Battle for the Afterlife Saga, Blue Courage (Action & Adventure Fantasy): Part 1, 2, and 3 Bundled

by CJ Davis

She dipped the rag into a small cup of water, and laid it across his forehead, so that the water dripped along his cheek. Reese turned his head slightly, but that only made the room spin. He could feel Kate stroking his brow as he slid into oblivion.

  ***

  When Reese awoke, it was with the sad realization that his head was no longer resting on Kate’s lap. He held up his filthy hand to block a beam of blinding sunlight that shot through a crack in one of the boarded up windows. A breeze stirred through the window, bringing with it the dank richness of a jungle. He wrinkled his nose at the familiar smell.

  He could hear someone breathing heavily to his left. There was also the murmur of two people talking quietly on the other side of, what appeared to be a former supply depot building. There was nothing in the room, save for a cracked concrete floor. The two in the corner, was that Jessica? And some guy? They were filthy and looked like hell. The man was big, with a handle bar mustache and several days’ growth of beard on his face. Jessica looked so – old.

  Just thinking of Pancho getting to see his daughter again choked Reese up.

  “How long have I been out?” Reese asked Kate softly. His head was throbbing and many of his aches from all over his battered body flared up as he tried to sit up.

  “It’s been twenty four hours, give or take.” Kate slid across the floor until she was almost touching Reese. “Can you tell me your name?”

  “I’m Reese. Thanks for watching my back,” Reese said as he sat up. Face to face with Kate, he had the odd sensation that he had met her somewhere before, followed by an absolute certainty that if he had seen her, he would have gone out of his way to keep on seeing her. Reese desperately wanted to impress this girl. Sitting up without falling over was not a bad way to start.

  “I’m glad to help,” Kate replied.

  Jessica crawled over to them.

  “Reese is that really you?” Jessica asked.

  “Live and in person,” Reese said. He moved his arms and legs around to assess maneuverability.

  “I can’t believe you’re actually here,” Jessica replied. “I’m glad to see you sitting up.”

  “You and me both.”

  The bearded man lumbered over to them.

  “Hello, I’m Tom.” His Hawaiian shirt had more stains than flowers.

  Reese extended his arm for a handshake only to grimace when he raised his arm. He didn’t miss the look of concern on Jessica’s face.

  “I’m so sorry they did that to you,” Jessica said.

  A pounding thump came from the door.

  “No talking,” a guard yelled from outside.

  Tom, Kate and Jessica cowered in fear. They sat as still as a painting.

  Reese gestured the three of them to huddle closer to him.

  “Well, I hope you all haven’t become too attached to this place, because I’m going to get us out of here,” Reese whispered. He had always been a hero in Jessica’s eyes. No sense disillusioning her, although Reese had to admit he was clueless as to how to proceed.

  “So you have a tracking device or something?” Kate asked excitedly.

  “I’m afraid not,” Reese said. “I guess you might call me a man with a very specific set of skills that will be very helpful in our unique situation.”

  “So, are you some sort of master negotiator?” Tom asked.

  “He’s a Navy Seal, or was one,” Jessica interjected.

  Reese saw Kate’s eyes narrow. Either she was impressed or thought he’d lied to Jessica.

  “I’m not so sure it’s a good idea to break out of here,” Tom said. “We’re more likely to get killed than escape.”

  “What can I do to help?” Kate asked. “I’m a doctor and Tom here is a helicopter pilot.”

  “What are a doctor and a helicopter pilot doing in a cartel camp?” Reese asked.

  “We were working with a humanitarian organization when we were kidnapped,” Kate replied. “The cartel didn’t like us getting too close to some of their operations, so they took Tom and me. There were two others at the base, but they may have escaped the assault. We don’t know why they are holding us. Probably for ransom.”

  “Those bastards,” Reese said. His jaw spasmed, and he rubbed it ruefully. He spoke again more carefully. “Having a doctor and a pilot around is never a bad thing, especially in this situation.”

