The Way Station || Life after death isn't so easy...

[CelestialCellar]

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​

"Next!"​

Horace Buckworthy had been working the counter at The Way Station going on 67 years, and it was tedious. Each day, Horace dealt with disoriented travelers as they wandered into the dirty, run-down market, and it was his job to enlighten them about their current situations. The list of names, which had been left in his possession the very first day he'd arrived here, grew each day as more an more people appeared in the Far Side.

"Name?" Horace didn't even bother looking up at the faces anymore. To him, they were all essentially the same. "Sign here," he drawled, pointing at the dotted line, "and here."
From there, Horace would stamp the individual's paperwork, approving his or her arrival and allowing them access to The City and their memories.


For some, it would happen right away. For others it was a gradual process. Either way, the first memory to come back was always his or her death, and it was never pleasant to watch. By now, Horace was mostly desensitized to the process. He didn't feel anything anymore as the person in front of him wailed, reliving the experience again, nor did he offer any condolences --- after all, they were all here for the same reason.

Granted, Horace's memories had come and gone by now, so he could no longer really relate. 67 years of living in the Far Side tends to do that to you. First, you're bombarded with the memories of your life, and then with the dreams of your loved ones. After a while, once your friends and family start to move on, so do you. The dreams stop, and your memories fade away again, until all that's left is what you've become since death. After that, there is no redemption.

Unlike Horace, some people get out before reaching that point by coming to terms with the sadness, finding peace, and moving on. However, there is also a second option: if they change their mind quickly enough, if the prove to The Administrator that they deserved it, they're granted a "second chance," waking up in a hospital somewhere, back on earth where they can live out the rest of their natural life like nothing ever happened.

So what'll it be? Move on, go back, or stay here?

 

[EchoRun]

When Alex first found this building, she had been relieved, almost ecstatic to know there was something out here. Now she was sitting outside, wishing she had never stumbled upon it.

It had been a while since she had first arrived here (wherever here was, anyway). She wouldn't be able to tell how long; her perception of time was pretty skewed. Nor could she tell how many steps she had taken; after a while she had started counting, but had slowly come to a stop with that as well. Which just left her alone with her thoughts as she walked.

This wasn't too good of a thing.

When she had first arrived, this building, the Way Station, had seemed to be some kind of haven. A bit of a 'Congrats! You've walked all this way, here's a thing'. She couldn't have been any further from the truth. Things had gone pretty simply at first: there were a few people there, all waiting for their turn to talk to the man behind the counter. Normal enough, normal being a relative term. It wasn't until she heard the first person cry out that she began to panic. Then there was the second. Alex winced again at their wail, and she thought that maybe she should have just left. But something had kept her in that line. Perhaps it was because she was already in line.

Once it was her turn, Alex hesitantly took the step forward and did as she was told, signing the papers where the man pointed, not bothering to really read any of the paper work. None of it mattered. She took note that whoever this was never really looked up; he seemed detached. Any questions she had had retreated to the back of her mind. Nothing happened until he had stamped the paper. She hadn't even taken two steps when everything flooded her.

The fire escape. And flying. Except she hadn't been flying.

No. She was falling. And while the two were very similar, falling was different in that it had a more permanent destination.

She gasped and grasped the edge of the counter, trying her best not to scream then. Alex remembered it. Dying.

"No. No no no no..." Maybe she was screaming now, it didn't matter, she had a good enough reason to. She took a deep breath, then looked at the guy. He seemed indifferent. She wondered how many people's deaths he had ruined this way. It didn't matter; she remembered now. The details were a bit hazy, but for the most part, she remembered. Another deep breath in, then out, and she told herself to let go of the counter. She released the counter and stepped outside in a daze, practically collapsing a few feet outside the building.

