Chapter 3

There was a tunnel with a light at the end of it. Heat radiated from the orb, warming Els’ aching body on the cold, hard ground. The light grew brighter and brighter, yet El had made no effort to move towards it. She thought she could faintly hear a voice, but she couldn’t understand it. As the light nearly blinded her, she felt hands grasp her shoulders and gently shake her.

“Hey. Hey! Wake up!”

El groaned and slowly opened her eyes to the late morning sun. She could faintly see the outline of the office building. Her body throbbed as if it had just undergone an immense amount of strain. Something cold touched her face and tilted it to the side. In her half-conscious state she could barely make out a young woman’s face. There was something wrong with her eyes…

“Hello? Can you hear me?” Her voice sounded young. Around Els’ age actually.

“Uh…uh-huh.” A hand was held in front of her face.

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Three…? Four…? Maybe five?” She heard the girl sigh.

“I need you to sit up a little, okay? Can you move?” El tried to prop herself up on her elbows, but not without some difficulty. Her arms felt like blocks of cement.

“I…I can’t.”

“Okay. I’m going to give you a little push.”  She felt an arm entwine around her back and gently lift her up. Something was pressed against her lips. “Here. I need you to drink this.”

“Wha…?”

“Don’t worry, it’s just tea. It’ll help your muscles.” El opened her mouth and let the girl slowly pour the liquid down her throat. It tasted bitter-sweet, and gave her a warm soothing feeling from the inside, out. Slowly, El started to feel her strength returning. “Okay, let’s see if you can sit up now.”

Carefully, the girl pulled her upright and handed her a thermos.

“You’re gonna want a few more sips of this before you can stand.”

“Thanks.” El gratefully drank the tea. After she was finished, she handed it back to the mysterious girl, and did a double-take. She was unnaturally pale, with long, straight black hair that went down to the middle of her back. Her left eye was brown, while her right was a dark hazel-green. She wore a black gothic dress, with matching combat boots and leggings. “Who are you?”

“My name’s Echo. And you’re Eleanor Law, right?”

“Yeah. How did you know my name?”

“A friend of mine knows you.” El was curious as to who Echo was referring to, but decided not to press it. She looked up at the office building and remembered where she was.

“What happened? How did I get here?”

“You fell.”

“Fell? How far?”

“Ten stories. You’ve been out cold for three days.”

“What?!” El tried to stand up, but her legs were numb, which caused her to stumble. In what seemed like half a second, Echo caught her and held her up.

“Easy, easy! You should wait a few more minutes before standing up.”

“How did I fall ten stories? Shouldn’t I be in a hospital?”

“You were in a hospital, that is, until they moved you.”

“Moved me where?”

“To the funeral home.” El just stared. Echo grunted in irritation. “Think about it. You fell ten stories; how many people do you know have fallen that height and lived to tell about it?”

“N…no. I couldn’t…This is all just a dream…A very strange dream.” El was shaking her head and trying to stand up on her own.

“Eleanor, listen to me.” Echo grabbed her face and forced her to look into her multi-colored eyes. “You fell. You fell and you didn’t survive. I’m really sorry to tell you this, but, you’re dead.”

Dead…

“No…NO!” All of her remaining strength came rushing back and she pushed the other girl away. “You’re crazy! This is all a dream! This isn’t real!”

“It is real! And no amount of self-denial is going to change that!” El turned around and headed for the park. She noticed that all of the carnival decorations were gone. “Eleanor, wait!”

Died…

“Leave me alone!” She walked faster, and soon found herself in the towns’ cemetery, located right next to the square. In the corner of her eye she saw two familiar figures. She sprinted towards them, her arms outstretched.

“Nick! Amy!”

They didn’t hear her.

Gone…

As she neared her family, she saw a third person there, one that she didn’t recognize. It wasn’t until she reached them that she even remembered who he was.

“Ash? Ash!”

He didn’t hear her either. Even though she was right next to him, screaming in his ear, he couldn’t hear her. She tried to touch him and to her horror saw her hand go right through his shoulder.

She saw that they were all wearing black. That they were staring at something. She turned herself to their angle and read the tombstone.

Here Lies Eleanor Justine Law.

Beloved Friend and Daughter.

Born November 14, 1996.

Died November 30, 2014.

R.I.P

She could hear her adoptive mother weeping as she knelt down next to her and place a bouquet of white lilies on her grave, followed by Ash with a single red rose.

Ceased to be…

“No…”

Is not with us anymore…No longer in the realm of the living…

“No!”

Met ones‘ maker…Bought the farm…

“Nonono!!”

I…am…dead.

El screamed.

She screamed and screamed.

She screamed at her parents, she screamed at Ash, she beat her tombstone until her hands were raw, and she screamed. Eventually she just gave up and collapsed on the ground, sobbing.

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

She didn’t know how much time had passed before a cold hand touched her shoulder. It could have been anywhere from five minutes to an hour, maybe more. All she knew was that when she looked up, her parents and Ash had left, and Echo was standing over her.

“I’m sorry.” Echo whispered. “I truly am sorry.”

El just cried.

After another minute of this, Echo gently, but forcefully, pulled her up. She handed her a black handkerchief and patted the dirt off of Els’ back.

“Come on. It’s time to go.”

“Go where?” El didn’t complain when Echo took her hand and started leading her away from the cemetery.

“You know; The Other Side, The Great Beyond, The Pearly Gates. You know, Heaven.”

“Heav…en?”

“Yeah, Heaven.” They stopped just outside of the park, at the far end of a large pond.

“How are we going to get there?” For the first time since they’d met, Echo smiled.

“Watch.”

El did as she was told, and watched as wings sprouted from Echos’ back. The rough, jagged black bones appeared first, quickly growing feathers that then seemed to turn translucent, almost as if they were some weird combination of smoke and glass. At the tips of each wing was a short piece of smooth bone that jutted out in a perfect crescent moon shape with a sharp and painful business end. Echo sighed in pleasure as she fluttered and stretched the appendages.

“They get kinda stiff if they’re back there for a while.”

El nodded as if she understood.

“That’s incredible.”

“Thanks.” Echo held out a hand, and as she grasped it, El felt as if she were floating in zero gravity. She pulled Echo closer to her as they stated to rise.

“Whoa. This is trippy.”

“It usually is on the first try. Now hold on tight.” They gripped each others’ hand like a vice, but they didn’t feel it.

They picked up speed as they flew higher and higher into the air. When they were just above the treetops, Echo gave a mighty flap of her wings, and then they were speeding through the blue sky above.