Into The Afterlife

I groaned when I got up from the floor where I collapsed, but strangely enough I felt none of the crippling pain I was just subjected to, (it literally felt like all of my organ's were being molested by knives and torn out of my body), actually I couldn't really feel anything... Not the head cold I was just recovering from, not hot air from the heated not cold air from the fan beside me, nothing. I couldn't even feel the soft white carpet under my feet or the denim of my overly tight pants. I looked down at myself; I was still half dressed wearing my black skinny jeans as I was still getting dressed to go over to Matt and Val’s to meet the guys for dinner with everyone, my tattoo covered stomach was pale, like every other part of my body, and shockingly not bruised or red from where I fell on it, my arms and hands were also un-effected by my collapse, which was really shocking because I fell really hard I was almost sure that I had broken my wrist when I hit the ground. I wondered what my face looked like so I walked the three feet to the mirror on Leana’s dresser, that’s when I saw it. Or more accurately didn’t see it. I was standing right in front of the mirror, but I couldn’t see myself, the clock on the wall changed so I knew that this wasn’t some sick f**ked up joke played by the guys, I looked over where I had just been, and there it was… my body. It was just lying there still. A corpse. I realized then that I was dead, I was just a sprit still beyond the grave… but I knew that I couldn’t repossess my body like the girl in our song. I noticed the mirror starting to glow behind me, and chorus of voices erupted from inside it, a man was slowly appearing from the shinning silvery white mist. When he was fully formed the singing stopped and he stepped out of the glass and floated to the floor.

“Welcome to the afterlife James.” He greeted me in a soft voice full of authority, and majesty. I had never thought I’d meet an angle when I passed on… I was convinced I had done too much to make it passed the pearly gates into heaven. “I’m here to give you your options.” He said answering my thoughts. I don’t care if he was a heavenly being or not, but hearing my thoughts and answering them was f***ing creeping the s**t out of me! If you would just say it James, I wouldn’t have to.” He stated

“Well you could just tell me what the f**k is going on!” I replied

“You died from your substance abuse James, and now are in the time that exists between the afterlife and your previous life.” He explained

“Okay, where do I go from here, and why are you here?” I asked slightly frustrated at the lack of real information I was getting

“I am here to tell what you can do from here.”

“ Okay what is it?” I asked

“You can either choose to go on into the beyond, the afterlife where it you can change you can accept or deny the lord for the last time, or you stay here and change your self and by seeing what your life is like without you in it. I must warn you if you choose to stay then it will be difficult for you to cross over into the afterlife and the longer you stay the harder it gets.” He said in a serious voice

“So I can just choose to stay here and watch over Leana? I can keep my promise to her?!” I was happy about this I promised her I’d take care of her until she didn’t need me anymore.

“Yes. Is that your choice then?” He asked the mirror glowing again I nodded, “ You will be visited by other sprits, and they will assist you in the way you effected them or they you in their human lives, they will help you to continue on to the afterlife.” He told me floating back up into the mirror “ Some you may know, other’s you may not, but it would be toward your advantage to listen and follow all of them.” He was beginning to fade, “The first spirit will appear as shortly after I leave.” And with that he was gone. This I sat down on the bed above my body, this was weird and frustrating, seriously this was worse than any drug high I had ever been on, this was real and I knew it. I just sat there staring at it, looking at our wedding picture, Leana looked soooooo beautiful… she was glowing with the joy of the day. The day we knew we would never loose each other… until today… I felt like crying but I couldn’t, I guess when you’re nothing but a spirit its kind of hard to make tears to cry.

“It is hard isn’t it?” a familiar voice said from behind me,

“Casey?” I asked in astonishment turning around to see my friend who had passed away three years ago in his bunk on tour from a deadly cocktail of pills prescribed from his doctor, “What are you doing here?” I gasped shocked, it was hard to grasp I was dead, and not just dreaming.