 

[Justin]

[warning=red][spoili]

Flynn had been roaming this place, cluelessly looking for something or someone. When he found a place, that looked like a gas station or something, he didn't know what to think. He ran forward, the guy at the station told him to sign some stuff. Flynn read over the thing, he knew he had died. He thought he had died but how? The papers were a bunch of words. He just signed it, figuring if he did it may be he'll get some answers. He got more then answers. After Flynn gave the papers back, he saw everything that had happened. Flynn could see himself, he was in his room...or old room. It was as if he was there right now. The memories switched to first person view. He could see his gloved hands holding the knotted rope. As his body moved, Flynn saw a letter. It read: Dear ........, I love you but I have to leave. I can't keep hurting you, like this. I really hope that this will end your pain. I hope to see you someday in the afterlife...maybe there I can be happy and normal...maybe. Love, Your Finny. Flynn then saw the ceiling, this was it. Flynn tried to close his eyes but he couldn't turn it off. He felt the hard thick straw cord go around his neck. He felt the air leave his body. He felt the chair smack the floor. Then...he came back. Flynn started to choke, he could feel everything, the pain the struggle to breathe air. Why did he does this? Who was the letter too? Flynn had so much to worry about right now. Once Flynn came back to what ever the place was, he had tears in his eyes. He touched his neck, as if the noose was still there. As he did that, Flynn noticed a girl freaking out, she probably just saw how she died too. Flynn regaining composure walked over to her. "Are you ok...Get up wimp!...I think your really cute." What the hell? Was Flynn loosing his mind now? He stood there, looking at the girl; hoping that he didn't freak her out even more then she was already.[/spoili][/warning]​

 

[CelestialCellar]

Maria opened her blurry eyes, and looked around. She was surrounded by flat nothingness... only desert. They sky was a vast sheet of grayish-blue. The whole world looked like it had been sitting in the sunlight for too long and all of the color had been sucked out. She pushed herself up, and took a few quivering steps. Maria didn't know where she was or where she was going, but her feet kept moving as each foot step was followed by another. Everything was bright, but she didn't feel warm. She didn't feel anything at all.

Days passed. Maybe weeks.

Maria lost count of how many times she watched the moon cross the sky, but not once did she stop walking. She moved thoughtlessly, and probably would have forever, had she not come across a lonely market in the middle of the nothingness.

A bell tinkled as the door opened and without thinking, Maria stepped into the line that was forming in front of the dirty register. Everyone looked dazed. Nobody was talking. The silence would have been unsettling if Maria cared. The girl at the register cried out, and everyone's eyes snapped in her direction.
And that's how it went --- the first person in line approached the register, cried out, and everyone stared.

Finally, Maria stood before the register, unsure of what to expect.
"Sign here," the man stated, completely monotone, "and here."
Maria did.
The man stamped her paperwork, and for a moment Maria stood there, completely unaffected.
"What... No..." Maria moaned as a flood of memory and emotion hit her like brick wall. Had she released the counter, she probably would've fallen to the floor.

"It's not like you don't cheat, Maria," Destry snapped. They'd been arguing for several minutes. It was dark, and Destry was speeding around the curves that lead up to Pittock Crest.
"Excuse me?" Maria was livid. "I thought you came to apologize, not to make stupid accusations."
"It's not an accusation," Destry replied, taking another turn up the increasingly steep hill. "It's just true. You can't get mad."
"I can and I am. Take me home."
"No."
"Destry, take me home, now."
"No."
Maria felt the rage starting to boil over now. "Take me HOME!" she screamed, hitting him.
"Maria, calm down," Destry snapped, pushing her hands away.
"No!" she screamed. Destry didn't see her grab the wheel. With a sharp tug, the car swerved. Maria's head cracked against the passenger window, and everything went dark.

Maria's eyes snapped open, cool sweat dripping from her face. So she was dead? Stumbling from the market, Maria started to cry. Everything was coming back.
Destry, she'd left Destry alone.
And now she was alone, too.
She slumped against the shaded side of the wall, to catch her breath. What a mess she'd made of things.

 

[EchoRun]

Someone was talking, and it took Alex a moment to realize that he was, in fact, talking to her. Whoever this was must've been dead too, although he seemed really calm, especially compared to her. She took a deep breath and untangled her shaking hands from her hair, turning back to the guy. By this point she was really wishing that she had never found this place. She'd have rather been alone with her thoughts.

He had asked if she was okay. That was a question that had lost all meaning to her. Alex answered the same way she had any other time. "I'm fine." It was probably obvious that she wasn't, but she was also dead and had just relived that death. It was a given that she wouldn't be doing too well.

When he told her to get up, Alex quickly got to her feet and started wiping tears she hadn't realized were there from her face. She wasn't going to let some stranger call her a wimp. "Look, I'm standing!" She threw her arms out. "I'm alive-ish, unfortunately. I mean, I couldn't even die right, but I'm okay- wait, wait?" That last thing he said had thrown her off her guard, and she shook her head, deciding that maybe she hadn't heard what she had thought she heard. "Look, why don't you go talk to someone else, if you're looking to make friends?" A girl had just walked out of the building, and she gestured to her. "There's someone." She wasn't one to make friends. She turned around as if to walk off, but stopped when she realized she had no where to go. Alex sighed and turned around again. "Sorry..."

