Afterlife (Afterlife Saga)

by Stephanie Hudson

  It didn't take me long to get into the job at hand as a monkey could have done it just as well. The tables contained the same colourful characters as the rest of the place but luckily for me my tables seemed to be the nicer ones. The people that sat at all of my ten tables were nice to me and smiled as I took away their empties. Some even passed me over the glasses that were hard to reach. One table had people nicer than the rest who even asked my name and introduced themselves as the family of Shinigami. Of course I didn't know what this meant but they seemed pleasant. They all shared the same striking eyes of the lightest blue colour almost as if they were transparent but they held a depth and sincerity to them. I couldn't help but feel at ease as they stared back at me.

  Karmun kept a close eye on me the whole night but this wasn't in an intimidating way but more like a friend who wanted to look out for me. He shouted me over as I had just finished clearing the last of the tables with empties on it.

  “What's up?” I said just as one of the other waitresses came over to the bar. It was the one with short hair, what was her name again ….umm Rue. She turned to me and extended her hand but I couldn't keep the shock from my face when I saw her eyes. They were the scariest eyes I had ever seen. They were all white apart from the tiniest of black pupils left in the middle. There were scars and what looked like burn marks around her eyes, creeping their way down the cheeks.

  She was blind....

  “Nice to meet you, I'm Rue and you're Keira right?” She said in a cocky voice as I took her hand and shook it, noticing a strange tattoo of an eye in a tribal style on the palm of her hand. I looked at the other hand to find another identical one in the same place. She looked directly into my eyes, which I found amazing considering she couldn't see them.

  “Hi, nice to meet you too.” She smiled and let go of my hand and turned towards the bar with no problems, she didn't even need a cane. She was quick and nimble and grabbed her tray of drinks from Karmun, turning one last time to my face and said,

  “Welcome to the house of crazy, I hope you stay.” And that was it, she was gone.

  I couldn't help thinking about how she knew exactly where my face was when she said this because I had moved. I knew blind people's senses were heightened but she was truly gifted, to look at her you would never have guessed she couldn't see just like the rest of us.

  “So how's it going?” Karmun asked me as though it was my first day at a new school. I suppressed a little laugh and told him the truth.

  “It's been fine.”

  “Ok, well why don't you take a break and get some air.” He handed me a bottle of water from under the counter and nodded for me to take it.

  “I'm really ok, I don't need a break, after all I've not been here for more than half an hour.” His lips curved up into a knowing smile and said,

  “Keira it's nearly ten.” WHAT! It felt like I hadn't long since started, crazy. This place was like a time warp. I grabbed the water and went to duck under the hatch behind the bar when he stopped me with a hand and said,

  “Why not go get some air, the balcony will be quiet.”

  “Ok,” I said confused as he had a strange look in his eyes when he said this, just like when someone is told to say something out of character. Or maybe I was just being paranoid. Either way, I walked over to the staircase I had used last night and knew the doors to the balcony were next to them. After all, hadn't I really wanted to see what was out there last night before I left? Well now was my chance.

  I was about to push them open assuming they were just like any other doors but oh no, not in this place. As soon as my hand came into contact with the cool glass they disappeared into the wall out of sight. I walked through the opening into the dead of night and shivered as the cool air hit me like a cold shower after swimming in a heated pool. I closed my eyes in habit, something I always did when first walking out into a winter night. Although technically it was Autumn or “Fall” as they called it here. But to me whenever the weather got cold and the rain or snow showed, it was winter’s way of saying a premature hello.

  I heard the doors closing behind me with a gentle hum and the noise from the VIP was abruptly cut off. The balcony was huge, a room of its own. It was framed with marble pillars and in between was a wall of stone balustrades. The top part was wide enough to sit on if you were brave enough, which I wasn't. There was no seating of any kind and the floor was spotless, even though there were massive ferns in Chinese pots either side of the doors. There were also vines that worked their way around the pillars, hugging them tightly. There was no evidence of where they came from, so I guessed they had made their way up the side of the house.

  The view in front of me was a blanket of deep surrounding blackness. There was no moon out and if it hadn't been for the lamps on the walls I wouldn't have been able to see my hand in front of my face. The lights cast an eerie glow that reflected off the marble floor making me feel uneasy.

  I unscrewed the top of my bottle and took a couple of long swigs not realising just how thirsty I was until I had felt the cold liquid slide down my throat. So it took me by surprise when I heard my name being spoken from behind me.

  “Keira, so here's where you've been hiding.” I turned around to see Sophia for the first time tonight. I don't know why but whenever I did get the guts to look over to the top table all my eyes managed to find was his face.

  “Hi Sophia, how's your night?” She smiled and looked over her shoulder as though she heard something there. She smirked and turned back to answer me.

  “It's productive and as it just so happens it’s about to get even more interesting, but enough about my night, how's your first night going? Are you going to come back for more?” I thought for a moment and answered truthfully.

  “It's been a piece of cake. I'm a bit surprised but you were right, nothing to worry about.” I screwed the cap back on my water bottle and pulled down on my top feeling like a shabby homeless person compared to the beauty before me. Her hair hung in perfect spiral curls and the purple dress she wore, fitted like it was tailored to her goddess figure.

