Afterlife Saga: Afterlife Part 2

The rest of the day was more fun than I thought it would have been, and we even got chance to do some food shopping.

I decided to make my famous lasagne. Libby looked lost following me down the aisles as I looked for all the ingredients I needed. I also picked more food for the rest of the week, already having some idea what I was going to cook. Libby just looked happy at the thought of not having to cook anymore and I say cook in the loosest sense of the word.

By the time we got back to the house it was already getting dark, but if anything the falling night seemed to enhance the beauty of the surrounding scenery. I had really wanted to go exploring but that would have to wait until tomorrow. Although I wasn't scared of the dark, I knew the idea of walking around a place I didn't know would be a stupid idea. It was just so peaceful. If it hadn't been freezing cold I could have sat out, staring at the mountains for hours. They fascinated me. Every time I looked, there was something different about them, the colours, the shapes and the smells of the air seemed to change with them. Just then the wind picked up and Libby looked impatient at me while I lingered.

"Sorry, I'm coming," I said rus.h.i.+ng to the door with arms full of shopping bags.

"I'll put the dinner in the oven, you go and relax." Libby said with a wink.

As we had lost track of time I had agreed to save the lasagne until the next night, and as I hadn't prevented Libby from buying any frozen meals, that's what was on the menu tonight.

We had lunch out at the mall so I was still full from my burger and chips, or fries, as they say here. The girl at the counter had looked truly confused when I ordered; thankfully Libby had come to my rescue.

"You nearly ended up with a bag of crisps," she had teased.

After our mammoth shopping adventure, Libby had taken a long detour to show me the town and although it wasn't big it had taken longer than we had expected, taking the long roads winding in and out of the wilderness. That's when I gave in to burritos from a packet, Frank's favourite apparently.

I carried all my bags up the two flights of stairs. I had done well today, ok well everything I had bought was a shade rather than an actual colour but I bought some warm tops, all long sleeved of course. I had bought a new pair of jeans, two sweaters and most importantly, a warm black jacket. It was a long coat down below the knees with a warm interlining and had long sleeves that were more like gloves as they had a hole you could put your thumb into. It had a big hood that hung nicely when down and above all it looked water proof which was a must as Libby had told me how much it rains here.

It was fully dark outside my cosy window by the time I got out of the shower and dried my hair. I pulled on some warm sweat pants and an old t-s.h.i.+rt that I was using for pyjamas and a chunky woollen throw to put round my shoulders. I had put my long fingerless gloves on as soon as my arms were dry. This was mainly for my benefit, along with others. I hated any reminder of the incident, so therefore tried to hide any evidence that would remind me of the h.e.l.l I had experienced.

My sister's face, whenever she saw my gloves, was one of deep sorrow and regret. She tried to hide her feelings but I knew her too well although I appreciated it all the same.

I decided that I was tired enough to get some sleep without the fear of dwelling on the past. I had to confess that the shopping trip had taken it out of me, which was always a good thing.

I had already heard Libby and Frank go to bed so I tried to tiptoe downstairs to get a drink before bed. I didn't want to put the light on in case it woke them, which made getting down to the kitchen all the more difficult in the dark.

I was just about to knock into the cupboard at the bottom of the stairs, when a sudden flash of lightning lit up every window in the ma.s.sive hall illuminating my way. Of course it also scared the life from my bones and I froze, too terrified to move, with my hands clamped around my mouth so as not to scream. Then it came five seconds after the light, the loudest bang and crack of thunder I had ever heard. I put this down to the location, as it must have echoed off the mountains because it seemed to go on for what seemed like minutes. I remembered something vague from my childhood, about for each second after the lightning strikes, that the waiting for thunder represents a mile. So therefore the storm was five miles away. This was somewhat comforting.

It wasn't that I was scared of storms normally but being in an unfamiliar house in the middle of what seemed like nowhere didn't appeal to me. In fact storms kind of fascinated me. The power of them was so immense. I used to like to think of them being created in anger by the almighty Zeus, forged by his own hand to be sent to the underworld, ruled by his brother Hades. This was to be a warning of his impending wrath towards his treacherous brother living in the pits of h.e.l.l.