 

[tart.]

Logan
​

Inhale...Exhale...Inhale...Exhale...

Logan's eyes shot open, staring straight up into a dusty sky, dull and seemingly lifeless. He could feel the hot ground under his back, the sand gripped in his hand. He was laying down in the middle of nowhere, his brown hair filled with the same dust.

Where am I?

He couldn't think, couldn't understand what had happened, he was confused and awfully tired. Maybe if he just laid here, he could keep this feeling of being dazed, the what ifs dancing on the tip of his tongue while his mind raced wildly. No. He needed to get up, he needed to figure out what had happened. What did happen? Logan sat up, his eyes groggy as the sand fell from his hair. How long had he been lying there? Was there anyone else? His eyes scanned the area around him, a blurry dot in the distance. It looked to be a small shack-like place. He figured he outta check it out. With a soft grunt of effort, Logan stood up slowly and dusted himself off, his ripped jeans and beat up converse tinted a soft orange due to the area around him. He took a few testing steps, seeing how much strength he had, then began to walk towards the dot in the distance.

He didn't know how long it was until he reached the destination. Weeks, days, hours, minutes. They all just blended into one, no longer holding a different meaning. Logan could see the shack a bit clearer now, and realized it was a gas station instead. There was cries coming from inside, and Logan felt himself grow hesitant. After a few minutes of arguing with himself mentally, he opened the door and stepped inside, the door creaking softly as a bell overhead announced his arrival. He stood in the line until it was his turn, watching the people either crash onto the floor in tears or clutch to the counter for dear life. Each time he moved forward, he had felt a gnawing nervousness in his stomach. When approaching the man behind the counter, he held the pen between his fingers and signed where told, watching as the man lifted the stamp above the paper and then coming down, the ink marking it. Almost instantly, Logan felt the wave of emotions crash over him like a tsunami, and a flashback enveloped him.

"Logan open the door!"
"Lily I told you to go away!"
The small girl's tiny voice cracked as she banged the door to the hospital's bathroom.
"Logan please! I saw the pills! Please!"
"Lily walk away from the door!" He fumbled with the lids of each pill bottle, his hands shaking wildly.
"I'm getting Darek!" He could hear her tiny feet on the tiled floor, rushing out into the hall.
He needed to get this done, or he'd never be able to.
"Shit...shit.." He bit his bottom lip, finally taking the caps off.
"Logan! Open the door!" More banging.
5 pills down.
"Open the door!"
10 pills down.
"OPEN THE DOOR!"
15 pills down.
There was a sudden crash as the door swung open, Darek rushing in as Lily put her hand to her mouth at the sight.
Logan was slumped against the wall, 5 more pills ready to go waiting in his hand.
"God damnit Logan!" Darek snatched away the bottle and slapped his hand, the pills bouncing onto the tiled floor.
"Let me go! Let me go! Darek!" Logan flailed around wildly, scrambling towards the bottle of pills.
"Lily get the nurse! He already took too many!"
"I was going to die anyway! Let me go!" Logan kept pushing him away, though much weaker then before.
The pills were kicking in.
There was more footsteps as his eyesight grew darker, focusing and getting blurry as he slumped onto the ground.
"We're losing him!" Doctors were screaming.
People were crying.
Logan was dead.

Logan snapped back, out of the flashback as his hands clutched onto the counter like others had. People were staring, and he felt a twinge of embarrassment. He could still feel the sleepy feeling the pills had caused, his head throbbing like it had when he'd hit the tiled floor. With a groan he lifted himself up again, shooting glares at the people in line as he moved to walk outside. He finally knew why he was here. And he wasn't quite sure if he liked it.​

 

[Justin]

Flynn Ryder

Flynn saw how the girl was shocked and scared. He may look like he had it all together but that's how Flynn always was. He would hide his emotions and what is wrong with him, just to help someone else first. Flynn was a giver and he never asked for anything. Which is why he feels so guilty and he wants to help everyone.

