Deathless

Traveling into the afterlife.

The world was misty, only just coming into focus. Odette blinked, trying to clear her vision completely. She was standing in a dark cemetery. There was a thick layer of fog hovering over the ground. She couldn't remember anything. There was a vague image of some sort of hospital room, but that was all she could recall.

The night seemed eerie as a full moon peaked in the sky. She glanced around looking for anyone to help or maybe explain what was going on. The cemetery was like a, well, cemetery. She sighed and suppressed a shiver. She looked down at herself and gasped. No wonder she was freezing! She was wearing a thin silky white gown and barefoot. Confused, she ran a hand through her thick dark hair. Where was she?

She started walking in a random direction. The fog was warm on her toes, but not warm enough. She was still freezing. She didn't feel any grass under her toes. She didn't feel anything under her toes. It all seemed so odd. Odette hadn't been watching where she was going and she stumbled onto a large tomb. It seemed to come out of nowhere. Odette slowly opened the stone door. She grunted with the effort. Inside, a bright light practically blinded her. A loud voice coed, "Odette, it's time." She didn't know why, but tears rushed to her eyes and began spilling down her cheeks. She was sobbing so hard she soaked the top of her dress. "Daddy?" Her voice was hoarse, "Daddy . . . I don't want to go. I don't think I'm ready." His voice was soft now, soft and caring, "It's okay, baby. You are going to be okay. I'm taking you to a better place."

She nodded. He was her father. She would always believe him and follow him. He had always been there for her in life, so it only made sense that he would be there for her in the . . . afterlife. That's when everything hit her. She was dead. She had died on the operating table. Her father had died in a car accident. The tears kept flowing. She nodded again.

Odette began to step forward when something grasped her ankle firmly and pulled. She gasped as she lurched backward. "Dad!" She saw a glowing gold image of her father reach for her. His face was full of fear and panic. Whatever had ahold of her kept pulled. She screamed out for somebody, anybody, to help her. But no one did. Claws dug into her ankle and tugged her off her feet. Odette fell onto her stomach. Then, she was being pulled away from her father and the tomb. She was being pulled somewhere dark and lonely. She screamed.