《Now Leaving Earth...Next Stop: Earth》 Chapter 1: The Final Exhale Before The Calm ¡°I know you can, you just don¡¯t want to. This is ridiculous, I want to speak to your supervisor. You can¡¯t just let me sit here in the dark. I have several exotic pets and I have family heading over soon. I have hundreds of dollars of food in the freezer right now. Who¡¯s going to pay me back, who is going to compensate me if all the food goes bad? Can you sit there and tell me that you¡¯re going to be OK with this? Are you going to let my pets die? It¡¯s been an hour and my food will go bad soon if you don¡¯t bring the power back on. This is highly illegal. I need it on right now-¡± Saylee Green rubbed her temples, ¡°I¡¯ll be more than happy to bring my supervisor on the line, but I must advise that they will give you the same answer. We need at least a partial payment to put in the request-¡± ¡°Yes, whatever. I¡¯m done talking to you, get your supervisor. I¡¯m going to tell them how uncooperative and unprofessional you have been. You¡¯ll be fired for this. You¡¯ll see. Get them on the line¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go get my supervisor, it will be just a brief hold as I bring them on the line with us¡± ¡°yeah, sure¡± Saylee pressed the hold button and sighed. The first call of the day, and it had to be a rude customer. She glanced at the queue of multiple calls holding on the screen. This is going to be a long day- ¡°Hello, this is Elroy speaking¡± ¡°Hey, Elroy, how¡¯s it going? This is Saylee speaking. I got a customer on the line whose upset that their service was terminated. I sent just you their file. Did you get it? They are requesting for a restoration of service, with an extension, plus to waive their disconnect fee¡± ¡°Are they now? I see they haven¡¯t made a payment¡­.in over a year. 14 months since their last payment to be exact. Their account has four broken extensions and three returned payments within a year time frame. Did you tell them that we can¡¯t restore service without a minimum payment?¡± ¡°I did, that¡¯s when they wanted to speak to a supervisor¡± Saylee heard an audible sigh on the other line. ¡°Go ahead and bring them on, I¡¯ll take the call¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m bringing them on now¡­¡±, A beep sound is heard as the customer has been transferred to the phone conference room, ¡°Hi Martha, thank you for patiently waiting, I have Elroy on the line. He¡¯s an account supervisor. He will be taking it over from here¡± Elroy cuts in quickly, ¡°Hi Martha, Like Saylee said, I¡¯m an account supervisor here with Services. I was told that-¡± Saylee transferred the call. Before going available for the next call, she rubbed her temples. The queue feed at the top of her screen showed 148 calls were waiting in the queue. It was going to be a long day Before Saylee exited the after-call screen to take another call, her cell phone¡¯s screen lit up. She got a text from her daughter Kayla, ¡°Mom can u pick me up? Call my school, please. I¡¯m feeling sick¡± Oh Thank God Saylee reached over, grabbed the phone, and sent back a response; ¡°*bee emoji* over there soon. Please take it easy. love you! -mom xoxo *heart emoji*¡± She shot an email to her boss, that she leaving for F.L.M.A. to help her daughter. Her boss sent a message back with a single ¡°OK¡± She felt somewhat guilty, as she was grateful for the excuse to leave work early. She had a feeling that her daughter wasn¡¯t as sick as she claimed. Her mother¡¯s intuition was rarely wrong. Saylee¡¯s gut was telling her that Kayla was exaggerating her sickness to get out of school, or she was not drinking enough water. Probably both. Saylee out of the building sped and walked to her car. It was a few minutes walk from the office building to the parking garage. Glancing through the phone notifications as she walked, she grimaced. Saylee was hoping for an email back from her boss in regards to her request to be part of a major project. No response yet in over two days. Perhaps it¡¯s time to start looking for some external opportunities¡­ Saylee tossed her phone onto the passenger side of the vehicle. Reversing the vehicle slowly before driving off. A grin spread on Saylee¡¯s face as she recalled the safety minute from the morning¡¯s meeting; Keep your eyes on the road and off your phone. Oh and please be careful to not hit any of the coworkers walking across the parking lot as you back your vehicle out. Don¡¯t be like Greg. As she drove through the garage, she gave a respectful nod to one coworker. A polite wave to another. She was driving in silence, glancing into the side-view mirror. She watched her work building growing smaller in the distance. Dreading the thought of returning to work tomorrow. Is this what burnout feels like or am I just pathetic? Saylee grimaced.
Saylee opened the entry door. Kayla rushed in after her, dropping her backpack onto the floor with total disregard for any of its content, and flew onto the couch with a lazy plop. She shook her head, ¡°for someone who claims to be sick, you sure are energetic¡± Kayla rushed in, plopping face-first onto the couch. When she spoke, her voice was muffled, ¡°I am sick, and I¡¯m sick of school. My head and tummy hurts¡± Saylee walked over and sat by Kayla¡¯s side. She ran her hands through Kayla¡¯s hair, ¡°Sick of school? You¡¯re in fifth grade, it should be a fun time. Well, perhaps the classes can be a dash difficult at times I imagine, but I¡¯m sure friends and recess make attending school somewhat enjoyable. Am I right?¡± Kayla lifted her, looking at Mother with a scowl expression, ¡°They canceled recess because they said something about construction, and I¡¯m also mad at Samantha for not sharing her chips. She ate them all and told me no I can¡¯t have any¡± Saylee patted Kayla¡¯s shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ll give you some water, I¡¯m sure your stomach will feel better after that. If you complete your homework tonight, maybe I¡¯ll share some chips from my hidden stash.¡± Her teenage son Issac walked into the living room from the hallway, wearing a beanie, a hoodie, and sweatpants. He made exaggerated steps toward her in his bear-themed slippers, ¡°Mom! give me a bear hug!¡± She wrapped her arms around him, ¡°You know I also do! Here¡¯s a fresh mama bear hug, coming right up¡± Issac stepped back, and sat down on the couch next to Kayla, ¡°You¡¯re home early¡± She nodded towards Kayla, ¡°Your little sister here may have been a little dramatic when she told me she and the school that she was sick.¡±, she looked over at Kayla, ¡°Next time you exaggerate or lie about being super sick, I¡¯ll tell you to stay at school. I don¡¯t want you using the sick card whenever you¡¯re feeling a little mad or don¡¯t want to be at school¡± Kayla gave her mom a frown, ¡°I wasn¡¯t lying, plus my tummy still hurts¡± Saylee shook her head and walked towards the kitchen, yelling back, ¡°I¡¯ll get you water, you¡¯re probably dehydrated. You can¡¯t just drink only juice every day at school¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Kayla yelled back, ¡°The commercial told me juice is the drink of champions, water is basic¡± As Saylee poured water into the cup, she heard the front door open. In unison, her two children yelled, ¡°Dad!¡± She turned around, a little startled as she got a surprise tender kiss placed on her forehead. Dalmon smiled at her. He had permanent dark bags under his eyes from his night shift. He had a semi-short haircut and a five o¡¯clock shadow. He wore a gray polo, with a company logo patch on the right side of his chest that said; ¡°Secure Security Staffing Co: We protect yo¡¯ stuff¡±. Dalmon pulled her close, careful not to bump into the cup in Saylee¡¯s hand, ¡°You¡¯re home early today, this is wonderful. We can spend some time together before I sleep.¡± Kayla walked in, taking the cup from Saylee¡¯s grasp, ¡°It¡¯s because mom picked me up¡± Kayla sneered after tasting the water, ¡°Warm tap water? Gross. Can I have a water bottle at least?¡± Dalmon tried to hold back a chuckle but failed. Saylee signed, ¡°No water bottles. You¡¯ll live, trust me. Now drink your water¡± Kayla walked away, holding the cup with two hands, with a look of disgust. Dalmon looked at her, with his eyebrows raised, and a goofy smile, ¡°I don¡¯t want to make dinner tonight¡± Saylee placed her hands on her hips, giving him a playful smirk, ¡°Neither do I¡± He gave a toothy grin, ¡°Sounds like we¡¯ll need another battle night. If you¡¯re up to it of course. If you¡¯re too tired or not up for it, I think a pizza is always a solid choice¡± Battle Night was a tradition that started a few years ago, where Saylee and Dalmon played a quick competitive game, the loser being held responsible for making dinner for the evening. It helped them spend quality time together, as their colliding work scheduling had put a strain on their relationship in the past. The games ranged from rock-paper-scissors to board games. Depending on how ravenous their stomachs were, would determine the length of the competitive game. Issac walked in, his eyes deadlocked onto his phone as he strode in, he slid down onto a chair at the dinner table. Saylee walked up and ran a hand through Dalmon¡¯s hair, ¡°It¡¯s still early, but you look so tired¡­¡± ¡°pfft, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m more than good for a quick game. How about-¡± Issac looked up from his phone, excitement suddenly present in his expression, ¡°I want to join in on game night! What game will it be? Can I pick the game?¡± Dalmon held up a hand, ¡°Whoa whoa whoa! Before we determine the game for Battle Night, did you finish your after-school work? Issac gave a chagrined expression, ¡°I didn¡¯t quite finish all of it because I wanted to take a short break. I¡¯ll finish everything else after dinner¡± Saylee and Dalmon both gave him a knowing look. ¡°uh huh, sure¡±, Dalmon walked over and lifted the phone out of Issac¡¯s hands gently. ¡°Please, I swear I¡¯ll get the work done after dinner¡± Saylee crossed her arms, ¡°Don¡¯t procrastinate, just get it done now so you don¡¯t stay up late again. Also, no phone until the work is done¡± Issac pushed himself off the chair and grumbled, ¡°Fine¡±. He walked away, stomping towards his room. Saylee tried not to laugh, watching her son stomp off with the comically sized Bear-foot slippers. Dalmon yawned, ¡°I¡¯ll take a short hour nap. Guess after the nap, Kayla can pick the game, I¡¯m sure Kayla will be joining in on the game night. Let¡¯s both take it easy and have a pizza night. Saylee gave an exaggerated shrug, ¡°Guess so¡± She paused, then leaned in to whisper into his ear, ¡°Perhaps we can still have some 1 on 1 time later tonight while the kids are sleeping¡± Dalmon grinned, ¡°why wait?¡± She cooed, ¡°The wait will be worth it, now; get some sleep¡±
The four sat around the table, a board game set up in the center. They stopped playing since the delivery. Pizza slices sizzling on each of their plates. Dalmon raised a slice, ¡°Let¡¯s dig in!¡± The steam still present on the slices, they all happily grabbed their slice, biting into them with glee. Saylee, looked over at Kayla after finishing her slice, ¡°Kayla, are you feeling better?¡± Kayla, looking embarrassed, ¡°I¡­may have lied¡± Dalmon raised his eyebrows and glanced at Saylee. He was still chewing, he flicked his eyes towards Kayla. She looked over at Kayla, giving her best mother tone, ¡°Now sweetie, why did you do that?¡± ¡°I was mad and I didn¡¯t want to cry in front of everyone during lunch so I went to the nurse¡¯s room¡± ¡°What, why were you upset?¡± ¡°Samantha made me mad. She said something mean and told me lies about Issac¡± Issac stopped mid-bite and looked over at Kayla, looking uneasy. Kayla looked away for a moment, folding her arms tight. Dalmon, wiped his mouth, ¡°Take your time¡± Kayla averted her eyes away from the concerned eyes of her parents, her arms were crossed tightly. She took several breaths, and moisture formed around her eyes. She spoke quickly, ¡°Samantha told me that Issac¡­is going to die. She said that he went he loses his hair it¡¯s because he¡¯s super sick and that-¡± Issac quickly stood up. His eyes were facing the ground, and his face hardened. He turned and ran out of the room. Dalmon got out of his chair, ¡°Shit, wait. Issac, please wait¡±, Saylee could hear Dalmon¡¯s steps as he sped walk down the hall towards their son¡¯s room. Dalmon kept calling out to Issac as he gently knocked on his door. She walked over to Kayla. She , placing a hand gently onto Kayla¡¯s shoulder, before kissing the back of her head, ¡°Kayla sweetie, Samantha doesn¡¯t really know how Cancer works. She also¡­she also doesn¡¯t know how well Issac is healing. Right now, Issac is recovering. The doctors say the treatment has been working great. So, I need you to be strong for your brother. Issac is a little scared, so if you stay strong for your brother, Issac will be just fine, in no time. We don¡¯t want Issac to have doubts while he¡¯s healing. Okay, sweetie?¡± Kayla placed her head on her mother¡¯s shoulder. Saylee pulled Kayla in closer, consoling her softly as she could feel her daughter¡¯s sobs.
Saylee put the car in idle at the drop-off, ¡°Now, remember, try to forgive your friend. She doesn¡¯t know. It¡¯s not her fault. Everyone learns and grows. Now, I know it can be tough, but next time you¡¯re upset, call me and tell me the truth. OK, sweetie? Kayla opened the door, ¡°Okay okay, I will¡± Saylee shouted, ¡°I love you-¡± Kayla had already shut the door. Saylee took a deep breath and watched her daughter approach the schoolhouse doors. She drove off once she was content that her daughter was safely inside.
The morning sun was blocked behind multiple layers of gray clouds. Light rain ran across the windshield. Saylee pressed next. She pressed next firmly again. Her thumb aggressively pressed next again. ¡°Why are there so many talk shows? Who wants to hear people talking first thing in the morning, all this talking is going to put me to sleep on my way to work¡±, she grumbled to herself. Saylee quickly glanced up, the light was still red. ¡°All I want is some upbeat pop music. Give me any music, Is that so much to ask? It wakes people up on their way to work. I don¡¯t want to hear talking on my way to work before all the hours of talking at work¡±, she continued muttering. She pressed next again. ¡°Screw it. I guess I¡¯ll step up and be DJ this morning¡± She connected her phone to the dash, quickly glancing up again, making sure the light was still red before searching through her playlist. She placed her phone down onto a nook within the center console- HONK She tensed as the echoing sound of honks rang out from the vehicles behind her. ¡°I¡¯m going, I¡¯m going, call the hell down!¡± She yelled as she pressed down hard onto the gas. The rain pelted the windshield.
She drove for a few minutes in silence. Her phone lit up. Dalmon. She glanced around her surroundings before reaching over to answer her phone. ¡°Hey handsome, Kayla is safely at school and I¡¯m almost at work¡± Dalmon yawned, ¡°Did she seem OK?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be alright. A few hours at school with her friends and she¡¯ll be smiling once again. I¡¯ll let you know if she¡¯s still feeling down when I pick her up after school. How is Issac?¡± ¡°He¡¯s still sleeping, I¡¯ll text you on how he¡¯s doing whenever he decides to wake his ass up¡± ¡°Teenagers. Okay, my love, I¡¯m driving right now. So, I¡¯ll message you soon. Love you¡± ¡°Love you too beautiful, I¡¯ll be thinking of you. Don¡¯t let anyone ruin your day today okay? Love you, text you soon¡± ¡°Okay, love ya¡± ¡°Drive safe, call me when you get off work¡± ¡°Bye, my love¡±
The windshield wipers were going at full speed. The fourth song started to play, she was a few minutes away from reaching her destination. The shuffle was good this morning. Each song playing on her playlist usually slaps. and yet¡­ She wasn¡¯t feeling it. She pressed firmly on the pause button. The image of Issac staring at the ceiling, deep in thought this morning when she quietly opened his door, flashed into her mind. Issac in response to her standing at the doorway, turned away to face the wall. She recalled telling him, ¡°Good morning, I love you. Please take it easy today. Call me if you need anything¡± He took a while to respond before saying, ¡°Uh huh, I will¡± After a long silence, she closed the door. She sighed. She tried to shoo away the feeling of sadness that Issac didn¡¯t say I love you back. Issac¡¯s a teenager. He probably stayed up all night. He was probably too tired and forgot to say love you back. That¡¯s all. She¡¯ll give him a call on her lunch break, to check up on him. Nodding to herself, she took a sip from her coffee. All she could hear was the rain hitting the windshield and the scraping of the windshield wipers. Those started to fade as she got lost in her thoughts again. Her phone rang. Startled, she carefully glanced over at the phone¡¯s screen. Why is he calling this early? She quickly pressed send to voicemail. I¡¯ll just talk to him in person. I¡¯m almost there. The phone rang again. Ignore it She pressed sent to voicemail again, then took another sip of coffee. The ringing returned. Loudly sighing in agitation, she placed her coffee down, picked up the phone, and swiped accept. She pinched the cell phone tightly between her head and shoulder. The boss was a morning person, while she was not. She forced a smile before she spoke, ¡°Hey! Good morning Hugo. Is everything OK?¡± Hugo answered with a tone that was pure energy and optimism, ¡°Good morning Say, I just finished reading your email. Thank you for sharing with me your ambition to grow within the company. I like the initiative that you reached out first. After some consideration, I do feel like you¡¯d be a good fit for this project. I wanted to discuss a game plan on how to make this happen¡­¡± She felt her spirits lift instantly. Her forced smile broke out into a natural one. She adjusted the phone on her shoulder, ¡°Hey, Hugo, That¡¯s amazing. I am interested to hear more of your thoughts on how to make it happen, but right now, I¡¯m driving. Can we talk about this around-¡± There was a split-second eruption of intangible noise before the intense slam of silence. The several thoughts prior stopped, the current thought frozen as she experienced the euphoria of the absence of all her senses. The sounds, the light, the sensation of touch, the smell, and the recent taste of coffee- Gone. For that second, the absence of everything was overwhelming and yet oddly comforting. She let out a soft exhale before the calm. Chapter 2: Faster Than A Pop ¡°Can you hear me? I must kindly ask for you to open your eyes. Nod your head now if you comprehend what I¡¯m saying¡± Saylee opened her eyes. A man was staring down at her, hand held out towards her. Saylee slowly nodded her head, then took his hand. She stared at the stranger, who was looking back at her with a genuinely concerned look. Saylee, unsure how to respond, gave a halfhearted smile, ¡°Thanks¡± The man nodded in satisfaction and gave a comforting smile back, ¡°You took a bit to respond, I was worried I messed up the spirit retrieval process. I¡¯ve done this before, but even pros can make a mistake once in a while¡± The man was bald, wearing jeans, sandals with socks, and a faded red hoodie that had a band logo that Saylee wasn¡¯t familiar with. The man¡¯s smile slightly faltered. He nodded in the direction behind her, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a moment¡± Saylee turned and was startled to find herself surprisingly close to a semi-truck. The truck¡¯s trailer was slightly leaning over at an angle. Looking down, she noticed a vehicle. flattened beneath the weight of the trailer. Her vehicle. The silence in the area finally hit. She glanced around at the pedestrians and traffic around her. There was no movement. Time was at a standstill. Nothing moved, except for her and¡­ The bald man walked up and gently touched her shoulder, ¡°Looks like your car ran a red light and the semi-truck won¡± Saylee turned and glared at him, ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡±, the man pulled out a small tablet from his hoodie pocket. He tapped the screen a few times; ¡°It says here that it all started the moment you were startled by a pothole. The tire hit the pothole and your phone slipped between your eye and shoulder. You tried to quickly grab it with your left hand. That left elbow of yours bumped into the steering wheel hard. Which caused the coffee to spill from the cup holder, the spill, the turn of the steering wheel and your phone fumble took your eyes off the road long enough to not notice the red light¡­ and that¡¯s where the notes end¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me¡­¡± ¡°Oh yes, you¡¯re way done with this life. No coming back from that-¡± he pointed to the vehicle that looked like a large clump of wrinkled tinfoil under the semi¡¯s trailer, ¡°-mess. I had to close my eyes and quickly grab out your spirit from your meat puppet. Your spirit was a mess, you looked like a fly after it stuck into the windshield. I dragged it out quickly¡± ¡°um¡± ¡°Dragging out that spirit of yours was like grabbing leftover chum slugging around at the bottom of a bucket. There ain¡¯t no coming back from that, even grosser to tough¡± ¡°Okay, a little sympathy right now would be, actually no, right now a little empathy is what I need right now. I just died and I feel like I¡¯m about to lose it¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ve been doing this a long time and you have no reason to lose your cool, well, at least not all of it. No reason for it ¡®cuz you¡¯re not even done with your journey. Follow me¡± The man started walking away, fumbling his hands in his pockets, looking for something. Taken aback, Saylee followed him, ¡°I have lots of questions, wait¡± ¡°I know you do, but please, save it for the trip¡± The man pulled out from his hoodie pocket, what appeared to be a key fob. From the corner of her eye, Saylee saw movement. Facing the movement, she saw a distant silhouette of a man running down the road in their direction. The man was too far to get a look at his face, but he was running at a steady pace. At that pace, he would reach them in a few minutes. ¡°Excuse me, strange stranger, some guy is running towards us¡± The bald man glanced over in the direction Saylee was facing. His face went solemn, ¡°Just when I was in a good mood, now I¡¯m pissed off. Seriously, what are the odds¡±. He pressed the button on the fob firmly. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. After a few moments of silence, he pressed the button a few more times. The bald man grumbled, ¡°They need to hurry with the new fob replacement, this is ridiculous¡± Saylee could hear the running man yelling something. As the man was closing in, Saylee heard a few of the shouts were profanities. As the bald man kept pressing the fob button, Saylee walked in front of him, staring at him with an expression of impatience and concern. ¡°Are you avoiding that man? More importantly, are you¡­a you know¡­a reaper?¡­¡± ¡°Yes and also no¡± ¡°Explain,¡± Saylee said more sternly than intended. She closed her eyes for a long moment and exhaled before folding her arms. She looked away, ¡°please¡± The bald man pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly frustrated. The running man was getting closer. There was a distant echo of a familiar beep beep sound that she¡¯d heard countless times in her lifetime. ¡°Thank fob.¡± The bald man said, ¡°Please hold your questions. I¡¯m starting to get a migraine and I¡¯m already behind schedule thanks to that ass-clown¡±, He angrily pointed toward the running man. Saylee turned to look at the running man, who was about a minute¡¯s distance from closing in. She could make out the man¡¯s face, bright red with fury and from over-exertion. The bald man put his hand up in the air that held the fob and did a series of fist pumps then aimed the fob out in front of him. Saylee shrieked, as a white van appeared right in front of them. Saylee was taken aback. It was a modern passenger van, the commercial-sized one that could easily fit about fifteen people. Saylee could see from the windows, that there were several silhouettes of passengers already sitting inside. The man walked towards the driver¡¯s side and bellowed, ¡°Let¡¯s go¡± Saylee walked towards the front passenger door and stopped. The seat was already taken by what appeared to be a teenager. The team, appearing to play a mobile game on their phone, had glanced in her direction, shook her head, and pointed her thumb toward the direction of the back of the van. Saylee walked over to the double doors on the side of the van. Swinging one of the doors open, she immediately felt uneasy as an assortment of faces looked back at her, ranging from sad, scared, and angry. As she climbed in, the other passengers suddenly averted their eyes. There were two vacant seats, one behind the driver and one towards the second row to the back. She awkwardly made her way towards the back of the van, squeezing past the rows. She found herself saying Excuse me and sorry a few times before sitting down. In the same row, to her left were two other passengers. By the window seat, a man appearing to be in his fifties had rested his elbow on the armrest, with his chin on his fist. The man stared out the window, deep in thought. The other person, between her and the man by the window, was a young man who she guessed must have been in his early twenties. The young man, his forehead pressed onto the back of the seat in front of him, ignored her entirely. he had semi-long tousled hair, worn-down clothes, and a few tattoos and piercings. The bald man she met at her death, grumbled as plopped into the driver¡¯s seat. He reached over to take a baseball cap off the dashboard and placed it on his head by the brim. The mysterious man put on his seat-belt before bellowing towards the back, ¡°Everyone, make sure your seat-belts are on. The drive through the belt can be a little bumpy¡± The young man next to Saylee, without lifting his head, spoke up, ¡°What? Why?¡±. He lifted his head, his sarcasm heavy, ¡°Hey everyone, let¡¯s make sure you put on your seat-belts! You might get hurt, or worse¡­you could die!¡± The bald man ignored the snide remark and started up the van. The young man beside Saylee smacked his forehead right back onto the seat in front of him. Saylee raised her hand, waving, ¡°Excuse me, sir, I still don¡¯t know your name. Please, where are we going, also, who and what are you? I wanted answers. I¡¯m starting to get a little unsure about all this¡±. She waved her hand in a full circle for emphasis. The bald man lifted a finger and pointed at a pinned sign that was right above his head. The sign, barely pinned onto the roof, read; ¡°Don¡¯t distract the driver, please save all questions for the captain of your upcoming voyage. Passengers who disrupt the driver repeatedly will be dropped off before the destination at the discretion of the driver. Continuation Inc. is not responsible for travelers lost in space between destinations¡± Saylee bit her tongue. A part of her wanted to hop over the seats to strangle the driver¡¯s neck for some answers. While the other part of her felt dread for what waited for her at the destination. She was about to ponder what may be waiting for her at the destination but a lanyard caught her eye. Hanging from the mirror, was a faded lanyard. At the bottom, hung an employee ID, showing a smiling bald man. She squinted, she was able to barely make out the name on the badge. It read; Carl Ebb. Saylee was about to call out the driver¡¯s name but jumped back in shock as she noticed a face pressed up against the glass of the window on her right. The running man¡¯s face, a sneer on his face and fire in his eyes stepped back and started pounding both fists on the window. Demanding that they open the doors. The van started to lift off the ground. Floating upwards as if it were weightless like a newly filled helium balloon caught in the wind. The man outside jumped onto the back of the van, standing on the back bumper and holding one hand onto the roof railing. Used his free hand to pound against the back window, ¡°Let me in! You can¡¯t leave me. You can¡¯t do this to me. You-¡± The driver Carl pulled the van steering wheel towards him, and it began to lift at an angle. The man constantly hit the back window. The other passengers looked back. They watched the man in silence. Some had expressions of dismay, others looked amused. The man outside lost his footing, now only holding onto the van with one hand. His face was now a contortion of anger and concern. Carl turned the steering wheel a full 360, several times. Then, he quickly spun it around several times in the other direction. The van spun faster as it slowly ascended above the clouds. Thankfully, everyone inside the van was buckled in. The man outside, however, was not. He lost his grip on the van¡¯s roof. He was abruptly flung off. The falling man, looked up, staring at her. His face was in a deep sneer. He was shaking one fist angrily in the van¡¯s direction, before hitting the ground hard below. The sound of the van groaning in first gear gradually grew louder. Carl Ebb placed his hand on the stick shift, ¡°Everyone, hold on tight¡± Carl put the van into second gear. The van¡¯s groaning immediately stopped. Carl smiled, ¡°Faster than a pop¡±. He grabbed the stick shift, pulled the gear back, before shoving it more forward. The van shot up towards the stars. Chapter 3: Zero Zero Zero The van accelerated through space at a brisk pace. Saylee watched out the window as the van quickly passed the stars and planets. She shrugged off any thoughts of trying to make any logical sense of it. Carl glanced back at the passengers through the rear view mirror, ¡°anyone wants to hear some music? We should be there in eight hours, more or less. You know what I love that starts with eight? The eighties. Is anyone down for some eighties music? Your choice between the classic eighties and the new eighties?¡± A middle-aged-looking woman towards the front, spoke up, ¡°What do you mean, new eighties?¡± Carl shook his head, sounding slightly annoyed, ¡°There are the classic 80¡¯s hits, and then there are the new 80¡¯s hits. Didn¡¯t you ever wish for some new 80¡¯s music? Well, I got great news. there are new 80¡¯s hits¡± A man behind Saylee yelled, ¡°That doesn¡¯t make a lick of sense¡± Carl bashed a button on the dashboard¡¯s touch screen, ¡°New 80s hits it is, your ears are in for a treat¡±. New wave-style music played from the speakers. Saylee didn¡¯t recognize it but she did find the music a little catchy. She leaned in and tapped the shoulder of the woman in front of her. No response. She tapped on her shoulder some more until the woman turned back towards her and barked, ¡°Leave me alone, I praying¡± Carl yelled over the music, ¡°You all behave back there, or I¡¯ll turn this van around and kick you outside the planet Curbulous¡± Saylee was trying to keep it together, she leaned in towards the young man on her right and whispered, ¡°Excuse me, I need a friendly face to talk to. Can I talk to you for a bit?¡± The young man finally lifted his head and slowly turned towards her. The first thing she noticed was the red forehead from him resting on the seat, but when he fully turned to look at her. She noticed his left eye, which was swollen. She gasped, ¡°Oh no, what happened to your eye?¡± The man glared at her, ¡°What? Out of all this, that is what you want to know?¡± She retracted, scooting a bit away from him without falling off the edge of the seat. The young man pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s been a long day. I got pissed off at the driver. I found myself dead and he didn¡¯t answer any of my questions so I shoved him. Well, I tried to. He was quick, he dodged the attempt and popped a quick fist to the left eye of mine.¡± The young man put his fist out towards her, then opened his hand, ¡°I¡¯m Gabe¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Saylee casually shook his hand, ¡°I¡¯m Saylee¡± ¡°What? That¡¯s a nice name¡± ¡°Thank you. Do you have any idea what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I was the second one in the van. You appear to be the last. I¡¯ve heard the others discuss but let me tell you. It felt like we¡¯d been in here for hours. None of us have any possessions but somehow the gal up front got to keep her phone. She doesn¡¯t speak, probably a mute, but she did point at the clock on her screen. The time on her screen and the time on the van never change. They read zero zero zero. I can¡¯t tell how long we¡¯ve been here. I-¡± Gabe was visually shaking, his tone rising. Saylee patted his shoulder. Gabe looked at her in surprise, his shaking abruptly stopped. She caught him slip a small smile. His thumb flicked his nose, before straightening up. He continued, ¡°I had a moment there, sorry. What I was about to say was¡­focus on what we know. What we can gather is that we are going to some new place. Supposedly to live a new life. He said it ain¡¯t Heaven, nor Hell. We can¡¯t return to our old lives. The driver Carl keeps saying ¡°new this¡± and ¡°new that¡±, I don¡¯t get it¡± Gabe took a deep breath before continuing, ¡°Before you joined us, me and the other passengers, pestered the driver constantly for more answers. He got really annoyed, really fast. He just said a Captain would at some point answer all our questions. Carl says he¡¯s not a reaper but he takes us to our next destination. I tell you, this all gives me a headache. We didn¡¯t push further because he did snap. He physically pulled some mental dude out of the van who kept jabbing Carl¡¯s shoulder for answers. Carl locked the doors and just drove away. That angsty-looking girl in the front passenger seat said nothing, she just used her phone to record it all. I can¡¯t believe they just left the angry man behind. Carl was muttering something about that dude regretting the wait¡± He stared at her, waiting for her to say something. She kept silent, her mind had a thousand questions along with negative thoughts she was trying to keep compressed to the back of her mind. She was trying to keep her emotions and sanity in check. She stared out the window, watching the colorful shapes that sped past the window. She could only assume the specks of light that passed were stars and planets. Maybe I am losing my mind? She thought grimly. Gabe, took the silence as an indicator for him to continue, ¡°I¡¯m thinking¡­if someone gets left behind? Are they ghosts?¡± Saylee sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± A thought struck Saylee. She realized that she never checked if she had anything with her. She patted and searched her pockets. The pockets contained nothing, ¡°I have no ID and no money¡±, she mumbled. Gabe pulled the pockets of his jeans inside out, ¡°What does it matter? No one does. Before I left, I tried to grab my backpack and my hand went right through it. Carl told me it wouldn¡¯t work and I didn¡¯t listen. I was still gonna try. I¡¯m guessin¡¯ we¡¯re currently ghosts¡± ¡°What about the teen girl upfront, the one you said had a phone? Do you know if it has a signal?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, why are you asking me? You should go ask her. We¡¯re out in space, working phone signal doesn¡¯t make sense, but then again¡­none of this makes sense. You go ask her because I¡¯m going to try to sleep¡±. He pulled a hood from his hoody over his head before pressing his forehead once again onto the seat in front of him. Saylee looked towards the front, there was a bench of passengers between her and the teen in the front passenger seat. Saylee intended to get closer to the teen to ask to use her phone. She unbuckled her seat belt- Carl turned his head around and gave her direct eye contact, with a higher-than-normal tone, he snapped, ¡°You better put that buckle back on before I leave you hanging on this van¡¯s bumper the rest of the way there. Do not test me. Gods, I¡¯m at my limit right now. I¡¯m already late and I need you all to behave. I¡¯m done with today¡± Saylee quickly snapped her seat buckle back in place. The van was silent. Everyone around her avoided eye contact. The other passengers were deep in their thoughts. She firmly planted an elbow onto each thigh, then covered her face with both hands. She quietly wept. Chapter 4: Drop-Off Site Saylee felt her left shoulder gripped tightly, causing her to jolt awake. She blinked a few times. She fell asleep at some point during the journey. The trip felt like an eternity, with no passengers conversing, and the new 80¡¯s music on low volume. She found it easy to doze off. Saylee felt like the equivalent of taking an excessively long nap, but instead of feeling good, she felt awful. Turning, she saw Gabe, grabbing her shoulder, ¡°It¡¯s time to get up, we¡¯re here¡± The old man, next to Gabe, looked over Gabe and gave Saylee a worried expression, ¡°I need to pee¡± Gabe turned to look at the man, ¡°What you know, I¡¯ve heard you. Give her a moment¡± Saylee looked up, the seats vacant in front of her. She awkwardly made her way out of the van. Saylee was about to question the whole needing to still pee after death but was distracted by the sight The old man from their van ride rushed past her, towards their driver Carl. Carl, had his tablet out, tapping and swiping away at the screen. The other passengers standing awkwardly around him, looking at him for direction. The teenager stood next to him, looking bored. They were at what appeared to be a platform. There were several other vans, and groups congregating. Behind Carl, was a pole sign that said ¡°Authorized Drop-off Vehicles Only¡± Looking past the sign, there was a path leading up to an enormous docking station. The station was a matte gray, in the shape of a giant rectangle. Easily the size of several American shopping malls combined. She gaped, ¡°That station is enormous¡± Gabe walked up beside her, ¡°Almost as big as your mom¡± Saylee turned and looked at him with an exasperated expression. Gabe looked amused, and playfully raised both his hands in self-defense, ¡°What? Don¡¯t take it too seriously. You¡¯re dead. No need to get all butt-hurt on me¡± Saylee looked at him for a moment before sighing of resignation. She looked back at the station, noticing the thousands of windows that lined the station. Amazed by the amount of people moving past the windows. How long has something like this been out here in space? She wondered. Gabe patted his pockets, ¡°I wish I was able to bring my cigs¡± ¡°I told you, you don¡¯t need to pee. It¡¯s all in your head. Spirits don¡¯t pee. Distract yourself¡± Saylee looked over at Carl, who was arguing with a passenger. The other passengers started to talk over each other, trying to speak with Carl. The driver looked more flustered as he was bombarded with questions. The teenager next to Carl was smirking as they were messing with their phone. ¡°I¡¯m getting the feeling that the teenager is a¡­employee? I don¡¯t know what to call them but whoever the people are who seem to be working in¡± She waved a circle, ¡°this.¡± Gabe nodded, ¡°She looks chill, I¡¯ll see if I can get bum a cig from her. You smoke?¡± Saylee paused, ¡°I never did¡­before. Right now¡­why not? I need something to calm my nerves. Sure, I¡¯ll take a cig. If I don¡¯t like it, you can have it¡± Bemused, Gabe spoke, ¡°I¡¯ll go ask her¡±. He walked off towards her. Gabe jogged towards the teen girl, hands in his pockets. He took a hand out and waved to her. She nodded at him in acknowledgment. Gabe stood next to her, both hands in his pockets, talking to her casually, stopping every so often when the teen typed something on her phone. The teen would show the phone to Gabe, who nodded after reading the text. He spoke to her for some time. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. What felt like fifteen minutes. Gabe jogged back to Saylee, ¡°You¡¯ll never guess what I found out¡±. ¡°Is it about what this place is and what happens next?¡± ¡°Nope, I found out that I can get cigs later on sometime after processing. Oh, and she¡¯s a reaper¡± Saylee, startled, spoke, ¡°Wait wait wait. Hold on. She¡¯s a reaper? How does that make sense?¡± Gabe shrugged, ¡°What she told me was her name is Reeves. She¡¯s a newly hired security reaper. She told me Carl was the hired chauffeur. They make sure that we, the spirits, are taken here for processing.¡± Saylee bit the tip of her thumbnail in thought, ¡°Why a reaper? It¡¯s not like the reaper-Reeves, did anything about that crazed guy who fell off the van¡± ¡°Reeves told me because they leave rowdy spirits behind so they have time to calm down, as some spirits need more time than others. She said that some spirits need reaping as they are considered a threat.¡± ¡°If that guy wasn¡¯t even considered a threat, I can¡¯t imagine what is¡± Gabe ran a hand through his hair, ¡°From what she said, she said that some spirits have made dark pacts or have powerful spiritual blessings. They will not leave without a fight. They are so determined to stay on that mortal plane, that they will kill chauffeurs if they don¡¯t get their way.¡± Saylee started to bite around her nails, ¡°This is all too much for one day¡± Gabe observed her biting her nails, ¡°You know that¡¯s a nasty habit¡± ¡°Your mom is a nasty habit¡±, Saylee glanced at him, with an eyebrow raised. Gabe burst out in a toothy grin, ¡°What you know, you might be worth getting to know after¡± Saylee and Gabe sat on the curb next to the van, Saylee finishing up introducing herself and telling Gabe about her life before. Gabe was about to speak when they heard a voice speaking through the intercoms on top of the signs, ¡°Attention, please regroup to your assigned chauffeur. The shuttle will arrive shortly¡± ¡°Hey, you two, get over here!¡±, Carl bellowed towards them. The two of them got up and walked towards the group. Carl waved at the group, ¡°Please stand single file. I know you have questions. I hope you can tell I¡¯ve been averting all of them. The shuttle will take you to the introductory presentation, and from there, they will take you to your counselor slash agent who will answer your questions. Answering all your questions is beyond my pay grade¡± Saylee glanced around at the other groups nearby standing in single-file lines in front of the other vans parked on the platform. The people in the lines ranged in age, some wore casual clothes, others in their work attire. Most people spoke in whispers. There was a chime sound. Ahead of the walkway towards the docking station. The station door opened. A shuttle train drove out going a steady pace towards their platform, with several shuttle cars in tow. The shuttle trained parked as it parked next to the platform. Each group fit perfectly in each shuttle car. Carl guided his group into the shuttle. Once all the passengers stepped in, Carl stepped in. Reeves stepped in last, closing the door behind her. The shuttle moved with a jolt. Moving around the circular platform, returning towards the station doors. As the shuttle drove into the station. Saylee was amazed at how vast the room was. High ceilings, bright lights, and¡­carpeted flooring. Saylee spoke with dismay, ¡°I never imagined the station to have carpet flooring¡± Gabe looked around, then leaned forward, a sly grin on his face, ¡°What, you¡¯ve never heard of the vacuum of space¡± Everyone in the cart just stared at Gabe. Saylee smirked, ¡°I¡¯m embarrassed for you¡± Gabe retorted, ¡°That¡¯s what your mom said¡± Carl cut in, ¡°Hey, enough with the immaturity. We¡¯re here¡± Reeves stood up and opened the door. Carl followed, holding the door open for the rest of them. In front of each shuttle was a door. Each door had a sign that said ¡°conference room¡± followed by a number. Each conference door adjacent to the shuttle car had a different number. Carl pointed towards the conference door closest to them, ¡°Head into conference room four. Don¡¯t cause any trouble. From here on out, they¡¯ll handle your questions and concerns¡±. The group walked single file into the conference room. Saylee looked around the room, she was unimpressed. This didn¡¯t look like any spaceship she¡¯s seen in movies. The floor had thin dark blue carpet, egg white painted walls, with popcorn textured ceiling paint. There were several chairs lined up in two rows, facing a podium. A screen was lit behind the podium, it was blinding bright blue, displaying the words, ¡°Continuation Inc.