Lochwood Estate (A Romance Unearthed)

The Key

It was Monday morning when I woke up dead. I didn't know what to do with myself.

I mean, my body just laid there. It looked very still. I guess all dead bodies look like that. Right? Boy, here I am talking to you as if you were here. If you were here though then I wouldn't be dead. And why doesn't that make sense?

I wondered if I had been dead yesterday too. Just because I had woke up dead this morning didn't mean I had not died the day before, you know, yesterday. There's a problem. I can't remember yesterday.

I see somebody standing over me. His face was too dark for me to see who he was. I was looking up at him and the light was right in my eyes. He was saying something strange. It seems like he had already asked it a few times. I got it the third time around; he was asking if I was okay. Well I didn't know if I was okay. I mean if I had been okay wouldn't I have answered him start with, right? Have you ever noticed that people aren't very smart?

So I told my brain to send out queries and see if I was hurt anywhere. All the answers came back negative. But for some reason, I didn't feel like getting up right that minute. That's when I noticed that I was laying on a silver cart with a sheet under my body.

I was sitting out of my own body.

What the hell was going on here?

Some cuts on my arms had pieces of glass suspended in them. I tried to pick them out and felt no pain.

"Am I bleeding?"

“No, I don't think so,” he said brightly and with a grateful tone ringing in his voice.

“I must be okay then,” I told him. “I can't always tell. I had a bull gore me once and didn't even know he'd hooked me.”

“Okay, well, I've got to get on to work then.” And he picked the glass out of my arm with a pair of tweezer-like tongs.

He hadn't believed the bull story. That was understandable, considering I was of average build. Nothing too special, but personally I liked my own eyes. Bright blue with a darker ring around the iris. My boyfriend said it played off my golden hair.

Oh shit. My boyfriend.

"Where am I?" I asked the man, still unable to see his face. He shrugged.

"You're dead. You're in the morgue." He said plainly. He walked to the other side of the room.

"Hey," I said, trying to slow his escape, "How did I die?" He turned and looked at me.

"You're handling death better than most people would." That's when I saw his face. Beautiful. The only way I could describe it. His chin was pointed, giving his face a heart-shape, making him look feline. I scanned his eyes. Bright blue, yet somewhat had a maturity to them, they were darker than mine. His hair was long. Different, but it suited him. I couldn't stop staring until I forced myself to turn my head.

"You're wearing a lot of eyeliner to be working in a morgue." I stated to him, trying to give off a sense of cool.

"Speaking of which..." He said, taking a purse from a table not too far away, "This is yours." He walked towards me and placed it in my hands.

I took a look at it and knew it was mine. Opening it up-Yep, there are my eyeliners. I had about three or four in there at a time. Hey, you never know. I mean, what if I found a smokin' guy, and suddenly realized I had no eyeliner on? Then I looked at him suspiciously. He smiled and shrugged.

"Why won’t you give me any straight answers?"

"You're dead. That's the only answer I can currently supply you."

I stood up on impulse as he started to walk away. Hell, I didn't know I could stand up. Then again, I was standing up but my physical form was still on the table.

"Wait, where's my family?"

"They're at home. Or work. Or wherever your family is at 6 o'clock on a Monday afternoon."

"Do they know?"

"Darling," He sighed, and I shivered, "You wouldn't be here if they didn't know. Your funeral is in a few days. I doubt you want to be there because it will be so much harder for you to move on. Is that enough of an explanation?"

"No." I snapped quickly.

"You're pretty cordial for a dead woman." He said with a smirk.

"Thank you. But you're not answering me."

"Move on. Answers will come to you. My place is not to tell you." He said. And then he was gone.

Something definitely wasn't right here. And I'm damned if I won’t find out. Humans just don't disapear like that. I would know. I was one. I walked around until I found a way out. A door, which obviously lead to somewhere. Light poured out from underneath it, and I opened it. But no light was in the room. It seemed empty, but I couldn't see all the way into it. I shut it quickly as I felt eyes on me.

"Yeah, I wouldn't go in there if I were you either." The man was back.

"What's your name?" I asked him, running my fingers through my curly hair which now fell in ringlets around my face. I found myself hoping I was attractive to him.

"Does it matter?"

"Why shouldn't it?"

"Because I'm only here to prepare your body. I am of no importance to you." He stared through me, I swear, It felt like he was staring through my soul. Then again, I am dead. I looked away.

"When can I leave?" He pointed to a different door I hadn't noticed. It was open.

