

  Once my fears left me they were quickly replaced by awe. The place was amazing, as if it wasn't part of the forest, it was more like a secret garden, which instead of being surrounded by a stone wall to keep it hidden and the stone had been replaced by a wall of life, lush green life. The forest surrounded the open space like a protective barrier, with hundred years old trees standing guard.

  I was so amazed that I didn’t let it register that this was in fact not the place that Libby had brought me the other day. It just appeared that way because it seemed to have the same view. This place looked like someone's property and I had just stumbled across someone's own private Garden of Eden. Upon closer inspection the trees were different and more exotic looking, with huge palms and vines growing on them with bright red flowers that looked very similar to hibiscus, if memory served me right from watching all those gardening programmes with my mum on lazy, boring Sunday afternoons.

  But this couldn’t be right, it would be far too cold here for them, and there were even more plants that would definitely not survive in this climate. How was this possible? The only way would be in a greenhouse and I was pretty sure I wasn't crazy enough not to notice I was standing in one! Yet here in front of me was the colourful proof, the yellows, oranges and blues of the Birds of Paradise plant. The bright pink bell shapes of Angel Wing Begonia, sun bursting Dahlia’s and the beautiful purple and red Blue Dawns, all lay around basking in the winter sun as evidence to this incredible place.

  I walked into the middle trying not to make a sound, only I wasn't sure why, it was just so breathtakingly beautiful that it was like a dream I didn't want to be awakened from. There was no sound or movement for that matter, which I didn't understand. How can there be no wind in this big open space when there were clouds above me that were moving. There wasn't even the slightest breeze. I could feel my nerves kicking in and I started to tremble. I wanted to turn back, feeling something not right under my skin but I couldn't see where I had come in. Where was the archway?

  My instincts were quickly coming in to play and I pulled the metal chip from my hair releasing long blonde waves down my back. My eyes darted from one space to another as I held onto to cold metal, which was pointed at one end and barely bigger than my palm but from my grip it could have been a sword the length of my arm.

  Then suddenly I heard a noise from behind me and as I spun round, I tripped on some uneven ground and lost my footing, falling to the forest floor. Letting out a yelp, I automatically put my hands out to break my fall, losing my unconventional weapon in the process, feeling the wet moss across my skin causing my hands to slide. With my grip lost I tried in vain to hold my body upwards. Instead my hands flew out in front of me again coming into contact with something hard and smooth like leather. I could swear I heard someone breathing, momentarily forgetting the noise I had heard before, then realising it wasn't something.

  It was someone.

  As I lifted my head towards the object my hands were touching, my hair had fallen forwards like a yellow blanket. I shook my head trying to part the sea of hair that was obstructing the view of what my hands were gripping onto. I moved my hands away quickly as a pair of thick, black men's leather boots came into sight and I gasped out loud.

  I tried to get up quickly but the earth under me had other ideas and I slid around as if on an ice rink. Then, just as I was about to fall again a large strong hand circled the top of my arm, bringing back a wash of memories I couldn’t explain. Before I had time to think another hand grabbed my waist holding me upright, preventing me from hitting the ground.

  My eyes followed the figure from the ground upwards, boots, jeans, belt and a long black jacket that started at his knees. I worked my way up his muscular frame, feeling the heat generated from his body as he still held me, so as not to let me fall. He wore a dark tight t-shirt that showed the indents of a muscle covered washboard stomach and an incredibly wide solid chest, with strong shoulders to match. Expecting to see a harsh hard face to match this warrior body, I reluctantly raised my head to see. I had to keep looking up at him, as he was exceptionally tall, being well over six feet, making my eyes level with his hard chest. The face however wasn't harsh but extremely handsome. No, that wasn't enough, he wasn't just handsome.... he was breath-taking!

  He was Mediterranean looking with very dark features and olive, sun kissed skin. He had jet-black hair down to his shoulders but shaped as if it had been styled professionally. He was very well groomed but still had a roughness about him with deep-set eyes that burned right though me. They were incredible, as if they were trying to see into my very soul, burning deep and finding what secrets lay there. They were endless, dark pools of hard emotion framed by thick, long lashes. Not quite brown, more like onyx black, but they had a slight purplish edge to them, one I had never seen before.

  He was truly amazing to look at, so much so, that I couldn’t stop staring at him. His hand finally released me and my body was left feeling cold, as if his touch was sending a warm pulse coursing through my veins and making its way straight to my heart. This in turn pumped what felt like pure electricity through every part of my body causing it to tingle. I took a step back and pulled my wild hair back from my face. He watched me in what seemed to be amazement, as if he was trying to distinguish if I were real or not. The heat rushed to my cheeks with being stared at and I tugged down at my sleeves nervously.

  “Are you alright?” His voice sounded like velvet. Smooth and soft but most of all a strong comforting essence encased every word. I was speechless and was just staring at him, finding it hard to turn away from his intense gaze. His face was just so familiar to me but I couldn't understand how I knew him, knowing that was impossible, as I would have definitely remembered a man like this. I needed to make my lips work before he thought me a simple, staring mute.

  “I’m...fi... fine...thank you.” My voice didn't sound as cool and calm as I had hoped. His lips curved slightly as though amused by my obvious shyness and this made my heart skip a beat and my cheeks blush even more, so much it made them feel like they were on fire, melting away from my bone structure.

  “What is your name
?” He seemed to be getting closer to me and for some reason I was backing away. I don't know why but he really intimidated me and after all, here we were, all alone in the forest and I knew nothing about him. For some reason I felt both at ease, as if I knew he wasn't going to do me any harm, and scared as though there was something not quite right about him. I didn't know whether or not to tell him my name and he looked shocked that I hadn't yet given him a response.

  “It’s alright little one, you can tell me,” he said looking down at me, speaking in that soft voice, making me trust him even more but instead of giving him my name I confessed my fears.

  “I shouldn’t be here,” I said while looking down at my feet and trying to escape his dark gaze. There was just something so predatory about the way he kept looking at me. He made me feel like a gazelle that had been caught grazing in the wrong territory.

  “Oh really… Then please tell me, why are you?” I looked up meeting a confident smile, which was the complete opposite to my own.

  “I guess I got lost.” He was shaking his head to tell me I was wrong.

  “Oh, you’re not lost, you're found at last and right where you need to be I think…Now for your name?” This sounded like an order, all velvet now removed and I gulped down the hard frightened lump in my throat before answering him.

  “Keira…umm… Johnson.” His hand extended to mine offering it to me and reluctantly I did the same. But as he took my hand in his large grasp his grip tightened suddenly and pulled my body closer to his. Warmth coursed through my blood once again making me light headed. He was looking down at me but I refused to meet his lust filled eyes. Instead I focused on my surroundings trying in vain not to be affected by the intoxicating scent of raw Alpha male, leather and a spicy musk combined into one indestructible man.