‘”I, my friend, am here to help you through the shock of your family when they find you and to explain the rest of the between life rules, and what ever else you need me for.” He explained, “We have about 10 minutes before your wife gets worried and tries to call you, and a half hour till they come looking for you. I have a lot to explain in that short amount of time, so lets get started!” I just looked at him,

“Do you even realize that I’m freaking out here because I’m, I don’t know… DEAD?!” I ½ yelled ½ gasped

“Yeah man I know it’s tough, but there’s nothing you can do about it now so make the best of it and pay attention okay?” I nodded and laid down face first on the bed… or tried to at least; I was merely floating inches above it, just like everything else.

“So are you going to talk or not?” I asked

“Yup, okay, lesson one.” He paused making sure I was paying attention. I was so he continued, “We as human beings of no substance in the human world, we can’t touch, talk to, or be seen my family or anyone except on special occasions that we can find an actual medium, which is rare.”

“Wait a second… I thought I was going to be able to help Leana!” this upset me because I loved my wife and wanted to ensure that she was taken care of and she knew that I loved her, now I wouldn’t be able to…

“You can’t per say… but, you can watch over her.” I felt like crying again, just the thought of watching my wife and best friends suffer on my behalf was enough to make me want to die… “On the bright side, you can make your presence known to them by influencing the wind, electronics, and temperature of a person or room.” I felt a little better; she would know that I was with her at least…

“Okay, anything else?” I asked

“Yes lots, like depending on what you did as in your first life in order to get to the afterlife you must help a certain number of spirits in their paths to passing on.”

“How do you know when it’s time to pass on?”

“You just do, I’ve seen two others pass on in my time, and both of them just got really still and quiet, peaceful, and told me that they hoped to see me soon and to help as many earth bound spirits as I could.” This shocked me, to think he had been dead three years and still hadn’t been able to pass on, that did not give me much hope for myself… “The next order of business is that the more you curse and sin while here the more you have to do to make up for it.” I nodded understand this, I mean it’s the dang AFTERLIFE for heavens sake! "Okay and the last thing for now, If you try to cross over without completing your mission and they call it you can't get in and they add more time because you tried to take the easy way out." he finished "Got it?"

"Yeah" I nodded sighing looking down at my body, my phone started to ring, I knew it was Leana, I just knew and there was nothing I could do about it.

"You ready for this man?" We have ten to twenty minutes till they get here." Casey reminded me,

"Do I really have a choice here man?" I asked shaking my head,

"No not really." so we just sat and waited, I think this was the longest I've ever gone without making a joke... or feeling the need to make one.

I was consumed in my own thoughts, when I heard the key in the door she was here.

"Jimmy baby you in here?" She called voice happy and light like usual, "Sweetheart, where are you!" she shouted again walking toward the bedroom where she would no doubt find me. "I tried to call you like a bit ago but you didn't answer the phone... " I loved the happy ring to her voice... I knew this would be the last time I heard it, if not forever, for a long time. Leana walked in the bedroom looking for me still, when she saw me on the floor panic colored her face "Jimmy? James Owen Sullivan! You get up right now! This isn’t funny, you’re scaring me!” she ran over to my body when I didn’t get up, “Oh god!” she shrieked, touching my face and neck “Jimmy! No!” she sobbed reaching for her cell phone,

“911 what’s your emergency?” the operator answered in a monotone voice

“I think my husband’s dead.” She sobbed, the dude on the other end paused, (one of the benefits to being a ghost was that you can hear both sides of a phone conversation)

“Calm down mam, tell me what happened.”

“I came home and found my husband d-d-dead on the floor.” She could barley get the last part out. I had never seen her this upset… never… it hurt soooooo bad to know I was the cause of this misery she was in.

“Don’t worry mam, I have dispatched crews to your GPS location.” The man said emotionlessly, which was really pathetic! I mean who wouldn’t feel anything when a lady calls you and tells you her husband’s dead? Come on people! Seriously! Does no one have heart anymore?

