Afterlife (Afterlife Saga)

by Stephanie Hudson

  “It's nice to finally meet you, Kaz has said nothing about you to any of us. I think she was trying to keep you to herself.” I frowned at her but Sophia looked more pleased at this.

  “It's nice to meet you too, but Keira has told me all about you, I love your hair.” RJ was all ready to sell her soul to this girl just for the compliment alone. RJ was a sucker for flattery but to have someone as super humanly stunning as Sophia, this must have been classed as an honour.

  “Thank you so much, the colour’s called passion for pink.” Sophia nodded and continued to say,

  “Yes I was admiring it before. I have seen you in the club a few times.” At this I couldn't help the snort that escaped. This was a huge understatement as RJ practically lived at Afterlife. But I couldn't help notice in Sophia's responses the cautious replies and how she was always careful on how she worded things, wanting to create the illusion she was just like the rest of us. The way she had said “In the club” instead of “My club”. After all it was a family business.

  They continued to make small talk and RJ beamed over everything she said. I was the third wheel of course but I didn't mind. I just wasn't looking forward to the ride home knowing it would be nonstop Sophia this and Sophia that. But she was smart. Even after RJ's bombardment she never really revealed anything about herself. She just kept the conversation casual and kept enquiring about RJ, reflecting each question back on itself. Of course RJ didn't notice.

  As predicted all the way home RJ talked nonstop about Sophia but it was sweet really and I didn't have to tell her about my new role in Afterlife as I just didn't get the chance. She was still talking about Sophia Draven when she dropped me off. It was only then that panic started to set in.

  Thankfully no one was home yet so I didn't have to hide my worries. I decided to cook Spaghetti Bolognaise as it was quick and Libby and Frank could just heat it up in the microwave. I got the mince beef or ground beef as they called it here out of the fridge and heated a little oil in a frying pan ready to brown it. I chopped an onion and some peppers. I was like a robot on autopilot. I was cooking without even thinking about what I was doing.

  My mind was in full panic. Why hadn't I just said No? Or maybe subconsciously I wanted to work up there, just to be closer to him. I was most definitely a glutton for punishment. I stirred the meaty mixture with the sauce and cooked vegetables after I had drained the fat and added herbs and spices to give it a little kick. But I still wasn't concentrating and burnt my hand on the stove. It woke me out of my zombie state and I ran over to the sink to put some cold water on it but it was too late, it was already starting to blister. Great that's all I needed.... more scars!

  I heard keys in the door and realised the time was getting on. I dried off my hand and examined the big red blotch on the side of my palm near my little finger. Thankfully Frank walked in instead of Libby.

  “Oh hey Frank, how are you?” I hid my hand before he could see it, which I really didn't need to because the smell of a freshly cooked meal was enough to draw his attention.

  “Hey, yeah I'm good, better now I've come home to this... mmm.” He went straight over to the pot and lifted the lid releasing the aroma of Italian herbs and tomatoes.

  “All she needs to do is cook the pasta, ok, and try not to let her burn it.” I patted him on the back as I walked past making my way upstairs.

  “Are you kidding that woman could burn ice cream!” He laughed at his own joke sounding like Doctor Hibbert off the Simpson's. I was running up the stairs when I remembered I was starting earlier and would have to get a lift so I went back downstairs into the kitchen where I found Frank burning his mouth with a spoon in his hand.

  “Ah caught ya!” He dropped the spoon and held up his hands

  “Ok you got me, I'm busted. What time you working tonight?” He was such a great guy, like a real brother. And that wasn't just because he would do anything for me. My sister was lucky but if you ever told her that, it was always him that was the lucky one! Which I would have to agree, he was too.

  “They asked me to come in early, at seven if that's ok?” I prayed there wasn't a game on tonight or one that he would miss because of me. It was one of his favourite things to do.

  “That's perfect, cause I wanted to watch the highlights at eight and now I will have loads of time, that is if your sister’s not watching Desperate Housewives or any crap like that...umm but don't tell her I said that!” I smiled and made a lips sealed gesture across with my hand. It was time to go and get ready, so I jumped in the shower and let my worries continue under the warmth of the water that rained down on me.

  Because I knew that this would be yet another night I was never going to forget.

  Chapter 16 – First night take two

  I got to work in a fluster having only five minutes to spare. I wasn't sure what to do so I went up to Jerry who was behind the bar with Mike. As soon as Mike saw me he walked off to the other end without even so much as a head nod. What was his problem? Was this it now, was I forever going to be the outsider. I knew this was a bad idea but was this just adding yet even more proof to my theory. Jerry came round from behind the bar and pulled me off to one side.

  “What are you doing down here, you should be up there already...at least you remembered to wear black!” He was not happy, but he kept his voice steady although a little strained.

  “Well I didn't know if I should look in with you first or just go straight up there.” He nodded as if this was normal but he just kept looking around nervously as though not wanting to be seen. This was making my already tense state worse.

