Armageddon and Further Unpleasantries: The Afterlife Series

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty Two

To Avery, my constant, my inspiration, my fun mischievous guide, for his unwavering loyalty. You have brought laughter, light and love into my every day.

To Roy, my wise openhearted cowboy, for his fatherly doting, amazing power and perfectly timed words.

To Pauline, my cheerful maternal friend, for always being there to turn to and for teaching me the joy in keeping things light and breezy

To Jeremiah, my eternally blissful angel friend who embraces everything with the glass half full

And to Eric, my spirit guide, my dearest celestial connection, for his protection, laughter and guidance. You are my soul, my heart, my eternal companion.

Because of the love of you all I have discovered the light and magic within me.

Penny— Eric called me wearily.

I pushed my concerns aside, knowing full well how overpowering worry could be and how impractical it was to actually resolve anything. I turned and looked at Eric, the light in his brown eyes fading. He ran a hand through his thick wavy brown hair and smiled at me lovingly. Penny, there is something I must tell you, he said seriously.

I stared into his soul, its pure white light growing dimmer. I looked back out to Jarad and Rebecca but they were still talking.

I walked over to my best friend and crouched at his side, leaning over to place my head on his hand. Is it a secret you’ve been keeping? I asked him, as I often sensed there was something he held back from me.

He didn’t reply at first and I suddenly panicked thinking maybe he had gone but I sat up and studied his face. He seemed reluctant to speak further but he was fortunately fully conscious. It is not time for you to know yet, he said before taking a deep breath. But I’m scared that if I don’t—

I clamped my hand over his mouth. Angels don’t get scared and they sure as hell don’t die, so anything you’ve been keeping secret from me for a reason, you may as well keep on keeping, you hear me?

He shook his head though he appeared hesitant to resist my stubbornness. Avery has to know—

I placed my finger on his dry lips and shook my head. Anything Avery has to know, you can tell him when you see him. I’m not losing either of you. I bent down and kissed him softly on his perfectly symmetrical nose. How about we get you up, groovy man?

Ancient Gods & the Angel Café’, 2012

Chapter One

I couldn’t recall how I got there, but as I looked down at the warm liquid slowly rising and falling at the ends of my flowing pink nightgown, I realized I was standing in blood.

I should have been terrified under the circumstances, but I just couldn’t determine whether what I was experiencing was real or not. My head felt as though it was filled with lead and I only had the energy to lift it slightly to look out at the endless sea of dark congealing blood.

A ceiling of ominous dark clouds threatened rain as they raced across the gray sky. Bubbles suddenly began to pop up on the blood’s surface as if it was lightly simmering but still I stood alone and an undeniable sense of dread filled every molecule of my body and soul.

Something hit up against my leg and I reluctantly returned my focus downward to see a man’s lifeless body bobbing up and down in the tide. His eyes stared upward but then they moved ever so slightly to the left to look at something, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin.

I did my best to make my body move away from him but I didn’t have enough strength to do anything but back up a few steps. It was then that I noticed his corpse was staring at his soul- the transparent representation of himself that mirrored his frightened expression.

I was suddenly very conscious of my vulnerability to anything below the surface and fear rose up inside of me in a creepy horror movie way. Thunder roared and echoed across the low sky then rumbled, heartily shaking the ground beneath my bare feet.

I fell backwards, blood splashing up into my face and onto my long brown hair and especially my nightgown. It was then that I could see hundreds of corpses floating close by and into the distance, and all of them with their souls standing over them.

They frightened me, and I worried they would eventually turn their attention to me and question why I was still alive. Technically I’d been dead for nearly five years and I knew for a fact that this wasn’t the afterlife so where was I?

I didn’t recognize any of the people and I didn’t know if it was their blood I was swimming in. I sensed their confusion; they were no longer in pain, they were lost.

The man’s body began to float away from me but the thunder rumbled louder and more frequently and I could tell that something was about to happen; I just didn’t know what.

I tried to remember what I did last. I had left my cottage with Rufus and had taken him through the village markets to the hills for a run but where was he now?