“Thank you.” She managed to get out before she pressed the end button. She pressed the worn out 5 button on phone, “Val, It’s Jimmy, get here quick I need you and Matt.” She said as her best friend answered, before Val could get a word out Leana had closed her phone. “Oh baby! Why?” she sobbed lying over my body, head on my back, as I was on my stomach. I stood over her my hand on her head, I knew she couldn’t feel it but it was the only thing I could do.

“Don’t worry man, Matt and the guy’s will take care of her.” Casey promised laying a hand on my shoulder as an empty rattling sob emitted from me. Moments later Val burst into the room,

“OH MY GOD!” she shrieked “I’m so sorry sweetheart!” she cooed pulling Leana into her chest in a comforting embrace, letting her sob there. When Matt walked in he looked at the girls on the floor, I knew he could hear Leana’s sobs because they rang through the house like a heart wrenching alarm clock, and Val had tears running down her face as well.

“What’s wrong? What happened?!” he asked eyes wide in fear

"Jimmy's d-d-dead." Val replied, Matt looked shocked, and then he looked mad,

"What? No! He can't be! The dumb f*cker is just faking! He can’t be dead!” I knew this was Matt’s way of dealing with shock… Mine was to make a joke of it; his was to blame something else. They were so wrapped up in grief that they didn’t hear the sirens coming until the cops were pounding on the door, I didn’t like the idea of having cops in the house even if I didn’t do anything wrong other than dying… old habits die hard… haha that’s puny! I’m dead, and old habits… uh yeah… never mind… Val answered the door as, Matt was frozen where he stood, and Leana was a mess, she came back with not one, but two cops and two medics.

“Is this where the deceased is?” The first cop asked

“Yeah.” Val gestured toward my body; Matt finally got a hold of himself and helped her move onto the bed. The medic bent placed two gloved fingers on my neck, feeling for a pulse he knew he wouldn’t find. I was having trouble-seeing Leana like this. Have you ever saw the love of your life shattered to pieces because of you? And there was nothing you could do to fix it? Well let me tell you it isn’t a cakewalk! The next thing I knew Casey had his arm around my shoulder, it was a good thing as a spirit he could float because he was several inches shorter than me. His action shocked me a little because normally as guys it’s a general rule we don’t show a hell of a lot of emotion, but right now was an exception because this was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with, I leaned in to his friendly supportive embrace and allowed the sobs to brake free.

I don’t know how long we had stayed like that but when I finally had control of myself the rest of the guys and their girls were standing in the doorway, and room, surrounding, who I expected to be the coroner, not a dry eye on any of them.

“Jimmy, They all have each other right now, and all that’s going to take place for a few hours is a bunch of crying, I’ve done all I can for you man. There’s a spirit that helped me a lot, I know she’s still around because she refuses to pass on until her best friend dies. Do you think you could leave them for a while to meet her?” Casey asked patting my shoulder. I looked at my family; I knew all that was going to happen any time soon would be my body officially pronounced dead and a lot of crying and drinking. They would take care of each other and not leave until they were sure Leana was stable enough not to do something stupid like kill herself. I pondered this for a few more seconds before I finally nodded. “Take my hand then, we need to fly to get there.” He said gripping my hand and closing his eyes, moments later I was on a child’s play set in a valley surrounded by mountains, there was a girl in her late teens sitting on the swing, in the lightly falling snow looking at the stars.

“Welcome to the Between Life Reverend Plague” I looked to my right where the voice came from, it belonged to another spirit, she looked about 15 and had blood stains on her wrists and chest, “Its how I died.” She explained showing me her arm, Written across it was ‘I'm helping you now I'm at home in the clouds And towering over your head’ on one arm and on the other ‘I’m at home now’ “ I couldn’t take the pain of watching all my friends slowly killing themselves in on way or another, and I did it for them so they could see how it hurt others and stop.” She explained, “You can call me K, and that’s Michelle.” She gestured to the dirl on the swing, “ My bestfriend and sister from another mister. She was the one who kept me alive for about a year before it just got too bad. I’m staying with her till she passes on, I promised her I would in my letter.” I was shocked, not a lot of people were this loyal… talking about friends, I looked around for Casey but couldn’t find him anywhere… “Don’t worry, you helped him enough for him to pass on, about time to! He’s been bouncing between me and who knows were for three years!” K said rolling her eyes. Michelle stood up and walked towards a set of steps that lead into a pit in the ground, to what I was expecting to be her home. K gestured or me to follow her inside after Michelle. The basement she walked into was nicely furnished and contained four other girl ranging from mid teens to mid twenties and a small older woman, whom she adressed and ‘mommy’, she walked down the hallway to a large room with four beds, she layed down on the one on the ground and took out a pen and notebook and began to write.
“K, Why did you call me ‘Reverend Plauge’?” I asked after a minute of silence

