Life-After

by J. A. Laraque

  Standing on the edge of a forest in what I had almost accepted as heaven I felt as if I had been hallowed once again. A woman who looked just like Clara stood before me telling me that everything I had experienced was a lie. I was being asked to accept that the woman who greeted me and brought me to my afterlife, the woman who showed me the pain and pleasure of my past, the woman who I had just made love to was a facsimile, a fraud, a fake. The truth was a woman who looked more like a refugee than the one I remember, the person I loved.

  “How can you expect me to accept this?” I asked her. “Everything I have seen and have felt how do I know you are not another memory or mental projection?”

  “That is exactly what I am, David.” Clara said. “I am not here with you. I am just a projection. You have to free yourself before you can find me and only then can we all escape.”

  I slowly reached my hand out towards her. The feeling of static electricity in the air was stronger the closer my hand got to her. She just stood there almost as if she was unaware of my movements towards her. My hand reached her shoulder, it was only then that she turned her head slightly. I could feel the energy build up around my hand, it passed right through Clara as if she were a holographic projection only it was not like my hand was passing through air, but more like a light waterfall. I could feel her presence, her energy, but there was nothing physical I could touch.

  “We are both prisoners here, David.” Clara said. “While my prison is apparent, yours is hidden within a fantasy. There are others here and they sacrificed everything to allow me to communicate with you. You need to confront her, David, force her to reveal the truth that is the only way to escape.”

  “Prisoners where…?” I asked. “Why do all this to me? Am I even dead?”

  Her mouth moved, but I could not hear the words. Clara’s body began to fade from sight. Instinctively I reached out trying to grab her to keep her from leaving me. She was afraid. I could see the panic in her eyes as if she was afraid she would not be able to reach me again. I screamed out her name as she disappeared. My legs buckled, I feel to my knees crying. It felt as if I had just watched her die. She was gone and I was left with nothing.

  My grief turned to anger. I wanted to know why, why was I being put through hell? Why would someone go through the trouble to do this to me? I found myself pounding my fist against the ground. My thoughts turned to Hershel and my time trapped within the militaries virtual reality. Even as my hands began to ache from smashing them into the ground I no longer believed in it, in any feeling I had.

  I hated the way I felt inside. It was the same way I felt in the orphanage, as if nothing was real. I did not belong there and believed it was only a matter of time until I would be taken away. That time never came. I had to leave, to find my own way out. Why was I willing to accept her story as truth? Deep inside, I knew something was wrong. I told myself it was only due to the trauma I had suffered in my past. When you live in a world of pain, pleasure is foreign, unnatural. When Clara told me of her final days, of Richard, as much as it hurt to hear it the feelings were more familiar than anything else.

  I stood up. The forest, the stream, the sky, all of it no longer felt real. I began walking away from the cabin in a straight line hoping to find something, anything as evidence to what the second Clara told me. I walked for what felt like hours until I saw a house in the distance. It surprised me. I expected to find a barrier or some sort of dead end. My military training took over. I carefully made my approach to the home. The closer I got the more a realized something was wrong. I came to a stop and stood up straight staring ahead in disbelief. I had returned to the cabin.

  I knew I had planned my route correctly. It would be impossible to return to the cabin. It was more evidence that something was amiss, but I needed still more before I could just disregard everything the first Clara had shown me. Then it came to me. I thought about what Clara said that we were not alone, but our area was created using both our minds and memories. She told me it was not just her doing and as such I could change our reality. When we were sad the world changed to match creating thunderstorms. I had a theory to test.

  I closed my eyes and thought about all the death I had seen. My mind focused on the destroyed cities, the burned bodies, the suffering of anyone who had not yet died. There was no hope for victory regardless of what the government told us. Death was our only escape and soon there would be no one left to morn. Images flashed in my mind of everything I had seen. Even before the meteor fell, the senseless killing in the war, the hate. My life had been about pain and loss, the suffering that comes with surviving, avenging the ones who died. I had been groomed for it since birth when my parent abandoned me. It was all I knew, all I was.

  “David, Stop!” Clara screamed.

  Clara’s voice pierced through me, startled I opened my eyes. I had fallen to my knees, my hands were shaking. I looked up at Clara who looked back at me generally frightened. Above her the sky was blood red, there was what looked like cracks in the sky as if we were living in a fractured snow globe. The ground was blacked with craters; it looked like the impact areas from the meteor that hit earth. The trees were bare of leaves many of them were burned and hallowed out. Our home was in ruins and looked as if it had been destroyed centuries ago. The air was thick and smelled of death. A chilled wind blew across the barren field spiraling dust and ash into the air.

  “I…” I stuttered unable to complete a sentence.

  Clara closed her eyes and placed her hands together as if praying. An aura of white light surrounded her body. I slowly rose to my feet and watched memorized by the light as it grew in intensity. Clara opened her eyes, they were glowing the same brilliant white I had seen before. A blast wave of energy fired out from her body spanning out across the entire area. The light energy repaired everything it touched turning the devastated world I had created back into the heaven it was before, but the amazement had worn off. I was no longer happy to see that world. Seeing it recreated before my eyes made it feel ever more artificial.