¡± in the center with a basic corporate font aesthetic. Saylee and Gabe took a seat, sitting next to each other. Once everyone took a seat. They heard the conference room door close. Saylee glanced back to see Reeves closed the door and was leaning against the wall, phone in hand. The lights went dim. A chipper voice spoke from the multiple speakers surrounding the room, ¡°Welcome, to the start of your new journey, and the continuation of your remaining years of judgment. Sit back, and relax. The processing phase won¡¯t take too long. Once processing has been completed, you¡¯ll be set up with your new home, given a solid career path, and provided with more exciting goodies. You¡¯ll be stepping onto the fresh and beautiful New Earth soil before you know it¡± Chapter 5: Waiting Room ¡°Hello, My name is Flint and I¡¯m one of the many operations managers here. I know some of you have several questions, some religious, and perhaps some ethical concerns. I want to assure you that one of our many chaplains on staff will address all your questions and concerns. Please hold all questions until you¡¯ve been introduced to your assigned chaplain¡± Flint, a tall lanky man, wore a silver suit, held his head up high, and smiled as he walked into the room. His perfectly crafted face gave them a reassuring smile. Flint spoke with warmth, as this man had hosted this same presentation countless times before. He had the confidence and charisma of a man who had spoken at many conferences in his past life. As the man stepped into the light of the projection, the words Continuation Inc. lay projected onto him. The man blocked a good portion of the screen behind him, his shadow left a silhouette that stretched out behind him. ¡°When you retrieve your file, please keep it close and don¡¯t lose it, as you will need to take that file to your chaplain. Once you have your file, when your name is called again, please enter the door to your right. The door to your left is for Continuation Inc. employees only. Please listen to your name and follow directions, as failing to follow directions, such as losing your folder, or missing your name call may cause a delay to your passage to your next destination¡± Flint continued to give a reassuring smile as he glanced across the room. An assistant walked out, with a not-so-welcoming expression. She wore a silver polo shirt and khaki pants. Around her neck was a lanyard that had a pattern of silver stars. An employee badge hanging from the end of the lanyard. Looking irritable, the assistant had one arm holding onto a stack of manila folders. Using her free hand, she tapped a square button next to the door. The lights in the room gradually lit up. Flint turned and pointed towards the assistant, ¡°Please listen to Trish. Once she calls your name, please walk up to grab your folder. Then please return to your seat, your name will then be called again when it¡¯s your turn to speak to the chaplain. Remember, at that point, go to the visitor¡¯s door on your right You¡¯re chaplain will guide you from there¡± Another assistant walked out, wearing the same uniform as Trish. This assistant had a stack of papers held tightly with both hands. She was avoiding eye contact with the crowd. Flint gave the audience a smirk, ¡°Don¡¯t mind the new hire, she¡¯s a little shy. Chelsea will be handing out a general F.A.Q. sheet. Chelsea walked down the row, handing each person in the chairs to the left of Saylee a sheet of paper. As she did, she licked her thumb quickly before handing a flimsy sheet to the person with the same hand. As Chelsea walked up to Saylee, Saylee spoke quickly, ¡°Wait!¡±. The assistant Chelsea paused, a quizzical expression on her face. Saylee, embarrassed by her own words, continued with a gentler tone, ¡°Please don¡¯t¡­please don¡¯t lick your thumb before handing me my paper. I just always found that¡­unsanitary. It¡¯s one of my pet peeves¡± Chelsea¡¯s check¡¯s redden in embarrassment. She didn¡¯t say a word, instead, she tried to take just one sheet of paper off the stack with one hand, while the other hand held the stack of papers. The woman started to fumble with the top sheet of paper. Saylee started to feel awful as the woman started to appear frustrated that she couldn¡¯t get a grip on the top paper. Saylee stood up and easily grabbed the top paper. ¡°¡­Thank you¡±, Saylee said quietly, feeling an overwhelming amount of discomfort grow as she felt everyone¡¯s eyes in the room staring at her. Chelsea didn¡¯t say a word, she continued past Saylee and easily handed Gabe a sheet of paper. She moved quickly as she handed out the remaining papers to the others seated in the row. Gabe glanced at Saylee before covering his face with the paper, ¡°I feel embarrassed for you¡± Saylee leaned over to his ear, ¡°Shut up¡± Gabe lowered the paper slowly, and his amusement reached his eyes, ¡°Sorry but that was hilarious. I don¡¯t believe germs can affect us. I¡¯m pretty sure we¡¯re some sort of ghosts¡± Saylee aimed her paper towards his head, swinging the paper halfheartedly like a blunt weapon. Gabe played along and dodged, the paper hitting his shoulder instead. The goofy grin on his face only grew, as he let out an exaggerated ¡°ow¡± Flint coughed and then spoke up, his smile diminishing, ¡°Hey, calm down back there or I¡¯ll be forced to call security¡± The two of them sat up straight. Saylee placed her face into her palm. Waiting for her smile to fade. She glanced over to the paper she held, actively trying to forget the others around her looking in her direction with obvious disapproval. She skimmed over the sheet¡¯s questions and answers. Saylee took a deep breath. Deciding that this was information important, she took her time to read the information:
Frequently Asked Questions Please feel free to ask any questions not listed here to your assigned chaplain. Why am I here? Unfortunately, You died. What happens next? You will be going through processing to start a new life on what is called New Earth. It¡¯s an inhabitable planet that looks and feels like Earth, but better! What is Continuation Inc? A thousand or so years ago (depending on when you¡¯re reading this) the deity Chrestotes spoke to the Cosmic Council of the Gods (C.C.G). The deity spoke on behalf of humans and the humans on Earth, asking the C.C.G. to consider offering more time to humans whose lives have ended too soon, before receiving their final judgment. The head of the C.C.G., the deity Dyna, liked the idea and so the other council members unanimously agreed. Dyna put Chrestotes in charge of overseeing the project. Dyna selected a few human souls to oversee the project. Those lucky humans selected to be part of Continuation Inc., will receive Chrestote¡¯s blessing during their final judgment. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Why is it called New Earth?The first occupants on the new planet couldn¡¯t agree on the new world name. Chrestote¡¯s, patience winning thin, had decided on the name New Earth, as all of the new world¡¯s first occupants unanimously agreed that the name was terrible. The planet has been referred to as New Earth ever since. What should I expect on New Earth? There are plenty of opportunities and fun during your stay on New Earth. You¡¯ll be there during the remainder of your soul¡¯s journey. What happens if I die again on this New Earth? You¡¯ll be at that point, guided by one of our many friendly reapers to the beyond to face judgment. What did I do to deserve this? We can assure you that you didn¡¯t deserve this. You have died before your allotted time. Regardless if it was due as a result of someone¡¯s actions or something else out of your control. Your soul¡¯s journey has experienced an inconvenient pit-stop, an unforeseen pause in your soul¡¯s set time of judgment. We apologize for this inconvenience. We are glad to inform you that you will be able to continue your soul¡¯s journey, for the remainder of your soul¡¯s allotted judgment years, on the New Earth. I have unfinished business, Can I go back to say my goodbyes and prepare before I continue from here? Unfortunately, you cannot return. We kindly advise you to avoid trying to plot a return back to the old Earth. Only authorized personnel are allowed to travel to Earth at any time. Per the deity Dyna¡¯s decree, no one may return to their prior life. No exceptions. Anyone found to be breaking this ruling will suffer the consequences determined by the authority of the C.C.G. Depending on the severity of the crime, the punishment for breaking this decree may result in eternal damnation or your soul being wiped from existence. I feel that my peculiar case would warrant an exception. Can I put in a request for an exception to the C.C.G. to be made to return to my old life? No. How much longer before I face my final judgment? The time frame will be provided by the chaplain. If you choose to expedite the process to your final judgment, please let your chaplain know and they¡¯ll discuss the options available. I have a complaint, or would like to give feedback on my experience, who do I talk to? Please share your feedback or complaint with your assigned chaplain. I do not consent to being here, as it goes against my religion or beliefs. What are my options? I¡¯m sorry for the inconvenience, please bring your concerns to your chaplain. We will accommodate the best way can here at Continuation Inc. Is there food or drinks available? Food and Drink will not be provided and is not necessary during the processing phase. Once you have been placed into a physical form, you will be able to eat and consume once again. Where are the restrooms? Bodily functions are not active while you¡¯re in a spirit form. You will feel those functions return once you have been placed into your physical form.
Saylee put down the paper, placing it on the floor under her seat. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she kept to her thoughts, as the people around her got up to grab their folders when their name was called. None of this makes logical sense, is she still dreaming? Is this a nightmare? Did she drink too much caffeine before bed? That would explain the vividness of this dream she thought. Gabe tapped her shoulder, ¡°Hey, hey, um, what was your name again? It was Saylee, right? I think they¡¯re calling your name. You better hurry, I wouldn¡¯t want to keep that worker waiting.¡± Gabe was tapping her shoulder repeatedly, Trish noticed and glared at Saylee. Saylee looked up, shaking her thoughts as way. She noticed Trisha looking at her with a fierce look of impatience. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry¡±, Saylee stood up, walking past the others in the row of chairs. The people with their folders were browsing their files with an assortment of emotions. As Saylee grabbed the file that was handed over to her, she heard her name called out from behind her. ¡°Saylee Shinma. You¡¯re next¡± What, so soon? she thought. Saylee turned around, and a man in a white lab coat was looking around the room from the visitor¡¯s door. The man wore a white lab coat that covered his button-up shirt and jeans. He had a bow-tie with a pattern of different planets. Saylee raised a hand, holding the file tightly with her other hand, ¡°that¡¯s me¡± He adjusted his glasses, gave her a friendly welcoming smile, and waved her over, ¡°Come with me! I¡¯ll be your chaplain¡± The man held the door open as Saylee. She noticed Gabe, giving an exaggerated wave along with a goofy grin, ¡°See ya on the other side!¡± She felt a pang of sadness as she left Gabe behind. She barely knew him, but he was the only one so far who had shown her genuine kindness since her death. Now she was on her own with this unknown man. She felt anxious as she passed the man holding the door. When she walked in, she heard the door slowly closing behind her. The man walked ahead, waving his arm forward once, ¡°Follow me.¡± Saylee held her file tightly, glancing around the hall. It was a long hallway, with dozens of identical doors. Bright white fluorescent lights sporadically lined the ceiling tiles. Each door had a plaque with a name. At the end of the hallway, were double doors. ¡°This looks more like an office building than a space station¡±, she accidentally blurted out loud before. The chaplain glanced back once with a nod, he continued walking forward, ¡°This is intentional, the higher-ups wanted this place to feel more familiar, in comparison to what you¡¯d expect a space station to look like. We¡¯re almost there¡± They continued in silence for another minute. The man stopped and opened a door to his left. He looked back at her as he held the door open, ¡°You first¡± Saylee awkwardly walked around him and entered, ¡°Thanks¡±. She stood there awkwardly in front of a desk. The room had wallpaper with the design of an office, with life-sized images on the walls, an assortment of filing cabinets, frames of degrees and awards, and a bookshelf. There was a fake window behind him, which was an in-wall TV that had a fitted picture frame around its border. A moving beaching was on a loop. The TV was on mute. The desk in front of her only held a tablet, propped up with a stand. There were two chairs, bolted into the ground, one in front and behind the desk. The chaplain closed the door softly behind her, ¡°Please, please, have a seat¡± The man walked past her, to stand behind the desk, pointing at the empty seat in front of him, ¡°Please, relax, I imagine you¡¯ve been through a lot and have a lot of questions¡± Saylee slowly took a seat, before slowly presenting the manila folder in front of her, ¡°Um, do you need this?¡± The chaplain, with a chipper disposition, adjusted his glasses before taking a seat, ¡°Oh yes, please, and thank you¡±. He reached over grabbed the folder, and placed it on his desk. He clapped his hands once and stood up with a look of embarrassment. ¡°Sorry, how rude of me, let me introduce myself. My name is Dr. Randy Benn, but you may call me Benny. I¡¯m your assigned chaplain. I¡¯m essentially your all-in-one support counselor, your go-to emotional support therapist, and your career coach¡­basically, I¡¯m your new life support. I¡¯ll be there to help however I can, you can reach me 24/7. I¡¯ll be helping you adjust. The one you can rely on. Strictly platonic at all times, of course, I¡¯ll be there for you for the rest of your life here on New Earth¡± The man leaned forward over his desk with his hand out towards her, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you Saylee¡± Saylee stared at him, speechless. She gave a limp handshake. Benny nodded, taking a seat, before looking in her direction again with a pleasant smile, ¡°any questions, if not, I got a few questions. Then we¡¯ll be able to proceed with your career placement, your accommodations, and what day to expect your next death¡± Chapter 6: Lifetime Support Benny was tapping away an electronic pen on his tablet. It has been 15 minutes since Saylee has sat in her chair. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her eyes were focused on the flat image of the bookshelf on the wall, reading the titles on each of the books. Saylee needed a moment to compose herself. Benny put down the tablet and picked up the manila file. He casually browsed through the sheets of paper in the folder while he spoke, ¡°Do you have any questions before we begin?¡± Saylee bit her lip, and without looking at him, she said, ¡°Why bother with the faux decals on the walls? This is a space station, right? This wallpaper¡­with its pictures to give the faintest illusion that it¡¯s an office is low effort. I don¡¯t feel cozy in here, especially with all these fake office decor stickers on all over the walls. It¡¯s making me uneasy.¡± Before Benny could respond, Saylee cut in, ¡°Wait, Is intentional too? Is my growing fear and unease part of the process too?¡± Benny closed the manila folder. He adjusted his glasses and began to scratch his neck, ¡°Well, the wallpaper is supposed to resemble the essence of an office. We don¡¯t use real office decor for safety reasons. We wouldn¡¯t want a bunch of loose objects in here on the off chance a big space rock hits the station. Objects such as paper, books, and pens would fly everywhere. It¡¯s a big safety hazard. Even worse, if I had such objects in my office, I would have to clean and keep this place organized all the time. I can confidently share this with you, I haaate cleaning¡± He gave her a grin. She just gave him a frown in return. Benny shrugged before continuing, ¡°In addition to safety concerns, it¡¯s outdated to have papers and pens when we have modern tech. This manila folder here is more for you, than for me. It provides a summary of your life¡¯s highlights. What were your selfless acts, what were your worst sins, what your employment history was. It¡¯s like if your life had a resume. I have this all already on my tablet, but this-¡°, he slid the folder over to Saylee, ¡°this is for you. This way you can see why I see. You already know what you¡¯ve done in your past life so far, so you won¡¯t see anything in there you don¡¯t know already¡±. Saylee reached over and grabbed the folder. As she glanced through the pages, it showed the wiki-like summary of the 35 years of her life, compressed into just a few pages. Benny attempted to lean back before remembering the chair was bolted down, ¡°I want to assure you, that I¡¯m here to help. You¡¯ve been through a lot, but the goal is to make this process easier as you transition to your new life. This isn¡¯t some sort of experiment-¡± Saylee dropped the manila folder, her eyes wide, ¡°Wait¡­is this the bad place?¡± Benny shook his head, looking amused, ¡°It¡¯s been a hot minute since I¡¯ve left the old Earth myself, but even I get that reference. No Saylee, you¡¯re not in Hell.¡± ¡°Dr. Randy-¡± ¡°Benny, please¡± ¡°Um, yes. Benny. I just want to be left alone for a bit. Ever since I¡­.¡± She paused. Benny didn¡¯t interrupt, he waited patiently. His eyes gave her his full undivided attention. After an exaggerated exhale, she spoke, ¡°¡­woke up. I¡¯ve been surrounded by people I don¡¯t know, being ordered on what to do, and now¡­I¡¯m on some station far from home. I need some time to myself to take this all in¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Benny nodded, ¡°You will have that time during rest hours. You will have a room to yourself for the night. Once I am confident that you and your transfer file are ready, I¡¯ll guide you to your room¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do whatever it takes to finish this up soon. I want to lay down for a bit¡± Benny picked up the tablet, swiping through the screen, ¡°I see here that you were a call center representative in your past life. How would you feel about having a similar job?¡± Saylee crossed her arms, ¡°Hold up. What are you talking about? Don¡¯t tell me I still have to work a full-time job in this afterlife?¡± Benny gave her a sympathetic expression, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Saylee, but this next phase of your journey, this part of the afterlife isn¡¯t a manila vacation or paradise. To put it bluntly in the nicest way possible, you¡¯re going from one Earth to another. You work a job, you pay the bills, you try to be a good person until you die. From there, you face judgment. You may, based on your over-choices and actions, be either blessed with an afterlife from there of paradise or damnation. The choice is overall yours¡± ¡°So¡­even in this new life, I still can die and I still have to pay taxes?¡± ¡°for certain¡±, he said wryly, not looking away from his tablet. Benny swiped the screen a few times before speaking again, ¡°On New Earth, you are assigned a job based on your prior life experience and the needs of the city that you are assigned to. Everyone is paid the same with our universal payment program. So I can hook you up with an opening in a call center-¡± ¡°Oh God no, please. Please no. I don¡¯t want to spend the remaining of my life in a call center¡± Benny gave her a knowing look, ¡°You¡¯re not the first one to request another job. They always ask to do literally anything else to avoid going to a call center. I can see why, I¡¯ve heard the horror stories¡± Saylee leaned forward, ¡°Does that mean you understand my reasoning for needing to do something else? Benny, I¡¯m not joking, I¡¯ll do literally any other job. Please, Is there anything else I could do? I have an Associates of Science degree. I¡¯ll worked in retail for a bit. Is there possibly an internship I can sign up for? Is there anything else?¡± Benny tapped the pen against his chin, deep in thought. After a few moments, he smiled at her, ¡°Call center representative falls under customer service, and that gives me some wiggle room on your options¡±, he tapped the screen a few times before turning the tablet around towards her. It displayed a list of job openings. Saylee grimaced, ¡°Sales, revenue recovery, department lead¡­each of their descriptions state a call center environment. Isn¡¯t there any possible way to go down a different career path?¡± Benny scratched the back of his head, looking uneasy, ¡°Currently, those are the only openings currently within the customer service field. However, to answer your question. Hmm, I mean, it is possible. After you¡¯re assigned to a city, you just need to bring your request to that city¡¯s operations manager. If approved, you¡¯ll then need to get the education required to go down that career path. Make sure you have the funds ready before hand to attend the school required, and keep in mind. After all that, it is difficult to change career paths. Even after getting the education, the people hiring expect previous lifetime experience. They also take your age as well as your sin count into consideration¡± ¡°Age? Sins? Why does that matter? I was just¡­reborn¡± ¡°I was going to get to that. You see, everyone is set an allocated years of which they are judged before they can continue to their afterlife. The max is set at 142. Don¡¯t ask me why, because I don¡¯t know¡± Saylee stood up, playing both hands on the desk, glaring daggers at the man, ¡°You¡¯re telling me, based on my previous life employment experience, that I could be working at a call center for¡­.for 107 years?! Benny shifted uneasily in his seat, ¡°No, I mean yes. If you chose the call center position. You could go with a different customer service job. Plus, don¡¯t lose hope, there¡¯s hope you may get your request approved for whatever else you wanted to do¡± ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous. How do they expect anyone to get any job done correctly when you¡¯re over 80, 90, or over a hundred years old?!