"Go as you please." I felt a pang to stay with the man, really I did. But I thought of my boyfriend. John's probably sobbing his eyes out.

"Can anybody else see me?" I asked, hoping this could be another straight answer.

"Only those who are like me. Normal people, probably not."

"How aren't you normal?"

"It doesn't matter."

"How long have I been dead?"

"Not long."

"Days?"

"Not long." He repeated. I had a feeling that this would be the closest thing I would get to an answer for the rest of the day.

"Will I be able to come back?"

"Yes. But be warned, there could be-" That was good enough for me. I walked out the door, immediately knowing my surroundings. I was in the middle of a busy city, Manhattan as a matter of fact. Horns beeped everywhere. I was in the median of the street, not quite on the road. Whoa teleporting door...These folks are crazy though. Mama always told me never to run out into the streets.

Well....Now that I'm dead...

I ran into the middle of the street, and a car went right through me. No honk. Nothing. Like I was mist or fog. I wasn't solid out here. At least not solid enough to be hurt. I saw a nearby taxi door open up, and as the other passenger got inside it, I did as well. I mean, I was hoping that somebody would scream at me, like "What the hell do you think you're doing/! Get outta my cab!" but nothing. I wasn't there. The man was right.

The cab passed a group of apartments that I recognized as John's. I went to reach for the door, and It actually opened! The passenger quickly shot his head over, and I slid out the door before he could close it.

"What the hell are you do..." The cabby's voice drowned out as the cab continued moving away from me. I opened his apartment door. Unlocked.

The first thing I heard was music upstairs. Not our song, and one I particularly liked to be honest. But the house shook with its synthesized beats. I jogged upstairs. You know, I could get used to being dead. I'm so light on my feet. The door was cracked open slightly and what I saw tore me apart.

Okay, all I really saw was his back and behind, but it didn't take long for me to figure out what he was doing. The girl screamed louder than I did in bed. I felt the tears pour out of my eyes. I slammed the door open, hitting it against the wall, which succeeded in startling them both.

"How could you!?!" I screamed, "All I ever did was love you, John! I'm dead, look at me! And you turn around and do this right after??!" My voice cracked at the end. The pair was still staring at the door, shocked.

"Do you have a dog or something?" The girl whimpered, keeping up her little school-girl act.

"Oh, I have a dog for you." John said with a smirk.

And they continued like nothing had just happened.

I squeezed my eyes shut as I tried to bring myself back to the morgue. I thought of the man and his beauty. Surely he would help me. Right?

Upon opening my eyes, sure enough, there he was. Quietly, I whimpered.

"I don't want this anymore. I want to wake up! It's not fair! He loved me"

"I tried to tell you." He whispered softly. He sat beside me on the table. Suddenly I felt an overwhelming response bubbling up inside.

"No! It's your fault! I'm dead and you couldn't help me!" Out of nowhere he suddenly wrapped his arms around me. I fought with him, pushing his chest away from me.

"Let me go!" He didn't budge, and soon enough I wore myself out. I lay there, huddled against his chest with tears pouring out of my eyes. They were cold. I whispered softly. "I don't even know why I'm here..."

"It's not time for you to know. When the time is right, I will tell you. Somebody will tell you. But not now. Come." He said, releasing me and walking away. I missed the human warmth that has now left me, and is standing at the other end of the room. I followed him.

"Where are we going?" I asked. The corridor we were walking through was dark and damp, yet somehow familiar.

The Man's POV

Katie was making it hard for me to stick to the rules.

"Where are we going?" My tongue went dry in my mouth.

"Why do you ask so many questions?" I growled, trying to ignore the little moment we just shared. Weird, but it was special. I'd already broken so many rules. Letting her out, telling her truths, and also lies. I don't know how much long I will keep my lips shut.

Katie stayed quiet, a few blonde ringlets covering her pale blue eyes. I sighed, and picked a skeleton key out of my pocket. Flipping it around on my fingers for a moment as we approached the door, I turned suddenly and faced her. Katie was looking down, so she bumped into me, not realizing I'd stopped. Her eyes widened for a second then squeezed shut for a millisecond.

"S...sorry." I held out the key without a word. She looked confused.

"You wanted answers." She took the key cautiously, stared at it for a second, and moved past me. My heart skipped a beat as she slid it into the lock and turned it. When the door popped open, a raspy voice emerged.

"Andy?"

♠ ♠ ♠

Comment your little hearts out(: