Passing On

Lucina "Luce" Walsh:

She gave a smile as Nathan laughed at her comment, though she dearly hoped that her having some crazy weapon fetish wasn't the true case. Besides, it wasn't as if she worshipped her weapons now or thought them as attractive...which would be odd. The feel of them was assuring and gave her the confidence to complete anything. Why these calming reactions came from weapons, she had no idea. It must have something to do with her past life, but the worst thing she could remember that she did was street racing. At his comment, she burst out laughing as she remembered trying to teach him to shoot. "Yes!! That was your fault!...though perhaps clapping you hard on the shoulder with a loaded weapon after you pulled off a pretty good shot wasn't the best action on my part," she said with a smile.

Lucina came to Purgatory with the skills to shoot excellently. Her shots hit the middle of the target every time, and moving targets showed the same results. People keep their skills, they just need to figure out what they are. Due to there being really no cars here, Luce couldn't work on one. Not only that, but the town was small enough to walk everywhere, and there was a store with car parts. The fastest way to get around was by bike, rollerblade or longboard, which were all available.

"You used the whip well though. I didn't see you lazy yourself with it on accident, though you did drop it," she said with a small laugh, nudging his arm to show she was just giving him a hard time and not being mean. The screams of the demon slowly came to an end, thank goodness. "Good. Now I can hear myself think." Luce grumbled under her breath before looking over, seeing food. Her eyes widened and she snatched Nathan's hand with hers. "Nathaniel Jackson, there has been food this entire time!" She exclaimed before pulling him along as she quickly walked over to get cheese, bread and fruit. Her eyes flicker over, seeing the two Newbies. She forgot about them. "Oops. We forgot about the two people we saved. Giving them an overview of whole situation here is probably necessary," she sighed, coming to a stop in front of a basket and let go of his hand. Luce tore some of a loaf, grabbed a slice of colbyjack then picked up a pear.

Axel Edgewood

Axel followed her to the kids with the food baskets. While he was hungry, he was more curious about this place he was in. Lucina had called it Purgatory. Purgatory, if he remembered correctly, was like limbo or oblivion...the place people went to before Heaven or Hell, at least, that was what he believed it to be. It depended on the religion, he guessed. However, if they were in Purgatory, then that meant every single person here is dead, including him and Kailyn. The truth of the situation was creepy and confusing.  

Pulling from his thoughts, Axel gazed up as he was offered some food by some kid holding a basket. "Yeah, I'll have some. Thanks," he murmured, pulling out a piece of bread and an apple, though he was suddenly no longer hungry. Despite this, he took a bite of the red fruit. Luce and Nathan slowly came into view with the black-haired girl pulling him behind her as she strode purposely towards the food. Maybe they would tell him and Kailyn more about this world. "Do you want to talk to Lucina and Nathan? I'm sure they can give us a better insight on this world," he offered to the girl beside him.

Nathaniel Erit Jackson

"My fault!" Nathan exclaimed, but then grinned when she admitted to having slapped him on the back. While Lucina had been naturally drawn to her weapons when she first arrived, Nathaniel had had to rely on his wits for the most part, and though he didn't like the prospect of being demonized, he did love the adrenaline that fighting without an actual weapon gave him. His stubbornness against weapons might get him killed someday, but he'd survived for four years, longer than most. The oldest person here, in fact, had only been in Purgatory for 11 years. Little more than a decade.

"There has?!" His head turned toward the building at the mention of food. "Why didn't anyone tell us?" He didn't have time to get annoyed though, since Lucina's hand grabbed his and then pulled him over to the food. He'd barely recognized the two that they'd saved, as they were both standing next to each other smiling at the food whereas earlier one had been on the verge of crying. At Lucina's comment and sigh, he nodded his head and also snatched some food from the baskets. PepperJack cheese, some bread and also a pear.

"Probably," he replied shortly, shrugging his shoulders. "The usual right? You're dead, welcome to Purgatory. Now don't die again and don't let the demons get you?" Nathaniel had a more open personality with his friend, Lucina Walsh, but with others he was more closed off. Yes, he had other friends in Purgatory, but Lucina was the best by far. Plus, she was crazy and funny and that made her fun and cool to hang out with. And he knew she could kill just about anything.

