Heart wrapped in ink| Short stories

1. Land of the dead

When my eyes fluttered open, I was sitting on a train with strangers that looked half dead like literally half-dead. My eyes were still droopy, it took a minute for me to really focus on the people sitting next to me.

A scream escaped from me as my heart nearly jumped out of my chest. My hands were collected in a ball on my chest. I was against the window as a dead corpse but pretty much alive and was blinking up at me as if was it was almost annoyed.

"What a rude child, you should see yourself" the corpse, who looked like an 80 years old woman huffed looking at me.

I did look at myself and I realized I was strangely pale and so was everyone else on the train. Some had blood splattered across pale faces or bodies, eyes sunken and dark circles beneath them.

I was on a train of the dead that could've only meant that I-

"Such a pity to die at a young age" muttered the old man who was sitting next to the old woman.

I was dead. Dead? Dead????

"She was sleeping all the way, she must've died peacefully" said the old woman.

I slid back in to the seat, I noticed how we were still in a tunnel.

Suddenly I wondered where we were going "where is this train headed to? Heaven? Hell? Where are we going?"

The old woman chuckled "we are as new as you child"

"She is too jumpy and lively for someone who is dead is she not?" Said the old man.

The train came out of the tunnel my eyes were almost blinded by the light crashed through glass. The train came to a halt and a skeleton with a cap walked in with note pad and pen yelled "1st stop to the land of the dead! Everyone from the 1st compartment get off!"

I followed everyone else out of the train and the train jolted forward taking the rest of the passengers God knew where!

I saw a bridge, through the crowd slightly, and hanging over the bridge was a huge banner shining with lights named, 'Land of the dead'.

I followed everyone to the wide red wooded bridge, and underneath the bridge was no regular river it was red as blood and had skulls and other sort of bones swimming away. I cringed and moved away to the middle through the crowd and entered through the gates.

I was horrified, I was in hell I was sure of it.

As I passed by the gate there were skeletons dressed in some sort of formal clothes and watched each person enter.

I expected some sort of torture house with fire and whips but to my amusement it was like I had entered some sort of a village from the 1880s. There were lanterns hanging from above shops with all sort of things on each sides and small buildings like houses with valleys. It was like a paradise. That's when I thought I was dreaming or perhaps it was heaven? Was that it?

Just when I was beginning to believe it was heaven. Hell crashed in to me. I went flying few feet back as some boy knocked me along with him. I guess even the dead was as reckless and stupid as the dumb.

"Oh! Pardon me!" Said the boy fixing his flat worn cap and getting to his feet.

"Are you alright?" He offered me his hand.

He was as dead as me, but hazel eyes sparkled like a small child's as he smiled heartily at me.

I took his pale hand and got up "I'm fine"

"Did you see a small boy running by?" he asked.

"No"

"Dang nabbit! He stole my penny and scammed off"