“Because that’s who you are, you were the drummer for the band Avenged Sevenfold, and singer for Pinkly Smooth, your birth name is James Owen Sullivan, and your full stage name is The Reverend Tholomew Plauge, but you were commonly known simply as The Rev. You were percived as a mad genious, mad as in crazy. Oh by the way, I loved the video with you chasing the duck!” she chuckled, It was kinda creepy how she knew soooo much about me… “Don’t worry, I wasn’t a stalker, I just idolized you because you were all I wanted to be but in tall male form.” She smiled a little wider obviously rembering sonething that had happened “My friend Genevive use to compare you to me all the time, see I might not seem it now, because four years in of pretty much silence and solitude in the between life has made me somber, but I really use to be crazy and hyper and talkitive.” I smiled a little at this, she did remind me of myself a little.

“Do you know why Casey brought me to you?” I asked,

“Probally for help with your family.” She sighed, “Is it okay if I keep you here for a little bit?” she asked looking at me,

“Sure, its fine, I just don’t want to be away from Leana too long.”

“Okay, I think we have time for my story then.” She looked away from her friend anf over at
me, “Do you want to hear it or not?”

“What dose your life story have to do with me?” I asked confused

“Its about how I died and what’s happened to me here, not my life story, my death story I guess you could call it.” K explained, I shrugged and she began “Like I said my death was a suicide. I decided to take matters into my own hands when I found out that all of my best friends all were slowly killing themselves in one way or another, some intentional, some not. Well one night it all just got to be to much, I was at my friend Genivive’s and she told me she was an alcholoic, I guess I knew, because I was with her all the time, but still it hurt so much that she proved my suspicions that I couldn’t make myself stay the night and made her brother take me home on his way to his girlfriends house. When I got home I called Michelle, who just happened to be freaking out because something had happened that pushed her over her braking point and she started cutting again. Michelle was my best friend in the entire world, she was the one that pretty much saved my life time and time again, but this time she was the one that pushed me over the edge.” She sighed and looked back at Michelle, I watched her to, she was still just laying on her bed writing, after a second K contenued with her story, “I was the kind of friend that woud drop everything for my friends. When they were happy I was happy, so It hurt to see everyone in so much pain and knowing there was nothing I could do. In my note I told them that aslong as they needed me I’d be with them untill they didn’t need me anymore, if they even did in the first place. I moved between all four of my friends for about six months. Sam, who had been my best friend since sixth grade was the first to let go, she told her boyfriend that she didn’t rember why she was sad, and it probally wasn’t important. That’s how drugged up she was, she forgot about me. I would be lying if I said it didn’t hurt. The next person to let go was Laya, she just got over my death and moved on. I knew this would happen, that’s just the kind of person she was. Genivive was next, she got a boyfriend and pushed me to the back of her mind. It was actually a good thing that she did because she the more depressed she got the more she drank. Now I stay with Michelle most of the time. One day about six months after my death, I was with her while she was at her friend, Aphaa’s house, Aphaa freaked out as soon as I followed her through the door to her room, explaining to her that there was a ‘shadow person’ behind her. Aphaa grabbed her pencil and sketched what she saw, I couldn’t figure out what it was. I was the only other thing in the room. Michelle recognized the siluette the other girl had just penned and gasped, informing her that that was me. It turned out Aphaa was a medium and could see spirits. I tried something then that seemed relatively childish at the time; I put all my effort in concentrating on the cell phone sitting on the dresser, in movies and stuff they always showed the ghosts sending message to people through electronic things, I told them that I was with them only to take care of them, so from that moment on Michelle knew I was with her, she talked to me sometimes, I answer her with the wind, and sometimes if she has her phone out I’ll send her messages.” K finished her story,

“Wow… That’s really sad and interesting and all but what does it have to do with me?” I asked confused, she shook her head,

“Think. What did I tell you about?”