¡± Benny perked up, ¡°Oh, about that. Let need to show you something. Hopefully after you see this, it will all start to make sense¡±. He stood up, walking towards the door, ¡°Well, hopefully a little more sense, at least. Please, follow me¡± He held open the door for her, with a pleading expression for her to cooperate. Saylee avoided eye contact, as she walked out into the hall. She had her arms crossed, ¡°I¡¯m really tired, I can¡¯t take any more bad news¡± Benny pointed at the double doors down the hall, ¡°What I want to show you is right past those doors¡± He started walking towards the doors, not even waiting for her. She rushed to catch up with his quick pace, as the man looked eager to get to whatever was waiting for them beyond those industrial double doors. Chapter 7: Printing Process Benny pushed open the door. While holding it open, He waved her inside, ¡°I¡¯m excited to show you this. This is my favorite part of the process¡± Inside the large room, was a center console, full of buttons, levers, screens, and switches. To the side of it, was a large machine, with wires and tubes leading to a chamber that had a large glass door. The chamber was the perfect height and weight for a person to step into. At the far end of the room, was a cabinet and an unmarked door. Benny closed the door behind her and eagerly walked up to the console, flicking on a switch. He turned to her with excitement, ¡°This right here, is the apparatus used that will create your new body. It¡¯s an organic tissue printer, similar to a printer. It¡¯s used to put a spirit into a physical form once again¡± Saylee, now interested, walked up to the chamber, examining it. Benny sat down on a chair at the center console, tapping away on the screen. Saylee looked inside the chamber, its inside walls full of LED lights, ¡°will it hurt?¡± ¡°From the countless times I¡¯ve operated this machine before, I¡¯ve never heard a complaint from any of my patients having any pain. Now, check this out¡±, he waved her over. Saylee walked over and glanced at the main screen at the center of the console. There were a lot of questions regarding options and preferences. Benny pointed at the screen, his eyes lit as he glanced at her, ¡°This¡­this is your chance to choose your appearance. You can choose your age as young as 18 to whatever, just keep in mind you¡¯ll be looking that age until your death. Your appearance will not change over time like normally with age¡±. Saylee observed the screen, ¡°This reminds me of a character creation screen¡± Benny clapped his hands, ¡°Thank you, someone finally understands. You¡¯re the first to grasp the concept so soon. Everyone in processing gets this blessing as a gift during this difficult time. Once you¡¯re in your physical form, you just gotta pick your job, I¡¯ll find out your assigned city, then I¡¯ll give you your travel documents and then I¡¯ll guide you to your room. Too easy¡± She stared at the screen, contemplating. She thought of appearing like she did when she was 20. She- An image immediately appeared in her mind, of a baby Issac. She was holding him in her arms. Dalmon was behind her, leaning his head on her shoulder. They both looked at little Issac in awe. Her eyes watered. Benny looked at her with concern, ¡°Saylee, what¡¯s wrong?¡± She waved away his concern, ¡°Just keep me looking 35. I¡¯ll be OK with that. Keep everything the same. I just want to hurry off to bed.¡± She took a deep breath, to contain her composure. Let¡¯s get this over with¡± Benny coughed, ¡°Yes, of course. Please, open the chamber door and step in. The process will be quick on my end, but it may feel like an hour on your end as your soul settles into your new physical form¡± She stepped in and closed the door. Several bolts of electricity shot out from the LED lights. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! To her surprise, she felt nothing as the bolts shot right through her. A nozzle went down. Startling her as the nozzle sped right through her head, dropping down to her feet. It moved horizontally, in quick movements. Printing out her feet. She felt tingles in her feet, like her feet fell asleep. As the nozzle moved gradually upwards as it moved, she started feeling the sensation spread as piece by piece of her body was being printed. One the nozzle went to the height of her head. It stopped moving, as her physical form was complete. The chamber door opened. Benny wasn¡¯t there. Waiting for her, was a woman in the Continuation Inc. uniform she saw others wear earlier. The woman¡¯s badge was flipped over, she was unable to get her name. The employee handed her a black shirt, white sweatpants, and slippers, ¡°Please put these on¡± Saylee put on the clothes. Once she was done, the assistant walked over to the double doors and knocked on them twice. Benny walked in quickly, heading towards Saylee. He gave her a stoic look, ¡°How¡¯d it go?¡± He pulled out a light and aimed it in her eyes, ¡°Can you see fine?¡± Before she could respond, he took out an otoscope, checking her ears, ¡°Can you hear okay, how is your smell? Is your tongue working alright?¡± She looked at him with a baffled look, ¡°Um, yes, yes, and I think?¡± Benny nodded, ¡°Good good, I¡¯d hate to have you go through the printing process all over again¡± The assistant spoke, ¡°We good?¡± Benny gave her a thumbs up, ¡°We¡¯re good, thank you¡± The assistant left the room. Benny looked at her, noticing her distant expression. He spoke softly, ¡°I¡¯ll try to get the rest of this process done as quickly as possible¡± Saylee wiped a tear from her eye, ¡°thank you¡± Benny stepped out of the elevator, Saylee right behind him, gripping her manila folder tightly with both arms. She stared grimly at the long hallway, full of identical doors. None had door handles or keyholes. Each door had a number painted at its center. As Benny led her down the hall, he stopped at door 35. He waved a key card over the number and the door opened inward. He handed her the room key, ¡°I thought since you like the number 35. it would be easier for you to remember if you decided to leave your room for a bit to explore the station. There¡¯s a recreation room and a small library at the end of the hall. The elevator will be off limits, as we don¡¯t want any disruptions for the others still in processing. There isn¡¯t any food access available until you¡¯re stationed in your city, but I don¡¯t believe you¡¯ll feel actual hunger any time soon. it usually takes a few days for your¡­um,..body functions to return to normal. There is a restroom in there, just in case. Drink lots of water when able to help your new physical body set itself up sooner.¡± Benny handed her a card. It had his face and number, ¡°In the room, behind the mini table, is a wall-panel that opens. In there, you¡¯ll find your assigned tablet. Try to familiarize yourself with it. If you need anything or have any questions, don¡¯t hesitate to reach me. Input this number into the tablet whenever you¡¯re able.¡± She nodded in acknowledgment, but she was only half listening. Her mind felt bombarded with thoughts mixed with anger to despair. She keep her expression neutral. She was just waiting and eager to see him leave. She wanted to be left alone. Benny patted her shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving¡± Finally, she thought. ¡°There will be an intercom announcement tomorrow at 0900 hours. You can¡¯t miss it, it will be loud. You¡¯ll need to be out of this room and ready by 1000 hours. Head to departures. Easy-peasy. Just wait outside the elevator, at the bottom floor is for departures, you¡¯ll be fine. That is where the others who are leaving will be waiting at well. A friendly guide will tell you your next instructions from there¡± She walked into the room. The room was not much bigger than a billiards table. A small compact shower, sink, and toilet were on the left. A folding-out table at the back wall between the shower and bed. There was no window. Benny spoke, ¡°If you lower the wall table, you¡¯ll see a shelf with the tablet. Personal hygiene is under the sink¡±, he stepped out, ¡°Close the door when you¡¯re ready. Goodnight, and again, please don¡¯t hesitate to call. Just like a phone, go to the call app. Call me if you need anything, you have my contact card¡±. He left the room. She closed the door behind her with her foot. She slowly laid down on the bed. Her eyes stared at the bare gray ceiling. Silence. After a few minutes, she screeched. She let out all her emotions. She didn¡¯t hear or notice the cries of the people in the rooms adjacent to hers. Chapter 8: Space Puffs Saylee awoke. She found herself waking up on top of the sheets. She stared at the ceiling for a few moments, at a loss of words. She hit her right fist against the wall. Frustrated that she was still in this nightmare. She still prayed that one day she¡¯ll wake up back in her old comfy bed, with Dalmon lying by her side. She let out a long sigh before turning to her side. She then sat up and pushed a button on the wall. A medium sized wall panel on the slid down within the wall, revealing a built in shelf within the wall. On one of the shelves, lay a handheld tablet, a little bigger than a standard cell phone. The tablet was hovering about an inch off the shelf. Lifting the tablet off the shelf, she saw a circle with a lightning bolt icon inside of it, indicating a wireless charging area. She then focused on the tablet. Externally, she saw no inputs, and no speakers. She taped the screen with her thumb. It read 0600 UTC. ¡°Whatever UTC means¡±, she grumbled. Saylee wondered what to do. She couldn¡¯t fall back asleep. Is it early in the morning? Is it morning? She regretted not checking the time before she fell asleep. She had no idea how long she¡¯d slept nor how long shes been been here on the ship. How long have I been dead? How long have I been life since¡­my new body? Reincarnation? I don¡¯t know Thinking about her new body, she noticed the cotton mouth. She went to the sink, looked at the cabinet underneath, and pulled out a brush and a tiny tube of toothpaste. Saylee opened her mouth and was startled to see perfect teeth. No amalgam fillings and no teeth stains. She couldn¡¯t look away at the impossibly perfect and aligned her new teeth were. She caught herself smiling. This is so surreal. I guess having a new body ain¡¯t too bad. A thought crossed her mind. Saylee slowly lifted her right arm. Using her left hand, she lifted her sleeve slowly. Her arm tattoo was gone. She frowned, her sick-ass panther tattoo was gone. That¡¯s several hundred dollars down the drain, she thought grimly. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Saylee finished getting freshened up. She needed a distraction soon to keep pushing back the thoughts of her family to the furthest and deepest parts of her mind. She wanted to keep thinking of them, but she knew she needed to keep her mind clear. Deep down, she was certain she was going to figure out a way to get back to her family, and if she didn¡¯t keep calm, it was only delaying her return home. I can¡¯t let negative thoughts slow me down The pulsing ache in her knuckles from punching the steel wall in the shower was a painful reminder. She stepped out into the hall. To the right of her, at the end of the hall was the elevator. At the hall, the fork of directions was to the left of her. She headed down the left hall. At the end of the hall, she saw three open doors. The door on the left side was the library. She used the world library loosely, as it wasn¡¯t much of a library as much as it was a small closet-sized waiting room. It had one bookshelf, and it was only half full of books. There were two pieces of furniture next to it, a worn-in recliner, and one severely broken-in couch. The middle door had a small room that contained two vending machines. She walked in, observing the machines with their large touch screens. One of the vending machines sold hygiene products. She browsed through the items, and they all were¡­free. Which made sense since she realized the new arrivals had no money. Saylee didn¡¯t need anything so she browsed the other machine. Which to her delight, contained a variety of snacks, ranging from chips and candy to- Wait She did a double take. The brands in the machine were unrecognizable. They looked similar to the brands she was accustomed to seeing in her old life, but they were a little off with different brand names and color themes. ¡°Hmm, some corn chips sound good¡± She tried to select Brito¡¯s brand of corn chips, which prompted a ¡°Machine Out Of Service, Please Try Again Later¡± popup in response. She selected another snack. ¡°Machine Out of Service, Please Try Again Later¡± error message popped up once again. She tried to make another selection. Same response. Her frustration grew, her first constantly bashing the X on the popup notifications. I believe I¡¯m now taking my frustrations out on a vending machine. Saylee kicked the bottom of the machine. All I want is some damn junk food. Something started to brew up inside her. Clenching her fists, she left the room before she ended up punching in the screen. She walked over to the remaining room. Looking inside, she saw that the size of this room was very large, it could easily fit at least forty people comfortably. It contained half a dozen arcade machines. She glanced around, each machine was flashing a message, ¡°Unlimited Free Play¡±. She was not particularly interested in playing anything at the moment, as her irritable mood still lurked inside her. As she strode in and lazily looked around at the arcade games, she remembered Gabe. She felt a pang of disappointment that Gabe wasn¡¯t here, as she imagined he would¡¯ve liked this room. She wondered if she¡¯d ever see him again. Even though she barely him, Gabe was the only one who would talk to her and do would do his best to answer her questions. He felt more approachable, as he wasn¡¯t an employee of this surreal afterlife nonsense. She was the only one in the recreational room. There was no one around. She felt so along. Saylee, feeling like the walk out of her room hadn¡¯t helped calm her down at all. She decided it was probably best to just head back into bed. She paused. An idea struck her. Saylee glanced around, double-checking that she was the only one around. She noticed that there were no visible cameras. She smirked. I¡¯m alone. She walked down the other far end of the hallway, her back towards the elevator. She broke into a smile before running full speed into the middle room. Using the momentum, she turned in her shoulder before colliding with the machine. She heard a bag of chips fall. Saylee reached out and pulled out a bag of Spicy Hot Cosmics. She couldn¡¯t help but laugh at the terrible off-brand name. Chapter 9: Delayed Saylee awoke from her bed, a loud pounding on the door. Quickly getting up, a half bag of Spicy Hot Cleetoes spilled its remaining contents onto the floor. She stared at the door. There was silence for about 10 seconds and that was enough for her to lay back on the bed and get comfortable¡­ She turned, her body feeling heavy as she started to switch off- The knocking returned. The raps on the door were getting more rampant. Saylee felt a spot on her forehead start to throb. She got up quickly. Her socks immediately crunched several spicy cheese puffs scattered onto the floor. The chips, stuck to her socks, only added to her frustration. The knocking continued. Saylee wiped the bits of cheese puffs off her socks, ¡°Hold on, calm down. I¡¯ll be right there in a moment¡± The knocking didn¡¯t stop. Saylee let out an audible groan and stormed over to the door. She swung open the door, and there stood a red-faced Benny. His eyes narrowed when they met eye to eye. Benny held up his tablet and then shook it in the air, ¡°Do you know what time it is?¡± Saylee paused. After an awkward silence, she spoke a soft no. Her life coach stared at her disapprovingly before placing his tablet back into his pocket, ¡°You know that anything you do negatively will reflect poorly in front of my boss? Missing your flight not only delays things for you but makes me look bad too¡± Saylee looked away, not speaking for what felt like an eternity. She took a deep breath before looking back directly at Benny, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­this is just¡­this is all just hitting me. It just feels unreal. I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t skip and feel good for a while after your death right? You are¡­human, right? Did you, die before¡­?¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Her life coach took a moment to respond. She just noticed that he was wearing a purple button-up shirt and gray slacks. The outfit was wrinkled and the buttons weren¡¯t even. He had no shoes, his feet had worn-out socks, His hair was a mess, and he had morning stubble. His eyes were bloodshot. Benny ran a hand through his hair, letting out a heavy exhale, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m human. Yes, I died before. I get it. I¡¯m sorry. Look, grab your things. You missed breakfast, you missed the departure ceremony. My superior awoke me that you weren¡¯t at roll call. We have-¡°, he pulled out a small tablet, ¡°¡­45 minutes until the next flight. Grab your things. No, wait, don¡¯t bother. Leave it. Let¡¯s go¡± She was about to protest, but he gently touched her back and guided her into the hall. He walked past her, towards the elevators. Saylee followed, yawning, ¡°Can I at least brush my teeth?¡± Benny shook his head, ¡°No, this is the last flight today. The next flight is tomorrow morning¡± He tapped on his screen quickly. The elevator door opened, ¡°let¡¯s hurry. You can sleep on the flight and then I can get some sleep too¡± He leaned his back against the wall. She walked in after him, leaning her back against the adjacent wall, ¡°Don¡¯t I need a tablet? To contact you? Should I get it real quick?¡± The elevator door closed. There was a soft jolt as the lift went into motion. Benny rubbed his eyes, ¡°I wish you said something earlier. Don¡¯t worry about it. Let them know on the flight, they¡¯ll get you a new one. I don¡¯t have a paper contact card with me at the moment. Let me write down my contact information in your folder¡­¡± She looked away, ¡°I don¡¯t have my folder either¡± Her life support counselor just looked at her, not blinking. His left eyebrow twitched. He took a deep breath before speaking, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­I¡¯m not a morning person. Don¡¯t worry about it. I just need some coffee and I¡¯ll be back to my ole¡¯ self again¡± The elevator door opened. Outside the door was a massive room, with hundreds of people wearing the same outfit she wore, standing in lines. Before she could get a better look at the scene, the elevator doors closed. She turned to see Benny tapping on his tablet. Benny looked back at her with a saddened expression, ¡°Let¡¯s just get you onto tomorrow¡¯s flight. I¡¯ll take the heat. We¡¯ll get you back to your room.¡± Saylee, felt guilty, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­are you sure? I didn¡¯t plan to get you in trouble¡± Benny shrugged, his voice tired, ¡°It¡¯s not enough to get me fired, I¡¯ll be fine. In all my years, this is the first time I¡¯ve had someone under my watch be late. My boss should cut me some slack¡± Saylee grimaced. The lift door opened. Benny sighed and gestured towards the exit, ¡°Go ahead¡± Saylee stepped out, Benny stayed in the lift. She looked back at him, giving him a weary smile, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡± Benny gave a weary smile back, ¡°It¡¯s OK, please just make sure you have an alarm set on the tablet. They have speaker alarms but obviously, you slept through that so I¡¯m not sure alarm sound blasting through a tiny tablet speak will help either I suppose. Saylee, just¡­please try to get up in time.¡± Saylee nodded, ¡°I will-¡± The lift door closed before she could finish. Shaking her head, she turned on her heels and headed back towards her room. Chapter 10: Sharing Space Junk Food & Death Stories Saylee plopped onto the bed, yawning as she leaned over to the shelf to grab the tablet. She swiped through the settings until she found the clock option. She set the alarm and went back to the home screen. The screen lit up, a bland gray background wallpaper. It reminded her of tablet rentals at the library. Where the rentals only provided limited options for the user. The screen displayed only a small selection of apps: Messages, Reports, News feed, Contacts, Settings, Support Media & FAQ¡¯s. Saylee tapped the Reports app, not sure what to expect. At the top of the screen, a bold title read; Currently Showing: Continuation Inc. Station 62. Beneath the title, was a moving marquee banner, displaying numbers for inbound and outbound passengers. The total numbers were constantly in flux, ranging in the thousands. She raised a brow, Am I¡­supposed to see this? She thought. The data on the screen was available to browse at her leisure. She observed the standing queries. Saylee messed with the keywords and filters. She had the option to view passengers by batch, or by individual passenger data such as their age, name, and individual or group processing status. There is so much data to sort through. If I can view this data, can the other passengers? Perhaps they, whoever at Continuation Inc., or whatever¡­must not care about hiding this information? That doesn¡¯t make sense but then again, why bother with data security? Not like she or any other passenger right now could do anything with that data. Saylee shook her head with a frown. She placed the tablet back onto the shelf. Having some security or privacy over one¡¯s confidential personal data wouldn¡¯t hurt. I don¡¯t know if it would matter in this new afterlife, but an option to have her information hidden would be nice- Saylee quickly grabbed the tablet off the shelf. She typed her name into the search bar. There I am, let¡¯s see what they got on me. Her eyes scanned the personal file. There were several pages so she skimmed the report. The name, date of death, and date of birth were correct. Her personal file status read, ¡°Pending Transfer¡±. The appointed occupation section read; ¡°Customer Service¡± She grimaced. Saylee was about to put down the tablet when one section of the file document stood out to her. Tracker? What is that? She read the description, Unethical Behavior Tracker data is used during the final board review. This data will be reviewed by the official board members of the afterlife to determine one¡¯s destination after their judgment years. UB Tracker data collected by Continuation Inc. can only be viewable by the approved Continuation Inc. personal and afterlife officials. A view-only document can be requested through an official Continuation Inc. Chaplain. Her UB Tracker total read 26. She sat up, her eyes widened in disbelief; ¡°26? 