I nearly ran into the kitchen and turned on the light before the next angry blast of light could erupt. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge as I noticed that a heavy downpour of rain had now added to the night's stormy weather and left quickly, trying to glide up the stairs without making any noise. I took two steps at a time. Amazingly I only stumbled once and considering the steep uneven steps to the attic that were consumed by darkness, I thought that I did pretty well not breaking something.

Once inside the comfort of my own room and seeing the warm glow of my bed lamp I felt as if I could finally breathe. I got my cold body into bed just in time before the next eruption. The explosion of light and noise indicated to me that the storm was now right above us. And Zeus was most definitely very angry tonight! This was by far the worst storm I had ever heard. It seemed to last forever. I didn't know whether it had finished or not by the time I finally fell asleep but when I awoke suddenly to the strangest sound, I didn't know if it was thanks to any noise the storm produced. Wide eyed and breathing heavy I lay waiting for the sound again.

It sounded like something was trying to scratch their way out of my window. Half in between sleep and consciousness, I tried to make sense of the noise, coming up with explanations in my mind as to what could be the cause of this irritating noise. My mind led me to a more familiar sound that our family cat used to make when she jumped up to my window ledge. Puddy, our big grey pet cat used to scratch at the frame to get my attention, so I would open the window for her to come into my room, in the hopes that I would share my bed with her.

This thought quickly had me sat in an upright position, frozen, staring out into the darkness. The noise hadn't been something trying to get out but more importantly, something was trying to get in!

I sat waiting for the noise again hoping to G.o.d that it had only been part of my dreamy state and that I had imagined the whole thing. But then I heard it again and nearly jumped out of my skin. The clawing had become more erratic sounding, more frantic to enter my room and get to me.

My heart raced, it felt as if it would burst through my chest like the thing in the Alien movie. I still couldn't see what it was and knew that if I put my lamp on it wouldn't help, the only thing left for me to do was to get out of bed and walk over to my window to get a better look. The problem was I wasn't sure that I wanted a better look.

It was getting louder now and I did think about waking up Libby and Frank but then what if it had been nothing or was gone by the time I got back to the room. They would think I had finally lost it. And I feared the nut house more than anything else. Well almost anything.

I decided that I had been through worst things and that I would brave it. It was just harder to get my legs to agree with my mind's decision. My body and mind refused to co-operate with each other.

Finally I got to my feet and stood very still, waiting for the noise to begin again, wondering if I would ever be able to get back to sleep, not knowing what it was. I had to find out even though I was terrified. I still needed to know. But as I crept forward taking a deep breath with every step I took, the vision started to get clearer. The clawing was so violent that the gla.s.s sounded near to shattering at any second. Suddenly I was beyond all fear, and ran over to the window as fast as I could tripping over the clothes I had left on the floor, then falling into a heap on the window seat. This put me face to face with the creature trying to get inside.

Two huge black wings battered against the window in frustration as the thick set of claws on each foot looked deadly enough to rip through skin like a hot knife to b.u.t.ter. I sat staring at this enormous bird trying to destroy my window. I was fixated, I couldn't move, it looked like a raven only more the size of a giant eagle. Its feathers all looked as if they had been pushed backwards, it was so scruffy and not like the usual majestic birds I had seen on TV. Oh no, this one looked b.l.o.o.d.y possessed! What had come over this creature to want to behave this way? It looked almost demonic, eyes bulging with fierce hatred that glowed in the darkness it seemed to own, the look of a killer that had finally found its prey.

Just then a great scream rang through the dark sky.... no not a scream, more like a roaring howl. I had never heard anything like it before. It sounded part animal, part man and part... something else. The bird heard it too and pus.h.i.+ng from the window's frame, made off in flight towards the direction the noise had seemed to come from but it was hard to make out in the night sky.

My mind raced as I still sat at the window looking for any explanation as to what just happened. Had it even really happened or was I still asleep?

