Dead Ones

Afterlife Prologue

Before

He leaned back after some sobering words. He seemed to be carried away by the wind. Gone, in an instant. "No!!" Rose shouted. She ran towards the cliff edge. I rushed up behind her and grabbed her around the waist and threw her backward onto the stable ground. "Stay down," I shouted at her. I looked at Sophie for a split second. A distant gunshot below rang out. Sophie squeaked and began sobbing heavily in Juggernaut's arms. Aaron and Maria stood and stared, stunned. Rose sat on the ground, a small, inferior little ball of emotions, losing her mind slowly as she processed everything that had happened. I looked at David's body. I lost my partner I had been with since the beginning of it all. That hurt. But what hurt worse was losing my brother. I walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down into the distant water. White foam bubbled up from where the water had been disturbed, but there was no sign of life. The river's rapids likely swept his body away. I walked back over to my belongings which I had set down to watch my brother's fight with the now perished leader of the former community once known as 'The Hive'. I picked up the nailed baseball bat my brother had made when his machete was being sharpened by my former metal working partner. I pulled a folding knife out of my coat pocket. I began etching into the wood of the bat. It didn't take me long, about a few minutes. I etched the words 'come home' into the wood. I stood up and walked to the cliff's edge. I held the bat by the nub of the handle end and dangled it over the edge for a moment. I said a short silent prayer that it would reach whom I intended for it to reach. That is, if he was still alive. If he wasn't, I would be the one to find the body. That was a task for another time. I let go of the bat and watched as it fell. It hit the water and began being washed down the river. I walked back over to the pile of my brother's gear. I picked his machete out of the ground, still coated in the blood of the enemy community's former leader. I placed it back into its leather sheath. I tucked his knife into my waistband. I picked up his mask and clipped it to my belt. I picked up his small bag and slung it over myself. I went within the treeline and found two decent sized sticks. I drove one into the ground by the edge. "Grab me some twine," I told Aaron. Aaron stood and stared at the spot the fallen man had once stood. "Grab some damn it!" I shouted. He broke free from his trance and went over to the camp making supplies and grabbed some twine. He walked over to me and handed it to me. He returned to his trance of grief and disbelief. I tied the other stick to the stick stuck in the ground, making a cross. I hung my lost brother's bulletproof vast from it. "Come on y'all. Let's go home," I said, coaxing everyone along. People slowly began to move. Juggernaut carefully picked up David's body and carried it over his shoulder. We left the corpse of the former leader, along with the decapitated head of his wife, to decay, being returned to nature...

Funeral

I stood in the crowd of people, all gathered together for the same purpose. Father Elijah, Sophie, and David's wife and daughter stood up on the speaking platform. Sophie and the wife were sobbing simultaneously. The daughter didn't seem to comprehend what was going on. Father Elijah stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat. "It is with a heavy heart I come to you today," he began. "Today, I stand before you to bury a great man, and mourn the loss of another," he said. The coffin containing David's body sat on the ground in front of the platform. The Father opened his Bible and placed it on the podium. "I will read now, words for the lost," he said. He cleared his throat again to prevent his voice from cracking. As a minister, Elijah had buried many, but never before did he think he would be performing a memorial service for one of his fellow brothers. "Psalm 23: 1-6. The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." He read aloud. Something about that last word stuck with me. 'Forever'. I let the words sink in. "Would anyone like to offer some words," Elijah asked. I felt compelled to step up. I did so. I stepped to the podium. "I will make a memorial for all of the fallen in this war," I said. "That is very thoughtful of you, John," the Father said. I stepped off of the stage. Two men picked up the coffin and transported it to a burial site. "You did well, good and faithful servant," I heard Elijah murmur. I went back to my forge, which was now empty and lonesome without the company of my partner. I placed Grim's mask and knife on the table. I began working on a piece of metal for the memorial. I heard footsteps approaching. I stopped working for a moment to see who wanted my assistance. Bill and Mack were standing outside my forge. "Can I help you?" I asked. "Not at all," Bill said. "Then why are you here?" I asked. "Mack and I wanted to let you know we were departing from this place," Bill said. "Really? When you just got here after being outcast for months?" I asked. "Grim spared my life many times. The least I can do for the man is try to find his body for a proper burial," Bill said. I wanted that to be my job. If these two insisted on finding him though, I could not stop them. "Go ahead," I said, waving them off. "We will not return without him, dead or alive," Mack said. "Do as you wish," I said dismissively. They glanced at one another. "We'll be back someday," Bill said, and they walked off together. I appreciated their willingness to help, but I planned on scouting the riverbed myself to try and find any remains. I wanted to be the one to bury my brother. We weren't blood related, but we were as good as such. Grim was family to Elijah, Aaron, Maria, and myself. Once I finished the memorial I would go out and begin looking for him. My brain told me he was dead, but I had a gut feeling that he wasn't. Maybe it was just wishful thinking...