This is the last time I would have to stare at the plain walls while I wonder if I'm even dead. I wonder where I am, what my purpose is here. When you're alive, you know your ending. You know you're going to die eventually, but here... I know nothing.
Knowing nothing can be either a good or bad thing, and I don't want to know which one it is because sometimes ignorance is better than knowledge. I'd rather stay ignorant to any evil than know about it and live in pain.
Jack reminded me to meet him at the station last night but I had the feeling that he wouldn't be there for some reason. Maybe I'm just nervous.
I'm not used to waking up so early, it's still dark outside.
Stacy helps me move my last box outside, which is extremely heavy. The halls are completely empty and silent, every small movement I make creates a sound.
"Well, I think you're all set, Julia." Stacy says, "Is there anything else you need from me before we head over to the train?"
I pause for a moment, wondering if Stacy is the right person to ask a deep question like the one that had been lingering in my mind.
I've been wanting to ask her for a while now and this might be my last chance. "I just have a question, but I don't know if you'll know the answer." I tell her and she nods. "Where are we? Why do we see the sun if we're so high in the air? Are we floating above Earth?" I ask, nervous to hear the answer.
Stacy laughs. "It's called the Afterworld for a reason. You're in an entirely different world. It looks as if there are stars and a sun but they're just artificial to make the people here feel more normal and oriented."
That isn't the answer I was expecting. So I'm worried about falling off of the cloud for nothing? What's below the endless sky that I look at from Tanner's window? Why did the clouds start to rise to form a storm if there's nothing below us? Maybe the storm was artificial too.
"But if you fall off of the edge, where do you fall?" I ask her.
"You'd eventually fall down to earth, but it would take many hours for you to reach it. That's why fallen angels exist. They're very rare." She explains while pushing the boxes against the wall.
"Cool. I think I'm ready then." I smile and turn back to look in my empty room that looks much bigger now that there's nothing in it.
"Perfect. It's a little bit of a journey over to the station, but it won't be so bad. It looks like we'll arrive a few minutes early." She glances at her clipboard and I follow her out of the dorm that I would never see again.
It wasn't even that cool anyway.
Stacy and I hardly speak to each other on the way to the station but I'm not mad about it because I am so tired. Instead of taking a right outside of the dorm, we go left and walk down a long sidewalk that leads to a small building. The building is lined with dirt and vines as if it were an ancient fossil or something. I can tell it's dark inside by just looking through the window.
I try hard to control my breathing as we enter the building that smells of fresh grass. It's like I had walked into a castle; everything is stone and ancient. There are statues scattered around the room and a singular railroad that comes from a dark tunnel. The train isn't here yet.
A few other stage ones sit on the benches alongside their stage two mentor and I eye Jack sitting in the corner.
"This is where I leave you, Julia. I hope the best for you, and I'm sorry I have to leave, I must go wake my next patient." She smiles, but refuses to look at me as if she were going to cry.
"Will I ever be able to see you again?" I question.
"Of course you can see me, I'll be waking you up tomorrow morning as usual. Just in a different place. But if you're asking about after that, then yes, we can still talk after I'm done being your mentor. See you later." She winks and takes off, along with some other mentors like we're all children being dropped off at our first day of school.
I take a seat next to Jack and lean my body against the cold stone wall, closing my eyes. It feels so good to close them; I didn't realize I could be tired in the Afterworld. I wish that feeling would've disappeared when I died, but I guess disrupting your sleep makes you tired no matter if you're dead or alive.
"Excited?" Jack nudges me and I groan.
"Very." I reply sarcastically, though I really am enthusiastic about discovering the stage two dorms and why everybody obsesses over how much better things are over there. Above all, I want to see Brooke so that she can tell me about Nick.
"Oh come on, you get a new pair of eyes and a new room! Sounds like a blast to me." Jack spreads his legs out and leans backward like I am, then ruffles his light brown hair. I never noticed how fluffy it looks, maybe because it's the morning, which made it messy from sleeping.
A loud rumbling sound comes from deep inside the tunnel and every single person inside the station lifts their head up in anticipation for the train. I open my eyes and stand up with the rest of the people around me.
A large silver train enters the station and the doors slide open shortly after stopping. It looks brand new. The metal hasn't rusted even though it's probably a million years old.
"C'mon, Julia." Jack calls out to me and I realize that everyone had basically walked onto the train without me. I'm so mesmerized by the design. I shake my head to remove my consciousness from my thoughts and step onto the platform, then into the spacious room inside.
The floor is white like marble and sparkles in the light coming from the ceiling. There are a few metal poles coming from the ceiling for people to grab onto and black leather seats placed against the wall, which is where everyone sat.