  The guards were laughing outside the door. The four prisoners huddled even more tightly together.

  “What do you know about this place?”

  “I’ve counted around ten armed men with automatic machine guns,” Jessica replied.

  “Before you get any more grand ideas you should consider we are also in the middle of a dense jungle that’s very far away from civilization,” Tom countered. “They almost never let us leave this room and we have little to no interaction with the guards.”

  “Yeah, but we have a Navy Seal,” Kate snapped.

  Reese grinned. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  “Don’t be so pessimistic, Tom,” admonished Kate.

  “Who’s pessimistic, Kate? I’m just being reasonable. You have to admit that we’ve done a pretty good job staying alive to this point?”

  “You’re hopeless,” Kate replied.

  Reese felt the cadence of their conversation dim as he slid once again into slumber.

  Chapter 5

  Afterlife - Present Day: When Reese shuffled into the crowded lobby he was shoved and bumped by others pressed up against him. The sound from the mass of people echoed inside the large open room.

  “Move along, go to the elevated reception desks,” droned another workers in a green jumpsuit. Many in the crowd kept their heads down, and didn’t speak. Reese followed suit, but wanted to slap some of these workers.

  Reese noticed a younger girl to his right who was in her early twenties. She was the first person he saw that was not in their mid-thirties. It was sad to think of somebody dying so young and he wondered how it happened. He was not sure how to start the ‘How did you die conversation?’ and wanted to avoid saying anything taboo.

  Reese arrived at the reception desk. Several very thin silver colored medal rods held it up. A swarthy man with a big smile greeted him from behind the counter. He had a dark green suit on, a rounded chin and slicked back black hair.

  “Checking in?” the man asked.

  Reese nodded. The person behind him bumped into him, and caused him to stumble before regaining his balance. Clinching his fist, he thought about how he was already completely sick of this crowd.

  “Nice balance,” the man said. “Take the elevator up to the two hundredth floor. Take a right out of the elevator, and find the first office with an open door. You’ll find an available transition guide there.”

  Reese nodded. Looking around the crowded lobby, he had to wonder how many people on Earth died every day. The number must be in the thousands.

  “Move along,” the man said after a brief pause.

  Reese hoped he had the chance to fill out a customer service card.

  He didn’t wait long for the elevator. Two women in green jumpsuits followed him in. One was of Asian descent and another looked like a native from one of the South American countries, like Peru or Argentina.

  Nobody acknowledged each other. Reese noticed the South American women shifting back and forth, and the other woman’s eyes were blank as she looked forward intently.

  Inside the elevator was a holovision screen to the left of the door on the wall, displaying different messages, mostly about welcoming new arrivals to Asgelot. The holovision screen scrolled with peaceful images of the city as the elevator rose.

  Suddenly, the image of a large open savannah appeared on the screen, with wooly mammoths, saber tooth tigers and what appeared to be zombies spread out and walking through tall golden yellow grass. At first Reese believed he was seeing some sort of advertisement for a movie, but then his jaw dropped when a red warning caption panned across the screen. ‘Warning, never go outside the ci
ty walls of Asgelot. Extreme danger.’

  Like a crazed storm chaser, he was frightened and excited at the same time. He buzzed inside as he thought about seeing a wooly mammoth in person. Reese heard the South American girl’s breathing increase after seeing the warning caption.

  After a couple of stops the elevator was empty. Reese reached the two hundredth floor. He walked out of the elevator into a long, empty egg white hallway full of closed doors, turned right and continued on his way while looking for an open door.

  The walls were filled with paintings depicting scenes from life in Asgelot. Some were city skyline views, and others were people enjoying leisurely activities in parks. Each piece was beautifully painted, and would probably be considered a masterpiece on Earth.

  His thoughts were interrupted by a loud beep over some sort of intercom system, which was swiftly followed by a woman’s voice, “Caution, a Lost Soul has been sighted on this floor. Contact the authorities immediately if you come across its path. Avoid any and all altercations with this creature. They are extremely dangerous.”