“About how all your friends were killing themselves, and you killed yourself because of it and then all but Michelle forgot you.” I replied, she shook her head,

“What was the last thing I told you about?” she quizzed me, I shrugged.

“I told you about how you might be able to contact your wife and family!” My eyes got wide in shock

“You mean that I can say good bye to Leana the right way now?”

“I think, but I have to warn you that if we cannot find a strong enough medium then it could be hard to get them to believe you.”

“ Trent, Matt’s son has said something about the people in the shadow’s being his friends… Maybe he can see me…”

“Maybe, I also think that the more famaliar a person is with the spirit when it was human the better they can see it. So since Trent was your nephew he might be able to see you fairly well and the fact he’s a kid helps too, becase kids are more subceptiable to the sight, as I like to call it.” I could now see where she was coming from when she said that she use to be talkitive.

“Will you come with me?” I asked slightly patheticaly, I mean how many 28 yearolds ask teenagers for help? She nodded,

“But before we leave, I want to show you how to use cell phones to send human’s messages.” She floated over to Michelle and placed her hand over the pone that rested on her stomache, “It takes A LOT of energy, and concentration, watch.” With that she closed her eyes and shook with her efforts, soon the phone vibrated violenty, Michelle instead of freaking out like a normal person would smiled and picked it up, it read ‘B back soon, helping The Rev find peace.’

“The Rev? from Avenged Sevenfold? He’s dead? Since when?” she asked into the emptyness, obviously use to this odd corrospondence, K repeated the process to tell her that I had only been dead for a few hours, but she couldn’t tell anyone. “Okay KK, tell me when you get back… don’t pass on whithout saying good bye!” and with that K grabbed my hand and told me to picture Leana’s face in my mind.
When I opened my eyes K and I were in Matt’s living room, Leana was inbetween Matt and Val on the couch, Trent was asleep on her lap. All of their eyes were blood shot from crying and even Matt still had trails of the tear’s on his face.

“Hey Leana, you rember the time Jimmy chased the duck and wouldn’t shut up about wanting one as a pet for a month?” Val asked randomly giggling, the other two nodded, laughing at the memory… I remembered that too… They all said that duck’s would not fair well on a tour bus, I had been sorely dissapointed… They sat there reminicing, laughing and crying all at once for the better part of the night, K didn’t say anything, she just watched and listened, laughing at somethings and keeping a straight face during the sad. Around one in the morning Val decided to take Trent to bed, when she picked him up he woke up and looked straight at me,

“Mommy, Uncle Jimmy’s standing by the fireplace! He’s a shadow person!” He exclaimed to his mother,

“Baby, uncle Jimmy’s not here, he’s not coming back…” she tried to explain to the young boy,

“I know, he’s a shadow person now! He can’t come back to the human world! He’s stuck behind the vail!” All three adult’s jaws droped, no four old knows stuff like this, so they knew he wasn’t making it up.

“Where did you hear this sweetie?”

“Uncle Casey, he came to see me a while ago but he told me not to tell you or he couldn’t ever visit me again!” I looked at K for information,

“I thought we couldn’t talk to them.”

“He’s the strongest medium I’ve ever come across in my 5 years of being dead!” she shook her head.

