part fifty-six: the blood - over a half a century old

795 64 18
                                    

"Life is a lively process of becoming."

- Douglas MacArthur

Earth's lungs were full of water—he couldn't breathe but for the first time in years, it wasn't because he was dead

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

Earth's lungs were full of water—he couldn't breathe but for the first time in years, it wasn't because he was dead. His breath was kicked out of him but he was alive.

Earth was alive.

And no, there wasn't water in his lungs—it was a shock that ran through him when he suddenly appeared with a beating heart in the same convenience store he died in, more than half a century ago.

He stumbled, his legs were weak, hitting one of the grocery shelves, causing him sudden sharp pain in his side. He was truly alive—only an alive person could possibly feel pain like this.

He let out a surprised yet happy chuckle, trying to pull himself together. He turned around, suddenly remembering that this was a convenience store so he probably wasn't alone. However when he looked around, stopping with his eyes on the shopping counter where the cashier should stand—no one was there.

It seemed that Earth was after all, indeed alone in the store. He let out a sigh of relief only moments before he heard a shuffling from somewhere deeper in the store.

Oh, that made more sense—the store wasn't empty, the cashier was only in a storage room for a while.

Before Earth could leave the store, the cashier returned back, his face turning paler with every step he took. When he finally stopped behind the counter, his face looked as if he had just seen a ghost. Well, he wasn't far from it.

Frankly, Earth was confused by the cashier's reaction. Didn't he look like a casual customer, or? Earth looked down on his chest where the cashier was staring without any word for more than enough seconds already.

One look down at his burgundy stained office shirt and Earth understood. The blood that stained his crystal white shirt with a mark of death when he got shot was back. No wonder, the cashier was frightened. If only he knew that that blood was over fifty years old.

"A-are you okay, sir? Just wait a minute I'll call the ambulance," the cashier somehow got out of himself, his phone, already in his hand.

"There's no need," Earth shook his head, making fast steps away from the store. "I'm more than fine.

"Wait, wait! Sir, you need help! Sir?" The cashier ran out after Earth but Earth had no intention to stop. He wasn't lying to the cashier—he was more than fine, at least in a physical way. But, he shouldn't be there. Earth shouldn't be in Thailand. He should be in the Ghost Cabin with Mix.

Earth wasn't expecting the regenerating process to finish like this. He never heard about someone coming back to life again by returning to the place of their death. It was an unexplored territory and Earth was if nothing more than a slightly disturbed.

GHOST CABIN ☆ EARTHMIX AUWhere stories live. Discover now