  The intercom then beeped again. Reese looked over his shoulder and swiveled his head back. He didn’t see anything. He let out a long sigh. All he needed was one more thing to worry about.

  The office for the transition guide was not hard to find. He found a man sitting in a sparsely furnished office, behind a large desk. The man himself was unremarkable; green suit, blond hair, and slender fingers that typed vigorously on a hidden keyboard as Reese approached. He seemed oblivious to Reese, who stood there dumbly in front of his desk for nearly a minute, waiting to be recognized. Behind him was a gorgeous view of the city, filled with car-sized hovercrafts flying in rows high up in the sky between the many skyscrapers.

  “Hello there,” the man said jovially. He continued to type away and only briefly looked up to see Reese. “My name is Luka, welcome.”

  “Hello,” Reese replied. “I’m Reese. Nice view.”

  “Thanks, I have to be honest, it never gets old," Luka replied gesturing for Reese to sit toward a comfortable looking leather chair in front of his desk. He typed away and looked intently at a holovision screen on his desk.

  “Give me a second, as I try and work with security to locate a Lost Soul on this floor,” Luka said. “We’ve had a spike in Lost Soul activity. It seems the looming war has had quite the effect on many souls.”

  Reese shifted his weight in the chair and glanced over his shoulder again at the entry, which didn’t have a door. He wondered if the Lost Soul could sneak up on them.

  “So, what do you think of the Afterlife so far?” Luka asked after Reese had a chance to get comfortable.

  “Well, it’s all a little overwhelming,” Reese replied, hoping Luka would give him his full attention.

  “To say the least,” Luka said. “It’s perfectly normal to feel that way. That’s why you’re here though, right? I’m sure you have a lot of questions, and I want to help with that. Sound good?”

  “Yes,” Reese replied, “Very much so.”

  “All right, so what is your first question?” Luka asked.

  The tapping sound of Luka’s skinny fingers typing filled the room.

  “Why am I having trouble remembering any of my recent Earth life, including how I died?” Reese asked.

  Reese watched Luka as he finally stopped typing, and looked up while pursing his lips.

  “That’s strange,” Luka replied.

  Reese’s stomach dropped. This was not the reaction he was hoping for.

  “I would not worry too much though,” Luka added. “You’re certainly not the first soul to arrive to Asgelot with some troubles with their memory. The bottom-line is that the transition from Earth to the Afterlife is a traumatic experience for the mind and the soul. Leaving your Earthly form can be complicated, especially if your death involved an unusual amount of distress. Most of the time, this is caused by the stress of an untimely and violent death that’s witnessed by a loved one.”

  Reese’s insides churned.

  “Your soul can also run into complications when in the Astral Plane,” Luka added.

  "The Asterra what?" Reese asked. His mind was swimming.

  “The Astral Plane is a place where souls go in-between the Earth and the Afterlife," Luka replied. "We don’t know much about the Astral Plane, but I can tell you that it serves as a necessary conduit for our transition to the Afterlife. Souls are transformed there. People even sometimes change their physical appearances, with some of the more ancient souls automatically arriving in the Afterlife as their ancient selves. Some spend more time in the Astral Plane than others, and nobody can ever remember their time there. It’s a very mysterious place."

  "If no one remembers this place, how do we know anything about it?" Reese asked.

  "Technically speaking there are actually two souls that visit the Astral Plane and remember it," Luka replied. "They're the only ones though, and they’re very powerful advanced souls. Have you heard about the Blues and Reds yet?"

  "Yes, a little," Reese said. “I understand it’s an honor to be a Red.”

  “In some circles,” Luka said.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I’ll just say that you should carefully consider all the factors when deciding whether or not to pledge.”

  Reese looked around the room and spotted a large painting of a wooly mammoth to his left.

  “So, do animals go through the Astral Plane as well?” Reese asked.

  “Yes, all animals go through the Astral Planes as well,” Luka replied. “Since the beginning animals have been coming to the Afterlife. As you may have already heard, many animals have been here much longer than humans. We rarely see the dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts, but they’re deep in the Wild Lands of the Afterlife. The city walls of Asgelot protect us from all of these creatures.”