  “What happened, David?” Clara asked. “I could feel pain within you and anger, so much anger.”

  “I’m sorry, Clara.” I replied. “Seeing this world, it’s so peaceful, but do we deserve it?”

  Clara walked over putting her arms around me. Her warmth was still there but it was different. It was if she had betrayed me and though I claimed to forgive her something was forever lost. She wanted to comfort me, but her touch made me feel uneasy. Everything about the Clara who stood in front of me was the same as before but to me it was completely different.

  “I don’t understand.” Clara said. “Everyone deserves peace.”

  “Yes, but everyone does not have peace do they?” I retorted. “You and I are here now and you say that all who die can also share in this, peace. What about those who are still suffering? What about those still being hunted and killed back home? Do they not deserve peace? I asked you before who brought this life energy to earth, was it God? Why allow us to suffer in life? Can there not be peace for everyone now?”

  Clara turned away from me but held onto my hand. I was questioning her like she was a suspect. I wanted to know everything, about death and our lives after. Every second she did not answer pushed me further from her. I wanted to pull my hand away, but I knew it would raise suspicion. It was only a few moments before she turned back to look at me but it felt like forever. What she would tell me next would either push me over the edge or bring me back to her.

  “It’s not that simple.” Clara began. “The Trinity had some aspects of creation and God correct, but much of it was wrong. Just because one is involved in creating life does not mean they control it. Sometimes life has to play out uninterrupted. To us, our civilization was advanced but in reality, we were nothing more than animals in the wild and as such we were to be observed not interfered with.”

  “Animals…?” I questioned. “So, is that all we are to this great God of yours?”

  Clara lowered
her head and closed her eyes. A shot of anger coursed through me. Watching it mimic the real Clara’s mannerisms only made me want to push further. I took a breath and calmed myself. I knew the only way I would learn the truth would be to ask and then listen. There was still a chance the Clara that stood before me was real. Either way, there were questions that had to be answered.

  “No, David, it’s not like that, not at all.” Clara said clearly frustrated. “Please, let me show you so you can understand.”

  Clara reached out with her hands towards my head. I reared back which surprised her. She could tell something was wrong and it was not just my questions. I had to think of something to keep her from reading my thoughts. If she was not my Clara then I could not let her know what I was told. I could only assume that my mind could not be read unless she touched me otherwise I would have been discovered earlier.

  “You said this place was created using our minds.” I began. “Could you show me by changing this area to show me what you want me to see?”

  Clara looked puzzled for a moment which worried me but as she lowered her hands and nodded I believed I had fooled her.

  “I know sharing each other’s thoughts and feelings can be a strange experience even for us.” Clara said. “I can show you using our pocket world, but you will need to hold my hand. As reality changes and shifts it can become disorienting.”

  Clara reached out to me and for a moment I did not want to take her hand. Unlike a dream where you wake up I could have remained in the world that I knew. In time I believed I could forget about the second Clara and disregard her warning. Part of me did not want to leave the only peace I had known for years. A prison of paradise or the cold harsh reality of freedom, those were my choices.

  There was no real choice. I could never live with the lingering doubt, the feeling that everything around me, with me was a lie. I may have escaped pain in my life but I never ran from it and the fact that others may be suffering was more than enough of a reason. I reached out and took Clara’s hand. She stood by my side and stared straight ahead. Everything around me began to shimmer like sunlight reflecting of polished metal. The light while bright was not blinding. I could see everything around me turn to pure golden energy.

  I could make out massive building taking shape in the background made from shimmering energy. Slowly the light faded and Clara and I stood in a small park in the middle of a city. The world looked as clear and real as the valley and the cabin. The small park sat in between tall office buildings and busy streets. People were going about their day walking back and forth as if we were not there. I could hear the sounds and smell the scents of the city. Everything felt familiar it reminded me of downtown New Chicago, but just slightly different.

  “I know this place seems familiar, David, but this is not our planet.” Clara began. “Long ago a being known only as Avatar poured his life energy into a planet and created life. In time theses beings evolved and created civilizations just like ours.”

  Clara raised her right hand to the sky and in a flash of light the city was reduced to ruins. The shimmering glass buildings were battered and blacked, the ground scorched and cratered. Skeletal remains littered the ground. The sky was thick with smoke and ash. The scene awakened the memories of our own world devastated by war.

  “Every being on this world soon evolved to discover that they could awaken the life energy contained within each of them.” Clara continued. “For a time they were able to keep the peace, but as more and more of them developed God-like abilities the government was forced to take action and so suppression was created. The government and the military created a serum and distributed it to everyone on the planet through its water supply. The few who were not affected were quickly hunted down by the governments own awakened soldiers.”

  Clara pointed west toward a group of people being lead in chains down a road. They looked like the people my unit would come across during the war in devastated countries. Dirty, in torn rags for clothing, malnourished, it was just like I had seen before. Men in heavy armor and weaponry walked with them, some taking pleasure in striking them, laughing. The brutality was sickening.

