Halloween Roses

My first thought when my eyes finally open after what feels like a a night of deep sleep is "Jesus Christ, how drunk did I get last night?" My limbs feel as heavy as lead and it is so incredibly dark, and the confined space I have found myself in doesn't exactly provide me with any clues as to where I am. The weird position I have found myself in also raises numerous questions as to what the hell happened. I'm on my back with my legs straight and my hands folded across my stomach.

All I can recall is going out with some friends, but even that memory is incredibly foggy. Come to think of it, I can't remember all that much. Unfolding my hands, I reach up and run my fingers across the surface of where I am. The surface is smooth and feels rather familiar. Silk, perhaps? I try to move to get a better understanding of my surroundings, but find that I am unable to so much as turn over. Where the hell am I? What's going on? Why am I here?

Slamming the palms of my hands as hard as I can against the surface above me, which is only a few inches away from the tip of my nose, I start to panic. I shout, I yell, I scream at the top of my longs for someone, anyone, to help me. Nothing. Then I start to frantically claw at the material. My fingernails start to catch strands of it and pull it apart, showing what I assume is wood hidden behind it. Hitting, almost punching, at the planks I hear a creak as it starts to give way. Soon enough, it gives way but then the last thing I expect happens. Soil starts to fall into wherever I am. At an alarmingly fast rate, as well. If I wasn't panicking before, I sure am now. Clawing with my hands, I make the opening big enough so that I can get through and begin climbing up and out of whatever soil-y prison I have found myself in. Did I get shoved in a box and thrown into a compost heap or something?

At long last, my hand breaks through the top of the soil. Digging my fingers into whatever is above me, I begin to pull myself up and out of the claustrophobic prison I have found myself in. Then I'm free. I lie back and close my eyes, breathing heavily as I try to get as much fresh oxygen into my lungs as possible. Such a pleasant change from the stale air I was breathing before. Opening my eyes, I can see a full moon in the night sky above me. There is not a single star in the sky. Sitting up I glance around at my surroundings, and to say that I am shocked is a huge understatement.

I am surrounded by graves.

How the hell did I end up here? And if it's dark...wow, I must have been out for the whole day. Must have been one hell of a crazy night. If only I could actually remember what happened. Maybe I should go actually ask someone I went out with. Now who did I go out with....Alex? Yes, Alex! I'll just run to his house and get him to explain! Jack, you complete and utter genius. The earth feels slightly damp beneath my fingers as I scramble up to my feet and brush dirt off of the...suit I'm wearing...I wasn't even wearing a suit last night. Oh well, Alex will have the answers. Some of the dirt is too smudged to actually come off, so I just start walking with a rather muddy suit. Walking feels kind of...awkward, slightly not right, as if my bones aren't quite right. Probably just cramps...

The streets are filled with excited voices and the occasional collective cry of 'trick or treat'. Houses are elaborately decorated, some resembling grave yards and some houses just covered in fake cobwebs. Children, teenagers, and adults alike are dressed up. Witches, vampires, zombies, werewolves, you name it. Jack-o-lanterns litter the sidewalk, the flames within dancing wildly as if they are trying to escape from the holes cut in the pumpkin they are trapped in. The two people who pass by me compliment me on my 'costume'. This is weird. Real fucking weird. My surroundings scream 'Halloween', but yesterday was the 31st of August. I really need to get to Alex's.

As I start to jog, my bones still don't feel right and my jog just looks awkward.

----------

Finally reaching the house, just as decorated as the others, I knock frantically on the door until it is opened by the person I am looking for.

"Happy Hallo-" Alex stops short of his seasonal greeting and just stares at me with wide eyes.

"Alex, you will not believe what happened. I got so wasted last night and I honestly have no idea what the fuck is going on. First I wake up in a graveyard wearing a suit, and everyone is telling me it's Halloween. Halloween isn't for another two months! I am so confused, so I thought I would come over and ask you, seeing as you were part of the group last night."

No reply. He is still looking at me with those wide eyes and his jaw practically on the floor.

"Jack?" He whispers.

"Well done, Gaskank. Hi Jack, how are you? Oh I'm fine thanks, and you? I'm good thanks, why don't you come in? Oh how kind of you, thank you for letting me in on such short notice!" I ramble on as I step pass Alex and walk into his living room. I hear the door shut and wait as Alex walks slowly into the living room, being incredibly cautious. Weird.