"Look you scared, I am too...No I'm not...Uhhh!" Flynn was getting annoyed with the personalities in his head. All these revelations of his death had made it harder to control them. He walked over to the girl. "I'm Flynn...Marco...Lilly." Flynn stumped his foot. "Dammit! Shut up! I'm sorry about that. I have a personalty disorder." Flynn was an open book, even to a complete stranger. "What's your name and why are you here? You killed yourself too?" Flynn wasn't the best with easing into things, he said things before he thought. Sometimes it was helpful, mostly it backfired.

 

[CelestialCellar]

Maria was too focused on trying to pull herself together to notice the couple on the other side of the building at first, but as her awareness came back to the present situation, she started to pick up some snippets of their unusual conversation.
"I'm Flynn... Marco... Lilly..."
Maria turned her head slightly to examine the two. The girl was cute, that much was obvious, and the boy would have been if he wasn't behaving so unusually. Maria whipped her eyes, and using the wall, pulled herself to her feet. The bell tinkled again as another person stepped outside. A young man, not much older than herself, had just exited the wretched building.
"Hey, so..." Maria approached him wearily, "are... are you dead too?"
@Tart @Red Velvet Special @EchoRun

 

[EchoRun]

Alex tilted her head at him as he tried to explain himself, jumping back a little when he got frustrated. She hadn't been thinking when she had started ranting... Not that she normally did. "Oh," She cursed to herself for maybe taking her anger out on him. It wasn't him she was mad at, she was mad at herself, among other things. "Sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't know." She'd try to keep that in mind. When he asked for her name, she decided it was alright to introduce herself, since Flynn had introduced himself, and it was only fair that she did the same. "My name's Alex- Alexis, but Alex. And..." She wasn't really sure if she wanted to say why she was here. "I mean, I guess so, yeah." Deep breath. "I killed myself." She didn't think she was ready to explain how or why, though. She flinched as she thought about it again.

The sidewalk was a force to be reckoned with. And that stupid cat (she had named it Merlin) was the last thing she talked to. She was just as lonely when she had died as she had been in life.

That figures.

The bell rang again, and someone walked outside. She gave a quick glance to see who it was, noticed that other girl walk over to him and ask something about being dead, too. She returned her attention to Flynn.

"So... Flynn, do you have any idea what to do now, 'cause I didn't read the paperwork. I probably should have. Oh well." She shrugged and started subconsciously playing with the dog tags around her neck. "I never really liked reading." If she had known what was going to happen once they were signed and stamped, she might have read them. Might. There wasn't much she could do about it now, though.

 

[tart.]

Logan Hudgens

With a frown still etched onto his face, her shoved his hands into his jean's pockets, heaving a sigh as the door clinked closed behind him. Logan noticed there were other people outside, some talking while....another was walking towards him. A female, to be exact, and she was stunning in Logan's eyes. Not that he'd tell her that. He watched her for a bit with a blank expression on his face, then clicked his tongue. "Uh huh.." Just because he didn't know this girl didn't mean he would act all friendly to her. Logan glanced at the ground, shuffling his foot against the grainy surface. "Have any idea what we're here for?.." He asked, raising an eyebrow before looking back at the girl's face. The people a few yards away were still talking, and the guy seemed a bit odd, and the girl was just flustered. Logan shrugged it off, figuring they'd meet later.

 

[CelestialCellar]

Maria shrugged.
"I mean, I killed myself. From what I've overheard from those to over there," she gestured to the odd couple talking on the other end of the building, "they both killed themselves, too." Maria didn't feel comfortable asking the boy about how he died, but it didn't take an expert to notice a pattern here. "I think it's pretty obvious why we're here." Maria glanced anxiously through the glass door at the people who were still in line.
"Hang on---" Maria pushed the door back open, marched to the front, and placed her hands gently on the counter. "Excuse me, sir?" She said softly, cutting off the next person in line before they could approach. The man working the counter looked up, totally baffled by her reappearance --- obviously, people didn't usually come back. "That contract that I signed... you wouldn't have a copy that I can take with me, do you?"
The man stared blankly at her for a moment before nodding slowly. "I suppose that wouldn't hurt." His voice was raspy and sounded as if he didn't use it often.
"Thank you," Maria responded. She tried to smile, but for some reason, her muscles seemed to forgotten how.
The man nodded in response, looking back down at the list of names on his paper as Maria turned and worked her way back to the exit.
"I got a copy," she announced triumphantly, stepping into the cold bright sunlight. "C'mon," she gestured for the boy to sit with her on the dusty earth against the side of the building and began reading the contract out loud:

The Contract:

Far Side Contract
Terms and Agreements​

This agreement is made and takes effect on the day one chooses to take his or her own life between The Far Side Officials and whomever it concerns.