When I had been taking my medication I would often hallucinate, seeing strange things but even then I was sort of aware that the reason at the time was due to the drugs in my system. This was not the same at all. Whatever had happened, one thing I knew for sure was that it had been real, for one reason I could taste the metallic taste of blood in my mouth where I had bit my bottom lip in fear. This was a hard thing to accept but there was no other reasoning behind it. I was clearly awake, as my sleepiness had soon worn off due to panic.

My mind wandered through any explanation I could think of, none of which made any sense. I finally crossed the room towards my bed, when I stopped dead as something important hit me, the memory of the look on the creature when it too had heard the same blood curdling sound that ripped through the forest.

Its master was calling...

Chapter 3 - New Friends.

The rest of the week went relatively quickly and well, more importantly, without any more crazed bird incidents. But still, it didn't keep me from wondering what the h.e.l.l had happened?

I had been for numerous walks and hiked as far as I could until I was sure I knew the area, so I wouldn't get lost. I had even arranged to meet up with RJ at a coffee shop in town, to get to know each other before the big night at club Afterlife. After all, rock music isn't the best way for a first "let's get to know each other" date and as I kept getting reminded, I really needed to meet some new friends, hopefully before I started college.

The week hadn't completely gone by without some progression towards this new life I was trying to create. I had landed myself a job at club Afterlife as a waitress thanks to Frank's connections. And even better, without an interview, all I had to do was show up for my first s.h.i.+ft next week. Libby was still getting round the idea of course, not wanting me to push things too soon but I was strangely optimistic.

I really did need a job, besides from what I had heard from Frank, its where most of the...I quote "kids your age" hang out. So at least I would meet people there if the RJ thing didn't pan out. Luckily I wouldn't have long to wait to find out as I was due to meet her in about twenty minutes.

Libby had been kind enough to offer to drop me off as she wasn't back in work for another week, she had booked time off to help me settle in and show me around. She had even been hiking with me as this was a pa.s.sion of hers and Franks. She showed me the best spot to go on a clear day, unfortunately it had been cloudy and raining that day but it was still an amazing view. A brilliant place for a date, she told me and then went into one of those stories I had heard a million times already. It was about the time Frank had surprised her with a romantic picnic for their anniversary. But I listened as if I hadn't heard it time and time again. She continued all the way home, not leaving out one tiny detail. I loved that smile she gave, whenever she spoke about Frank, it was nice that she was so in love. I was happy for her. But it also had me wondering if I would ever find a love like that?

"Slow down, I'm not late Libs!" At this point I thought I wasn't going to make it, not in one piece anyway.

"What, I'm doing the speed limit!"

"Yeah right, around the bends maybe, see that thing there, next to the gas, it's called the brake, maybe you should think about using it once in a while," I teased.

"You just chill out about my driving and worry about meeting the Goth."

"What...I'm not worried!" I didn't even convince myself with this statement.

"Ok then, why did it take you longer than me to get ready this morning? Plus your room looked like a bomb went off and the clothes were the shrapnel." This was true; it was a complete disaster zone.

It wasn't that I was worried but more apprehensive. It had been years since I had to do anything like this, it felt like first grade all over again. The panic was more down to not knowing what questions were going to be asked, it felt like a test that I hadn't studied for...h.e.l.l I didn't even know the subject. There would be your usual, where are you from? Why did you move here? These I could deal with but it was the more personal questions like Do you have a boyfriend? Have you ever had one? The normal boy talk, that always comes up in these types of situations.

It wasn't that I couldn't answer these questions. It's just that my reactions that followed were the problem. I wasn't good at lying! I would just have to stay calm and relax, after all she was a Goth, she might not be into boys, she might be one of those 'it's all about the music' types. Ok, highly unlikely but one could only hope.

In the end I chucked on a pair of old jeans that had seen better days, a pair of trainers that had the same problem and of course a long sleeve top that was grey with thin black stripes. My hair was wrapped up tightly into a twist that was held securely by a large clip made of metal, which had a b.u.t.terfly on one side and a rather large point on the other. I had bought this from a Christmas market last year thinking it would serve two purposes. One, with it being made of metal it would be strong enough to hold up all my long thick hair, and two, more importantly, it would also be useful as a weapon. These days you never knew when you would need protection.