26? I don¡¯t believe I¡¯d done that much bad behavior. Was I getting a marked per stolen treat or what? What else did I do?¡± Planting her feet on the floor, she started to pace around the room. ¡°What else did I do? I just started this new trying to be humble and now my file makes me look like I¡¯m a troublemaker¡± She started to pull mess with her hair, she frowned, ¡°How many marks before I¡¯m doomed to never go to heaven or whatever good happy happy place? Why isn¡¯t there a good behavior tracker? How does it measure good and bad behavior?¡± An idea struck. She placed the tablet down. I don¡¯t hear anything or anyone in here, so these rooms must be soundproof. I wonder¡­ Saylee walked to a side wall and started pounding her fist on it. She shouted, ¡°Hey! Wake up! I don¡¯t know you but wake up. uh¡­¡± She paused, looking chagrin before she yelled, ¡°Sorry but not sorry!¡± She stood back, listening for a response. Not a sound in response from the neighbor. She turned and picked up the tablet. Now, I wonder if my rude action caused a¡­ She made a halfhearted smile, the UB Tracker count updated to 27. Wow, that was fast¡­and¡­ Saylee glanced around, looking for cameras. How are they watching me? So damn creepy. She strode back to her bed, the tablet still in hand, and she laid back. Her interest was now piqued and focused on how to adjust to this new life. If I¡¯m going to go back to my old life, see my family and be there for them. I¡¯m going to need to fully understand how things work around here. That includes keeping my intentions secret. They have eyes on me. Whoever they are. Saylee thought back on her first moments waking up after her death. The strange driver. The semi-truck was on top of her vehicle. The transport van. The running man. He was so angry. What happened to that one man who got left behind? Is he trapped as some sort of ghost? I wonder¡­, she mused. She went back to the search bar. She tried different keywords. The keywords ¡°missing¡±, ¡°denied¡±, ¡°unknown¡±, and ¡°lost¡±, provided her with zero results. Saylee, determined, kept trying keywords. She tried ¡°late¡±, ¡°absent¡±, ¡°unaccounted¡± and ¡°castaway¡±. No luck. Her heart skipped a beat when the keyword ¡°delayed¡± did yield some results, but only concerning shuttle flight data. ¡°I¡¯ll try one more¡± she grumbled, ¡°Let¡¯s try, the word AWOL¡± The screen didn¡¯t show a response. No indication that received her request. She tapped the search magnifying glass icon again. Nothing. After a few moments without anything loading on the screen, she started to aggressively tap the screen. ¡°Dang hunk of junk froze¡±, she muttered. The screen updated. She sat up, her jaw dropped. Her eyes glazed over the screen in disbelief. The results showed over a thousand people with their file status as ¡°AWOL¡± ¡°These people¡­.what is this? Are they alone on Earth, just left behind? I¡­¡± She was about to select a file when a loud pounding on the door. Startled, the tablet, along with herself, stumbled and slid awkwardly off the bed, shoulder first onto the floor. ¡°Ow¡±, she winced. The pounding on the door continued. She got up, rubbing her shoulder, ¡°Stop your knocking, I¡¯ll be there¡± Her mood soured, she didn¡¯t bother to check the peephole. She swung open the door. There, standing in front of the door, was a man whose face indicated that Saylee wasn¡¯t the only one in a sour mood. She placed her hands on her hips, ¡°Well, what is it?¡± The man spoke with an icy tone, ¡°You woke me up. That is what. You, pounding on my bedside wall, just to tell me, in the middle of slumber, that I, for some reason, stink. I couldn¡¯t get back to sleep.¡± His arms crossed, eyes glaring. He waited for her to speak. ¡°Well¡­¡± The man swiftly held up a hand, ¡°No, no, no. I¡¯m going to stop you right there. Don¡¯t you say I¡¯m sorry, or Oh my apologies? I don¡¯t want to hear it¡± Saylee taken aback, bit her tongue on her eager apology. The man continued, ¡°You yelled, and listen closely, as this here is the icing on the cake, sorry, not sorry. After declaring to our neighbors that I stink. The funny thing is, I don¡¯t believe we met. So you, woke me, someone you don¡¯t know, to jolt them awake. Yelling a childish insult, followed by a clear lake of empathy.¡± Saylee fidgeted, looking for the right words while the man stared daggers into her skull. She took a deep breath, ¡°I¡­I was foolish. I believed the room was soundproof. I¡¯ve been here for two days and I have yet to hear a peep from anyone else in the hall. I assumed wrong on the soundproof walls. I was testing the UB Tracker to see-¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. As she spoke, the man ran a hand through his hair. He shook his head in frustration before reaching over to grab the door handle. He cut her off mid-sentence, eyes narrowed, ¡°I¡¯m done. I¡¯ve heard enough from you. Just, don¡¯t do it again¡±. He closed the door, the thud loud enough to cause an echo. Saylee stood there for a moment, staring at her door. Speechless. Saylee put the tablet down. She stared at the ceiling, not staring at anything in particular. Lingering thoughts in the back of her mind keep prodding and distracting her. Should I move on? I could just play by the rules. I¡¯d just have to wait patiently until I see my family again in whatever place awaits beyond after this. I¡¯ll just be away from them for a little while. I hope Dalmon can raise the kids on his own. A mental image of her Dalmon, Kayla, and Issac looked in her direction. They were smiling at her. Externally, she found herself smiling back. The image in her mind changed. Issac lay on the hospital bed. Dalmon and Kayla were holding his hands, looking intently at Issac. Issac¡¯s eyes were closed. She felt her eyes water, as she was struck with emotion. Issac¡¯s eyes opened. He lifted his back off the bed, turning his head, and his soft eyes looked directly at her. He mouthed something to her, calling something out to her. No words left his mouth. This can¡¯t be real Issac closed his eyes. He laid his back on the bed. This isn¡¯t real Dalmon turned, hurt pleading eyes looked up at her. I don¡¯t care if this isn¡¯t real They need me Saylee stood up, tossing the tablet onto the bed. She subconsciously paced back and forth in the small room. I can¡¯t be stupid and cause a scene. I can¡¯t be caught. I need to play along and keep my head down. Observe and plot my escape. She stared at the door. I¡¯m no longer in spirit form. I¡¯m alive. She burst into a grin. I¡¯m alive and that is good enough to live with my family back home. She turned and faced the mirror. She stared at herself, giving herself a look of determination. She pointed an index finger at herself. ¡°I will figure out a way home, I will. No one will stop me¡± Saylee awoke. The light emitting from the ceiling above blinded her. She cursed, frustrated that she¡¯d been in the room for more than a day and still couldn¡¯t find a switch or means of turning off room lights. Checking the tablet, she audibly groaned as she saw she had six hours before the alarm went off. She left the room. To her surprise, she heard people talking down the hall. As she neared the voices, she saw a woman reading on one of the recliners in the library. Two men were chatting in the recreation room, leaning against the arcade machine. Saylee avoided eye contact and headed toward the vending machines. The one machine, that have a selection of treats, still displayed the OUT OF ORDER message. Feeling in a sour mood and no longer caring about consequences, she shoved her shoulder hard against the side of the junk food machine. No luck. Putting more oomph into the shove, she tried again. Nothing dispersed. Stepping back a few steps, she rushed forward. Her shoulder hit the screen instead of the edge of the machine. There was a crack in the machine. She stared in dismay. There was no alarm going off to her relief. Several bags slowly fell below. She just now noticed, peaking from around the corner, the woman from the library and the two men from the rec room. Saylee felt a mixture of guilt and embarrassment. She was about to explain herself when one of the men, a man appearing to be in his forties, spoke first, ¡°I like your approach. I feel like a chump for just giving up after reading the display.¡± He smiled at her and then pointed at the stash of bags, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, could you share? I don¡¯t feel hungry but I can eat¡± The other man, a little shorter than the redhead raised a hand, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind sharing, I¡¯d love to try some too. I¡¯ve never seen those brands before¡± The woman, peaking from the other side of the door frame spoke up, ¡°I¡¯d love a bite or two as well, if you don¡¯t mind sharing¡± The four of them sat on the ground in the vending machine room. A hoard of treats laid out on the ground in the middle of them. They each sampled each treat, sharing their thoughts on what treat to its similar counterpart back on their home world. Out of all the snacks in the pile, only the ¡°Dark Rope¡± licorice candy was left untouched on the floor. One of the passengers, sitting to the left of Saylee; was a woman with dark curly hair and kind eyes. The woman trying to finish chewing some beef jerky before she spoke, ¡°Nothing like questionable space food to bring a group of strangers together. We were so focused on food, that we forgot all about introductions¡± Saylee slipped out a grin, ¡°It¡¯s easy to forget about pleasantries on an empty stomach.¡± She pointed toward the loot, ¡°Even though I wasn¡¯t hungry, it was the thought of eating again that I craved.¡± A red-headed man, sitting across from Saylee raised his snack into the air, ¡°Ideally, I¡¯d raise a glass to that, but this chocolate bar will have to suffice¡± The others raised their snacks as well. Saylee, placing a bag of Onion flavored chips on the ground, ¡°I guess I¡¯ll go first¡± She paused, looking a little uneasy. The others around her politely paused from munching. Saylee shrugged, ¡°I guess this new life is a fresh start, so¡­how would I introduce myself? It would feel odd to speak about¡­my old life. This is¡­odd. Let me-um¡± Saylee took a deep breath and was pleasantly surprised when the dark-haired woman next to her placed a gentle hand on Saylee¡¯s shoulder, looking at her with a reassuring smile. Saylee continued, ¡°It¡¯s been such an odd experience since¡­you know, that I¡­let me just get to it. I¡¯m Saylee¡­ I¡¯m from San Antonio.¡± Saylee started to feel the heavy weight of dread as her thoughts wandered off about her life back home. Those thoughts were flung out of her mind as she was taken aback when the lady beside her placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. The woman put her other hand on her chest. The woman smiled kindly, ¡°You¡¯re from San Antonio? I¡¯ve been there a few times as a child. I have a wonderful aunt that lives out there. My Aunt Maria used to¡­she would¡­she.¡± She paused, she began to cross her arms. Her smile slowly faded away as her mind went elsewhere. Saylee noticed the woman¡¯s mind was about to go down a certain path so she spoke up, ¡°San Antonio is a big city but who knows, I could¡¯ve crossed paths with Maria. Oh, silly me but what was your name again? If you¡¯ve already shared your name, please forgive me. I ate a lot of junk food and clearly, I can¡¯t function on an empty or full stomach¡± The woman broke into a smile. She wiped away an eye before speaking, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I thought I mentioned my name earlier. I¡¯m Amy. I¡¯m from Arizona, around the city of Tempe.¡± Amy, picked up a picked up a piece of jerky. She took a bite before pointing the remaining beef jerky in her hand towards herself, ¡°I, am slightly embarrassed to say, that I drowned at the young age of 23. I was on vacation and I had way too many mimosas. My¡­¡± she paused, taking another bite before continuing, ¡°my drunk-ass, unfortunately, checked out early. I had drunkenly fallen off a cruise ship. I had lost my balance when I was sitting on the railing during a selfie¡± Amy¡¯s casual demeanor about her death surprised Saylee, before Saylee could remark on nonchalance, Amy continued; ¡°You could imagine my confusion and surprise when I awoke to see myself. I woke up in the ocean. Like, IN the ocean. I stood up, the water, and even the fish, frozen in time. My amazement went way immediately when I¡­when..when I looked down to be looking face to face with my bloated body. I started at myself for what felt like an eternity. I finally snapped back to reality when I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder. I turned to see this guy, who bluntly began explaining my death. I thought I was having an intense dream after having one too many, or did something get slipped into my drink? I was trying to make sense of it all. It was too strange. There I was, in the ocean, talking to some guy who magically called a white van to just appear right next to us. I thought I¡¯d wake up any moment now. Seeing my dead body, talking to some dude in the water, who¡¯s asking me to get into some van. I went along for the ride, believing that at any moment that I¡¯d be waking up at some point, my friends would be there, giving me water as I recovered from a hangover. It took me longer than I¡¯m proud to admit to realize that this-¡± she gestured around the room. ¡°-wasn¡¯t a dream¡± The red-headed man spoke up, ¡°Hey now Amy, don¡¯t feel bad. You¡¯re not the only one who thought this was all some weird lucid dream.¡± The man went to put his hand towards his face, then paused his hand movement. His right hand hovered in front of his face for a few moments before he started to slowly lower his hand. He shook his head, ¡°Sorry, old habit. I forgot I don¡¯t wear glasses anymore. I guess old habits don¡¯t die as quickly as we do. Perfect eyesight is another blessing after death I suppose.¡± The man then straightened up his posture, ¡°Um, okay. Let me start over.¡± He paused before speaking once again. ¡°Hello everyone, my name is Terrold Redd, but most call me Dr. Reddy, or Red. I¡¯m from a super small town, that you¡¯ve probably never heard of in Wisconsin. I was the lone town doctor. Important keyword ¡°was¡±. I went home after work one day, and unbeknownst to me; my dear wife had poisoned my usual wine. In retrospect, that is no surprise to me, as we never really got along. I thank the old shotgun wedding tradition. My wife was a wicked woman, I will miss how she made peanut butter chocolate brownies. They were phenomenal. The only thing Loved about her except those nights she would go out¡­¡°. The Doctor smacked one of his knees with his hand, ¡°Anyways, I digress. My murder doesn¡¯t surprise me. Thankfully, she was thoughtful enough to make sure I died inebriated and experienced very little pain¡­¡± He went silent as he started to scratch the back of his head. He coughed suddenly, ¡°Anyways, in death, I have met Amy on the van ride here. We talked to each other during the journey. It helped us both keep our sanity. When we reached the van drop-off site, I was pleasantly surprised to bump into my old classmate Timid-¡± The other man, with short blonde hair, cut Dr. Reddy¡¯s sentence short by giving the former doctor a swift elbow to his side, ¡°It¡¯s Timothy.¡± Dr. Reddy tried to hide a smirk by failed. Timothy continued, ¡°He¡¯s just grindin¡¯ my gears because the others in town would call me Timid-thee. We both grew up in the same small town and were even classmates in high school. I haven¡¯t seen him since I left town after graduation. I left to start a new life in Vegas. I wanted to get rich and get as far as possible from the small-town life and that terrible nickname. I am sad to say that I didn¡¯t get anywhere. I usually found comfort in the usual Las Vegas vices. The substance abuse had finally caught up to me one day as I took a heavy nap in the backseat of my car¡­on a hot summer day¡­windows closed, too zapped out on-¡± He paused, frowning, ¡°If you know anything about the dangerously hot summers in Vegas¡­I had essentially air-fried myself. I died at the age of 36¡± Dr. Reddy gave a warm smile, ¡°I, at 37. We died far too young. We will all get a fresh start in this new world. What it¡¯s called again? New Earth or Earth 2?¡± Amy spoke, ¡°I believe they said New Earth during the presentation. I could be wrong. I was hardly paying attention.¡± Timothy shrugged, ¡°I won¡¯t complain about starting a new start. My chaplain stated I¡¯d be placed on a career path as an accountant. I¡¯d be OK with that, no more custodial work for me.¡± Dr. Reddy, Amy, and Timothy spoke with enthusiasm about their new life on New Earth. Saylee, on the other hand, stayed silent, as she didn¡¯t share the same enthusiasm. Amy turned to Saylee, noticing her silence, ¡°How about you Saylee? What will be your-¡± Saylee cut her off, ¡°I¡¯m going back¡± Amy double blinked, stunned. Dr. Reddy and Timothy just stared at Saylee in confusion. Saylee sighed, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to sound rude. I don¡¯t accept this fate¡± The other three leaned in with interest. Saylee continued in a whisper, her tone nothing but serious, ¡°I¡¯m going to return home. If it takes me a day, a week, a month, or years. I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m not giving up. I¡¯m going to play nice for a while until I figure out how to get back home. I am not leaving my family behind. My kids and my husband¡­they need me¡± The other three exchanged looks. Amy looked like she was about to speak but paused. Dr. Reddy observed them all before speaking, ¡°I respect your determination Saylee. I can¡¯t say I understand, and I wouldn¡¯t want to go back¡± Saylee was about to speak but Dr. Ready cut her off by raising a hand, ¡°That being said, I will help you however I can¡± Amy slowly raised a hand, ¡°I¡¯d like to help too. I don¡¯t want to return home because I believe in moving forward but¡­¡± she shrugged and while breaking out into a mischievous smile, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid to break a law or two to help a friend¡± Timothy shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m not going to stop you and you have every right to fight for your return home.¡± He averted his eyes, ¡°That being said, I don¡¯t want to ruin my second chance here. I wish you luck on your journey¡± Dr. Reddy looked at Timothy for a moment, looking like he was about to say something but then thought better of it. Timothy continued, ¡°Later, when we are placed in our new homes and jobs, and we all happen to cross paths¡­don¡¯t be a stranger. Saylee¡­I hope you find a path back to your family soon. I can¡¯t imagine the hurt you¡¯re going through right now. I have confidence that you will succeed in your journey home¡± Saylee felt her face warm from the others looking in her direction, ¡°Thank you, everyone. I truly appreciate it. Your support¡­ means a lot. I¡¯m trying not to tear up¡±. She exhaled before running a hand through her hair, ¡°Now, let¡¯s figure out how to add each other¡¯s number on these odd tablets. So we can stay in contact¡± As Saylee watched her new friends figure out how to add each other¡¯s contact information on their tablets. Her smile faded as she realized they¡¯d probably be separated when it was time to leave the station. She remembered the glimpse of the departure area during the elevator ride. Hundreds of people, are in queues, waiting for their departure flight. Will it be one big transport out of the station? Will it be several small ships leaving the station? Saylee didn¡¯t know. What she did know was, it was very likely she¡¯ll won¡¯t see her new friends again. They¡¯ll be on her own, once again. Her left hand turned into a fist. She wrapped her right hand over her right. She began to rotate her right thumb over the top of her left hand. An old habit, but it gave her minor comfort. She reminded herself that she¡¯ll be okay. She told herself that the finish line was to get to her family, and all she needed to do was plan the route to get there. She nodded to herself, I just need to play it smart going forward. The hidden cameras focused in on her face. Chapter 11: Departures ¡­ ¡­ Shut up¡­ ¡­ Ugh¡­ ¡­so loud¡­ Saylee placed the pillow on top of her face. The alarm from the speakers above and her tablet were constantly blaring the most annoying noise she¡¯s ever heard. How did I sleep through this loud ceiling alarm yesterday? She knew she had to get out of bed. She knew she shouldn¡¯t go back to sleep. Saylee regretted going to bed so late, she only got three hours of sleep. I probably won¡¯t see any of those people again, why did I stay up so late to talk to them? Saylee groaned one more time before she tossed the pillow across the room. ¡°Fine, I¡¯m awake. I said I¡¯m awake, so just please¡­shut up¡± She slowly lift her back up off the bed and turned, placing her feet onto the ground. The moment she stood up, a sensor somewhere in the room sensed the motion, causing the alarm blaring from the speaker above to silence immediately. ¡°That¡¯s creepy but¡­ I guess it¡¯s kinda neat. I wish more alarms were like that¡± She walked over to the tablet, that lay on the tirelessly charging area. It still blared an alarm. Unfortunately, I still have to manually shut this thing off. She swiped the tablet, silencing the alarm. Silence. Ah, wonderful wonderful silence¡­I could, perhaps¡­get five more minutes of sleep. Maybe even ten more minutes? She smiled. Maybe I can, I can just hurry out after a few more minutes of sleep. It won¡¯t take me too long to get ready¡­ She shook her head. ¡°Wait, how much time do I have to get ready?