Witnesseth:
1. The Far Side hereby receives custody of his/her soul for a term commencing on the date of this agreement and s/he hereby accept such custody.
2. During the one's stay in The Far Side he/she will:
A. Not be permitted the right to smile, laugh, giggle, chortle, or any other variation of the aforementioned deed.
B. Not engage in any recreational activities that The Far Side Officials have not ordained acceptable prior to participation
C. Not be permitted leave until s/he has a) Accepted his/her death, or b) Provided substantial evidence to revert the decision and return to the living.
3. Far Side residence agree that during his/her term of residency within The City, memories will be taken periodically as restitution for choosing to murder ones self.
4. Wandering away from The City is strictly prohibited. Memories will be confiscated upon apprehension.
5. S/he agrees to adhere to all laws and ordinances enforced within The City. Failure to adhere may result in imprisonment or memory confiscation depending on the severity of the offense. (Laws cont'd pg. 2)
6. Failure to accept death prior to memory extraction will result in permanent residency within the Far Side.

Signature:_________________________ Date:_____________
Witness signature:_______________________ Date:______________

Maria turned that page to find a long list of laws that existed in a place called "The City." It was the second page that they had signed upon arriving. She skimmed the page without reading in detail, focusing her attention back to the boy.
"Looks like we've got to go to... wherever this city they keep mentioning is. What do you think?"

@Tart

 

[Justin]

Flynn Ryder

Flynn could tell that the girl, Alex was worried and scared. "Well...Alex, nope. I have no clue, maybe..." Flynn had trailed off when he saw some girl. She was talking to the guy at the front desk. He gave her a paper. "Maybe she knows something, come on Alex." Flynn waved Alex on, as he ran over to the girl with the boy.

When he got over there he saw her with a contract, the contract that they all signed. So everyone had to either accept death, or try to come back to life. Fun. Flynn walked in front of the girl and guy. "So, what is this city and do you guys know how to get there?" Flynn knew that he probably looked crazy, just walking up to people, but he needed answers and they looked like they might have them.

@CelestialCellar
@Tart
@EchoRun

 

[EchoRun]

"Oh, right, I'm coming." Alex said as she followed Flynn over to the other two people. She listened to the girl read, and her first thought was that those were some terrible rules. What was the point of dying if they were going to end up in a place where they still couldn't be happy? She sighed and hung back a little as they approached the two, allowing Flynn to talk to them.

She focused on the dusty ground and returned to her thoughts for a moment. Accept their deaths or return to the living... Those were their options, or else they'd be stuck here. Then there was the part about taking their memories. Could they actually do that? Alex shook her head after she realized that she had zoned out, and, deciding that she could think later, focused her attention back on the other three people. They needed to find this City. That much she knew.

 

[Lunita Nesta]

Carina's eyes remained closed as she lay upon the ground. Her head pounding from a headache that slowly subsided to a dull ache. She felt the grit of sand beneath her hands. The temperature indicated to her that she was at some sort of beach or laying in a desert. Why? Her scientific mind could not bring to reason why she would be at any of the two locations. There was absolutely no logic in visiting a beach nor desert. She struggled to a sitting position as she grabbed onto her head. She sighed heavily as she attempted to open her eyes. Her vision took a while to clear from the blurriness she deducted as waking from a long sleep. The headache possibly caused by lack of water or food in her system. She struggled to her feet as she glanced around at the environment. Nothing made sense. This was a puzzle, one that needed to be solved. A large desert with a greyed out sky was fundamentally impossible. Deserts, during the day always were quite hot as well as sunny. The lack of glisten to the sand also caused her to puzzle within herself. She then did a quick mental check of her own body. She ached, possibly from laying on the ground for a long period of time. This would explain her dehydration. She also observed that she was unable to focus very well, also caused by dehydration. She took a few stumbling steps forward. Then, another few steps. Each step a bit more painful than the first. She would pause for a while, then begin walking once more.

