The Black Parade

“So what happens now?” I asked.

“Well, usually or for you?” Frank asked, gaining a sharp clip around the head from Gerard for that. “Ow,” Frank complained while rubbing his head. “What was that for?”

“There are a few special circumstances with you,” Gerard explained. “As you can see the rest are all taken to see relatives who will help guide them through the difficult transition period. One of my genius ideas,” he boasted. “But it’s up to you. You’ve got your Aunt Tracy, your maternal grandma Agatha or your paternal grandfather Jack,” he counted off on his fingers, “or you could just skip it and go onto the important stuff, the decisions entirely up to you.”

“What’s the important stuff?” I asked.

“Well, as Frank let slip,” Gerard turned and shot Frank a dirty look, “I might as well get to the point. You’re different, for special reasons that I will divulge later, but you’ve got to come with us, to see us at work, you could say.”

“What?”

“Basically,” Bob started. “You’ve been chosen to join the ranks of The Black Parade, you’ll be replacing Gerard.” I was starting to like Bob, he told the truth, I think, well it sounded believable, even if I didn’t understand what he meant.

“Replace Gerard?” I stuttered.

“Yep,” Gerard answered, looking ecstatic. “And I think I made a good choice.”

“Replace you?” I asked. “Where are you going?” He was the only person I knew here, well I knew a bit about him… okay, I knew he liked the sound of his own voice too much and that was about it.

“Moving on.” Gerard answered.

“Heaven?” I asked warily.

“Something like it.” He answered. “But that doesn’t matter now. So what do you want to do?”

“Would you think I was incredibly heartless if I said I really didn’t want to see any family at the moment?”

“No, not at all. It kind of makes my job slightly easier, we’re on a tight schedule at the moment, we’re waiting for… something.” How very nice and concise and to the point. Don’t you just love this guy?

“So… you’re training me to do your job? Greet new souls and bring them here?”

“She got it in one, Gee,” Frank grinned. “Not just a pretty face, I see.”

“Thanks Frankie,” I mocked.

“No problem.” I don’t think he realised I was being sarcastic, I wonder what state they did find his brain, or more likely brains splattered all over the train track, poor fellow.

“First, I’ve got to… do something.” Gerard said, still being very vague and very annoying. “I’ll leave you with these guys for a moment.” He muttered as he turned away from us.

“Wait, Gee!” Frankie called after him. “What are we supposed to do with her?” Great to see I wasn’t a burden on them.

“Show her the ropes,” Gerard called back, disappearing down the deserted street and into the bright white horizon. I actually got a proper look of my surroundings now, realising that it wasn’t just a street, there were side streets, and towering buildings stretching out as far as the eye could see. It was a whole city.

“Okay, who gets her?” Frank asked.

“I got better things to do,” Bob said, already walking away.

“Ray?” Frank appealed to his friend.

“I think you can do just fine on your own, Frankie,” Ray replied, ruffling Frank’s hair, which seemed to annoy the short one, and disappeared off into the crowd.

“Fine,” Frank huffed. “Come with me.” He grabbed my hand rather forcefully and started dragging me down the street the same way Gerard had gone.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked, trying to pull my hand out of his because he was holding on a bit too tight and was dragging me a bit too fast, and I can not run in heels.
“I’ve got a tight schedule, do you know how many people die every second?!” He exclaimed.
“You didn’t answer my question,” I countered.

“I didn’t did I?” He grinned. But he didn’t seem to want to elaborate on that much. What is it with everyone around here not telling me anything? He took a sudden left and ducked under the barrier separating the crowd on the sidewalk from where the parade past. Just as he whisked me down a side street the Black Parade popped back up in the street doing that same “have you heard the news that you’re dead?” song. God, life with the parade must be really repetitive. I’m so going to enjoy my afterlife here. “So…?” Frank started suddenly as he dragged me into the lobby of one of the tall buildings. It was a rather luxurious looking lobby too, expensive and upper class, Frank was doing good for himself in his death. “What do you think of Gerard?” Frank turned to me suddenly and asked.

“Am I supposed to think something about him?” I questioned sceptically. I think I knew what he was trying to get at.

Frank gave me a very untrustworthy grin. “Not at all.” He replied.