  “So why do we need city walls?” Reese asked. “Couldn’t we just go and destroy all the creatures that would be harmful to us?”

  “That would create a lot of problems.” Luka leaned forward just a little bit. “Have you heard of galorim yet? To grow, the galorim must have strong life energy around it. The Wild Lands of the Afterlife is full of this life energy, and amongst the jungles, insects and animals, the prehistoric beasts provide some of the strongest energy. The longer a being is in the Afterlife the stronger their life energy can become, and the more galorim is created in their presence. There are several major pools in the Afterlife."

  Suddenly Reese heard a bang by the doorway. He turned to see a sickly man stumbling toward him. He was much worse than the man Marquis had pushed down on the street. His eyes were completely blank. The man lifted his two skinny arms in front of him and lunged towards Reese.

  Luka grabbed the man by the shoulders. The man’s head was flung backwards, and his eyes were barely open. The man tried to speak, but nothing came out, save for a little bubbling of saliva at the corner of his mouth.

  Luka struggled to hold the deranged man.

  “What’s wrong with him?” demanded Reese. “Why is he trying to attack me?”

  “Open the top drawer on my desk, and get me my dagger,” Luka ordered.

  Without thinking Reese quickly retrieved the large blade, and brought it to Luka. The Lost Soul was gurgling, and yelling incoherently.

  As Reese held out the dagger to Luka, the creature grabbed Reese’s arm. His boney fingers were cold to the touch. Reese watched in horror as the pale figure tried to lunge away from Luka’s embrace and bite him.

  In a blink of an eye Luka grabbed the dagger and rammed it deep into the Lost Soul’s eye. The lifeless body slid to the floor.

  “How did he regress that much?” Reese asked, unable to tear his eyes away from the inert form.

  “He got lazy, or tired, or just let his fear overtake him. He is lost, Reese, lost forever. No more reincarnations for him.”

  “Look at me,” commanded Luka.

  Reluctantly, Reese lifted hi
s gaze.

  “You have to grow, man.” said Luka. “You have to challenge yourself to grow your mind, or your emotions or your physical skill. Anything, but you have to push for it every minute or every day. All the time, until time itself is done. Always, Reese! The Afterlife has a lot to offer, but you can never forget that it comes with a price.”

  Suddenly, the Lost Soul flashed in a bright light and disappeared.

  “Where has he gone?” cried Reese.

  “He is nothing, now,” said Luka. “He flashed into oblivion. It usually doesn’t come to this. We hate having to dispose of them permanently. We normally round them up and banish them out of the city before they become dangerous. It’s certainly the more humane approach. If you get close enough to the city walls you can actually hear them moaning, especially at night. It really is a sad fate for somebody. I’ve known several people that couldn't stay focused, and eventually turned into Lost Souls. They were good people too. It can happen to anybody.”

  “What if my Dad turned into a Lost Soul?” Reese asked. His heart sank.

  “You’ve not seen your Dad yet.” Luka said. “That’s strange. Usually loved ones are waiting for you at your portal destination when you arrive from the Astral Plane.”

  Reese’s stomach slightly knotted.

  “It’s unlikely that he was destroyed so soon unless he’s a Blue or a Red,” Luka said. “It’s possible that he turned into a Lost Soul, but we would have a record of that.”

  “I highly doubt my Dad turned into a Lost Soul,” Reese said. “He was a fighter pilot that died in combat, could that be a reason he wasn't there?”

  “No, that shouldn’t have anything to do with it,” Luka said. “Maybe your arrival announcement didn’t make it to his tablet computer because of some sort of technical glitch.”

  The sound of a hovercraft swooshing by the window filled the room.

  “All right, let me look you up and see if I can figure out what's going on,” Luka said as he started to type in information into his tablet device. “What's your full name Reese?”

  “Reese Hawthorne,” he replied.