I haven't written any part of this story in a while. So hello and welcome back to the world of the Afterlife!
"Alex."
I sat up in my new bed. Yeah, this family had about 20 extra bedrooms. "Hello," I said. No answer. I got up and looked around.
"Alex."
I turned around sharply and saw Lena. I had too many questions but no words came out. She had a faint blue glow around her like she was fading out of existence. "Lena," I said, regaining my train of thought. "What are you doing here?"
Lena gave me a small smile. "I needed to warn you," she said. I looked at her confused. "Warn me about what?"
Lena looked down. "Alex, tell me the rules of the Dead." I sighed and recited the words I had learned the moment I arrived in the Afterlife.
"Don’t meet the living
Don’t hurt the living
Don’t fall in love with the living
Don’t go into the alive world
Don’t let the living meet their spirit animal."
Lena nodded. "Alex you already broke two of the rules. The Grim Reapers are coming for you. Even Nick. They're going to take you to the Place of the Broken, and you know how terrible that place is."
Of course I knew about the Place of the Broken. Everyone knew about the Place of the Broken. It was ruled by Demons, which already sounded unpleasant. It was like the jail of the Afterlife, except once inside you could never leave. Many tried to escape, but none succeeded. Not much of a shocker, the Place was made so you couldn't. It was for the people who were truly evil both in the Afterlife and in life itself. People like Hitler were sent there the moment they died.
"What do I do," I asked. Lena shook her head. "The Grims are too dangerous, Alex. There's no way to stop them. Eventually, they will catch you." I sighed. I knew the risks of course, but I never imagined they would send me there. I looked at Lena. "Thanks for warning me. Technically, your breaking the rule too now, so I'd suggest going back to the Afterlife as soon as possible." Lena nodded. "Why are you here anyway," she asked.
"I might as well tell you. I went into a guy's dreamscape and saw his plans to murder a girl named Jordan. She's our age. I just couldn't let her die." Lena looked at me and smiled. "You're a good person, Alex. Be careful." I nodded and smirked. "I always am." She wanted to say something but her body began to glow. She sighed and waved. Then she was gone.
That night I couldn't sleep. I was worried that if I did, the Grims would find me. I got up at 5 am and went to the kitchen for something to eat. I opened a cabinet and a bag of chips and a pack of cookies fell out. I quickly tried to stuff them back in and closed the cabinet.
I opened the fridge and still had no idea what to eat. I didn't even remember what food I liked. "Alex?"
Okay, this was the second time that night some voice had said my name and I freaked out. What was it with people scaring me?
The person who spoke was Jordan. "Hey Jordan," I said. She looked at me and then at the fridge. "Hungry?" I nodded. She smiled slightly and took out a pack of cookies and milk.
We both sat in silence as we ate and drank. "You look like you haven't eaten in years," Jordan said, getting uncomfortable by the silence. I shrugged. "Haven't." She nodded and there was silence again. "Jordan," I asked. She looked at me. "Yeah?" "You're not mad at me, are you?"
She looked at me confused at what I meant. "Why would I be mad?" I shrugged. "Well, you know, your life is kinda in my hands now, and I just got beat up by two Stella's." "Stella's?" I sighed, remembering we were in the 21st century. "Arrogant and full of themself guy," I explained. She nodded.
"Alex, those two have beat up too many people to count. I try to stop it but these guys are just complete jerks. It's not your fault they decided you were their next target," Jordan said. I shook my head. "If I can't defend myself against weirdos like that, how am I supposed to defend you against a guy with thousands of guns?" She shrugged. "I don't know Alex. But at least your trying to help me. I'm thankful for that." She smiled and I smiled back. "We should probably get back to sleep," Jordan said. I nodded.
I still couldn't sleep when I got into my bed. But at least now I knew two things. One, the Grims were coming and they would stop at nothing to get me. And two, I was going to need help.
Will Alex be able to save Jordan? Also, who do you think Alex will ask for help to protect Jordan? Put any ideas in the comments! Thanks for reading!