No sense of direction, no sense of time, nothing makes sense. Perhaps this was all but a dream, that is where her mind traveled to now. That thought quickly cancelled out as quickly as it came. If this had been a dream, she would have awoken as soon as the realization that her subconscious was causing these visualizations. No, something else was happening. Something beyond the scientific. The urge to gain the knowledge of what has happened compelled her to keep moving forward. Her eyes keeping focused on her surroundings. There was no life in this place, this desert. A place gone stagnant over time.

Her stiff, sore muscles kept Carina walking no matter how much her mind demanded to stop. She saw it then. An odd building. She attempted to pause but was unable to. The closer she drew near to it, the clearer to her how old it was. People stood outside of the building but she did not bother to speak to them. It was clear by their own expressions that they were just as lost as Carina was. She had no time to speak to anyone who did not hold answers. One thing was obvious, they appeared to be as miserable as she was. This should have brought some comfort, but it didn't.

Mindlessly, she opened the door to hear the welcoming sound of a bell that was not so welcoming at all. As she waited in line, she took notice of the man at the counter. She watched his actions, studied his face and grimaced. Carina took notice of the people wailing in pain, and the people that would stare at the one suffering. Her mind reaching many different conclusions as she placed each bit of information together. The slamming of the stamp began to gnaw on her nerves as with each slam, another person began to scream in agony. Her time was coming all too quickly.

Her name was called, and she walked up to the counter. She glanced at the other people surrounding her, and those in line before looking at the man who just said, "Sign here." She glanced over the contract, while furrowing her eyebrows. She glanced at the man for a few moments before speaking to him, "It must be so indifferent how much suffering you have seen for the many years you have been posted here at this counter. You can not even bare to look into the eyes of those you are about to send into an agonizing state. I sign this paper, that is exactly what will happen to me. I tell you, when I sign this paper, and seize into a horrible state of embarrassment, you had better glance at me since you are the one responsible for it." She signed where he indicated in both places. That is when it hit her. Carina saw herself pouring the phosphoric acid onto the vehicle before cuffing herself to the steering wheel. She was now inside the vehicle as the acid began to drip onto her skin. She screamed as the acid burned through her flesh. She continued to scream even though the vision was over. Once she had quieted down, she peered at those staring. "I hope you enjoyed the show. Please, feel free to come to me for autographs when I quickly tell you no, dismissing you as the mindless, pathetic beings you are."

She opened the door, then slammed it hard enough to make the wall shake and the bell ring. Wherever this city was, she was going to go there to not only ask for answers, but to demand them.

 

[Blood Lightning]

Alexis woke up in the middle of a desert. "Ugh...My head..." She mutter holding it. What the hell was she doing out here? As she sat up, she felt her stomach on her legs. Alexis looked down at her swollen belly. She gave it a pat before slowly standing up. The first thing she got of that was back pain. "Oooh, easy there little guy." She said holding her back. "Now where am I?"

For a few hours, she was wondering endlessly in the desert. Her contractions made it a little difficult to walk and stand, that's for sure. And she couldn't rest until she finds some place safe for her to sit down and rest.

Eventually, she saw what looked like a Gas Station and a line of people. Huh...Wierd to have a Station all the way out here. She then got in line so she could do whatever she needed to do in order to get home. She then felt her baby kick. In response, the expecting mother gently caressed where the baby kick as she looked down at her belly. She then began cradling it as she stood in line.

 

[CelestialCellar]

((Tart requested that I move on without her character for now. She's been too busy to reply, but she'll be back))

Maria looked at the couple that had just joined them, skimming through the contract again.
"I don't really know," Maria responded, glancing toward naked horizon. "I mean, there's a bus stop over there... maybe we just have to... wait?"
For as many people as there had been in line all day, Maria knew that they had to be going somewhere. She glanced up as the door opened again, this time an old man stepped outside into the sunlight. He was crying, but he looked surprisingly glad --- in fact, he didn't seem at all upset about being there.
"Sir?" Maria asked, taking a cautious step in his direction. "Are you alright?"
No sooner had the words fallen from her lips when the man's face cracked into a smile and he vanished without leaving so much as a footstep in the sand.
"What the hell?" Hayden jumped back, completely alarmed. "You guys saw that, right?"

And that's how they passed the next hour --- people walked from within the station, many of whom vanished as soon as they stepped into the sunlight. By the time Maria broke the silence again, the phenomena had ceased to be alarming anymore.
"Do you think that those are the people who've... you know... accepted their deaths?" As she spoke, another woman vanished in front of them. There was quite a large group gathered in front of the little gas station now --- it would have been much more if the majority of them didn't disappear upon stepping outside. She looked around at the melancholy faces. Nobody was smiling, but then, they allegedly weren't allowed to. Maria challenged the idea, but the best she accomplished was a pained grimace.