  “Ok, well you just go up the staircase that you went up last night and they will be expecting you...but go…go, you don't want to be late!” At this he turned me round almost pushing me out of sight. Then he walked off with his phone vibrating and once again he looked as though he didn't want to answer it. I shook off the feeling of dread (or at least tried to) and took the same steps as I had done last night. Only this time I knew I wouldn't be coming back down them as quickly. I kept telling myself that just one night and if it was that bad then I would leave... Yeah, I would just turn around and walk out. I could do that!

  This little prep talk I was giving myself wasn't helping much but it was the only thing making my legs move in the right direction. The club was quieter at this time, which made it easier. Not as many staring, gossipy faces as last night. The band members setting up however eyed me up as I went by, near the door closest to the stage. One guy winked at me but then his friend came and whispered something in his ear and he quickly looked away. I wonder what it had been, something like, “There goes that freak who’s been asked to join the cult upstairs.”

  The same huge guys stood watch but they didn't even look down at me this time, they just automatically opened the doors to let me in. I decided once inside to run up the stairs otherwise I might not go through with it and the last thing I wanted was to draw any attention to myself by being late. This time there was no music and no comforting hum of people from down below. It felt more like I was entering a portal to a different dimension instead of just working the VIP. Maybe if there weren't as many weird looking people that were drinking up here or a least some normal looking ones then it wouldn't feel quite so scary. It made me wonder even more about the type of businesses that the Dravens were into that would warrant such a strange array of people.

  I walked through the doors at the top after taking more than enough deep breaths, even though as I walked through I was holding them rather than releasing them calmly. As before everybody turned and stared but only for a split second, as if someone had flicked a switch that made them all turn back together. The noise they made sounded like a wave at a football game.

  I walked to the bar as I had done last night still not knowing what to expect. My heart rate went up yet again when I knew I would have to pass the top table. I bit my lip as I always did when being unable to control my nerves and gripped the strap of my bag tighter over my shoul
der. I put my head down and promised myself mentally I wouldn't look. I repeated it over and over in my head until I had passed, completing my goal of self-discipline.

  I finally took a much needed breath when I got to the other side and was safely at the bar. I held my eyes closed and raised my head slightly as I inhaled.

  “Well look who's back. Hey honey you ready to start your shift.” My eyes opened to find the kindest face looking back at me, as it felt like all my Christmas's had come at once. There was nothing I needed more than a friendly face right now, as my confidence was at an all-time low. I didn't know how I would have lasted a minute without Karmun's happy smile making me feel welcome... let alone an entire night.

  “I'm ready. Put me to work.” He motioned for me to come behind the bar and I followed to where he pointed for me to get through. Behind the bar was just like any other bar apart from it being immaculate. You could have done surgery behind there it was that clean. There was a place for everything and most of the glasses were so fancy I was scared to touch anything. There were masses of green bottles all lined up on their own appointed shelves. There wasn't two bottles the same. All were different in shape, size, label and even material, some being glass others being made out of metal, pot and even wood. The only similarity was that they all held the same green liquid. Karmun saw me looking and said,

  “Ah yes we have a lot of different liquors that you won't have seen before, we import specialised drinks for each of our customers’... umm…how should I say...needs.” Needs? That was a strange way to put it but he was foreign, so maybe he meant something else.

  It was the same with the glasses, there were goblets, shot glasses, wine glasses, tankards, pint glasses, high ball, Martini glasses, champagne flutes and even sake cups. And they were only the ones I could name. There were others too, made out of different materials, ranging from stone to copper, silver and gold. Some were plain and other looked as though they belonged in the Tower of London with the rest of the crown jewels.

  “You can put your stuff back here in this little room.” He showed me down a few steps off from behind the bar into a small office style room.

  “I'll give you a minute,” he said smiling as he walked back to the bar.

  I looked about the room taking in my surroundings for a moment amazed for the first time to notice the lack of things, rather than the splendour I was used to seeing in this place. There was a desk with no paperwork or a computer. There were shelves with no folders, just old looking books. Also there were no personal belongings from any of the other staff members so I wondered, one, what this room was even used for and two, why was I the only one that seemed to be using it?

  I put down my bag and took off my jacket, hanging it on the back of the only chair as there were no hooks. There was, thankfully however, a gilded mirror that looked far too much like an antique to be in this tiny room. I studied my face quickly realising that instead of my usual deadly white skin my cheeks were flushed giving me a warm glow. I placed the cold backs of my hands on them to cool them off and curled a stray strand of hair that had escaped from my twist. I took another nervous deep breath, knowing it wouldn't be my last one tonight and with my head held high, I walked back out to take my shift by the horns!

  For the first night Karmun thought it best if I just took it easy and collected empties as I did downstairs on my first shift.

  “It will also give you chance to get a feel for the place but you must understand up here we do things differently.” I was not surprised. Nothing about this place was normal so why should the work be.