We pulled up in the parking lot right outside the main doors as it had started to pour it down with rain.

"Well, good luck, I have some stuff to do but I'll be back here in about an hour...ok?"

"Yeah ok, no problem, I'll meet you here."

I got out of the car and ran towards the swinging doors, as I turned to wave I just caught a glimpse of Libby making a speedy getaway. I would have to talk to Frank about her driving to see if he could talk some sense into her. Thanks to her speeding she had dropped me off with five minutes to spare. I walked over to the escalators and up to the food court. I remembered my way from last week's shopping trip and knew exactly which coffee house I was meeting RJ at, so I had time to find a seat before she got there or so I thought.

I just turned in the doors to find a bright pink haired girl sat in the corner. She wore all black like the last time I had seen her except for a very long multi-coloured scarf that although wrapped around her neck a few times still made its way to her feet. Her hair was cut short and spiked into pink points, a style that suited her very thin but friendly face. She waved and stood up just in case the erratic waving hadn't caught my attention. I couldn't help smiling at this as I walked over to the booth she occupied.

"Hey Keira, how's things?"

"Yeah good thanks but you can call me Kaz, everyone else does."

"Cool, so what have you been up to? Have you settled in yet?" I don't know why but it felt like she was easing me in with this question instead of bombarding me with what she really wanted to know, which of course, was everything!

"Yeah just about, I didn't really have that much stuff to unpack as most of it is still in England with my parents."

I read her face as I said this, she must have thought my parents had died or something equally as horrible, otherwise why else had I moved here. It was funny the way the darkest of reasons entered our minds first. It was as if they were put there by something evil controlling our thoughts, whispering morbid possibilities into our head.

"That sucks, are they going to send the rest of your stuff over?"

"Nah, but my mum said she would send anything I needed over to me, so that was the main reason behind the shopping trip last week, I was in desperate need of a warm jacket." She smiled at this last statement.

"Yeah it gets pretty cold out here, just wait until winter and you'll be sleeping in it!" We both laughed. She was so easy to talk to I don't know what I had been worrying about.

This wasn't the only reason for most of my stuff being left behind. They had been fully prepared to send everything I owned over but it just reminded me of my old life, clothes I would never wear again, brighter, shorter and more noticeable, which wasn't who I was any more. I had told them to throw them out but my mother wouldn't. She was still holding on to the hopes that her baby would return back to her happy bubbly self. Which I knew was never going to happen. Broken pieces never fixed themselves and this was yet another reason to add to the very long list of reasons why I moved here.

A waitress came over to take our order but didn't look too happy at the task. She was quite old and haggard looking with white hair with some grey in patches. There were deep dark circles that lined her eyes along with the most wrinkled skin I think I had ever seen. The uniform didn't help her appearance, a pasty green s.h.i.+rt that looked like the same colour that they painted hospital walls. She looked ill and the colour brought out the green tinge in her skin.

"What do you want?" A rude harsh voice came from a pair of thin tight lips that looked like she was sucking a lemon. RJ's bubbly voice answered first.

"Cappuccino." She turned to me but didn't meet my eyes.

"And you?" Was all she said, which sounded more like an order than a question.

"Hot chocolate please." I always felt like a child ordering this but I didn't like coffee and I doubted that they had English tea.

"Oh and can I have a double chip m.u.f.fin?" RJ's voice was the complete opposite to the waitress' whose name tag revealed her to be called Meg. She just gave a vague nod and walked away towards the counter to start the order.

"Wow she was happy, must love her job." I said with a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah" she giggled "don't mind her, she's never happy and she's been working here for years. I think she used to go to school with my mom but dropped out. She's been working as a waitress ever since."

I now understood why Meg wasn't the happiest person in the mall.

"Ah I see," was all I could think of.

"So how come you moved to little old Evergreen, if you don't mind me asking?" There it was, the question I knew was going to be asked, the one I didn't yet know how to answer. I knew the truth, I was running from my past and it had brought me here, but I couldn't come out with that for an answer. But it always made me laugh the way people added "if you don't mind" to the end of a question they really wanted to know. What was I going to say "h.e.l.l yes, I do mind."