  “Good, that's great! Well why don't you join me for a drink after work, to celebrate your first shift?” I looked down at my scruffy black flat shoes and knew the answer I would give her wouldn't be one she'd want to hear.

  “I don't think that's a good idea Sophia.”

  When I heard the response I was about to give, not coming from my own lips but from those of the man I was both terrified and obsessed with, I kept my head down even more. My last breath caught in my throat and it actually felt as though my blood had stopped flowing through my veins. It was just like before when all I wanted was to be invisible, a fly on the wall, never to be seen until it was time for him to leave. I just wanted to look at him from a distance…. that was enough. But like this I was so vulnerable.

  “And why not, she did well and I think she deserves a drink!” I loved Sophia but right now I just wished she would back down from being my new spokeswoman. I had to add something before I ended up being the reason for these two to battle it out.

  “I...I appreciate the invitation but your brother’s right, I will have to pass, but thanks.” Ok I did it. I did the unthinkable. Ok so I did it with my head down but it was the first time I had spoken in front of him. Hell, I was just lucky it made sense and was in English, although I had stuttered a bit.

  I looked only at Sophia and she pulled a face like I had just stolen her favourite doll and ripped its head off. So I felt like I needed to add something more.

  “We'll do it again soon though, ok?” She smiled a little and I could feel Draven's eyes on my face but I still couldn't look. I was just wishing this could be over so that I could get back to my job.

  “Ok, but soon and I won't take no for an answer.” She seemed happy with this last little demand but I found it more adorable than serious.

  “Sophia you’re wanted.” He said this with such authority that it made me shudder, however Sophia just shrugged her s
houlders and nodded, but before leaving she hugged me and said,

  “See you tomorrow.” At which I was sure I heard her brother’s disapproval in the form of a low growl. I hugged her back but went bright red at the embrace. Normally I would have been fine but under the scrutinising eyes of her brother, the blood in my cheeks gave away my feelings only too clearly.

  She left Draven and me alone and I found myself playing nervously with the bottle in my hands. After a moment of silence and him clearly not moving I went to go around him when suddenly he grabbed my arm stopping me.

  I felt the heat as the first touch rushed through the thin material of my top and through the gloves underneath them. It entered my skin and pierced my heart as though he had been made from pure electricity. I was taken aback to say the least and didn't know how to respond but the shock made my hand drop the bottle. Before I even had chance to bend down to retrieve it, he had it in his other hand passing it to me.

  “Here you go.” He said with a hint of softness in his voice as a prompt to take it. This was what made me look up into his eyes for the first time and I regretted it instantly. His eyes were filled with so many emotions it was hard to pinpoint one. They were so utterly cavernous I felt as though I could look into them for hours getting lost in their beauty, they were truly mesmerizing. He looked back into mine and spoke again, only now releasing my arm and breaking the connection as though cutting the wire that powered my heart for a short time. I lowered my eyes to hide my shame.

  “Karmun tells me you did well tonight.” I nodded not knowing what to say in response but I still couldn't look into his eyes again, feeling that if I did, I wouldn't ever be able to escape them.

  He moved a step closer to me and I could feel the heat from his body. I closed my eyes not being able to help my habit but I don't think he noticed my weakness. He leaned down slightly as he had done so many times before in my dreams. He was more than a full head taller than me, but he closed the distance between our bodies to mere inches. I could smell his skin and wanted to inhale more deeply to take in every scent. But I didn't, instead I froze. Locked into my position like a scared animal.

  “Come back tomorrow then, if that is the case.” And that was it! It was over with those words still in the air as he left me standing alone, nearly hyperventilating.

  Chapter 17 - A Not So Memorable Lane.

  I was still thinking about my encounter with Draven when I was at home getting ready for bed. I had been in a zombie like state for the next hour of my shift and the ride home with Frank and also with the conversation that I had with Libby when I got in.

  I was still in shock that we had actually spoken to one another. Ok it wasn't actually a real conversation but it was better than him just insulting me as I stood there not saying a word. I could feel Goosebumps appear on my skin whenever I allowed myself to think about how close he had been. I had thought that the real thing would have been more effective than in my dreams but as it turns out my dreams had been spot on. The smell was the same, the heat and connection I felt whenever he touched me. It had all felt just as real as it did tonight. I couldn't understand how that could be but whatever it was, I wasn't complaining.

  I decided to try and unwind as I picked up Jane Eyre and started to read where I had left off but I kept imagining Draven as Mr Rochester. The similarities were starting to mount up. He too had been harsh calling Jane a witch the first time they met. But she soon warmed to him after a time, peeling off the rock exterior to find a soft centre that loved her, even though she was plain, penniless and above all... Broken.

  I would love to believe that my own story could hold the possibility of an outcome like this but in an age obsessed by beauty, money and greed I doubted even for a second that Draven would ever think of me the way Rochester did about Jane. But it was harmless enough to dream about, right?

