The Lost Cause: Book 1 In TLC Series

Now That I'm Gone

((The attached YouTube video is an original song I found that fits this story))

Present Day

The blackness has consumed my world, even though I hear everything that's happening.

"Get the phone! Call an ambulance!"

Crying, sobs. Screams, yells. Everything you shouldn't hear in death. Maybe I wasn't dead yet, but I felt it coming fast. Too fast for anyone to save me.

"I'm so sorry. You can't save me," I whisper into the blackness. I must be out cold though, as my whisper isn't heard by the sobbing person. I feel myself get lifted and put into an ambulance. I hear the sirens as I begin to move, very fast. I hear the silence come before anything, my final thought being one devoid of hope I'll be saved.

"Haha! I won. Thanks for letting me die."

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Some time later, I feel myself floating, like I'm being taken away. Far, far away. I open my eyes, and see myself. I gasp in shock, realizing I'm floating above myself. A pale, bloody form of myself, but still me. I reach down, getting lower to the body, when I touch my face. It's so cold. I realize that I'm actually gone. I've actually died. But why am I still here? The body in front of me is cold, yet her soul is still alive. I ponder for a second, but before I come up with anything the door clicks. I whip around, my feet now placed on the floor, as I see a pale, tear streaked Alex walk over to the body. He's clutching a ripped piece of paper, and I recognize it as his part of the note.

"Jamie. I love you. They said you're gone. I don't believe them. You're gonna wake up tomorrow, I know. You're not dead. They're wrong. You're just asleep. A long, breathless sleep. You'll be ok. You'll-you'll...." he breaks off, holding the hand of the lifeless body in front of him, one that I don't believe is me.

"Alex," I say, reaching out to wipe his tears. My hand touches his face, yet he doesn't even feel it. I really am gone. Then I realize, if Alex is here, who's here with him?

"Ellie," I hear from behind me, knowing only one person who calls me by a portion of my middle name.

"Jamie, look who found me. I'll be ok. I'm with Daddy now, and Mommy went away forever," Alex says, tears still running down his face.

I slowly turn my head and see my dad, someone I thought I'd never see again. He has hints of gray in his black hair and his blue eyes are exactly like my own. He has a single tear rolling down his face, and it breaks my heart. He puts a hand on Alex's shoulder, and whispers something to him. They leave the room, Alex giving the body's hand one last squeeze before walking out. Then, Dad returns, only him.

"Oh Ellie. If I knew it was this bad, I'd have found you earlier. Your funeral is tomorrow, at my expense. Daddy never forgot you, and he's always loved you. I never remarried, never had another kid. I tried to find you and Alex, but she disappeared with you. I'm so sorry. I realized m-m-my mistake," he says breaking into tears. I can't watch anymore. I have to get away. I slowly walk to the corner of the room, hands over my ears, as I drift off into sleep.
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I awake yet again to see my body lying in a morgue. I must transport where it transports, because I literally just woke up and didn't walk here at all. I notice that my body is wearing a nice dress, a blue one. She also has on makeup, and there's makeup on her scars and recent cuts. Funeral is my first thought. Of course. Why wouldn't a dead person have a funeral? I stand up and lay the back of my hand on the body's face, almost in question.

"If you're dead, why am I here?"

Suddenly the doors of the morgue fly open, revealing a man dressed in dark clothes. He quickly walks over to the cart holding my body and wheels it out, leaving me running after him.