  “I am the only one that gets the drinks ready and the girls take them to their assigned tables, but they never change tables, you understand? That's our one main rule ok?” It was the first time I had seen him serious so I took the rule as set in stone.

  “No problem,” I said copying his serious tone. But I then wondered if I was only collecting empties then who would be serving my tables?

  “You’re going to be doing the tables nearest to the bar. There are ten tables in your section and these are over here.” He pointed to the ones surrounding the bar area. The tables went from one side of the bar to the other, ending up near the staircase I had left by last night. They were all along the same wall and thankfully none of them went near the top table.

  “We have six girls in total, including you and they too have all their own sectors. See the small Asian girl with the pigtails, she does the same sector as you but on the other side leading from the main staircase you see there, to the staircase at the back where you came in. Her name’s Akako.” He pointed to the staircase that I had first seen Dominic Draven and his bodyguard’s walk up to the other end of the wall where I had just come from. The girl I spotted was like a china doll, she wore what looked like a black school girl dress but then I remembered there was a name for people that dressed like her...what was it called?... Gothic Lolita, yeah that was it. She looked adorable until she turned around showing scary blood red contacts that were haunting to look at. She saw me drop my head and smiled an evil grin to match her dramatic eyes.

  Karmun walked further round so that I had a clear view of the middle and he pointed out the other waitresses.

  “Then there's the middle, which is split into three sectors. The parts that are not raised both have six tables that sit Mr Draven's more important clients.” He pointed around the large raised area that only had the one table in it, this one of course I knew well.

  “You can see the girl with long green hair that's Zarqa. She covers the left side and the other girl with the short black hair that's Rue and she covers the right.” He continued and I wondered how I was ever going to remember so many strange names in one night. He pointed towards each girl in turn and I couldn't have picked a group of girls so different in all my life.

  The one that worked on the left with the green hair was very beautiful with green eyes to match her sea coloured hair. She wore a black corset with green ribbon tied up each side. The black trousers she wore looked like leather and heels she had on made me wonder how she made it through the night without limping.

  The other girl looked more boyish but the bust she had under her tight black T shirt proved she was just that. She looked like a punk skater with long shorts and army boots that reminded me of the ‘Avril Lavigne’ look, only she had short spiky black hair that was shaved on one side. I could now only see the back of her so didn't get a look at her face but I did however notice the blonde bomb shell that was dressed like a high end prostitute buzzing around the top table.

  Karmun noticed me looking and continued on with his introduction to the VIP area.

  “Ah, that's Layla and the other girl with black and red hair is Lauren but everyone calls her Loz, they both work the top table” I looked up at him sensing there was more he wanted to say.

  “What, they have two girls for just the one table?” I said in disbelief, not understanding why on earth they would need two waitresses for what... no more than seven people!

  “Yes and you are never to approach this table, if you have anything to ask then come to me first ok?” He said this in a firm yet steady tone. It was most definitely a warning but it just made me even more curious as to whom this man Dominic Draven really was.

  “So there you have it, it’s as simple as that, just stick to your tables and you will be fine.” He walked back to the bar and I followed but as I turned I saw the back part of the room that was in the shadows.

  There stood a pair of double doors that were even bigger than the ones at the front entrance. They were carved in what looked like the same hardwood, with the same family crest carved in each panel. Above, there was a stone arch that held them into place, this also had carvings but I couldn't understand the words nor did I recognise the language that was used. Unusually though there wasn't anyone guarding these doors. There was however just something about them that looked threatening and imposing, almost as if they took on a life of their own, something demonic that sent s
hivers down my spine.

  “What's in there?” Normally I wouldn't have asked but it was like staring at Pandora's Box. There was something inside me that needed to know more. He looked without needing to as I could tell by his expression he knew where my eyes meant.

  “You should stay clear of those doors.” And that was all that he said on the matter. It was like I was being tugged from either side, good versus bad. The good girl side of me wanted to take this advice and stay away but the other side, the side the monsters fed from was daring me to run towards the doors tearing them open and run for whatever they were concealing. I could hear the voices...do it...do it. I wrestled with the demon inside me and walked away...

  For now.

  The band started to play, but for the first time since working here I heard a woman's voice over the microphone. It was a more mellow sound than what usually came from the speakers but it still held a rocky edge to it, as she sang about an infatuation with a dark eyed stranger and how within 24 hours the love would turn bitterly into death. The message being that he would inevitability become the death of her.

  For reasons out of my body’s control I looked at the table that I had been avoiding all night. What I found there was both magical and terrifying. What was it about him that held these two descriptions so closely together?

  As always whenever I saw him out of my dreams, he was wearing a suit, black with a dark red shirt and black tie. For some reason this added even more to his dark features. His face looked even more cruel and unimpressed than usual. Maybe it was my added presence that did it. I couldn't seem to take my gaze from his eyes that were exhibited as cold and black like the darkest of winter nights. He sat in his chair with a masterful grace, his strong shoulders set back against the stone that mirrored his muscles. He looked deadly and indestructible.