Kailyn Jayn Shalle

Following Axel's lead as he accepted the food, she just grabbed some cheese and an apricot. If anything, her worries were less on where they were and more on if they were safe. Could they just stay here every day? Would they get kicked out? Were there other places like this and other little towns? And would the demons ever get through? She clearly did not want to die. Or get eaten by those monsters or whatever happened when they got you. Tearing her cheese, she nibbled off the end of it. The cheese was delicious, and so was the apricot once she tried it. She didn't recall eating anything within the past day that wasn't berries in the forest that she didn't know were poisonous or not. She wasn't dead, at least.

At Axel's question, she slowly nodded her head. Yes, she'd like to know more. Actually look, there the two were with them, also attracted to the food. Lucina and Nathan, Axel had called them? "E-excuse me, Nathan?" She opted to talk to the boy who had saved her life rather than the woman she knew nothing about. When Nathan turned to her and gave her a nice smile, she felt more reassured."Can you guys explain...this?" She asked, gesturing all around her with a questioning expression.

Lucina "Luce" Walsh

"Yeah! I'm guessing no one told us because we take all their food," Luce said with a soft laugh as she responded to his, "There has?!" Taking a large bite of her pair, she looked over at the boy and girl. They seemed more calmed down, which was good. It made the whole talk about how they were dead and completely trapped here much easier than some kid who was flipping out. She caught his sigh, and wanted to echo him. She understood that he didn't really like interacting with other people he didn't know, but with these two, it was sadly quite necessary.

As he spoke up, Lucina met his eyes and took another bite of the plump, green pear. The flavor was rich and tasted wonderful. They got a really good shipment of food this time. At what he said, she gave a small laugh. "Yes. Exactly like that, Nathaniel. Way to put it gently," she said with a grin. "But yes, just the usual. All Newbies typically ask the same questions anyways, so it won't be a huge deal," she said with a shrug.

Not too late afterwards, the girl walked up with the boy behind her. "Excuse me, Nathan? Can you guys explain...this?" she asked. Lucina smirked slightly and looked at Nathan.  "I told you we would have to," she chimed then nodded. "Alright, well, I already gave you the introduction," Luce said, pointing to Axel, then looked to the girl and gave a wide smile. "Welcome to Purgatory! You're dead! Congratulations!" She beamed, hearing an audible sigh coming from Axel. "Being dead, you must have plenty of questions. So ask away."

Axel Edgewood

Both him and Kailyn walked over to Lucina and Nathan, who were talking to each other when Kailyn asked if they could explain this world. Nathan had responded politely, but Luce was a loose wire. She reacted nonchalantly, though it was almost dark, considering they were all actually dead. She didn't put it vaguely at all, but rather threw it out there completely. *Nice,* Axel thought to himself sarcastically, not liking the energetic black-haired girl all too much, and gave a small but audible sigh.

Since she said that they could ask any question, Axel stepped up beside Kailyn. Looking to the girl and meeting her lively blue eyes, he asked his question, "What are these things you call demons? How can they kill us if we are already dead?" She gave a small smile, though her eyes reflected boredom from the asked question. "Great question! Well you see, they don't actually kill you. If they hurt you in a way that would have ended in your death if you were still alive, then you turn into a demon yourself. I've killed friends who turned into demons before. Quite sad, really," Luce answered. Axel frowned. *We can turn into demons?* He thought to himself, considering some theories about this place he had made and remained silent.

Nathaniel Erit Jackson

The male rolled his eyes at Lucina's 'I told you so', but the polite smile on his face expanded into a smirk at her upbeat and dramatic welcome. Hearing Axel's sigh, he figured the boy must be questioning her attitude to the serious situation, but the answer was simple; how was one supposed to survive if they couldn't laugh from time to time?

He stuffed his hands in his pockets as Lucina continued to do the talking for them and answer their questions. As he did so, he inspected the two newbies. The girl seemed like the shy, but energetic type, much like a child, really. She stared up at Lucina as she spoke, curiosity filling her eyes. The boy, however, was more down-to-earth, at least in his current situation.

"Uhm," came the girl's voice, making Nathaniel move his eyes back to her. "If the demons are so dangerous, why don't people just stay here all the time where it's safe?" The question made Nathaniel eye her like she was a potato and didn't know anything, one of which was true.

