When Three Becomes Two

Tre’s PoV

Oh, God. Oh, no, no, no!

Despite the waves of agony still reaching me, they were pushed aside into some distant corner of my mind, forgotten. I had worse problems. Much, much worse problems.

I felt the rumbling of the hearse beneath me now. My body was jarred around like a rag doll, but it still felt like it was made of lead. I felt slightly claustrophobic with the enclosed space.

I still had to try. I couldn’t give up. Billie and Mike were depending on me!

“Ohhh.” I whimpered. Well, it was a sound. But I could barely hear it myself, let alone anyone near me. The throbbing pain was getting worse, vibrating around my body. My heart beat in slow lulls and sudden gasps. Even my lungs seemed weak—my shallow breaths were uneven, too. It was as helpless as the rest of me.

“Oh.”

The coffin lurched. I felt it being carried—by Billie and Mike? Could they hear my desperate, feeble plea? I had to try and let them hear me! I needed to scream!

“N…n-no…”

But the movement continued. And then I felt myself being lowered. Lower and lower I went. Six feet under.

“No…”

Suddenly, there was a rattling thud on the coffin. Then another. It began in a steady rhythm.

I was being buried alive!

“Oh…G-god…” I said a little stronger.

It was too late. Had I spoken that clearly earlier, maybe I could have gotten out. But now dirt covered my coffin, obscuring any noise I made.

I began to be aware of something. A tight sensation. The air tasted…stale. I knew what that meant. I was running out of time.

The shovel’s progress on my tomb continued as I felt a growing horror, clawing at my chest and climbing its way into my throat. I was going to suffocate, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I felt the long-gone rush of adrenaline flood my veins. Suddenly, I felt a wave of energy.

The shoveling stopped. Feet clattered above me, but all was silent.

Maybe Billie and Mike were still there. Maybe…

I raised my arms, forgetting the sharp pain running up them, and began to claw at the velvet coffin lining.

I kicked the lid as hard as I could, flailing and fighting the wood that held me down. My fingernails ripped, and I could feel the warm blood trickling down even through the pitch darkness.

The tightness in my lungs continued. It felt as though a stone block was laid on my chest. There was no air! My head spun, and still I fought…

I tired out a minute later. This was it. It was over. I had destroyed the bonds of death, only to be enveloped by their cruel embrace minutes later. My weak body spasmed. I cried out my last words.

“B-Billie…Mike…”
And for the second time, I felt a jerking sensation, and I was being lifted up…

I found myself lying facedown on a soft white surface. It was really very comfortable, whatever it was…

Then the flood of events chased me down.

Oh, my God! I died!

But why wasn’t I right by my deathbed like last time? That must have meant…

I swore and hauled myself up, only to find the angel—my angel—looking sadly at my bemused face.

“I did warn you, Tre.”

“Yeah…” I sighed. “I guess it’s okay. It was kind of a stupid thing to do…So can I
go back?”

“…Back, Tre?”

“Yeah, you know. Down on Earth.”

Her face twisted into an even deeper frown of sympathy. “You can’t go back, Tre.”

“WHAT?”

She winced. “I said, you can’t go back. You died from being buried alive. This time, the cause of your death left you no reason to go back. You’re stuck here, I’m afraid.”

It took me a moment to absorb this fact.

“You can’t! My friends are going to get killed if I don’t do something!”

“I’m sorry, Tre. Those are the rules.”

“I—but—FINE!” I spat.

“Good. Now, let me show you around…”

For the next three hours, the angel showed me around what I assumed must be heaven, all contained in one enormous house millions of miles long. Everything from the walls to the paper-thin flowers in delicate crystal vases were brilliant white and gold, occasionally touched by silver or glass. There were vast rooms with domed ceilings glittering with diamond. There was even a swimming pool that could have passed for an ocean, gleaming with deep blue water that sparkled like sapphires. My own ‘room’ as it was called was huge. A hockey arena could have fit inside my entry hallway. The bedroom had a king-size bed that was a soft white, which in turn was surrounded by stained-glass windows portraying various saints. Even though we were in a house, bright, warm sunlight filtered through every window.

As amazed as I was, I couldn’t forget my friends. It was like a drip from a leaky pipe echoing through the back of my head, in a steady rhythm. Billie and Mike. Billie and Mike.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. When the angel led me through an auditorium that would seat a country, I finally burst out—

“Lady...is there a way I can, y’know, at least see what’s going on down on Earth? Can’t I at least keep an eye on what’s happening?”

Gently, she replied, “There will be time tomorrow for that, Tre. You need to settle in. It’s getting late anyway. You should probably go to bed.”

I felt like a kid as she ushered me into my room, then left with a swift peck on my cheek that left the world spinning. Within a few minutes, all the bright colors of my bedroom were in darkness, and I lay staring at the white tile above my head.

“Am I really here to stay?” I mused.

Yes, I was. But I couldn’t relax yet. I wouldn’t until Billie and Mike were safe. I had promised them…

Mike felt himself being pulled away from the intimate contact with the strange being. He felt alone again, alone in his thoughts after sharing someone else’s. Three final words were spoken from the brilliant light.

Now you understand.

Then it got impossibly brighter, blinding Mike until he could no longer see…