¡±, She ran a hand through her hair, ¡°ugh, what time was it? How long before I need to leave this room? Where do I go after? What did Benny say again?¡± Saylee rubbed her eyes, ¡°, I don¡¯t remember.¡± She grabbed the table and began to quickly browse through the options, ¡°Is there¡­? Nope, no calendar app, no notifications. This thing is useless. My assigned counselor doesn¡¯t even send me a reminder text¡± She tossed the tablet onto the bed and started to pace around the room. She stopped when she heard voices outside her door. The volume of the voices decreased as they walked past and away from her room. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll just clean myself up and get ready. Not like I have any belongings¡± She quickly showered, brushed her teeth, and then put on some deodorant. After putting on a fresh clean pair of clothes and putting up her hair, she picked up her tablet. ¡°Wow, just under fifteen minutes to get ready. Not bad Saylee, not bad¡± She was about to walk out the door but paused. Almost forgot the folder of my life. She quickly grabbed her manila folder and walked out the door. As Saylee walked out the door, she held her manila tightly. She watched as people in the same outfit as she walked by. Some talk to each other, while others walk in silence, looking pensive. All the individuals in the hall headed towards the elevators. She felt like a child again during the first day of school, trying to figure out where to go, and what to do. I can follow this crowd and just hope for the best. They should be heading to where I need to be. If not¡­Benny is gonna be pissed if I miss another flight. Saylee didn¡¯t see anyone she spoke to last night. Disappointed, she started to turn right to head over to the elevator but froze suddenly. The neighboring door swung open. It was the man from last night, who got angry at me for my yelling and wall-punching. He turned in my direction. He glared but said nothing. The man walked towards the elevator. Saylee walked up next to him, walking in step. She felt guilty. They walked in silence as she tried to find the right words. Saylee was about the speak when the man spoke first, ¡°Why are you¡­next to me?¡± The man didn¡¯t look in her direction, his eyes still looking forward. ¡°I feel bad for last night, I was frustrated and I thought the walls were soundproof since I didn¡¯t hear anything last night. I was trying to test the threshold of what counts as a sin-¡± ¡°So you did purposely hit the wall to see if waking me up was enough to get a sin?¡± Panic lit up Saylee¡¯s eyes, ¡°No, No, no, nothing like that, I swear. I thought the walls were soundproof. I haven¡¯t heard anyone-¡± ¡°Because they were sleeping¡± ¡°But still-¡± ¡°Leave me alone¡± ¡°Look, let me finish explaining myself¡± ¡°No thanks, now go-¡± Saylee raised her voice, ¡°No please listen, please stop and listen to me¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. The others in the hallway looked in their direction. The man, looked uneasy with the hallway now in total silence as about two dozen people looked in their direction, ¡°Make it quick¡± Saylee folded her arms, she felt uneasy too with all the eyes on them, so she lowered her voice, ¡°I just wanted to test to see if the thought of doing something sinful versus attempting to do something sinful would count as sins. And no, I didn¡¯t get a sin and no, I wouldn¡¯t have done it if I had known the walls weren¡¯t soundproof¡± The man stared at her, waiting to see if she was done. Saylee looked directly into his eyes, ¡°I¡¯ve learned from my mistake, I¡¯m truly sorry. I know we¡¯re all having a tough time, and I know the noise I made didn¡¯t help. Once again, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll¡­take the next elevator¡± The man ran a hand through his hair, and sighed, ¡°I¡­I accept your apology. Now please, leave me alone¡± They walked up to the elevator in silence. Once the elevator door opened, Saylee stayed behind to take the next lift. Saylee¡¯s tablet let out a soft vibration. She took out her tablet, and she received a message from her chaplain Benny: ¡°Hey, Saylee. Please wake up if you haven¡¯t already. You need to start heading down soon. Also, once your plane lands, please call me. We need to talk about your recent sins¡± Saylee sighed. I wonder what I did¡­and¡­does Benny get alerts every time I sin? I don¡¯t like this. I wonder if I can ask him if it¡¯s possible to not have an assigned chaplain at all. The elevator door opened. It was empty, so she, and the others waiting in the hallway, crowded towards the lift. Too many passengers tried to squeeze into the lift. She was uncomfortable as the elevator was probably over-capacity. The elevator rides down stank of sweat. She could feel someone¡¯s breath against her neck. I hate this, someone¡¯s elbow is pressing into my back. I can barely move. Saylee was grateful that the elevator moved fast. The screen on the elevator wall showed numbers declining fast. She was surprised to see that there were over 100 floors on this station. Were most of the floors just for the passengers processing through this station? she wondered. There was a light beep before the doors opened. The crowd exited quickly, and she felt herself being inadvertently moved a bit forward by the people behind her. She grimaced, but thankfully the crowd thinned enough she could now walk forward without the worry of bumping into anyone. She stepped out into a vast open area, easily the size of a football stadium. The surroundings reminded Saylee of an airport terminal, except the people were carrying their manila folders, instead of luggage. Several queue lines were going to different check-in counters. Each counter had a large sign behind the desks that read Continuation Inc., followed by a number for that station. One exception was one counter area located at the far left side with a wall sign stating, ¡°Guest Services¡±. Behind the desk, there were two tired-looking Continuation Inc. employees. A long queue of passengers waiting impatiently or anxiously for their turn to have their questions answered. She looked to her right, there was a lounge area, full of plenty of tables and chairs, couches and benches. A large crowd, around 200 people waited around the lounge area, looking unsure about what to do. Saylee heard a ding of the elevator door open nearby. She turned, and three employees walked out. Each wore the common Continuation Inc. uniform that most employees wore, with one exception. these three wore a bright yellow vest and a yellow hat. Each of them carried a large tablet that was the size of a clipboard. One of them carried a megaphone. The three employees walked over to the lounge area. The one with the megaphone spoke clearly into it, ¡°Attention, if you do not have an assigned ship for departure, please stand in a single file line in front of either me or my two colleagues. We will assign you a counter number. From there, please go to that counter to retrieve your flight information. Remember to keep your manila folder with you at all times. If you lose it, it will result in a delay in your departure. At the discretion of your chaplain, missing your flight may result in a fine. I assure you, you don¡¯t want to start your new journey already owing a debt. Now, please calmly create a single file line, thank you¡± Saylee stood in one of the lines, holding onto her manila folder tightly. She looked at the back of the head of the woman in front of her. Wait, is that¡­ ¡°Hey, Amy, is that you?¡± Amy turned around, her eyes and smile suddenly filled with excitement, ¡°Oh hey Saylee! Oh my god, it¡¯s so good to see you. I was worried I wouldn¡¯t be seeing you again¡± Saylee couldn¡¯t help but smile, ¡°It¡¯s great to see you too Amy, how are you feeling? Are you doing okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just trying to function, I got just about a little over an hour of sleep, basically a power nap. I¡¯m here and I wish I wasn¡¯t, if that makes sense¡± Saylee let out a soft laugh, ¡°Yes, it makes sense and I understand. I wanted to hit snooze and go back to sleep. I couldn¡¯t though because my chaplain is already pissed at me for missing my flight yesterday¡± ¡°What? Really? Are you like, in trouble?¡± ¡°I believe I just got a slap on the wrist. As much as I find my chaplain a little annoying, he¡¯s a good guy. How is your chaplain?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a bore but that¡¯s alright. He got straight to the point and told me how things work. He told me that the less I hear from him, the better. He told me that they turn out to be more like babysitters if the people under their wing become troublemakers¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯m a troublemaker. A rebel in this new life¡± ¡°We¡¯ll both be rebels¡± ¡°rebel besties¡± They both laughed. It feels so good to laugh, a moment¡¯s break from the heartache, she thought. Eventually, it was Amy¡¯s turn to speak to the employee in line. Saylee peaked around Amy to see what was going on. The employee behind the counter, wore a silver colored lanyard with a name badge attached at the end that read Carl. Below his name, was his position title that read, ¡°Continuation Inc. Departures Representative.¡± Carl gave a weary smile, before nodding towards Amy¡¯s tablet. Amy handed over the tablet and the employee took it from her with care. The employee tapped the tablet with his badge. The tablet responded by flashing a QR code. The employee quickly swiped the tablet under a scanner. After a sudden beep. The tablet flashed a green screen before resuming it¡¯s normal display interface. Carl handed the tablet back to Amy, ¡°Thank you. If you looked through your applications on your tablet, a travel pass app has been installed. There, you will find FAQs and flight details. Have a nice flight and I wish you luck on the remainder of your journey on New Earth. Next please¡± Amy tapped on the app, reviewing her flight details before turning around to face Saylee, ¡°I got assigned to flight 78, Gate 3 in Terminal 14. I hope you¡¯re on my flight. If not¡­¡°, Amy stretched out her arms. Giving Saylee a woebegone smile, ¡°¡­may I?¡± Saylee stepped forward and accepted the hug. ¡°Now new friend, I hope we¡¯re on the same flight, if not, I¡¯ll figure out how to text you on these weird tablets¡± ¡°You better!¡±, Amy wiped away a tear with one hand, waving goodbye with the other before she turned and walked away. Saylee walked up to the counter. Carl yawned before turning his eyes onto their own tablet, ¡°Name?¡± ¡°Saylee Green¡± ¡°Hello Saylee, let me take a look at your file¡±. Carl grimaced before slipping out a ¡°Hmm¡­¡± The employee swiped at his screen a few times before nodding, ¡°Ah, you missed your prior flight yesterday.¡± Carl scanned Saylee¡¯s tablet before handing it back to her, ¡°Fret not passenger Saylee, you¡¯ll still travel on out of here today. I¡¯ve found your new flight information. You¡¯ll be on flight 154, Gate 3 in Terminal 6¡± Saylee presented a soft smile, ¡°Excuse me, um, Carl, I was wondering if there was any possible way to be relocated to sit by my friend Amy¡¯s flight, she was the one you just spoke to, before me¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but that isn¡¯t an option. Now, please head over to counter 4 with your tablet and folder ready. Thank you and next in line please¡± Saylee felt a little pang of disappointment that her flight wasn¡¯t going to be the same as Amy¡¯s but she expected it. The station was too vast and it had too many passengers. ¡°Are you sure you can¡¯t do anything to help? I¡¯ve had a real difficult time adjusting to all this and I feel more calm and at ease with my friend by my side-¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t relocate you to another flight. Each flight takes passengers to a different city¡±. ¡°Why can¡¯t I go to the same city as my friend?¡± The employee pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. He took a deep breathe before reading his attention back to passengers, ¡°You know, for their positions they were placed in. You need to report to your assigned city to avoid complications. You¡¯ll need to go through the proper channels planet side to request relocation. Now please, proceed to your terminal. I have others waiting. I don¡¯t want them to miss their flight¡± Saylee, walked away with her head raised slightly upward. An intensity of emotions building upside from deep inside of her, ¡°I will leave this station all right. I¡¯ll leave this all behind¡± She got a couple of side glances looking her way as she walked away from the counter. She avoided directed eye contact from those looking her way. I can¡¯t think out loud. Too risky. I can¡¯t depend on others here. Friends are a distraction. I need to focus on my family. Looking ahead, her eyes locked on the sign above that provided the directional path of the nearby terminals. Crowds of people walked right passed her, their expressions hollow. She strode ahead with purpose, she brushed several shoulders in the crowd as she pressed on forward through the hundreds of people towards her terminal. I will find a way off New Earth. I will leave this all behind. Chapter 12: Plane of Existence Saylee grimaced as she saw who else was waiting in line ahead of her. She swiped on her screen, and looked once again at her flight information. Row 47, Seat 6. I doubt I¡¯d be seated next to him. I should be fine. This is so awkward. Please don¡¯t look this way. I don¡¯t he¡¯ll look this way. I should be fine. The man, who she didn¡¯t know the name of, just stood in line with his head down. His attention currently focused intently on his tablet. His fingers swiping through some pages on the screen. He¡¯s distracted, good, He hopefully shouldn¡¯t notice me. Saylee returned her attention back to the large panoramic windows. Outside, she saw the hangers that housed the enormous commercial passenger ships. The ship attached to her gate had four floors of passenger seating. They reminded Saylee of passenger aircraft back home, except with some noticeable differences. The nose of the ships reminded her of how the front side of the space shuttles that NASA use. The front nose of the ship being pitch black. The wings, including the tail wings and fin. Had an engine. The plane, with an exception of it¡¯s nose, was painted gray. The words, ¡°Continuation Inc.¡± painted in large bland corporate font on the side of the ship. She glanced at the line for the gate, at least a hundred people waited in the queue line behind her. The the waiting area seats at the gate were occupied with people. She was grateful she arrived at the gate early. How many people can sit in this plane? They haven¡¯t even called all the groups yet. The line started moving. She saw the man scan his tablet at the desk before walking down the aero-bridge. Hopefully I won¡¯t see him again. She slowly stepped forwards as the line of people ahead in line scanned their boarding passes. Saylee felt a small vibration from her tablet. She turn on the display, a red led light up the top middle of the screen. A glanced at the notification banner. She received an message from Chaplain Benny. Sorry Ben, I¡¯m leaving you on unread because I¡¯m really not in the mood. Saylee walked up as it was her turn to scan her boarding pass. The worker behind the counter, had her eyes on her own tablet. When Saylee presented her tablet, the employee tapped her badge onto it. The screen lit up green and the employee waved her on in. Saylee trended carefully as she stepped into the hallway. She felt uneasy as the walls looked to be made of tarp, and the floor held metal sheets that are scratched up due to the many times the aero-bridge has compressed or decompressed for use. As she neared the entryway to the ship. A tired yet friendly looking flight attendant waved her in, ¡°Welcome aboard. Let me see your boarding pass¡± Saylee presented her tablet, the flight attendant took only a quick glance, ¡°Okay dear, when you step in, walked forward till you get to the adjacent wall. From there, make a right. you¡¯ll see a stairway that leads up and down. Go upstairs, you¡¯ll find your row soon from there¡± Saylee smiled and said ¡°thank you¡± The flight attendant started immediately talking to help the passenger behind her. Saylee quickly stepped inside. She glanced around the surroundings inside, speechless. Each row, had 20 seats, with a hallway split every 5 seats. Saylee didn¡¯t count the seats, but guessed this level could easily fit at least over 1000 people. Passed the rows of seats, appeared to be some sort of recreational area. She saw several lounge couches next to a bar. There were Foosball tablets, and even a¡­ Is that a pickle-ball court? ¡°Excuse me, don¡¯t just stand there. Move¡± Saylee shook her head, ¡°Oh sorry¡± ¡°Yeah yeah. Hurry on up, there¡¯s a line waiting¡± She felt the embarrassment swell up. She strode quickly forward towards the stairs. Making her way up. At the top of the stairs, she had to do a double take as there were no easily visible row numbers. There¡¯s no overhead compartments¡­so where the row numbers? A flight attendant standing next to the stairs, tapped on Saylee¡¯s shoulder. ¡°uh-ah¡±, Saylee flinched forward, startled. The flight attendant raised her hands, ¡°Whoa, I¡¯m just a friendly flight attendant. I¡¯m sorry story to startle you, I don¡¯t believe you noticed me standing at the side and I just wanted to let you know the numbers are on the ground. I can help you find your seat if you¡¯d like¡± ¡°Um, no thank you. I¡¯ll be fine from here¡± ¡°If you need anything, I¡¯m Serina. I¡¯ll be this level¡¯s flight attendant¡± ¡°Thank you¡± she said in haste, she quickly walked forward, glancing down constantly to read the row numbers. Today is just not my day The row length was shorter on this level. The rows in this level were in sets of 10, instead of 20, with one hallway in the center between the fifth and sixth seat of each row. Strode forward, with some of seats on the level already seated with people. Saylee glanced down, mentally reading the numbers shown on the floor as she walked. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Row 38 39 40 almost there 41 42 forty¡­ Saylee paused. She found her seat¡­seated next to her was a man she never met before. The man . He had disheveled hair and had a somewhat bored expression. He had his right leg crossed over, with it¡¯s ankle resting on his left knee. It faced towards an empty seat. On the other side of the empty seat, was the window seat. There was a man sitting at the window seat¡­ Dammit. What the odds? He¡¯s gonna give me the stink eye the whole flight there. She took a seat, the man by the window hasn¡¯t noticed her yet, as eyes were focused on something out in open space. The man next to her seat ignored her, as he was now suddenly trying to rip one of his sleeves off. Ah, this is going to be great. I¡¯m seated next to this oddball and my former neighbor. Is former neighbor the right term? I don¡¯t know- The passenger next to Saylee ripped one of his sleeves off. The man smiled with satisfaction. He began to rip the other sleeve off. The sound caught the attention of the man by the window, who started at the sleeveless man before directing his attention at Saylee. Saylee was trying to look nonchalant in actively looking around in any other direction. The man by the window spoke, ¡°Hey, you¡± The sleeve-less man turned, ¡°You talking to me?¡± ¡°No, not you¡± ¡°Alright¡±, The sleeveless man began to mess with sleeve cloth. Saylee slowly turned to look at the man who was squinting his green eyes at her. ¡°Oh, are you talking to me?¡± Saylee asked, feigning surprise ¡°¡­yes¡± ¡°Okay, why?¡± ¡°I just wanted to ask if you¡¯re feeling better today?¡± ¡°I guess. I¡¯m not going to cause a scene if that¡¯s what you¡¯re wondering. You can take a nap on the plane without worrying about me punching the walls¡± ¡°I¡¯m just asking-¡± The man between spoke, ¡°You punch walls?¡± ¡°In my past life, I would¡¯ve said no. In this new life, maybe. I did for a bit. I don¡¯t plan to currently¡± ¡°Do you think on the New Earth that they have fight cl-¡± The man by the window cut him off, ¡°probably not, now, if you excuse me, we were talking¡± ¡°We¡¯re? Don¡¯t you mean currently talking?¡± ¡°Are you dense?¡± The men glared at one another. Saylee stepped in, ¡°Calm it you two. I believe we are all going through a tough time right now. I don¡¯t want to have an awkward¡­how long is the flight say on the boarding pass?¡± The man by the window shrugged, ¡°It doesn¡¯t¡± ¡°So we could be on plane for several hours, I don¡¯t want to sit here with feeling awkward next to you two¡± The man by the window ran a hand through his hair, ¡°This is space travel. Even though we got here from here from Earth fast. We don¡¯t know how far New Earth is. It could take days¡± The man between them spoke, ¡°Months, or even years¡± Saylee stood up, ¡°Um, no thanks. Serina! Flight attendant!¡± The other passengers seated in the rows in front of her, looked back at Saylee with an assortment of expressions. Ranging from annoyance and concern. The flight attendants expression frowned slightly before she began walking up towards their row. Serina leaned towards Saylee, ¡°Yes? Is everything OK? Are you alright? Can I get you anything, you sound distressed¡± Saylee¡¯s heart was beating fast, ¡°Please, for my own sanity. Please tell me that this is a short trip to New Earth¡± Serina was hesitant for a moment. ¡°I¡­I¡¯m not supposed to say. Once the ship departments the station, the Captain will give an announcement on the flight details. Please be patient¡± ¡°Can I get an estimate, is it a few hours?