He is on the leash, a familiar man’s voice said next to me.

What? I asked as I turned my head to see who had spoken to me.

Eric, a sixties-loving archangel, and my dearest and most trusted friend, pushed his horn rimmed glasses to the top of his nose before splashing his hand into the blood so he could lean back on it.

I was relieved to have him there with me but even happier to be able to garner an explanation from him. "What are you doing here? I’m not dreaming am I?"

He shook his head before brushing off some settling ash that was suddenly falling from the sky onto his wavy brown hair. Even as blood and ash fell from the top of his head, he remained characteristically calm and unwaveringly cheerful. Just a vision, groovy girl, he said with a smile.

I glanced at the bodies again as the corpses synchronously sunk into the blackness and their souls vanished into a shadowy mist.

I don’t have visions like this, I defended. I can only see into souls, this is not my department. My voice came out like a monotone whisper and I was eager to leave the horribly realistic visualization.

Eric chuckled as he adjusted the neck of his paisley purple shirt with a bloodied hand. Things are going to speed up, Doodlebug, but nothing you can’t handle.

I leaned onto my right hip, ashamed that the warmth of the blood relaxed my body, and as fatigue overwhelmed me, I placed my head on Eric’s shoulder. I loved how he looked after me and was still counting my blessings for him being healed after the scare we had in the alien afterlife.

I have so much on my plate already, I complained with a yawn as the thunder roared around us and lightning lit up the dark clouds. Are you going to tell me what this all means then?

Nope, he said, kissing me on the side of my head. It’s all in the timing of a lava lamp, Penny, and I just came to drag you from these dreary digs so you wouldn’t have to worry about it for a bit.

Before I could object to his lack of elaboration, I was startled awake and shot up, coming face to face with my scruffy gray dog and the leash that he had wound around my furry pink slippers.

After being accosted with one big lick over my face, I let him off his leash and watched as he bounded joyfully into the long grassy hills.

Ever since I died, I had experienced a perfect climate, but today had a little extra perfection as the tiny white clouds wafted across the delightfully blue sky. Perhaps it was because I had just returned from the alien afterlife where three suns bore down on us day after day but I knew my hope filled spirits had a hand in it as well.

I sat on the grass and sighed. I knew Eric well enough to know he wasn’t going to explain the vision to me until it was the right time but I was so affected and immersed in it that it was a hard kind of melancholy to shake.

He had said we would resume our work in ghost retrieval soon and though it wasn’t a routinely scheduled job, it would be a lot less daunting than our recent ‘saving aliens from Olympian gods’ mission.

I picked a few small yellow flowers and mindlessly pulled their petals. My thoughts turned to working with Eric and Avery again and hopefully settling into some normality.

My stomach instantly tightened when I thought about Avery and the gentleness in his green eyes when he said he would never leave my side.

I created a chocolate mint cappuccino into my hand and sipped it thoughtfully as I admonished myself for over analyzing and indulging in romantic fantasies, which were the worst of my flaws.

Rufus had seized a leather knife sheath and was tossing it up into the air and playfully catching it again. I knew he would bring the severely slobbered-on item to me anytime now and sighed loudly, still very grateful for the normality.

A pretty red-haired woman in a classic blue dirndl dress waved at me as she walked out towards the transporter on the hill. I was glad she hadn’t stopped to talk to me as every time I saw her, she would lock me into a deep conversation about maypole dangers and it was always her doing the talking and me doing the avoiding.

I emptied the remainder of my cappuccino onto the grass and placed the paper coffee cup in my ornate leather shoulder bag to dispose of later, given that I wasn’t able to vanish things as easily as I could make them appear.

I ventured a strained yawn as I looked out at the blue sky and the light clouds that allowed the sun to throw rays over the nearest village in the sixteenth century portion of the afterlife.

Rufus was on his way back, full steam and gooey item ahead. He rushed up and with a little leap, slammed his shaggy gray paws onto the bodice of my pale pink renaissance dress and dropped the sheath onto my amply filled corset top.