Just then the waitress brought us our drinks, which gave me a bit more time to think of an answer that seemed logical. She dumped them down and walked off.

RJ blew on her cappuccino and looked up at me with big eyes that were caked with thick black make-up. "You were saying," she said as she studied my face for an answer.

"Umm... well I decided to move here because" think Kaz, think!

"Because of Libby... my sister."

"Your sister?"

"Yeah she was kinda missing her family and stuff, so I decided to move here and start college in the fall." This was partly true as she did miss us and had a hard time adjusting to the move in the beginning, but things had become easier for her with time and with her new job she soon found friends. Frank's family also lived in the next town and they felt the same way about Libby that we did about Frank. They loved her.

"Wow that was really good of you, you two must be really close."

"Yeah, we are, she's not just a sister, she's a friend too."

"That's cool, I have a sister but she's younger than me and going through her bratty teen years, driving my Mom crazy, and me for that matter!" We both laughed and I couldn't help wondering if they were as different as Libby and I were.

"Yeah I get on better with my brother Jack, he's two years older than me but we hang out quite a lot as we both have the same friends. He's into rock music like me. Hey do you like rock music 'cause there's this great live band playing at this club called Afterlife, I think I mentioned it before in the store, but a bunch of us are going tomorrow night and it would be great if you could come?"

"Club Afterlife? Yeah I know the place; I've actually kinda got a job there."

"SHUT UP, no way, really?" She had sat bolt upright, spilling frothy coffee over the edge of her cup as she looked so excited by this new discovery.

"Yeah, I start next week for my trial day but I should be fine, I think so anyway, I mean I've worked in a bar before."

"Oh my G.o.d, I can't believe it, you are so lucky. Everyone I know would kill for a job there, how did you manage that?"

"Well my brother-in-law Frank knows the owner or something and well.... he just asked him, I think he must owe him a favour."

"What, hold on, let me get this straight.... does your brother-in-law know... The Dravens?" She whispered the name as though it was the town's biggest secret and had my skin crawling with instant Gooseb.u.mps that had me s.h.i.+vering.

"Who?" As soon as the name was said, she had my full interest. It was weird, as if some light just went on in my head. Why did that name suddenly have an effect on me, as though I had heard it before, in a dream or a memory I couldn't remember.

"The Dravens are a family that come here once a year, they are stinking rich, millionaires or even billionaires, who knows. But they own the club and half the town for that matter and like I said, they come here for a couple of weeks every year to this tiny town. But n.o.body really knows why. They bring in loads of really crazy looking people, I mean really weird looking!"

"That's strange, I wonder what brings them here?"

"Like I said, no one really gets to the bottom of it but we get a lot of these 'visitors' while they're here and they all stay at the club." She said this making "quotation marks" in the air with her hands, for a more dramatic effect. It worked.

"What do you mean... they, like live there?" She could see my confusion and smiled.

"It will make more sense when you see the place, trust me. Which reminds me, so are you up for up it, tomorrow night that is, the band's called the Acid Criminals, they do quite a heavy set, but it's worth it just for the dreamy drummer." She was getting carried away with herself and went on talking about the drummer for fifteen more minutes before we arranged a time to meet. I really wanted to ask her more about the Dravens but chickened out, plus Libby was due to pick me up. RJ's easy going nature and friendliness had made the time fly by and I found myself looking forward to tomorrow night. I had a feeling that we were going to be good friends.

She walked me down to the front entrance of the mall and waited with me until Libby's car was in sight. She continued to tell me about tomorrow night and who I was likely to meet there. One of which included her older brother who apparently was dying to meet me. I couldn't understand why but I figured she had said this to put me at ease about meeting everyone or maybe it was because in a town this small a new girl was probably a talking point. Especially one from England, well hopefully the novelty would soon wear off.

Libby waited while we said our goodbyes.

"Ok, see you tomorrow, oh, and don't forget your ID, they're really strict. Wait what am I saying? You will be working there, ha, I forgot that!"

"Ok, see you then," and with that I made my way to Libby's car and noticed she had the window cranked down despite the weather.