“You know you lot are cryptic buggers!” I huffed.

“Why thank you,” he beamed, taking a mock bow. I just rolled my eyes. These guys were really starting to get on my nerves. “Now keep up, my dear.” He started striding off again and I had to hitch up the skirt of the ridiculous dress, I’m not much of a dress person, and run after him sloppily, not much of a heel person either. God death sucked in the fashion stakes.

“Okay, are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I snapped, thoroughly frustrated now.
“To work,” Frank replied with that vague smile of his again. Instead of taking the elevator, like I so hoped, he turned into the stairwell and I contemplated the never ending, it did seem, staircase. “It’s only a few floors.”

“I hate you, Frank!”

“You don’t even know me,” he replied in a happy little voice.

“There doesn’t seem to be much to know,” I muttered under my breath. I don’t think he was buried with his brains.

More than a few floors later, and a lot of cursing, we reached what seemed to be the floor Frank was looking for. Unlike what I expected from the lobby, it wasn’t an apartment building, it was just one long bright white room, swirling grey mists at regular intervals along the walls.

“And what in Hell is this?” I asked.

“This is the portal, or one of the many portals, from the City of the Dead to the Land of the Living.” Frank explained.

“Someone needs a better decorator,” I mumbled. Well the minimalist look was so out this season.

“Gerard said you liked to pretend you were funny,” Frank said.

“Oh shut up,” I huffed. “Anyway how’d he know that about me?” Not that I was confessing that I thought I liked to pretend I was funny in the way Frankie meant, I am funny, I’m not desperately trying to be funny, it’s just a natural talent.

“Death’s rather boring,” Frank explained. “The Dead spend most of their time watching the Living.”

“Oh, how nice. Do you watch girls in the shower too?” I asked in an innocent little voice.

“Only my Jamia,” Frank replied in the same innocent tone. He grabbed my hand and started pulling me down the rows of swirling mists counting them off out loud. He stopped suddenly and turned to a nondescript mist exactly identical to every other swirling grey mist in the room. How in Hell was I supposed to tell the difference when I started doing this on my own? Frank reached out and plunged his hand into the mist and as he pulled it away it cleared to reveal a scene being played on the other side, very much like an inter world TV screen. The scene was of a young couple walking through a deserted dark alleyway, rather stupid if you ask me, they were holding hands and laughing and stealing enthusiastic kisses every now and then.

“You know this is voyeurism?” I said.

“It’s my job,” Frank answered with a very happy little grin. Death was made for the perverts, I swear.

“What is this?”

“The Death of James Harris.” Frank said. “But I think we’re a little early.” Just fucking marvellous, I wanted to hit him I really did, all that dragging me around for nothing. “Are you ready for this?”

“For what?” But I didn’t get an answer, Frank just took my hand in his again and stepped toward the portal, raising his hand and sinking through with ease, pulling me with him. Just like when I had touched Gerard’s hand for the first time the mist was warm and comforting and before I knew it we were standing in the alleyway, a bit behind the young couple, who were making out rather enthusiastically against a brick wall. Should we really be seeing this? “Now what?” I asked in a whisper.

“They can’t hear us you know.” Frank replied in a superior tone, his voice a lot louder than normal.

“Well sorry,” I rolled my eyes, “I am new to this, you know.” Annoying little prick.

“Just watch that corner, this ones like that Ghost film with that fellow with all the muscles.”

“Right.” I turned to the corner Frank had indicated and saw a man in a weathered leather jacket lingering and watching the young couple with a greedy glint in his eyes. Okay… Ghost… poor James Harris is going to be murdered during a botched robbery, or so it seems, though I can’t see poor James Harris being tied up in some bank scam. That’s not very nice. I wonder if I could warn him and save his life? It’s not really a just reason to die. It surely can’t be his time yet. “Can’t we like… stop this?”

Frank turned to me with a disbelieving look. “I don’t have the authority.”

“Gerard did it.” I replied, remembering what they said about all those teeny suicides he sent back.

Frank gave me a dirty look. “Just watch and learn.” I’m guessing I hit a sore spot with that. I’m sensing some jealous feelings here.

