After Death

Chapter One

"Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, and dust to dust..."

That is the burial rights of the dead. Everything goes back to what it started off as. Well, everything except me.

Dying sucks. It hurts a whole lot more than you see on TV or the movies. All I remember is an incredible pain and a bright white light. Nothing else happened for a while and then, I came back to life.

I gasped and sat up, or I tried as my head hit something above me. It was so dark that I couldn't see anything. I felt around me, it was as though I was in a box of some sort. I growled in frustration, then a memory hit me. I was dying, or rather I did die. So that would explain the box.

I'm trapped inside my own coffin, buried alive... Oh great. How did I even come back to life? I can't remember how I even died. I do know I needed to get out of here. The air was limited and I'm not sure how long I've been breathing.

I was still in the tuxedo I was buried in. I reached down and untucked my shirt, then ripped a long piece off. I managed to wrap it around my mouth and nose. I knew this was gonna hurt. I started punching the wood of my coffin. Adrenaline and survival alone made up my strength.

An hour later dirt started to pour through the decent sized hole I made. Im glad I made this temporary scarf. I brushed the dirt down towards my legs and kept punching and breaking the wood.

Another hour passed by before I could pull myself out of the wood casket. I clawed my way through layers of dirt and finally broke the surface.

I pulled myself out of the ground completely and fell on the ground next to a tombstone. I was heaving from all the exertion. I couldn't feel my knuckles or fingers, they were probably broken.

After catching my breath for what seemed like a long time, I sat up. I finally noticed the tombstone next to me and moved to where I could read it.

Craig Williams

1995-2014

My stomach dropped. That is my tombstone. I squinted at the writing, trying to remember how it is I died in the first place. I was drawing a blank. It started to rain and I then decided I needed to find shelter. I rolled over and pushed myself up, completely in pain from my broken hands. I grit through the pain and managed to stand. I swayed a little, seeing dots in my vision. I started shuffling forwards, heading vaguely towards where I remember my apartment was.

Around an hour later I made it to the front of the door to my apartment. I knocked to see if my roommate was still here. I began to fall forward, passing out from exhaustion, as my vision faded I remember seeing a girl with blonde hair open the door.

"Help...."

I woke up in an unfamiliar bed, but in a familiar room. I looked around and I knew the walls were the same but everything else; the furniture, the decorations, everything else was different. I tried to sit up and immediately regretted it, I felt light headed and fell back into the pillow with a groan.

The girl I saw before opened the bedroom door and walked in. She had a glass of water in one hand and something else in the other that I couldn't see. She sat on the edge of the bed near me and set the glass and what were pills on the night stand next to the bed. I tried to get up again still struggling, she reached over and helped me sit up. I opened my mouth to try and say something to her but I couldn't form the words. My mouth was incredibly dry. The blonde handed me the glass of water, as I grabbed it she also held her hand for the pills.

"They are painkillers, take them." She said simply.

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion of them before giving them another look. I've already died once, oh what the hell. I thought as I took them and gulped down the water. I immediately felt the pain receding.

"I'm Rey by the way." She introduced.

"Craig." I managed to finally croak. I shifted around on the bed and noticed I was missing the tuxedo. I was wearing sweatpants and a white t-shirt. I raised my eyebrow in confusion at her. She blushed a little.

"That suit you were wearing was wet, bloody, and dirty. I threw it away and gave you clothes my ex-left here."

I nodded my head in acceptance before moving my arms beneath me so I could stand. I noticed my hand wasn't bandaged as I thought they were going to be. I furrowed my brow in confusion. I'm pretty sure my fingers and knuckles were bloody and broken.

"How long was I out?" I asked curiously.

"Only one day. I thought your hands were a lot worse than they appeared. Maybe you are just a fast healer?"

I don't remember being a fast healer, ever, in fact I was the complete opposite. I shook my head, standing up now. I needed answers, I needed to find my family and friends and tell them I somehow rose from the dead. I turned around to Rey.

"Where am I?"

"Central Delta Apartments, Why?"

"What room number is this?" My voice completely back now.

"219."

That number. This was my apartment. Where was my roommate? Why did he let this girl live here?

"Where is Terry?" I asked.

"Terry? OH! You mean the previous tenant? He moved out around two years ago after something with his roommate happened. How do you know Terry?"

Two years ago?! This can't be. If it's been two years why do I not look or feel at least a little decayed?

"Give me your phone real quick," I demanded.

"Why?"

"Just do it, I need to check the date." She handed it to me after unlocking it. I hit the calendars app.

October 31st, 2016

The phone dropped out of my hands. The realization just hit me. I've been dead for two years....

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AN: Welcome to my new story After Death! This has been rolling around in my head for awhile so I finally wanted to write it out. This is my side project with The Wolf in the Storm being my main focus. When I get writer's block, I will write for this. Well, unless people want more of this then we shall see. I've actually had this first chapter done for a while now, but I wanted to hold back on posting it until now. Today is actually a really close friend of mine's birthday so I wanted to make this chapter as sort of a B-Day present to her. So..... Happy Birthday!