Life after Death

Chapter One

Last name Chamblee. First name Hezekiah. Middle name...well, it's Oshea, but it's not really important.

Anyway, this introduction is sounding worthless because at this moment, I have just woken up in the void between life and death all because I was killed by my father's bodyguard because I , and I quote you from my arrogant and acrimonious parents, "wasn't a true part of the Chamblee family's vision of the American dream." And all because I was born out of my mother's affair with the chauffer.

Sad to say, but it's all true. During my life on Earth, I was ignored by Mom and Dad, shunned by my older sisters, scorned by my younger brothers, and even treated like old furniture as a student at Albritton Chapel Academy. It's safe to say that I wouldn't be missed by anyone if my obituary was even listed in the newspaper or even surprised if no one dared to give me a proper funeral. It doesn't matter because I knew that I was destined to die in the first place, no thanks to a gypsy who told me that I wasn't meant for this world.

Oh, well. Reap what you sow.

Anyway, I'm now wide awake after the one fatal gunshot to the head as I'm in the void between life and death. Much to my surprise, the only thing I see is this computer desk that's taken up by one old-looking guy who reminds me of my late grandpa on Dad's side right down to his neatly-trimmed beard. "Ah, so you're finally awake," he intoned as he caught my look of surprise. "Welcome, son, to the void. Feeling okay?"

I nodded, sitting up to my feet and noticing that I was still dressed in my favorite black jeans and "Purple Rain" t-shirt. "Peachy," I grunted. "Who'd thought that being shot in the head could be so painless yet so crazy all at once?"

The older man shrugged. "Gunshots can do that nowadays, whether it's through homicide or suicide," he replied. "Let's just hope for your sake that you're not the latter. I hate for you to end up down below. You look like a good kid who hasn't done anything to end up in Satan's realm."

"No need to worry about that. It was someone else who pulled the trigger by Dad's orders because I was deemed expendable in the family." I looked around. "So, this is the place where people learn whether they're going to heaven or hell, right?"

"That it is, son." The older man reached into the desk drawer and pulled out a handheld tablet. "And you're in luck as you're my first client. I'm St. Peter's older brother and the new guy in the biz. Call me Louis."

"Charmed," I replied, walking up to his desk. "So, what do I need to do?"

"Just place your hand on the tablet screen and it'll let me know on my computer," he instructed as he brandished the tablet to me. "It shouldn't take too long. If my computer screen blares a heavenly fanfare, you're off to the holy city. If not...it's been nice knowing you."

And here I thought that it only involved reading one big book to see if someone's heading to heaven or hell! Taking a deep breath,  placed my right hand on the tablet screen and waited.

"Sorry. Something went wrong," a voice out of nowhere intoned. "Please try again."

Wait, what?

Louis frowned. "Try your left hand," he suggested.

I did so. Three seconds later, the voice returned. "Sorry. Something went wrong. Please try again."

"What the heck is this?" I asked in disbelief.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Louis replied, turning to his computer. "Let me do this through my computer. What's your name, young man?"

"Hezekiah. Hezekiah Oshea Chamblee."

"Mr. Hezekiah Oshea Chamblee," Louis muttered, typing away at his computer. He clicked a few times and typed down a few other things.

Two minutes later, he turned to me with a small apologetic grin. "Can you give me a few minutes?" he asked sweetly, a familiar sign from where I knew that something nasty was going on. "I need to talk to the Big Man upstairs and his brother below."

I nodded. "Take your time."

He disappeared before I could even blink, his computer and the tablet soon disappearing just as a park bench appeared out of nowhere. I opted for the park bench to sit down and maybe catch a small nap. Odd for being dead, but why not?

No sooner than I had five minutes of a nice snooze when Louis reappeared with a look of surprise on his face. With him were two beefy young men with golden wings and an all-white ensemble. Those must be the archangels. "Hezekiah Chamblee?" the first archangel on Louis' left asked me.

"That's me," I replied, sitting up on the bench. "What's the verdict?"

"We apologize for the delay, but we've just talked with Our Father in Heaven and Lucifer in Gehenna," the second archangel replied gently. "This has never happened before, young man, as neither of them believe that you are meant for either world."

Wait, what?

"How can that be?" I replied. "I mean, I know that I did a few misdemeanors and all that, but I'm a Christian and was baptized at an early age."

"All true, but there's been a surprising development," Louis intoned. "Mr. Chamblee, our records show that you were not meant to be on Earth at all, either as a human or any living thing at all. Technically, you're what we like to call a creation glitch."

My eyes went wide and my jaw dropped, memories of Mom's hateful words soon coming back to bite me in the ass.

You were born a mistake, Hezekiah. I should've had you aborted when your father learned that I was pregnant with you.

"You can't be serious," I said.

"Unfortunately for you, we are," the first archangel said. "You were not meant for life on Earth and you are not meant for either heaven or hell."

"So where does that leave me?" I couldn't help but ask.

The three men turned to each other, both archangels giving me sad looks before forming a huddle and whispering to each other.

If I was going back to Earth, I would not be happy if I came back a zombie where I can't be killed. That would just be wrong as hell.

Two minutes later, Louis turned to me and squared his shoulders. "You're not going back to Earth,  son," he stated, "but you're not going to either heaven or hell either. Meaning that you...are heading for the Nexus."

"And what's the Nexus?" I asked.

"It's basically a separate world where all the unwanted humans are sent to when they learn that they were not meant for this world," the second archangel explained. "There's only a small amount of people- mainly teens like yourself- who are there. But for the most part, you're going to be facing a world where you never existed."

Well, damn. Talk about living in a world where It's a Wonderful Life isn't so wonderful for rejects like me. How is this my afterlife?

Cumulative word count so far: 1212 words.

**************

So this is a totally new story for the Open Novella Contest as I'm planning to do something different this year. I don't know the true endgame for this story, but I am planning to roll with the punches while seeing how things will play out for Hezekiah. This will feature flashbacks from my MC's life on Earth and how things weren't pleasant for him. But there's also going to be a romantic arc as well. For all I know, this story will have an open ending when everything's said and done. So wish me luck! I hope you'll stick around for more!

Dedication: GraveyardSiren and JenLai29.

Vote.
Comment.
Share.
Follow.
Add.
FAN!