"Would you like to stay cooped up in a place like this for years at a time?" Came his retort and he pulled his hands out of his pockets and gestured at himself and Lucina to emphasize his point. "Everyone here is all dead, most without their memories. We don't know how to live our lives in any other way than how we do it now. We don't know what happened in our pasts, but we know we can't just sit here and wait to move on, because that isn't happening. We all have to keep moving forward because the only way to get out of this place is to either become a demon or pass on! And as far as I know, no one has passed on from Purgatory in years, that's how rare it is." He started counting on his fingers as he spoke to reinforce his point. "People can't commit suicide, lest they're brave enough to face a demon. They can't build a family, can't befriend a pet, can't go on adventures because it's almost certain you're going to die. You don't know if the person standing beside you is a murderer, and you don't know anything about yourself! So people can't just sit here on their asses doing nothing to help themselves or others!" Abruptly, as if just realizing he'd gone into a rampage at the girl's question, he took a deep breath, rested his hand against his forehead and closed his eyes to make himself calm down. "No, it's just not possible for someone to stay here all the time and be happy. Yes, you're dead, but if you keep yourself here all the time there's absolutely no chance for you to pass on."

Nathaniel opened his eyes again to see that the girl was now staring up at him with wide green eyes, with an almost sad and scared look to them. He mentally cursed himself for his rant, but the only response the girl made was to ask, "Uhm, what does pass on mean...and how do you do it?" Nathan looked over to Lucina again, expecting her to catch his gaze and answer for him. Passing on was kind of a touchy subject, not just for him, but for everyone. However, he didn't want to go off on a rant again, and he figured Lucina would do a better job at explaining everything anyway.

Lucina "Luce" Walsh

At the girl's question, Luce's eyes darkened slightly, and she gave her a similar look to Nathaniel's. She was going to answer, but before she could even open her mouth, Nathaniel spoke up instead. It was a bit calm at first, but then it built up until the girl wasn't the only one looking up at him, though Luce's gaze was filled with surprise. In all the time that she knew him, Luce didn't believe she had heard him get so aggravated with a Newbie before as he had today. "I think that was the most I've ever heard you say," she teased in a  whisper softly, so the others couldn't hear her, and touched his wrist with her fingertips lightly, a gesture that was meant to be comforting or soothing.  

The black haired girl returned her eyes to Axel and Kailyn. The boy was studying Nathan closely, but remained quiet. He seemed like the quiet, serious and calculating type. Lucina knew that he didn't seem to like her all that much, but didn't take it all that much into consideration. "Uhm, what does pass on mean...and how do you do it?"  the girl asked, her eyes wide and a little scared after Nathaniel's outburst. Lucina stiffened, catching her best friend's eyes with hers. Passing was a subject people usually avoided talking about completely, though a few asked for help in deciphering one out now and then. Realizing Nathan wanted her to take this one, she took a deep breath to calm herself down before answering.

"Passing on is when we fulfill the task that allows us to move on from this place. If you look at this from a Christianity standpoint, Hell is the forest, this place is the medium between Heaven and Hell, and when you Pass on, you go to Heaven. However, no one is certain what happens when you Pass on. There could be a Heaven, or maybe we are reincarnated or maybe we just disappear. All we know about the Passing is that bright white light shines around you and eventually engulfs you...then poof. You're gone. No trace is left over that you were ever here except maybe where you slept," she began, clasping her hands behind her back.  "Our ultimate goal is to be able to Pass, but, like Nathan said, it is extremely rare for anyone to do so.  First off, you have to live long enough to retrieve all of your memories, and then go through them and look for the task that may be what you need to do to Pass. No one knows what their task is. You have to guess and figure it out yourself. It is deeply hidden within your memories. That's why so few people have actually Passed. However, once you regain all your memories then do this unfinished task, then you Pass on, basically. Any questions?" she asks, looking at the two of them.

"Yeah. How do you know when all of your memories return?" Axel asked, and Lucina looked to him then gave a humorless smile.

"Your last memory will be your death, of course,"  she said simply.  

"Alright. What have you figured out your past then?" he added and she frowned, giving him a glare.

"I have figured out that I was part of a circus and was forced to be a trapeze artist." she said thinly and he raised an eyebrow.  

"Really?"he asked and she rolled her eyes.

"No. So mind your own damn business. Another thing you two should take into consideration, is that if someone doesn't come up and willingly tell them your memories, don't ask about them! They are personal. If I don't tell you about my past, then you don't ask about it. Clear?"  she snapped, and Axel returned her gaze calmly.

"Crystal."

Reviews

[Bryan Webb]

I've binge-read these chapters. The work is good and only a few repeated words here or there. Looking forward to reading any upcoming chapters for this story, because I would hope your not done. Keep up the good work.