"I recommend you sit down for this, it's definitely a lengthy ride." A low voice instructs. I glance over in the direction it was coming from and make eye contact with a tall man who has sparkling silver eyes
"He looks like Mr. Clean." Jack whispers to me, noting his bald head. I burst into laughter, trying to conceal it by covering my face. The man doesn't seem to notice nor care.
"Today you are taking your next step into the Afterworld and there are a few things you should know and I am not going to sugarcoat this one bit." He starts, leaning his thin body against the metal pole. "This isn't like moving from middle school to high school, this is like going from rags to riches. Things are very different over here and you all are going to be going through some changes."
I glance at Jack, who is smirking as usual.
"As soon as we arrive, you are all going to get a new mentor that is temporary. They will help you for today. They will give you a tour of your dorm and basically everything there. Then, you will be taken to your temporary rooms where you will sleep. Any questions?" The man looks around at us. "Didn't think so. Enjoy the ride." He says not even two seconds after asking the question.
"You look nervous." Jack observes.
"You think? I'm not going to be able to see Brooke, am I?" I groan.
"Why are you so obsessed with Brooke? I get that you were already friends but why do you want to see her so bad?" He questions and my stomach ties into a knot.
"Right," I begin, "you don't know. Brooke promised me she would look down on my brother for me when she got here and would tell me how he is doing. I thought she would be able to come back and tell me, but I found out that she can't. I just want to see if Nick is okay."
My explanation seems to shut him up for a while.
If it weren't for the sudden movements surrounding me, I would've never turned around to look out of the window. Once my head perks up, everybody is in shock at what they see outside.
My eyes open just as wide as theirs when I follow their glare, but I don't know if they're shocked at the fact that we're approaching a floating island of land and there was nothing but sky below us or at the large white skyscraper ahead of us.
It looks like something that would be in Dubai; it's several hexagons connected together to make an extremely uniquely shaped building. I can see the large glass windows from here that are tinted white. I bet there isn't a speck of dirt on the outside of that building.
Behind it are a few more shorter buildings that are more square and old fashioned like a modern village or something. In the far distance is something that looks like a castle, but instead of stone, it's white. Everything is white.
This is nothing compared to the tiny stage one buildings, there are like three that I know of and the rest is open space and clouds. This place looks like a busy city filled with people and it appears much much happier.
"You're joking." I say under my breath as the train tracks glide along the land. We approach another small building that is fairly dim inside. There are a few people waiting to enter that wear clothes just like Stacy did-- a white blouse with a beige skirt. All of them are just as perfect and structured as she is, but now I know that is just because she's a stage two.
"Welcome." A monotone voice speaks. It came from the train.
"Off you go, your mentors will find you." The tall man instructs. His voice makes me feel uneasy, and the way his eyebrows rest on his face makes him appear angry all the time.
As I step onto the platform, a sudden burst of fresh air hits my skin. I feel like I haven't really been outside for weeks and I absorb a crisp breeze for the first time. It's oddly warm and tropical, like the airport you land at when you go on vacation.
"Juliet Miller?" A voice asks and a blonde lady approaches me. Her voice is colder than her appearance.
"Yes, that is me." I return.
"I guess I'll be spending the day with you." She smiles, then glances down at my arms where my scars are and her smile fades. "Follow me." The girl whips around and follows the other mentors into a large hallway that leads to a staircase going up and outside. I can see the light from down here.
"My name is Luna by the way, I've been a mentor here for a while. I think you'll fit right in." She tells me as we climb the stairs. Jack is only a few steps behind me, but I have a feeling I'm not going to be seeing him much all day.
"First we are going to tour your dorm where you'll be staying. There are five dorms here, each one with their own unique architecture. The coolest one in my opinion is the Palace of Versailles, but they're all basically the same on the inside." She explains as we walk outside where dozens of people are walking around.
Some of them have their wings and some of them don't. They all look so graceful and majestic, I can't help but to watch everyone in awe. I wonder what stage threes are doing here.
A few mentors take off with their mentees; everyone basically diverts in different directions and I give Jack a little wave before he leaves.
"You're going to be in The Gate, so consider yourself lucky."
"How so?" I ask.
"It might not be the biggest or the most gaudy, but it is right in the center of town where all of the events are held. It also has a series of gardens in the back which are gorgeous. It's the only building with terraces in each of the rooms, but you didn't hear that from me." She winks as we keep moving. She's walking so fast that it's hard to keep up.
Although I have endured a great journey so far, I have never wanted to be in my bed more than at this moment.
***