¡± Serina face went into a deep frown. She glanced around the cabin before she leaned over and whispered, ¡°I wish I could say yes. I¡¯m sorry. Please wait for the announcement¡± Serina gave an apologetic pat onto Saylee¡¯s shoulder before she turned away to walk towards the front of the plane. The flight attendant paused a few times on her way upfront, answering other passenger questions as she made her way up. The seats on the third level were nearly full as the stream of passengers walking up the stairs started to trickle down. Saylee leaned her head forward, resting her forehead onto the backside of the headrest in front of her. The man by the window spoke, ¡°Hey, I wanted to ask-¡± Saylee cut him off, ¡°What is your name?¡± ¡°Josh¡± ¡°And you sleeveless guy, whats your name?¡± ¡°Friends call me Crackle¡± ¡°Of course they do. Now, Josh and Crack, if you could stay silent for a moment. I need to close my eyes for a moment or I¡¯m going to-¡± Crackle shoved Saylee. Saylee nearly fell out of her seat, She adjusted herself back onto her seat. Crackle was glaring daggers at her. ¡°Don¡¯t call me Crack. It¡¯s Crackle¡±. The man sneered at her. Josh, staring daggers at the man, clenched his fists. Saylee spoke with an acidic tone, ¡°Fine. Crackle it is.¡± She turned quickly, firmly slamming her elbow into his throat. Crackle, caught off guard. Began having a coughing fit. Saylee saw Serina rush over, with concern on her face. Saylee and Josh shook their heads. Josh gave a thumbs up, ¡°He¡¯s fine. He¡¯s laughing a little too hard. My jokes have that effect. If you could grab a glass a water for the man, I¡¯m sure he¡¯d appreciate it¡± Serina nodded slowly while side glancing at the man coughing. She frowned, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll grab some water¡±. She quickly strode off. Josh patted Crackles back with some excessive vigor, ¡°Hey friend, if you happen to lay a hand on her again, Saylee won¡¯t be the only one here to strike you¡± Josh¡¯s expression displayed a friendly smile for any onlookers, but his eyes were anything but kind as they stared directly at the man. Crackle eyed them both but said nothing. His body slouched as he crossed his arms and faced forward. His face was still red, from the coughing and from losing composure but eh wisely sat there and said nothing. A projected red light at center of the cabin ceiling appeared. An icon for the seat belt to be buckled. A voice echoed from above, ¡°Hello newborns-I mean passengers.¡± There was silence in response, ¡°¡­that was a joke. If you died recently on a aircraft and you now find yourself on this aircraft¡­.I¡¯m sorry. But hey, at least this different because it¡¯s a spacecraft. No uncomfortable turbulence. Even as we prepare to fly past a meteor belt, this will be a less rocky experience than your recent experience you had on this space station¡± There was a few soft chuckles heard from around the cabin. The captain seemed content by the response. ¡°Where are my manners, let me introduce myself, this is your Captain Jerry speaking. The main door is closed and we¡¯ll be preparing for take off. Please buckle your seat belt. Now, while I wait for the all clear for us to depart this grand station, please listen to your flight attendants. They will go over a important safety brief. I highly recommend listening to them. A commercial flight through space isn¡¯t without its¡¯ risks. I need you all to pay close attention. As per policy, If you die in space, Continuation Inc. is not responsible for locating your afterlife¡¯s essence. Continuation inc will not search for one¡¯s essence as it¡¯s floating and screaming aimlessly through space for the rest of eternity. Lost passengers who fail to listen to safety protocols will not be located¡± Captain Jerry¡¯s announcement was met with what felt like a long uncomfortable silence but it really just lasted for several seconds. Captain Jerry spoke into the microphone again, ¡°Now that I have everyone¡¯s attention, please listen to your flight attendants. They will guide and educate you in on how to survive in space in case of any unforeseen circumstances during our journey to New Earth¡± The flight attendant at the front of the deck, Serina, had slid open a side panel in the wall next to the staircase. She pulled out a space helmet and what appeared to be¡­a flotation device. She held them out in front of her. Smiling at the passengers and stood holding the items at the ready in front of her. The flight attendant strained the maintain the smile, as she appeared eager to get on with the usual safety demonstration speech she gave every flight, but couldn¡¯t until the Captain was finished speaking. ¡°Now, passengers, before I pass your attention over to the flight attendants. I wanted to announce that once we get the all clear to depart to our destination and once I give the all clear to unbuckle your shiny space seat-belts. I highly recommend that you try out our new flight amenity¡­a brand new pickle-ball court! The pickle-ball court is available to use on the second flight level. In addition, I¡¯m happy to say that we are offering free complimentary food and drinks are at the bar. You heard me correct, the wait is over, use those brand new stomachs cuz¡¯ your friends at Continuation Inc. are picking up the tab!¡± There were several cheers heard throughout the cabin. There was an silent yet visible sigh from the flight attendant Serina before she began her safety brief. Saylee placed her elbow onto her armrest, before slowly smacking her face onto the palm of her hand. She began to Internally groan in annoyance. From the corner of her eye, she caught Josh slip out a smirk as he turned to face the window. Chapter 13: Turbulence ¡°We¡¯re all clear for take off. Please don¡¯t ignore the seat belt icon. My sensors are telling me that passenger in row 56, seat 4 is being a rebel. Put that seat-belt on¡± Saylee watched at the flight attendant put away the safety brief props. She waved to get the flight attendants attention. The attendant noticed and strode down the aisle towards her. Saylee had to wait a bit as the attendant was frequently stopped by other seated passengers who tapped on her arm with questions. Saylee could see a hint of annoyance each time a passenger tapped on her arm to get her attention. I¡¯d get annoyed too if people randomly kept tapping my arm all day. Eventually, the attendant made it up to stand by Saylee¡¯s seat, ¡°Sorry for the wait, how may I assist you?¡± ¡°Hi, sorry. I had a question. Uh, sorry. I don¡¯t see your name tag. It was Serina right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me¡± ¡°I..um. I¡¯m sorry Serina, but I¡¯m sorry if this is a dumb question. During your brief you displayed a flotation device. I don¡¯t understand why we¡¯d need that traveling through space¡± Serina tried to hide a smirk but failed, she returned to her usual pleasant customer service smile, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be the first to ask but surprisingly, not many ask. Don¡¯t be embarrassed as It¡¯s a reasonable question¡± Josh, turned his attention to the conversation, while Crackle, sitting between them, had his face into his hands. Serina continued, ¡°you see, the flotation device has multiple purposes. It has a built in beacon, LED lights, and additional emergency air supply hook up. In addition, at the very unlikely chance that this craft is sent UN-expectantly towards some planet and is going to impact directly into¡­water¡­¡± She grimaced and then shook her head. After a second, her smile returned, ¡°the device, of course, at that point, will help passengers float on water¡± Saylee stared at Serina. She was speechless, as she didn¡¯t know what to say. Josh spoke up, ¡°The flotation device being able to float on water makes sense. If the craft happens to be at the point where it is going to make impact towards some surface, how safe is this craft?¡± Serina frowned. The attendant took a moment to chose her words carefully before she spoke, ¡°Continuation Inc. has never had a recorded incident. The safety brief is more of a formality¡± Josh, and Serina stared at attendant in disbelief. Crackle peaked from his hands in curiosity. Saylee spoke, ¡°You¡¯re saying that there has never been issues with space travel, no¡­.issues at all?¡± Serina gave Saylee a reassuring smile, ¡°None at all. With modern technology, space travel is completely safe. We have safety briefs just in case¡­just in case¡± Josh furrowed his brows, ¡°So, the seat belts, the safety gear, it¡¯s all redundant?¡± Serina nodded, ¡°Yes, one can never be too safe¡± ¡°What about if there was an incident and there was casualties. Will those who die be reborn once again since it wasn¡¯t their fault?¡± Serina looked uncomfortable, ¡°Since there have never been any incidents or¡­¡± she leaned in, and spoke in a softer tone, ¡°I suppose that I¡¯m supposed to reassure you that everything will be okay and that Continuation will bring you back if anything happens during this journey but I don¡¯t want to lie. I can¡¯t¡­say for certain. I don¡¯t know¡± Cackle looked up and leaned towards Serina, he spoke in a hushed tone, ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t know? You¡¯re telling me that if I die on this flight, I don¡¯t just get a new body and start all over?¡± Serina glanced around, once she was certain there was no other staff around, she spoke in a hushed tone again, ¡°All I can say for sure is that¡­.what is true. I know this for when I lived on New Earth. If you die again, that¡¯s it. You¡¯re off to be reviewed¡± Saylee spoke up, ¡°reviewed?¡± ¡°Reviewed is the more corporate friendly term they use. Informally, it¡¯s judgment. You¡¯re off to be officially judged for your life¡¯s choices. The final judgment before being sent to your next and final stage in your journey¡± ¡°but, that doesn¡¯t seem fair. If someone dies too soon, after being reborn, that doesn¡¯t right¡± Josh spoke, ¡°that¡¯s how most people thought the cycle was. You know, you live, you die, you get judged for your life¡¯s choices. That cycle made sense to me. This after life journey before judgment does not. This whole being reborn thing seems like a unexpected blessing that I believe most are unprepared for. So, if anyone can die at anytime, can any of these really ever be fair?¡± ¡°What? No, that¡¯s not what I mean¡± Saylee¡¯s voice started to gradually rise, ¡°If I got reborn with a new body, I¡¯d expect at least a grace period. Dying too soon after being reborn doesn¡¯t seem ethical. Like a sick joke. So if the people who bring me back to life, accidentally kill me with their tech before I get a chance to fully experience this new life again, I expect to be brought back for their error¡± Serina motioned her hands to indicate to Saylee to lower her tone, ¡°please bring down your tone, freaking out the other passengers is only going to make my job harder and the rest of your journey on this flight unpleasant¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Saylee took a deep breath before she spoke, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m just a little overwhelmed. Can you¡­can you please at least tell me that you know of someone who got brought back to life if they died too soon in this afterlife¡± Serina glanced around. She noticed multiple onlookers, trying to ease drop. She sighed, clearly giving up trying to keep the conversation private, ¡°I¡­can say this. I have never met anyone, and I have never heard of anyone. Being brought back to life after they die a second time, regardless of the situation, even if it¡¯s not fair¡± The flight attendant clearly looked anxious with all the concerned expressions. Serina stood up straight, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t continue this conversation¡±. She turned around and strode off. The deck was deadly silent. The passengers dwelling on the words of the flight attendant.
The dim red light at the center of the ceiling suddenly switched into a fluorescent white. Saylee glanced up at the touch screen above her seat that acted as a passenger service unit above her seat. The tiny light of the seat belt icon on the screen fade away. ¡°Hello hello. This is your Captain speaking. I don¡¯t expect any large or tiny space crumbs to disturb us the rest of the journey. In case you¡¯re wondering, yes I like to call the tiny space rocks little space crumbs. My co-pilot Jamison doesn¡¯t find it amusing as I do but that¡¯s too bad for him, for I am the Captain. I¡¯m calling all them little asteroids and comets that float around us to be now known as space crumbs because they are nothing to fear¡± Throughout the cabin, Saylee could hear a few chuckles, as well as a few passengers groaning. ¡°I am glad to say, for the next 16 hours, I expect a smooth flight. Feel free to roam around the cabin, get a fun drink and enjoy yourselves at the lounge¡± The intercom shut off and several people quickly stood up from their seats, making their way towards the stairs. Saylee assumed their were heading to the few amenities located the deck below. She glanced to her right, the two men seated next to her were fast asleep. She quietly stood up to stretch, acting carefully not to wake those next to her. She subconsciously reached for her pockets. Grimacing as she realized she was reaching for a nonexistent cellphone in her pocket. I miss my phone. She observed more people leave the rows in the cabin towards the stairway towards the front of the cabin. Glancing around at the remaining people in the cabin, she saw some were asleep, and others were just staring out their nearby windows, deep the though. The stars shown outside the windows were flying past, looking nothing more than strings of light as the craft moved forward at a fascinating and somewhat terrifying speed. This is crazy¡­here I am, on an spaceship in space. Moving at who knows how fast and I can¡¯t even feel the damned ship moving. She smirked and shook her head. This makes more sense than that van I was on earlier. Wait, why was it a van anyways? It doesn¡¯t even make sense, none of this makes sense. There¡¯s a fake gravity holding me down and I¡¯m breathing air but¡­something should make sense at some point, Right? I¡¯m no space expect. I need to go with the flow. For here on out, for my own sanity, I wont question how any of this makes sense- She jerked forwards, her head bumping into the headrest of the seat in front of hers. Outcry could be heard from the deck below. She rubbed her forehead, Ow. A crimson glow emitted around the cabin. A voice spoke through the intercom, ¡°This is your co-pilot Jamison speaking, please calmly and quickly return to your seats, we-¡± The intercom was abruptly cut off. Several screams could be heard from below. She glanced over her seat, looking towards the stairwell at the edge of the cabin. She noticed people were running up the stairs in a panic. A metal gate was slowly closing downwards from the ceiling. The panicked expressions of the people rushing up the stairs changed to pure terror as they noticed the gate slowly lowering down. Saylee, could hear what sounded like short bursts of a static-like noise between the screams downstairs. The static sound reminded her of the sounds you¡¯d hear when manually search through radio stations. The gate fully closed down. Saylee could hear fists pounding against the gate. Saylee could hear the pleas from the other side of the gate, begging to be let in. Saylee turned to look behind her, a door that read Employee¡¯s Only at the back wall of the cabin swung open. Their flight attendant, Serina, sped walked towards the front of the cabin. The flight attendant hesitantly turned to face the passengers, her expression looked pained, as she was struggling to maintain composure as she spoke. ¡°Please put your seat belts on and remain calm while we wait for further instructions¡± Many passengers started to shout, throwing questions at the anxious flight attendant. Josh, wide awake now from the commotion, stood up, ¡°Hey, hey HEY! All of you quiet the hell down, let her speak. She¡¯ll answer questions one at a time¡± A man, three rows in front of Saylee, stood up and turned to stare at Josh, ¡°Who do you think you are? How you shut-¡± Josh pointed a finger at, his voice stern ¡°You better shut your mouth before I head over there and shut it for you¡± The man, curled his lip and stared at Josh for what felt like a minute. Before the man can snap back with a retort, Josh cut him off. Josh raised a fist into the air, ¡°Shut it, listen¡± The entire cabin went silent. The fists pounding on the gate barrier have ceased. The entire cabin stared at gate, he silencing deafening. Saylee felt her heart rate increase in anticipation. Serina, wiped sweat off her forehead and raised her hands, ¡°Now, everyone, Please. Remain silent. We must be patient and wait for further instructions-¡± A beam of electricity pierced through the bottom of the gates barrier. The beam began to slowly move upwards, sparks flying in multiple directions. Hot metal slag dripped down the metal gate as the beam was in motion. The beam was emitting static noises that pained Saylee¡¯s eardrums. A person sitting in the first row shrieked, ¡°They¡¯re getting in, they¡¯re getting in!¡± Other voices around the cabin yelled in panic. The volume rising as the beam Serina, visibly shaking as the passengers yelled in her direction. Her eyes danced from the gate barrier to the few dozen eyes throughout the cabin looking in direction. A loud bang emitted from behind the gate barrier was enough for Serina to bold towards the employees only room at the other end of the cabin. A few passengers tried to reach her, to stop her. Serina quickly smacked their hands away. She ran into the small employee¡¯s only room used for flight attendants. She smacked her palm onto the entry pad. The door slid open and Serina hastily rushed in. Her palm smacked onto the wall panel on the other side. The door quickly sliding shut. The beam was now turning, creating an arch. Saylee stared at the beams movement before she frowned. They will eventually cut their way in, whoever they are. She glanced over to Josh, who was staring at the stairway gate barrier with a pensive expression. ¡°Josh¡± The man didn¡¯t hear her from the depth of his thoughts. ¡°Josh¡± Again, the man didn¡¯t hear her. ¡°Hey Josh, Josh; JOSH!¡±, she shook his shoulder. Josh, returning from his deep thoughts, blinked twice and shook his head, ¡°what, what, what is it?¡± Saylee grabbed his shoulders, her eyes staring directly into his eyes. Josh, his eyes were locked in place as her eyes were piercing directly into his own with such ferocity. ¡°I will not die twice in one week. The people in charge of this crap afterlife aren¡¯t going to help us now. I got a plan, and you seem good enough to me. Are you with me? His stoic expression had melted away as he broke out into a wry grin, ¡°I¡¯m hooked, now hurry up and reel me in. What did you need me to do?¡± Chapter 14: Passenger Feedback Saylee and Serina stood shoulder to shoulder towards the back of the room, Josh stood in front of them, facing the door. They all stood in silence, waiting in the employees only room that was a little smaller than the standard size of a residential elevator. Saylee closed her eyes. She took a deep inhale before she slowly exhaled. She opened her eyes. This better work. Saylee side glanced to her left. Serina had her eyes closed and her body was trembling. Saylee wished she could try to calm Serina¡¯s nerves. The shouts and screams heard from the other side of the door weren¡¯t helping. Josh spoke in a whisper, ¡°take deep breathes, and try to calm your nerves because I can hear your foot taps¡± The flight attendant; Serina, began to inhale and exhale more deeply. Saylee frowned, ¡°psst, Serina, try breathing more quietly, it sounds like your gasping for air¡± Serina turned to face her, her face reddening, ¡°I AM gasping for air, in this tiny room. I¡¯m suffocating with you two in here, you trying breathing more quietly¡± Josh cut in, ¡°Quiet down¡­please. We need to stay hidden¡± Serina glared at Saylee without saying a word. Saylee was actively avoiding Serina¡¯s glare, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡±, she whispered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡±, Serina grumbled mockingly. Josh looked over his shoulder, ¡°Look, we¡¯re all on edge right now, okay? Remember, the anticipation is worse than the execution-¡± Serina¡¯s eyes widened, her expression growing frantic, ¡°Execution? Whose getting executed? You didn¡¯t tell me about execution. I don¡¯t want to die and I will no die. Let me out¡± Josh slightly around as much as he could, while keeping his eye on the door, ¡°Shut it, I¡¯m trying to focus. If you stick to the plan, you won¡¯t die¡± Serina¡¯s eyes narrowed, ¡°why do you seem so sure? Can you promise me that I won¡¯t die? I¡¯ve died before and I refuse to die again today¡± Josh wanted to pinch the bridge of his nose but he couldn¡¯t with the limited space, ¡°I can¡¯t promise anything, but if we were sitting in a room with terrorists, just doing nothing and they they still kill you while doing nothing, means you died for nothing, Okay? Follow my plan, and if it all goes well. You will most likely survive¡± Saylee cut in, ¡°Josh, you¡¯re raising your voice, quiet it down¡± Josh ignored Saylee and keep his focus on Serina, ¡°Serina, listen, please¡­you got the easiest and most important job. Once the doors open, you get to stay safe in here while Saylee and I, take care of the rest. We can¡¯t do our jobs unless you do yours. Doing your job keeps us all alive. You could save everyone by doing your one task¡­ of pushing a button. Could you do that for me? No, not just for me. Could you do your job to help your crew and all those passengers out there who are depending on you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want all this pressure put on me¡± Josh bit his tongue for a moment before continuing, ¡°I-look, all that pressure goes away one you press the button. So please, Serina. All you need to do¡­is when the door opens¡­press the button. Can you do that? After that,you don¡¯t need to do anything else but hide in this room¡± ¡°¡­OK fine. Don¡¯t talk to me like I¡¯m a child. OK? I¡¯m ready, just¡­give me some space¡± Josh and Saylee tried their best give her more space in the already very compacted room. Saylee, took in a deep breathe, and slowly exhaled. She held tightly to the- The door slid open.