I watched like Frank instructed. The shifty looking man edged around the corner to face the couple, who were rapidly losing their clothes. I hope James Harris does not die naked. The man came up behind James, a switchblade suddenly appearing in his hand, and he held it up against his throat.

“Give me all your money.”

“Okay, really can’t we do anything?” I asked Frank. “I mean this guy is so terrible at this it’s almost laughable.”

James’s girlfriend gave a scream of fright suddenly and I looked back to realise James had grabbed the man’s arm and turned giving the guy a punch in the face. Okay, James was either very brave or extremely stupid. Take your pick. James nearly had the shifty guy on the floor when the switchblade was sunk into his chest. Ooo fatal hit. The girl screamed again, cowering against the brick wall in fear. The shifty guy stood up and pulled the blade out with one foot on James’s chest. He wiped it on his shirt without so much as a flicker of remorse. He didn’t even fucking care.

“Jesus, you’d have thought he does this all the time,” I muttered.

“He does,” Frank answered. “There’s a kind of I Hate Henry Roland club.”

“How many?” I asked, kind of worried about the answer.

“Eight,” Frank answered calmly.

“Jesus!” That was a load. “So is there like a… Hell?” I asked cautiously.

“Yes,” Frank answered simply.

“And will Henry be going there?”

“Yes.” Frank said. “But if you haven’t noticed James Harris is dying.”

I turned back to realise that Frank was right, the girl was crying hysterically over James, who was clutching weakly to her hand and whispering something to her. He coughed and brought up blood that made the girls cries more anguished and then he slumped in her arms. She howled in agony, clutching her boyfriend’s body to her chest, realising the inevitable. There was an odd flash of light, that I recoiled from but it didn’t seem to affect Frank, and suddenly there was another James Harris there, siting on the damp concrete by his grieving girlfriend. His first reaction was of extreme distress, he scrambled over to his girlfriend and touched her face but she didn’t even notice him, tears began to fall down his cheeks.

“This is horrible,” I whispered.

“I’ve seen worse,” Frank replied in a hard voice. “James Harris!” He called over making James turn around and gasp backing away from us.

“Why can’t she see me? Why can’t she feel me?”

Frank advanced on James, who backed away into the wall in fright, Frank knelt down to be at James’s height, he placed a reassuring hand on James’s shoulder. “You’re dead, mate.”
“D-dead?” James spluttered. “No, I’m not. I just… why can’t she see me?”

Frank sighed and stood up offering his hand to James who stared at it as if it might be poisonous. “Take my hand, James.”

“Who the fuck are you?” James cried, the tears now falling rapidly down his cheeks. “Why can’t she see me?”

“My name is Frank,” Frank explained calmly. “I’ve come to take you to the City of the Dead.”

“No,” James shook his head violently. “I’m not dead.”

“Just take my hand, James,” Frank tried again. James sighed and grabbed Frank’s hand, who helped drag him to his feet.

James gasped and looked upon Frank wide eyed. “What was that?”

“Nothing.” Frank replied. It wasn’t nothing, it was the same feeling I’d had when Gerard had grabbed my hand. Frank clicked his fingers and the Black Parade appeared at the end of the alley singing that same Dead song. “Welcome to the Black Parade, James.” I think I liked Frank’s approach a little better, considering there was no singing, I liked that.

“Can I-“

“Of course,” Frank answered in a soft tone.

James turned back to his sobbing girlfriend and knelt beside her, touching her cheek lightly, she stiffened and gasped. “I’m so sorry, Amy.” He muttered. She hadn’t heard him but she closed her eyes and gulped as if she could sense him so close.

“Jamie,” she muttered.

“I’ll see you soon, honey.” He kissed her cheek, tears streaming down his cheeks again. “I’m ready, Frank.” James stood and walked back to us.

“Have you heard the news that you’re dead?” Frank began singing, grabbing James and my hand and pulling us into the throng of confused people at the back, I could see Bob marching along a little further away and he waved at me and gave me a thumbs up. “This is Gwen, by the way.” Frank said to James. I shook James hand. And before I knew it we’d jumped to someone’s apartment building where someone had just choked on something I think, and then a lake where a girl Soul Collector was trying to drag away a soul who was trying to dive into the lake to save their body. And then we were back in the City of the Dead. Frank left with James and showed him to an elderly woman on the side who was smiling warmly and James ran to her and they shared a hug. How sweet. They were ‘la-la-ing’ by the time Frank ran back at me and caught me around the waist laughing. “Ready to go again?”