Finally, as sunset approached, a dirty gray bus came barreling up the bumpy gravel road. The engine sounded foreign in the otherwise silent desert. Maria jumped to her feet, clapping the dust from the back of her shorts, and scurrying toward the bus station located on the edge of the property. The bus came to a stop as the rusty doors creaked open, and the driver looked out at them with a troubled expression on his face.
"Last stop through till morning. Get on if you're coming."
Hayden hopped up the steps, throwing herself into a seat toward the middle of the bus. She rested her forehead against the window, waiting to depart.

 

[Justin]

___________________________________________________________
Flynn Ryder™
___________________________________________________________
Flynn turned to where the girl was walking towards. When the creepy old man smiled and then vanished, Flynn was stunned. He didn't know what to make of it. "Yeah I saw that, whatever is happening, I hope it doesn't or does happen to me. No! Yes!" Flynn just grunted, seeing more people vanish without a trace.

Maybe they had accepeted their deaths...or maybe they didn't and would be punished. Flynn didn't over think it, it would just make it worst. When Flynn saw a bus, not a nice looking one, come up to where they were all at, he didn't want to be the first to get on. Luckily the girl who had the contract got on first.

"Well, I don't think standing here is going to do anything. We should get on the bus. Get on the bus, you punks! If you do, I'll give you a kiss. No I won't!" Flynn just stopped talking and got onto the bus. He passed by the girl, and went to the far back. This was going to be a long afterlife, or short depending on what happens next.
___________________________________________________________​

 

[GreatWest]

Lilian Antell

Wake up. Wake up! Lilian slowly opened her eyes, groaning as her whole body hurt. Where was she? A desert. Desert? Why? She stood up, brushing the dirt away from her dress. This place felt... Lonely. Indeed. But why? No one knows. Lilian walked. She spotted a Gas Station on the horizon, tilting her head to the side as she stared at it in confusion. Either way, she walked. Upon entering it, the girl was faced with a line. It was morbid. Silent. Why? She got into it anyway. Why?

"Excuse me, where am -" A scream. Lilian jumped back, startled. But remained where she was. Another scream. Another. Why? Oh my, poor souls. One of the voices said. Get out. Who? Who are you? Get - It's your time, sweety. Indeed. The man behind the counter was creepy. No sympathy.
"Sign here." She signed. "And here." Once again. A sudden headache, and it all came back.

She smiled to herself. All it takes is a light slash, and... There. She's dead. There. Dead-dead-dead. A light-light-slash. The reflection on the mirror grinned sweetly. Lilian was so happy.

Mother!

Finally, she'll see Mother once again! All it takes is a light slash. SlAsH! Haha! And then. Mother. But, Father?
"Father forced me to do this. He sent Mother away." Lilian picked up the knife, oblivious to the steps approaching the bathroom. But you love Father! That's what Angel would have said. But Father sent Angel away too. Lilian was alone. Lonely. She loved Father. But Father was being mean. "Father doesn't want me happy." The door opened.
"Lilian? Dear? Are you here?" He called. Too late.
Red.
Lilian couldn't breath. It hurt. But it was warm. There were strong arms. Father. What has she done? Father! "Fath--er!" There's metal in her mouth! Metal! Why? WHY? FATHER! "Fff-uuuhthhaar... Ffaa-ffath-daad." So much red. Why? Where's Mother? Why is Mother not here? "MmmmooooooOoOOOmmm... Fffaaa... Faaaa..." It was raining. Father was screaming. I'm sorry. So sorry. "Fuuh... Fuuthar... Ssorrrryyyyy." Lilian whined, not being able to form clearer words anymore. "Ryyyyyy-- Sor--SorryyyyyYYY..."
"Shhh. It's okay. It's okay. You'll be okay. Help is---way--- Li-- tay wi--- me."
"Lllllllu---Luuve...YyoooOOuuU." The world was dark. Pain no more. "Fffaa...thur..."
Black.