The intruder, after pressing the touch pad to open the door, swung the weapon towards the door the quickly slid open. Josh rushed out, pushing the weapon downwards with one hand and yanking him forward with the other. The startled masked man stumbled forward towards Saylee, who lifted up a large tablet with both hands. The tablet that was earlier located above her seat to adjust settings and call for an attendant. Saylee swung the tablet down with her adrenaline giving her the extra oomph to knock the intruder out cold. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Serina, eyes going wide, turned to look towards a open panel in the wall. She hit the button with the side of her fist before rushing forward to press the button that closes the employees only door. As the sliding door closed, Serina began to make herself into a ball. As Serina curled up, gripping her legs tight..she began to float. On the other side of the door, The two conscious intruders, along with any passengers who weren¡¯t buckled in, began to float upwards. A few passengers shrieked in surprise. Josh, looked back at Saylee and then he nodded towards the weapon floating next to the unconscious body. Saylee nodded and grabbed the weapon. She looked back at Josh, who nodded towards the screen cracked tablet she already forgot about. She shoved it in his direction. Josh grabbed the tablet and tried to move towards a row of seats Saylee, glanced over the weapon in her hand and frowned. How do I use this? it doesn¡¯t have a normal looking trigger- A bolt of energy just barely missed the side of her head, leaving a sizzling burn mark on the wall behind her. Saylee kicked the idle body next to her. Her back smacked onto the wall behind her. The unconscious body now moving towards the person firing. Holding onto the weapon, she felt a round indent on the side of the weapon with her thumb. She pressed her thumb firmly onto it and a energy bolt round shot out. leaving a burn mark onto the ceiling. Okay, I can work this. Energy bolts were flying by her, just grazing past her. Either these weapons are terrible at hitting targets or the gunman have terrible aim. Saylee kicked off the wall, towards the backside of the last row for cover. As weapons continuously fired. Passengers who were a float, tried to press and hold themselves against the ceiling. Josh, reached out onto a seat. Once he was stable, he pulled himself down for cover. He glanced between the seats towards the threats. One of the gunman barked, ¡°Turn on G-boot!¡± The two active gunman feet had thudded towards the floor, no longer a float. ¡°Dammit¡±, Josh cursed. As the idle body sped quickly towards the armed intruders, one of the gunmen shot at their comrade, slowing it down. Globs of bloody began to drip out of the wound. The other gunman turned and yelled at this teammate, ¡°What the hell man, he¡¯s one of us¡± ¡°Shut up, get Crackle outta here¡± the man barked over his continuous firing. That must be the leader, Saylee thought The other gun only took a brief second before responding with a emotionless yes sir. The subordinate reached over to grab the Crackle by the shoulder, who was previously hugging a seat for cover. The subordinate forcefully guided Crackle, like a balloon, towards breach opening. Crackle was easily pushed through, with the subordinate not too far behind. Only one gunman left. The passengers throughout the cabin kept quiet, hoping the gunman would spare them. Saylee and Josh, on opposite sections, crouched behind seats, carefully watching the gunman from a far. The enemy firing stopped. The remaining gunman moved his head to crack his neck before he started to slowly step forward past the rows, ¡°I don¡¯t have all day, give me back the weapon and I¡¯ll spare you and everyone else in here¡± Saylee looked at Josh, who looked back with a reassuring nod. She mouthed, I don¡¯t know what to do. Josh looked towards the gunman before glancing back at Saylee. He indicated 1 with his finger, then he pointed at himself. Then, he made the peace symbol and pointed at her. The peace? what does he mean peace, does he want to surrender? Oh, no, he probably meant two. like second. She glanced between the seats again, the gunman was getting closer. ¡°This is your last chance to surrender¡± the gunman spoke with a venomous tone. She looked back at Josh, who awaited her confirmation. She nodded. Josh nodded back. Him first then I go next? What the fuck are we doing? She gulped in anticipation, watching Josh for some sort of signal. I shoot till this thing runs out of rounds, that¡¯s all I can do. Josh, quickly shown his index finger before he stood up. He spun the tablet like a professional discus player. Releasing the discus towards the gunmans face. The gunman was caught off guard. The gunman stumbled back as the discus hit the helmet head on. The helmet¡¯s glass crackled and fell away. Saylee stood up and fired. One of the energy bolt rounds striking the intruder on in the shoulder and on the side of his abdomen. The man cried out in pain. Josh screamed, ¡°Serina, now!¡± Josh grabbed onto seat, and Saylee grabbed onto the headrest just in time as the gravity returned, there were cries of pain from startled passengers who fell hard onto the floor. Josh and Saylee rushed over to the injured gunman. The fallen man was grimacing in pain, Josh told the mans weapon. Saylee and Josh aimed their weapons at the man. Josh spoke first, ¡°Talk, why are you here?¡± The fallen man stopped wincing as he looked between Josh and Saylee. As he looked directly into Saylee¡¯s eyes, his face went red, he spoke through clenched teeth, ¡°¡­You!¡± Saylee was taken back at the mans apparent anger towards here. Josh side glanced her, ¡°do you know this man, because I can tell that he knows you¡± The man on the ground bared his teeth, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you, If I would¡¯ve known you¡¯d be on this flight¡­ I would¡¯ve killed you first¡± Josh spoke, ¡°Who do you work for? Why did you want Crackle?¡± The man on the floor ignored him, his attention solely on Saylee, ¡°If you don¡¯t kill me now, I¡¯ll hunt you down and make you pay. You¡¯ll pay for what you¡¯ve done¡± The mans voice was rising, ¡°What? Nothing to say?¡± Saylee looked at the man, such hatred in his eyes. Wait¡­ I remember. This¡­this is the man I saw that day running up to the van. The crimson faced man cut off her thoughts, ¡°Why won¡¯t you kill me now? You¡¯ve killed me before, you can do it again¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± Saylee was taken back, holding back a cough. Josh, slowly turned towards Saylee, his expression filled with concern, ¡°What is he talking about Saylee, did you kill this man on Earth? Is there something you¡¯re not telling me?¡± She felt light headed. She felt like she needed some air. ¡°I-¡­¡± She paused, now noticing her surroundings. Thick clouds of light blue smoke was dispensing from vents throughout the cabin. Passengers began coughing. She heard thuds throughout the cabin. She turned, Josh had to grab a seat for support, as he started to slouch forward. The man on the ground, had somehow crawled away. How did he move so fast, she thought while she yawned. Her eyes were heavy. The man on floor had taken the helmet off his fallen comrade and put it on himself. Saylee felt heavy. She collapsed onto the floor. She could barely keep her eyes open. The clouds of smoke is making everything so hazy. She saw the man she unknowingly killed on Earth, being engulfed in the blue smoke. All that remain uncovered were the mans boots. Something was pulling boots into the smoke quickly. ¡°Wait¡±, she rasped. Who are you? Her final thought before she collapsed, her head, hitting the ground. Chapter 15 - New Destination Dry. I¡¯m¡­so¡­thirsty. Saylee¡¯s nose, throat and mouth felt like sandpaper. Her mind filled with fog. She squinted as the bright light seemed to pierce through her eyelids. Saylee jolted up as she began coughing sporadically, trying and failing to hold in another painful cough. Each cough felt like little knives were digging into the walls of her throat. She began, with some difficulty, opening her eyes in search of a drink. What she saw, was not the cabin of the passenger ship. What she saw instead was a large rectangular room. She could tell from the content on the shelves and equipment attached to the walls that it was a medical bay. It was a large room with no windows. Dozens of beds were spaced evenly around the edges of the room, none with privacy curtains. Some of the beds with occupied. Those beds occupied appeared to people evenly, which many of whom wore a cast or wraps. She two individuals walking around in white uniforms, who Saylee assumed must be the medical staff. A deep yawn and cough, escaped her. The pain causing her to cringe up. She laid back. I¡¯m going back to sleep. I¡¯ll¡­. One of the medical staff noticed her movement. Saylee was feeling weight of her eye lids as the staff member was quickly striding towards her. Her eyelids were tried to stay open. She squinted as she felt the staff member place one hand on her shoulder. ¡°Hey, Ms. Green, are you awake?¡± ¡­I¡¯m not in the mood, go away¡­ She heard the medical staff member speak away, ¡°hey, Alec, she¡¯s awaking up. Give her a few minutes for the meds to wear off¡± ¡­ah¡­that¡¯s way I feel so odd¡­I¡¯m still th- ¡°Hello, Ms. Green, Ms¡­Saylee. Hey, wake up. Please wake and drink this, you must be thirsty. Thirst is a common side effect of the medication¡± Saylee felt a gentle shake from her shoulder. She begrudgingly opened her eyes. ¡°¡­OK¡­fine¡­but only because I¡¯m dying for some water¡± Saylee felt light headed, and irritable. She began to raise her head up from the pillow before she started to the weight of exhaustion weigh her back down. She froze as she felt the aid put their hand onto Saylee¡¯s back. The gentle hand gently guided her upwards. She felt a brim of a cup placed against her lips. ¡°Drink¡± She began to eagerly down the water. Completely ingoring the cold metal piece from the stethoscope placed onto the chest. Saylee put the cup out, wiggling the cup for more. A hand reached out, grabbing the cup to refill it. Saylee starting to feel her senses fully return. She noticed it wasn¡¯t one aid by her bed, it was two. Each standing at opposite ends of her bed. One had finished refilling her cup and the other was monitoring her heartbeat.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°huh, there¡¯s two of you. I thought there was only one¡± she muttered. One of the aides smiled, ¡°I¡¯m Dr. Cleed, but you can call me Alec¡± He pointed at over to the other medical person, ¡°this is Nurse Alex¡± Dr. Cleed smiled, ¡°yes and yes, before you ask, we are twins and yes people get our names mixed up all the time¡± ¡°Dr. Cleed, um Alec¡­what happened? I¡­¡± Saylee¡¯s eyes went wide, she looked around the room before returning her gaze over to Dr. Gleed. Her eyes danced between the doctor and nurse Alex. A toothy smile making an appearence, ¡°I¡­can¡¯t¡­I¡¯m alive¡± Dr. Gleed smiled, ¡°yes, you survived. You¡¯re quite the fighter¡± Saylee eyes lit up, ¡°I¡¯m alive. I¡­I can go home. I can see my family. This all was a bad dream. Where¡¯s my phone, I need to call¡­wait, are they waiting for me out there?¡± Her face, full of hope and beaming with joy, stared at the two of them for a response. Dr. Gleeds smile faltered. He glanced over at Alec, and the two of them stared at each other. Alex grimaced. Dr. Gleed spoke, ¡°You were knocked out unconscious from the knock out gas. I¡¯m sorry¡± The pure joy slowly faded from Saylee¡¯s expression. She ran a hand through her hair, no longer able to meet their eyes without tearing up. The doctor continued, ¡°your elbow and noggin are swollin. Either from hitting the deck when gravity was corrected or¡­perhaps during your skirmish with the terrorists¡± Saylee didn¡¯t say anything. After a few moments of silence, Alex spoke, ¡°You¡¯re a hero¡± Saylee slowly raised her head to meet eye to eye with the nurse. She stared at Alex with bewilderment, not saying a word. Alex coughed and then continued, ¡°you¡­saved the crew. You stalled the terrorist long enough for help to arrive. Those people were kidnapping passengers. They got away with taking a few but¡­who knows how many more would¡¯ve been taken if you didn¡¯t distract them. A few got away but they were able to arrest quite a few terrorists, thanks to you and Joshua¡± Saylee looked around, but after glancing the beds around the room, failed to see Josh. ¡°Hey, were is Josh. Is¡­he okay?¡± Both Dr. Gleed and nurse Alex nodded. Dr. Gleed sighed and began to type something on his wrist tablet. Alex frowned, ¡°Josh is okay, he is currently away getting his statement recorded. I¡¯m not sure if he will return but he was healthy before they checked him out¡± Dr. Gleed finished tapping away at his screen, ¡°Ms. Green, or Saylee. I¡¯m happy to say you¡¯re going to be okay from. Please take it easy for the next few days. Drink lots of water. I¡¯m sorry but-¡± The front door opened and a group of four armed individuals strode in, heading towards Saylee¡¯s bed. The woman in front of the group, nodded to Dr. Gleed before turning her head to Saylee. She spoke tersely, ¡°Saylee Green, you¡¯re needed for questioning¡±. Created with Sketch. Josh had his arms crossed, trying to think of something to pass the time. The two uniformed gentlemen who had left him alone in the small room had locked the door on their way out. Josh could only assume this was the interrogation room. He had woke up three hours ago in this ships medical bay adjacent to Saylee¡¯s bed. Josh, soon after waking up, was escorted out of the med bay. They ignored his questions and protests along the way. As he was escorted through the halls, he took mental notes of his surroundings. This is definitely not the same ship. He pinched the bridge of his nose. He slowly stretched out his thumb and index finger, gradually placed his face into the palm of hand. sigh. He thought about the groups of soldiers that walked past them in the wide hallways. They were different from the uniforms he¡¯s seen so far prior. Their sleek silver uniforms had sported what appeared to be some glowing hexagon patterns on their sleeves that glowed a faint purple. They all carried as what he could best describe as dark purple steel rifles. He recalled the elongated glass windows that were built along the right side of the hallway, providing him an amazing view of the universe beyond, the endless stars out beyond making him feel insignificant. The two silent armed men waiting outside the room, giving him a sense of dread. I must stay calm. The door had a small window, he peered out it earlier, seeing the two soldiers standing guard outside the door. Josh waited, for what felt like hours. He felt antsy. He found himself constantly rotating the same time killing actions. He paced around the room for several minutes before kicking the lone chair around until he eventually when back to a set of push ups. When his finally did tire, he decided lay on the table and just stare up at the ceiling. Arms folded behind his head, he sighed. Perhaps I could hum a song. What song¡­you know what? , I don¡¯t care. His eyes found nothing to focus on. There was nothing on the ceiling. He was getting irritable. I¡¯ve done nothing wrong. why am I here? Why treat me like I¡¯m a criminal? If I get blamed for something¡­this is bullshit. What kind of afterlife bullshit is this? Josh stood up and once again,paced the room. The door swung open and he froze. But only for a second, he quickly turned, no hesitation as he rushed towards the open door. Chapter 16 - Meeting Benny swiped at his tablet. He groaned audibly before putting the tablet back into his pocket. He tried to keep a neutral expression as he saw who walked up next to him. Benny, dark shadows around his eyes, kept his eyes forward. He hadn¡¯t had much time for sleep the last three days. His eyes, watching the activity and reading the reports on his dependents, one in particular, have kept him on edge. All but one of his latest assigned dependents to oversee are yet to arrive on New Earth. The others, already starting their new lives and to Bennys relief, have already been transferred on over to be overseen by different chaplain. Now, with the others no longer weighing on his mind, he had only one dependent left that¡¯s directly under his supervision; the curious Saylee Green. His reports and emails have only increased from her actions as Saylee has seemed to do everything in her power to not keep a low profile. His mind, which was already racing on how he will put a positive spin on his progress report for his boss and now unfortunately, the board of directors. Amanda, walked casually beside Benny, matching his pace. She had a nonchalant expression, which was usual for her. Benny could sense that Amanda was trying to hide her anxiety. ¡°Hey Benny. Long time no see! I take it that you well aware that your¡­well, that one of your, you know who-¡± ¡°Yes, Amanda. One of my dependents has committed actions that are cause for some concern. I¡¯m not worried about it. I assure you, Saylee still has enough brownie points to cover that, she¡¯s more than good to proceed to a satisfactory afterlife. Don¡¯t act like the ones you oversee are oh so perfect¡± ¡°Of course my little peons¡¯ aren¡¯t perfect, Benny; but your thief Saylee has sinned already several times, unlike my Josh-¡± ¡°Amanda, please. Really? Peons? I really do hate that word. They aren¡¯t peons, they are people, just like you and me. It wasn¡¯ that long ago that you were in their shoes stepping out of the transport van. Do I need to remind you that they aren¡¯t just some mindless workers-¡° ¡°Yes, Yes, I-¡° ¡°I¡¯m not done. These people are here, a fresh start available. One they didnt know they had before. They are contributing to this plane of opportunity before they continue on to their steps of souls journey¡± Amanda began to mindless bite the edge of her nails, ¡°I know that, but¡± Benny cut her off, ¡°I¡¯m almost done. Just¡­listen and please understand. Saylee is not just a thief. I saw the video and read the A.I. analysis of the footage, she was building connections. Food brings people together. Plus, it¡¯s a flaw that those employee machines are there at all, for all to easily access. They might as well be free to all. I digress. Yes, Saylee has made minor mistakes but I have a good feeling, a good hunch, that she¡¯ll do better. At least, ideally steal less vending machine from here on out¡± Amanda stared at him for a few moments, waiting to see if he was going to continue. After she felt confident he was done speaking, she spoke, ¡°Well, my Josh, or should I say my dependent, Joshua Blarrtone, if you wanna know his full name for reference, hasn¡¯t done anything wrong. Mr. Blarrtone is a prime example of what a good person should be. A good dependent, just like the others I oversee. I really don¡¯t know why they need me at this meeting, he¡¯s done nothing wrong¡± ¡°I imagine it has to do with our performance. It doesn¡¯t matter if those we oversee are doing just good enough. We, as overseers, must do better. We must strive to always do better. afterall, people¡¯s afterlives are at stake and we could be their guide to success. To ensure they have a wonderful place to transition to after their death. That is what I imagine the meeting is about. My guess is that we must¡¯ve become complacent, and that¡¯s unacceptable. We must be there for our dependents. We must do better. Some of us¡­more than others¡± Amanda glared at him, Benny continued, ¡°Look, I¡¯m not saying I couldn¡¯t do better, but maybe, just maybe. We have gotten too comfortable. Perhaps, some of us in this department haven¡¯t been reaching out and reminding those that we are assigned to, that we offer resources and are always available to answer their needs and concerns. I¡¯m no saying that I¡¯m guilty of this at some level. We work long hours and we oversee a lot of people. It¡¯s tiring. Perhaps, we got too comfortable focing on other tasks or taking long breaks to stay sane.¡± He took a deep breathe, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re here, you¡¯d have a better idea why, but¡­but I could guess¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Yes, yes, yes. I get it. I won¡¯t say peon anymore. Also¡­I can admit that I¡¯ve been taking it easily lately for my own sanity. They¡¯ve assigned more dependents to each chaplain this semester compared to any previous semesters. What is going on? I heard one of the higher ups gossiping in the hallway was blaming the increased deaths on war and whatever. I toned it out, but I did hear them use the word peon and I was like¡­huh, It sounds kinda cute? Even though I now know the words meaning isn¡¯t related to the word cute at all, unfortunately. Also, don¡¯t forget we have the same job. I know my shit. Don¡¯t go on about these freshies potential. I¡¯ll let that go because I know you¡¯re not one to usually mansplain. As long as you lower your edged tone you¡¯ve had so far with me, okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sort of here mentally. sort of on autopilot. Again, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s been¡­a lot lately and I¡¯m a little on edge. I can¡¯t lose this job, I recommend we kept the chat to the minimum, it¡¯s be a rough couple of days. Plus, you never know whose listening¡± ¡°I can relate and okay. I just¡­get a little chatty when I¡¯m nervous¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright¡± They continued walking down the long hallway in silence. I just need to get through this meeting then I can go back to my office. Just gotta get through this meeting. Amanda and Benny were called to the meeting, as their dependents under their supervision had been part of an recent terrorist attack. They both were nervous, but they both were content on hiding that fact from one another. The made it to the conference room door. Benny took out his tablet, messages were flooding the screen. Amanda looked at her tablet as well, notifications were piling up. Amanda sighed and looked over at Benny. Benny returned her gaze with a half-hearted smile. Amanda gave a half-hearted smile back, ¡°Looks like they really want us to join the meeting. Here we go¡±. She opened the door. Reyna Coldstone stared at the screen cloud in agitation. The other tiny screens in the conference room were looking either impatient or nervous. ¡°They¡¯re late¡± she remarked coldly. One of the faces in the conference room talked, she didn¡¯t bother to look to see who spoke. What did they say? It didn¡¯t matter. She spoke over them, ¡°I don¡¯t want excuses, get them on now¡± One of the others in the meeting spoke quickly, ¡°Yes Mr. Coldstone¡± Reyna glazed over the screens, dozens of people in business attire. Most were on mute but all were opening taping aggressively on their personal tablets. All were trying to reach out to Dr. Randy Benn and Dr. Amanda Glasis. She smirked. Let me work with a bit of panic. I can¡¯t let them get too comfortable. She sat in her grand office, alone. She was holding back the temptation to lean back in her chair. A sound notification caught her attention. Someone has joined the meeting. The new screen bubble emerged, lighting up to reveal a middle aged man and women. They spoke at the same time, ¡°Hello everyone¡± At the bottom right of their bubble, it read Dr. Benn and Dr. Glasis. Reyna spoke, ¡°Nice of you two to arrive on time. We appreciate it¡± Benny spoke, ¡°I do apologize Ms-¡± Reyna snapped, ¡°I don¡¯t like apologies Doctor. Get this meeting started before I lose my temper¡± Benny and Amanda were taken aback. Amanda spoke, ¡°yes, understood Ms. Coldstone. You¡­wanted to see us?¡± Reyna rolled her eyes, visibly agitated, ¡°obviously, that¡¯s why you¡¯re here¡±. Reyna swiped something out of sight of the viewers before returning her eyes back to the camera. ¡°I was told that during the recent terrorist attack that than two individuals, overseen by none other than the two chaplains who are looking stupidly at me right now¡±. Reyna paused, glaring at Benny and Amanda, who were both flinching back under the scrutiny. ¡°These two, who have no prior vigilante history, had decided to step up and stop what was potentially another deadly terrorist attack. These heroic individuals, a Saylee Green and a Joshua Blarrtone, are exactly what this organization needs. Perhaps, if two baffoons had actually done their jobs and monitored and communicated with those they oversee more often, we may have seen their potential sooner¡± Benny rose a finger, ¡°Mr. Coldstone, I, We-¡± ¡°Shut it. I don¡¯t want excuses. You two sicken me. Whoever is in charge of promotions or whatever, get these two demoted. Get these two out of my sight. You know what? No, I¡¯ll do it¡± Reyna tapped a small x on Bennys and Amanda¡¯s camera, to remove them from the meeting. She returned her attention to the boardroom members in the meeting, ¡°I want someone to assign our new hero¡¯s where they can do something that matters. Bradley!¡± Bradley, who was the board director in charge of Continuation Inc.¡¯s Structure and Responsibilities department, readily spoke up, ¡°I¡¯ll get right on it, Ms. Coldstone¡± ¡°Genna, immediately message me-no, call me, with any updates on terrorist activity. I want to be first to know¡± Genna, the Security Executive Director stammered, ¡°Yes, Ms. Coldstone¡± ¡°Good. Meeting adjourned¡± Reyna closed the meeting. She pushed her chair back before she slowly stood up. A smirk broke free of her agitation.