“Why are you so happy?” I snapped. I was still rather upset about what I had just witnessed.

“You can’t brood over all the deaths, you’ve got to take it all with a pinch of salt or you’ll get depressed. Anyway James is happy with his Mom.” I looked over and realised that James was laughing and hugging his mother over and over again. Maybe he was happy. But surely life is better than this? “Anyway, ready to go again?”

“Again? Already?”

“Yeah, no rest for the wicked,” he grinned, grabbing my hand and pulling me off again.

This time as we were walking through the Portal Room Frank suddenly stiffened and turned to the other side of the room. “Naughty,” he muttered under his breath. Though he started walking towards a portal with a mischievous look in his eye.

“What are you doing, Frank?” I asked.

“Seeing something,” he replied. A nervous look filtered through his eyes but he shook it away and reached out to another portal, putting his hand through it and pulling it back to reveal a hospital room… and Gerard?

The man in the hospital bed almost looked like Gerard, what with the same bone structure, but he was older, time had taken its toll on him.

“What are you doing, Frank?” I repeated, having some sudden surge of guilt in my stomach for seeing Gerard like this.

“Poor guy,” he muttered. And suddenly music was filtering through the portal. It was kind of a catchy tune.

“Now what’s going on? I’m fed up with people just bursting into song!” I snapped.

“Just deal with it.” Frank replied.

“Thanks, you’re so much help.” I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

Gerard was standing as far away from the man in the bed as possible, his eyes glued on him, a look of stone in them. He was standing so stiffly, his hands behind his back.

“Who is that?” I whispered to Frank.

“Mikey,” Frank answered. “Gerard’s little brother.”

“Shit,” I muttered. So that was Mikey, dying of cancer. Oh god, I suddenly felt so sorry for Gerard, I just wanted to hug him and tell him everything was going to be okay. But why would he torment himself like this by watching his brother’s slow deterioration? Surely he would see him in Death in a much better shape. Why torture himself so?

“To un-explain the unforgivable,” he began singing in a low voice, not looking away from his brother. “Drain all the blood and give the kids a show. By streetlight this dark night. A séance down below. There’s things that I have done you’d never… should never know.” He approached Mikey cautiously but still looking so detached. “And without you is how I disappear and live my life alone forever now. And without you is how I disappear and live my life alone forever now.” He reached out as if to touch him but stopped himself and turned away to look out a window. “Who walks among the famous living dead drowns all the boys and girls inside your bed.” He sighed and turned back to Mikey. “And if you could talk to me tell me if it’s so that all the good girls go to heaven, well heaven knows.” Some renewed life seemed to come over him and he turned to Mikey with a sorrow filled look. “That without you is how I disappear and live my life alone forever now. And without you is how I disappear and live my life alone forever now.” He leant against the bed, the sleeping form of his brother not even moving. “Can you hear me cry out to you? Words I thought I’d choke on figure out. I’m really not so without you anymore I’m just a ghost so I can’t hurt you anymore.” He pushed back with anger. “So I can’t hurt you anymore.” And suddenly he was filled with rage. ”And now,” he picked up the chair beside his brothers bed and chucked it against the window. But the oddest thing seemed to happen, the chair went through the wall and suddenly appeared where it had began without a scratch as if nothing had happened. “You wanna see how far down I can sink?” He stood at the foot of his brother’s bed, gripping the foot board so tightly his knuckles turned white. “Let me go, fuck!” He dropped to his knees and cried out. “So, you can, well now so, you can. I'm so far away from you. Well now so, you can. And without you is how I disappear and without you is how I disappear and without you is how I disappear and without you forever, forever now.”

“Oh god,” I muttered. I found myself so close to tears just watching him, now slumped on the floor by his brother’s bed, head hung low, his breathing ragged and short.

“Poor bastard does this too much,” Frank mumbled, he grabbed my hand and turned me away but I suddenly felt another hand on my arm. I turned around to see Gerard was suddenly standing there a look of pure venom on his pretty features.

“You shouldn’t have seen that.”