"How come I got so hammered that I don't remember anything, yet you look perfectly fine? Damn it Gaskarth, you obviously didn't party hard enough, dude." I chuckle, having a wander around. Alex just slowly sits down on the sofa, never taking his eyes off of me. Walking pass the mantelpiece, I notice something.

"Hey, what happened to that photo of us?" I ask, turning to face Alex who is still staring at me. "You know, that photo you took when we were out for your birthday a few years ago. You always told me it was your favourite photo, and you kept it right here," I tell him, pointing at the empty space where the photo once sat. "What happened to it?"

Still no response.

"Come on, Alex, you've got to help me out here."

Nothing.

"Dude, you're freaking me out."

Again, nothing.

"Please help me, Alex." I plead. "I'm so confused. One day it's the 31st of August and now people are telling me it's the 31st of October!"

"That's because it is." Alex mumbles.

"Come again?"

"It is the 31st of October, Jack!" Alex shouts, suddenly jumping up to his feet, causing me to jump back.

"What? How? I can't have been out for two months!"

"You honestly don't remember, do you?" Alex asks softly, shaking his head slightly in disbelief as a single tear falls down his cheek.

"Remember what?"

"You died, Jack!" He shouts.

"What? I...but...No, I couldn't have died!" I protest, although it kind of explains why I woke up buried...

"But you did! That night we went out, you died. Christ...I even went to your funeral! Said a few words as well. I lost my best friend two months ago, and now here you are and just..." He shakes his head as more tears fall from his eyes. "Get out." He mutters.

"W-what?"

"I said get out!" He screams.

Before Alex can scream at me again, I run out of the front door.

----------

I am still incredibly confused. Me? Dead? That's impossible, other wise I wouldn't be here now. Right?

Passing a shop that is closed for the night, I glance at my reflection in the window and stop in my tracks. Completely turning to face the window dead on, I inspect my appearance. My skin is near white in colour, instead of the golden tan I usually wear. My eyes are no longer a warm shade of brown, now they are just pupils that are not perfect circles. My lips are slightly purple, and there is a faint vein going up the right side of my face. Taking a step back from the window, I shake my head in denial and disbelief.

"Jack? Jack Barakat?"

Turning to my right, I see one of my old friends from school holding onto the hand of who I can assume is his girlfriend. With a faint smile, I lift up my hand a wave slightly.

"I went to his funeral nearly two months ago!" He tells his girlfriend, and the both look at me with fear in their eyes. His statement is all the confirmation I need, we're not even really friends anymore so there is no way he would pull a prank like this on me. Turning on my heel and start running. With no where else to go, I head straight for the graveyard.

I guess the whole dying thing explains why my bones don't feel quite right...

----------

Sitting by the gravestone of what is supposedly my grave, I kick at the soil around the hole in ground that I made when I clawed my way out of that go forsaken coffin. My grave...it can't be, yet it is. Raising my eyes up to the marble headstone, I read the inscription carved into it.



Maybe I am actually dead then...if only I could actually remember what happened. Come on, Jack, think! Right, so you went out with Alex and a few others. Where did you go...a bar? Yes! The local bar that we all go to every couple of weeks! Zack drove us there despite my protests, claiming that no one wanted to die so there was no way I would be driving. So we got to the bar and I remember they played a blink-182 song...Alex and I danced like nobodies business...then we all took some shots. After that it's a bit murky...probably due to the unbelievable amount of alcohol I drank. I do remember leaving the bar at some point though...around 11pm I think. The roads weren't too busy, save for the occasional car. It was dark, the streets only illuminated by the street lights. As we left the music could still be heard in the bar behind us. Not many people were out walking on the streets at this time. I had my arm around Alex's shoulder and we were singing some New Found Glory songs at the top of our lungs, not sure what song though. Then I let go of him, why did I do that...oh yeah! I wanted to cross the road because there was a nightclub in that direction. I started to cross the road. People started shouting...why were they shouting? Shit...did I take my jeans off again? No...no, I think the jeans were still on. Thank god. Then why were they shouting? Wait...

The car.

There was a car driving at some ridiculous speed, definitely above the limit. I didn't notice it until the last minute. I remember looking at the guys still on the sidewalk, shouting at me to get out of the road. Alex's screaming was the loudest. That's when I looked to the side and saw the car literally a second before it crashed into me. It happened so fast. One second I was on my feet, the next I was lying on the ground on the other side of the road. Everything was hazy and taking on a dream-like quality. The last thing I remember seeing is Alex before I blacked out.

