Billy Bones: Beyond the Grave

Chapter 3

During the middle of my sleep I woke, groggy, but restless. There was a lot to consider in being dead and what I was supposed to do with myself now that I was here. All kinds of things ran through my head.

How I was going to contact my parents? Would I see people here like Aunt Millicent — although I wasn’t sure I wanted to have her pinching my cheeks for however long I was going to be stuck here. When my turn to go back came, what would I be? Would I go back as a dog? A cat? A dung beetle?

I reached over to grab the book to see if it had any answers, but I knocked it to the floor instead. I took it as a sign I wasn’t meant to read it right now, and got up to see what things looked like during the day. Curiosity was getting the better of me.

I should have known what was coming when Goliath whined and hid under the bed. He’s a smart dog.

I pulled back the drapes.

And blinding light stabbed me in the eyes.

The pain hit me so hard I fell over from the impact, knocking the nightstand over. I crawled across the floor and strained to draw the curtains. I was forced to close my eyes, stand up and yank the drapes shut. With the awful light gone, I plopped onto the bed, moaning with what was probably the worst headache I’ve ever had. Goliath got back up on the bed and licked my face.

I wrapped my hands around his neck. “Guess that wasn’t such a good idea,” I said. I could barely tolerate the endless throbbing behind my eyeballs.

I eventually fell back asleep, but woke often to scraping sounds from the hallway. Once something even scratched outside my room. It made me think of the supposed demons that Liz had mentioned. I decided, after the encounter with the sun, that I should probably not open the door. Instead, I quivered under the blankets with Goliath.

So by the next day — or rather, the next night — I was not only tired, but a little shaky. I wasn’t sure what other surprises I was in for, but I thought it might be best to be a little more cautious. Being dead was more complicated than I thought.

I checked myself in the mirror. For a brief moment, I thought I saw an old man there. I shook my head, thinking I had to be seeing things and studied my nose. I wiggled it and tried to look at it from different angles. I don’t know how Liz figured that one nostril was bigger than the other. It was hardly noticeable.

Then, with Goliath on my heels, I inched open the door. He wiggled past me and walked into the corridor. Again, the rug stretched out forever in each direction with endless doors. I wasn’t sure what to do at that point. Standing around waiting for something to happen didn’t seem to be the best of ideas. I suppose I could have wandered around just to see how far the hallways went, but Goliath headed for the staircase. I shrugged and followed.

At the bottom of the stairs were four others — Jeeves and Liz among them. The other two were around my age. One wore a gold and silver kimono. His eyes were almond-shaped, and red stains dotted his robes. His lips were the same color. The girl had one nostril that was a little larger than the other. She was as short as the boy, but her shoulders were really wide. Her blonde pigtails bobbed as she looked at me. She touched one of her nostrils for a second and then turned around.

Goliath and I descended the stairs.

“Hello,” I said. The other two nodded, but said nothing. “I’m Billy,” I said, offering my hand.

The boy bowed. “Kenji,” he said.

The girl took my hand. Her callused grip was strong. “Miesha,” she said. She looked at Goliath. “I don’t like dogs.”

I wasn’t sure what to say about that, so I kept my mouth closed. Goliath didn’t seem offended. He just kept wagging his tail.

Liz still wore her blue dress and her hair was as frizzy as when I met her. “Ready?” she asked. “You three are the late sleepers. The rest have already gone.”