  “The government tried to claim the loss of abilities were due to a terrorist attack.” Clara continued. “Soon it was discovered that it was the government itself who had poisoned their own people and at that point the people rebelled. Martial Law was instituted and beyond that the government took over complete control. Only a select few lived a good life, everyone else had to fend for themselves or become servants and slaves. Anyone disobeying even the most minor law could be imprisoned for years or killed.”

  One of the soldiers struck a small boy on the back of his head knocking him to the floor. The others laughed as the boy struggled to get up. As the boy returned to his feet his eyes began to glow a deep crimson color. The soldier’s panicked and opened fire on the boy but their bullets would come to a halt just in front of him hovering in the air. With a wave of his hand the bullets flew back towards the soldiers killing each one of them. The boy smiled as he looked down in amazement at his hands.

  “What the government did not know, what no one knew, was that God’s power could not be suppressed.” Clara continued. “In time abilities returned to the people and those who had been persecuted by the government came seeking revenge.”

  Another bright light lit up the sky. A blast wave blew through the city reducing the ruins to dust. I stood there with Clara as the dust settled leaving the planet once again devoid of life. The sky cleared and I could see into space. Two points of light one red and one white collided with each other.

  “The military was overwhelmed and released their final solution.” Clara continued. “Missiles with a life energy core were fired at major cities, their hopes was that a smaller population would be easier to control. However, in the end they brought about the death of their species. The bombs drained the life energy from the planet and slowly all life perished.”

  Clara and I flew up from the planet traveling towards the points of light. As we drew closer I could see waves of energy crashing of off the celestial bodies. They were fighting each other.

  “The Avatar had failed and his brother who we came to call Bain attacked him.” Clara continued. “Bain believed it was a waste to create life and that his brother was a fool to give up his energy. He attacked his brother wanting to take his remaining energy from him.”

  Clara turned her head to look back at the dead planet. As I turned to look it exploded, the blast shattering the planet into pieces. From the remains a humanoid shaped being glowing brightly with golden energy rocketed across space towards the twin spheres of light. When the being reached the white sphere of light it merged with it intensifying its glow.

  “Unknown to either of the brothers a new life form was created when the life energy bombs were released.” Clara continued. “The life energy did drain from the planet but it in turn created a being of pure life energy. With the planet destroyed it sought out its creator and merged with the Avatar. As it did Bain took notice of the increased power his brother had gained. It somehow was more than the Avatar had originally poured into it. Bain knew with his brothers increased power that he would not be able to defeat him and called for a truce.”

  The two spheres of light separated. Clara and I followed the white sphere as it traveled to another dead planet. I recognized it from what she had showed me before, it was earth. The sphere stretched out into a stream of light and engulfed the planet.

  “Bain told his brother he wanted to conduct an experiment.” Clara continued. “They would both pour their life energy into a planet and allow it to grow and evolve. Bain believed his life energy could create a species that would flourish and become more powerful than anything the Avatar could create. The Avatar did not care for Bain’s proposal except for the fact that he believed he could create a species that would not destroy itself and wanted another chance to do so. The Avatar and Bain agreed to commit the same amount of life energy to
their worlds and created the afterlife realms as a safe haven while they waited for their worlds to grow.

  Bain had a different plan. He knew both him and his brother would be too weak to do anything once they committed their life energy. So he wrote data within his own life energy so it would awaken within his created beings. It would teach them about him and have them worship him as their god and when they died their life energy would be fed to him. Bain did this hoping he could increase his power like what happened with his brother after his planet was destroyed.

  The Avatar did not want his creations to know of their life energy and created a suppression system of his own so that only upon death would the life energy inside them awaken and only then could it pass through to the afterlife realm he created. You know the results when we tried to awaken the life energy within our bodies. This did not happen on Bain’s world.”

  In an instant we appeared over a planet surrounded by a deep crimson aura. As we flew into the atmosphere a massive airstrip came into view. Thousands of ships were in various stages of construction sat with many completely assembled. I immediately recognized the ships. They were the same as the aliens who attacked our planet. We landed just in front of one of the completed ships as thousands of containment suited troops marched onto the aircraft.

  “On Bain’s world after a set number of years the life energy within every being awakened.” Clara continued. “However, the awakening came with a price. Bain’s will took control over all of his creations. While not in total control he was able to imprint his orders onto them and there was only one command. Destroy the Avatar world.

  As Bain’s creations prepared for war they were able to shed their physical bodies. However they were still dependant on their technology for travel and to fight. They created special suits that could contain their life energy, but once this was done if the suit was damaged their life energy would become unstable. They were sent to attack our world and destroy all the Avatar’s creations but it was more than just that. The suits and their weapons could absorb the life energy of their victims merging with the energy within the suit. In time the being would die or be killed and then the energy would travel back to Bain, in this he would gain the power of not only his creation but the life energy of all its victims.”