Lilian was suddenly back at the gas station. She crawled at her neck, looking for an opened gash. Nothing. Her breathing was laboured. Father. She left Father alone. Why? You are selfish, child. Lucius. "I just wanted Mother." The girl whined as tears began to roll down her cheeks. "I didn't want to hurt Father." But you did, sweety. Angel. You hurt him a great deal. "I didn't mean to." Ther girl sobbed. Just get up, girl. You're blocking the line. Lilian nodded and did what she was told to do. With shaking legs, she walked towards the outside, the desert once again mocking her.

"I don't like it here. Too vast." She motioned with her arms how big the place was, and probably how empty. Once she turned around, a bus came into her sight. Bus? Bus. Why? As she dried her tears, she walked to the bus, pausing at the entrance. What are you waiting for? Just get in! She did. There were already a few people there; a pretty girl, and a boy. People like her? Maybe. Where did the bus go though? She didn't know. Angel? No clue, dear. Of course not. No matter. Lilian walked towards the pretty girl, playing with the tip of her dress as she shyly asked, "Uhm, is it okay? To sit here? By your side? It feels lonely. The desert. Everything. It's..." She searched for the right word, her gaze dazing out into the distance, before focusing again."Empty. And painful. Sad." Lilian said in clipped sentences, which was the usual to her. She lowered her eyes for a moment, before focusing on the other's ones."Please."

 

[EchoRun]

Alex watched as the girl walked over to the old man and asked if he was okay. Then he disappeared.

"What?" She asked, voicing her confusion. "Where did he- I..." She nodded at the girl's question. "Yeah, I saw."

And for the next hour, as they watched various people exit and many vanish just as the old man did before, Alex tried to keep herself busy. At first she had tried to keep count of the Vanished (as that is what she had decided to call the people who disappeared), but she gave up on it. She didn't want to worry too much about what had happened to them, since it wasn't something that concerned her. So instead she thought about what she'd do once she got to this City.

Her thoughts were broken when the girl with the contract spoke again, asking if they thought the Vanished people had moved on. "I don't know, maybe." That might have been the case, and if so, then kudos to them. Those that stayed weren't so fortunate.

Alex was grateful for the arrival of the bus, or at least the fact that it broke the deafening silence. She looked up from her drawing on the ground just as it came to a stop, and she wasn't as quick to get on the bus as the other girl was. After all, the bus driver had said to get on if they were going. Were there people who refused to go? If so, did they just get on later. The contract didn't make it seem like they had too much of a choice; it was either go to the city with your memories or endlessly wander this dessert without.

She ended up getting on the bus, taking a seat somewhere between the middle and back of the bus, then gazing out the window at the wasteland. Hopefully she was making the right choices.

 

[Blood Lightning]

Finally when she got up to the front of the line, Alexis approached the Old Man at the desk when she walked inside the building. When she read his name-tag, it read 'Horace Buckworthy'. Didn't really seem like the guy to make conversation. As she gently caressed her belly, she was presented a contract. Alexis looked at it inconspicuously. "I killed myself?" She asked, puzzled. Upon touching the piece of paper, she began having a flashback.

Two and a Half Weeks Ago...
Its been almost a year since her Boyfriend passed away. And her Family...She had no one to turn to. Not very many friends. Alexis had fallen apart. All she really had was that baby in her belly. She was in her bedroom, crying into a Pillow. She missed her lover so much. She couldn't raise the baby alone, but at the same time, she couldn't just give it up for adoption. The little one was all that she had left of him. But she couldn't go on one more day. Alexis looked at the gun on her Night Stand. She started crying as she grabbed it and pointed it at her head. She then pulled the trigger...

Alexis was mortified and flabbergasted by the memory she just saw. Not only she killed herself, but because she was pregnant at the time of her death, she took her baby with her. Tears rolled down her cheeks like no tomorrow as she looked down at her belly. She wanted to apologize to her baby. After wiping her eyes, she thanked the man and grabbed her contract. Exiting, she began reading the contract. Her question was would she be able to give her unborn baby a chance at life. Alexis noticed people boarding the bus. Perhaps it was headed towards the city that was mentioned in the Contract. As she took her seat on the Bus, she started reading through the city's laws and everything she'd need to know. Alexis was well-loved by the few friends that she had. Her Parents didn't care, obviously. But her Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents were mourning her as they speak. Not only she died, but so did her baby. She paused mid-reading, looking down at her growing belly, and gently caressed it. "Oh sweetie, I'm sorry..." her voice full of regret. She was apologizing to her baby...