I reluctantly took the object lightly with my right thumb and index finger and held it up and away from me before placing it gently on the grass beside me. I knew if I threw it away the first thing he would do would be run after it.

No! I insisted sternly. As much as I appreciate the gesture I’d rather you didn’t bring me these little gifts of yours, I explained pointlessly.

He sat but continued wagging his tail as he stared up at me with excitement emanating from underneath his unkempt terrier eyebrows.

Yes alright, I said. Let’s go home and I’ll make you a bone to chew on.

I seized him at the scruff of his neck before he could sprint away, and latched the unassuming rope leash onto his matching collar so I could lead him through the village markets towards home.

A ray of sun settled on my stone cottage bathing it in a halo of light and giving an ethereal feel to my perfectly symmetrical red tulips. My recently planted flowers basked in the warm glow sitting cheerfully upright in the gold-painted flower boxes beneath the small circular stained glass windows.

Rufus yanked on his leash when we both spotted Avery leaning against my heavy hinged wooden door. His engaging charisma physically manifested into his confident stance, his hands in his beige dress pants pockets and one leg slightly overlapping the other as if to indicate he had been waiting a while.

As was typical of our routine but playful rapport, I refused to let him see how pleasantly surprised I was to see him and therefore didn’t hasten my pace or smile even though I wanted to.

More importantly I didn’t allow my expression to reveal how impressed I was at they way his new pale green knit sweater brought out an extra appeal to his already vibrant green eyes.

Hello, Feisty, he stated unrevealingly.

Gee, security isn’t very discriminating any more, I teased. Did they even give you a light interrogation before they let you enter?

A wide grin appeared on his handsome tanned face as he ran a hand through his curly sandy brown hair. They’ve actually employed some beastly woman who I suspect of some rather odd fetishes, he countered. Fortunately I bribed her with gum just in time to prevent a cavity search so I must apologize that I didn’t make it in time to interrupt your morning bath.

I could no longer keep a straight face and smiled at his imaginatively worded explanation. I’m pretty sure we didn’t have an appointment set, I said as we approached him at my doorstep. But it just so happens that my singing alarm never turned up to wake me therefore I am off schedule anyway so you might have only been interrupting my breakfast.

You had breakfast already? he asked despairingly as he pushed my door open.

I let Rufus off his leash and watched as he ran in and searched my large two-room cottage for his promised bone. Would you like some coffee? I asked Avery who went directly for the red and gold walnut loveseat that he had created me a few years previous.

He bent over and retrieved the large chew toy from underneath the love seat and threw it across the room for Rufus, who followed it eagerly. Do you really need to ask?

I used my mind to create him a hazelnut coffee and toasted cheese bagel, which he retrieved off the loveseat next to him before Rufus caught a glimpse of them.

I quickly pulled the heavy Victorian quilts over my pillows, wishing I had made the bed before I left the cottage but I hadn’t expected company straight away.

I wanted to talk to him about the vision I had but sensed he was there for a reason and the uncertainty unsettled me to no end.

I walked around to the front of the four-poster bed and leant against one of its heavy wooden columns. "Why didn’t anyone come to wake me up this morning?" I asked curiously.

He finished his mouthful and took a sip of his coffee before responding. Ah, I cancelled them before we went with to help the aliens and I guess I forgot to reinstate the service. Sorry about that.

I let him eat in peace while I walked into my large wooden bathroom that branched off of my open bedroom area. The wet sponge covered in lavender oil, from my bath an hour earlier, caught my attention and I removed it from the center of the large in-ground circular bath to the right of the room.

I approached the gold-framed oval mirror on the left wall and rechecked my appearance before quickly opening an ornate jeweled box below the mirror and pulling out my makeup.

I quickly combed my hair then lightly brushed some pink blush onto my rounded cheeks and my eyelids as I stared at my large blue-gray eyes.

When are you starting your harbinger job? I called out to Avery. He had studied the exciting and very elite position when we went to Apollo Academy and I was fascinated to find out more about it.