And here I am now, two months later. Jesus christ...I am actually dead. Why me, though? Why not someone else? None of the other graves have been disturbed, so why am I the only person who has actually crawled out of their grave? At least this explains Alex's reaction to seeing me. I mean, his friend did arrive at his door even though they died. I have literally no one to go to, though. I guess I am sentenced to an eternity of hiding in this graveyard. At least that gives me time to mull over all of this. This is so fucking weird...

Then something by the headstone catches my eye. Leaning over the hole in the ground, not really caring about my suit, I grab whatever it is that has been disturbed by my hurry to get out of my ground. Pulling the item to my chest, I see that it is a bouquet of roses. I go to smell it and sniff, but I can't smell anything. Absolutely nothing. Sighing, I look closely at the bright red petals. They look kind of fresh, maybe they were put here yesterday. Who put them here though? Then I notice a little note by the side. Grabbing the piece of card between two of my purple tinted fingers, I read the cursive writing on it:



"Alex..." I read aloud under my breath.

"Have you remembered yet?" Jumping ever so slightly, I twist around and see Alex standing a few feet away holding a fresh bouquet of red roses.

"Yeah." I manage to squeak out, looking back down at the roses I am clutching to my chest.

"Here," Alex takes a seat beside me and takes the day old roses from my grasp and replaces them with the fresh ones he brought. "I've been bringing to your grave everyday since the funeral. I remember you once telling me that you liked roses."

"They're really nice, thank you." I tell him as I place the roses on the ground beside me, leaning forward to hug him but thinking better of it as I notice him leaning back slightly and his eyes widen. I don't think he would appreciate it if his now undead friend hugs him.

"Oh fuck it." He mutters, leaning forward and wrapping his arms around me very tightly, as if he is scared that I will disappear. If only I could feel the hug properly. Hesitantly, I wrap my arms around him as well, before relaxing into the embrace. "I really missed you."

"I'm so sorry I did that to you, to everyone. I should have seen that stupid car."

"No, Jack." He says, sitting back and placing his hands on my shoulders. "The cops found out the guy had been going at almost a hundred miles per hour. It took mere seconds to turn the corner and hit you, there was no way you would have noticed it in time. Thankfully, that guy is in jail now."

"I was drunk though..."

"So were the rest of us. You can't blame yourself, alright buddy?"

"Okay." I whisper with a slight nod, picking up the roses again and holding them close to my chest. "What are we going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean about this. Are we going to tell the others? If your reaction is anything to go by, they aren't exactly going to welcome me with open arms." His face instantly falls.

"I'm so sorry about how I reacted. I just didn't expect my dead best friend to arrive at my front door."

"Don't worry about it."

"And I honestly don't know what we're going to do. We'll cross that obstacle when we get to it."

"That's not going to take long then..." I mutter.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, where am I going to stay? I can always hide in the graveyard or just crawl back into my grave, but neither of those are exactly ideal."

"Just stay with me then." Alex suggests with a slight shrug.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm fucking serious." For a moment I simply stare at him, trying to figure whether he is telling the truth or not. He seems to detect my doubt as he lets out an exasperated sigh. "Jack, you have been my best friend for years now. Undead or not, you're still my friend and I will always be there for you."

"Thank you." I whisper with a small smile.

"Don't worry about it."

We sit there without exchanging any more words for a few minutes. Alex's gaze is fixed on my grave, and mine is fixed on the roses. Thankfully, it isn't awkward like I expected it to be. As I continue to look at the roses, I begin to chuckle. Then it turns into full blown laughter. Alex looks at me with concern and confusion.

"What are you laughing at?"

"I-" I take a deep breath to try and calm myself down so I can actually get a sentence or two out without sounding like I just broke out of an insane asylum. "It's funny, because I've got roses and I just rose from the dead."

Then I burst out into uncontrollable laughter again, and as Alex processes what I said he just looks at me with the most unamused expression a man can muster.

"Jack, you may have just risen from the grave but I will not hesitate to beat your ass if you say stupid shit like that again."

"I will bite your hands off so you don't beat my ass."

"Jack."

"Yes, Alexander?"

"Shut the hell up before I throw you back in your coffin."

"Have fun with that, dickhead."

"I'm going to regret letting you stay at mine, aren't I?"

"Yep."

"God fucking dammit."