  I put down the book after only three pages frustrated that everything had to come back to Draven. I turned off the light and prayed a silent prayer for sleep to come without visions of the monsters that had now decided it was the right time to come back into my life. As if my life wasn’t complicated enough!

  I drifted in and out of sleep but woke up when the tossing and turning was too frustrating to even try to sleep. I got up and went into the bathroom thinking that my sleeping pills might help, even though they hadn't last night but who knows, tonight seemed to be the night for change. I was about to swallow the two pills in my hand when I heard something. I turned to face where the noise was coming from and stood deadly still, trying not to breathe. I waited but there was nothing so I put it down to my imagination.

  I swallowed the pills and walked back into my room. I heard the rain start to lash against my window and put the noise down to that. I went over to the window seat and sat down listening to the rain. I looked out at the angry night sky and jumped when lightening erupted, illuminating the clouds and silhouettes of the trees. I put my hand to my chest and laughed nervously at my jumpiness.

  I counted the seconds until the thunder and knew it was close when I only got to six. Even though I knew it was coming I still jumped again when it cracked the silent sky, filling it with a boom. I shook my head and laughed again at myself at how jumpy I was. Then the lightening hit again only this time it didn't just light up the sky. I looked down into the garden and for a spilt second I could see a figure under my window looking up at me. I didn't take my eyes away from it but now without the lightening it was too dark to make out who or what it was.

  I strained my eyes and waited for the next flash of light to reveal the mystery. The storm was getting closer as now I only got to three seconds until the thunder erupted once more. I could see the figure moving slowly and it looked as though it was motioning me to come down to join him. I could now make out that it was a man, being far too tall and bulky to be a woman. He moved his arm up and his hand was waving at me.

  I waited and waited for some more light. If only the moon had been out I could have seen him clearer. Whoever he was he wore a long coat down to the ground and he wore a hat. The hat was like one you would have seen from those old corny detective shows, what were they called... a trilby. I could only see his mouth and chin as the hat concealed his face but my mind was processing where that hat looked familiar.

  I was sure I remembered someone wearing one like that but where? I didn't have to wait much longer to find out as the sky lit up in three different places giving me more than enough light as the storm was now directly above the house. What my eyes saw there was scarier than any nightmare or any monster I had seen.

  For there, under my window, beckoning me to join him... was my past.

  I screamed and screamed until my lungs needed more air, I was gripping something as it felt like I was being smothered. I was in a bag! That must have been it, he had got me again, no, no, no! I had to get free. Someone must hear me. I screamed again and again. I could taste the material over my face and I could smell the sweat from my body as I twisted and turned.

  I was scratching and clawing at it in hopes of escape. Not again, not again! I screamed again using all of the air left in my lungs and then the material lifted from my face as I heard a familiar voice saying my name.

  “Kaz, Kazzy its ok, its ok it’s just me...calm down, you’re ok now, it was just a dream.” My sister was smoothing her hand across my forehead looking as pale as I must have been. She helped me sit up as my head started to find its way back to reality. My breathing slowed and the tears started to flow from my sore eyes.

  I'm sor..sor..sorry!” I mumbled through sobs. She smiled and took my head into her arms, letting me cry freely into her shoulder.

  “Is she all right?” Frank stood near the door with a baseball bat in hand looking like he was ready for action. She waved an arm at him in response and he backed away leaving me in Libby's arms like a small frightened child.

  “Feeling better?” She said after ten minutes of hysterics.

  “I'm sorry for that, it was just I h
aven't had a dream like that for a while, I guess it threw me.” I took the tissue out of her hand and wiped my eyes and runny nose, feeling a little embarrassed.

  “It’s fine, but the way you were screaming I think Frank was ready to bust the door down, and it wasn't even locked, I think sometimes he thinks he's Jack Bauer from 24!” We both laughed and I instantly felt better.

  “Poor Frank, he looked worried,” I said feeling guilty.

  “Well at least you know you have a big brother in the house to protect you.” That was more comforting than she realised.

  “Was it about him?” She asked carefully not wanting to upset me anymore. I just nodded feeling my eyes fill again. Her face looked both angry and sad at the same time.

  “Try and get some rest, do you want to take some pills?”

  “It's ok I already...oh no wait that must have been in my dreams, in that case yeah, I better had.” She got up and went into my bathroom but then came back out again with the bottle in her hand and no water, I was about to protest that I could never swallow pills without some form of liquid but she handed me an empty prescription bottle.

  “But how... that's strange there were loads in there yesterday.” I couldn't understand how the bottle was empty, I had only taken some the night before and the bottle was over half full.

  Libby glanced at me with a weird look, obviously not knowing what to believe but clearly she was worried so I told her about the part when I had taken some pills in my dream.

  “Maybe I was sleep walking and tipped them away, I really don't remember.” Her face softened and she got me some she had been given when she pulled her back about four months ago.

  “These will knock you out so take two now and I will wake you in the morning but you know this means you're going to have to speak to another therapist to get any more pills don't you?” I nodded not liking where this was going, the last thing I needed now was to ‘Talk about my feelings’ again. It was beginning to look like my new life was trying to find my old one again.