I should be starting tomorrow, he replied, sounding strangely hesitant and non elaborative.

I put some icy pink lipstick and gloss onto my lips and pressed them together. I hadn’t been a model in my last lifetime but I was pretty enough to turn a head now and then and my slender but curvy build always made me feel a little extra feminine when I tied my long dresses at my small waist.

After spraying some strong violet perfume over my clothes and hair, I smiled, accepting my external and internal flaws, even making peace with my freckled, slightly crooked nose.

When I came out of the bathroom, I found Avery lying on my bed and hugging one of my floral pillows while Rufus chewed his bone at my friend’s shoeless feet.

I reached across and squeezed his thick white socks. Why are you here? I asked, though I hadn’t wanted it to come out the way it sounded.

He frowned accordingly. What, I can only visit you when we do retrievals?

I pushed myself back and slumped down next to him. I plumped up my other pillow and placed it under my head before turning to study his face. My door is always open for you, Avery, I said seriously, trying to counteract any offense. But it’s just that you’ve never taken me up on that before.

I almost slammed my hand over my mouth, worrying that I had divulged too much feeling in my statement. Is there something you want to tell me? I diverted, referring to his apparent melancholy rather than our years of romantic tension.

He studied my face, looking fearful of speaking and thought on my words. No matter what, he always knew what I meant to say even if it wasn’t delivered as perfectly as I hoped.

Need a vacation, he finally said with a gentle smile. I know I don’t come over between missions and maybe I should, he said sincerely, addressing my concerns even if I hadn’t meant to raise them.

A sense of dread hit me full force and I now knew he was hiding something from me. Are you going to be reincarnated? I asked, panicked.

The year I died he was intended for reincarnation and had decided at the last minute to stay in the afterlife. If he were ever going to go through with it, I wouldn’t want to find out after he left, I had to know where things stood.

No—, but he extended the word as he said it, as if his response wasn’t entirely true.

I sat up and got off the side of the bed, suddenly restless. What aren’t you telling me? Is Eric okay?

He now sat up, noticeably cringing that he had upset me and Rufus jumped off, likely concerned that Avery would take his chew toy away from him. I’m not going to be reincarnated, Pen, okay?

My mind was consistently set at worse case scenario and I think Avery could see his lack of disclosure propelled my thoughts in a million worrisome directions. How about I take you to the mortalian building? he urged with a dimpled grin. Every girl should get a ride to work on her first day right?

Well I wasn’t supposed to start until later today, I said, as I stared enviously at Rufus who looked very relaxed as he rested against the bed.

Avery suddenly became animated as if excited by his own idea. You can check out your new workplace early, meet the people, smell the coffee, chitchat at the water cooler and whatnot? You know you want to.

I could see by his expression that my lack of enthusiasm disappointed him and I relented before he could plead further. Oh alright, I guess I’m kind of curious.

I quickly surveyed my barely inhabited cottage and made sure all the candles were blown out before deciding not to bring anything with me. I would return before I officially started working anyway.

Avery, now more relaxed than before, offered his arm to me and prepared to transport us, Star Trek style, to my new part-time workplace. I placed my hand on his arm and waited, but he unexpectedly turned to face me, suddenly becoming very serious.

Pen, I came today because I wanted to take you to work, that’s the truth, he began, studying my expression. But there’s just something that I thought you should hear from me.

I swallowed hard, a sudden rush of anxiety rose up within me. What is it? I asked brokenly.

He shook his head as if struggling to find the least damaging words. Whatever it was, I could tell he didn’t want to raise the subject.

He placed both of his hands on my shoulders and leaned his forehead against mine. Look, you’ve learned a lot since you got here and you are one of the bravest people I know, so I know you are strong enough for anything that comes your way, he said quietly.

I nodded, too sensitive to speak without sending tears spilling from my eyes.

But I want you to remember that all of us have a path and we each have to learn things our own way, he continued as he cupped my chin in his hands and made me look at him. "Sometimes