“Uncle Jimmy, show Mommy and Dady you’re here! Make the fire go out and come back!” I held my hand over the fire and concentrated my energy hoping that I coud do it. Leana and Matt gasped as the fire did go out and come back on, “See Mommy!” he smirked the famed Sanders smirk, damn… he had it down even at such an early age…

“Hey buddy, can you go hug Aunty Lea and say ‘I'm a lost soul comming back from beyong the grave to send love to the women my heart I gave.’” I told the little boy, he slid out of Val’s arms and ran over to Leana jumping on her lap,

“Aunty Lea, Uncle Jimmy says ‘I’m a lost soul to send my love to the woman which my heart I gave.’” The look on all three of their faces was priceless,

“He’s really here isn’t he!” Leana gasped in shock,

“YES! How many times do I have to tell you people?!” I looked over at K,

“Can we posses other humans?” she shrugged

“Go ahead and try, but I’d have the little guy ask for you before you do.” She responded

“Hey, Little Man, will you ask your daddy if I can use his body like Patrick did Whoopie in Ghost.” The little boy looked at me and then his dad,

“Daddy Uncle Jimmy wants to know if he can use your body like ‘Patrick did Whoopie in ghost’”

“God Jimmy! Your corrupting my kid even after your dead!” Matt laughed “It’s the last thing your asking for so sure, I just have to say something first, I love you man, You were my bestfriend, and brother for ever, I love you!” he took a deep breath, “Okay man! Hit me!” and I did! I went into his ear, It felt weird having a body again… The first thing I did was pull Leana into my arms and breathed in her sent, memorizing it. Then I looked down at Trent,

“Thank’s little man, can you go to your room for a little bit so I can talk to your mommy and Aunty Leana?” I asked him, he nodded,

“Uncle Jimmy, Please don’t vist me when you leave daddy’s body, go into the light!” he was as sweet and carring as his mother and father both, and soooo smart for his age.

“I promise little man, as soon as I see the light I’ll go into it.” It was the least I could do to the little boy who mad it possabe for me to say my last goodbyes. He hugged me one last time and walked to his room.

“Jimmy? Is it really you?” Leana asked shocked

“Yes, sweetheart, it is.” I murmerd pulling her back into my arms, “ When I told you that like a fat kid loves chocolate, I'll love you to the end of the universe and through the afterlife, I ment it!”

“It really is you!” she gasped locking her lips with mine- er, my borrowed ones… “I love you sooo much!” she sobbed into my chest, I held her close and kissed her hair, “Why did you have to go?” she asked me

“I’m sorry baby, I really am... I couldn’t stop it… I really couldn’t.” I could feel the tears coming down my face too.

“How long can you stay?” she asked,

“I can’t stay too long baby, I don’t want to hurt Matt’s body.”

“Oh…” I hated the sound of pain in her voice,

“Leana baby, Please promise me that you wont hurt your self over me.”

“Only if you promise not to stay behind just to wait for me. Pass on and I’ll see you again when I meet you there.” We both made these promises to eachother.

“Leana, baby, can I ask one more thing of you?”

“Sure, anything.”

“Can I use you to say good bye to Matt?”

“Yeah, but the you have to pass on!” she orderd kissing me for the last time. We both put everything we had into the kiss. When it was over I pecked each of her eyelids and her nose before forcing myself out of my best friend’s body, and into her’s.

“Woah.” I gasped, it felt weird to have boobs! They were weird!

“Leana, Is he gone?” Matt asked as soon as he could talk,

“No bro, I’m her for a minute, I just wanted to say thanks and good bye. I love you bro! You will always be my best man and brother.” I said giving him the man hug which was weird because of the boobs. After that I left Leana’s body. The whole room was glowing with a bright white light, I knew it was the path to the after life because of the angel standing infront of me,

“You have made peace with your soul, You may now pass on James.” He said smiling

“Can I tell K good bye first?” I asked looking over my sholder at my new friend, he nodded and I went over to her, “Thank you sooo much K, you helped me find m peace. I hope I can see you soon, and your at peace when I do.” She smiled and hugged me back,

“I’ll find my peace when my last friend no longer needs me.” She vowed, “Now, GO!” she orderd pointing into the light. I smiled and complyed. I sighed in releif, I was finally in the perfect place. In the words of K’s arms, I was finaly home.