The Benefits of Death (Season 1)

S01 x E02

Episode 2: Dying Without Trying (Part 2):

Ike eventually found his usual car, which was a sky-blue Corvette with white-wall tires, and climbed in, before inserting the keys and taking off. After he cleared the ramp out of the station's parking lot, he checked his rear-view mirror to find, much to his shock, that the entire station appeared to vanish as soon as he drove away from it.

"Weird." Ike thought, "Alright, now to find my address."

It turned out that in this particular realm, the people and vehicles were all significantly faster, enabling them to travel long distances very quickly. He managed to find the spot where his house was supposed to be just ten minutes after leaving the station. It was situated in the afterlife version of Kicksburg, Montana, though in this realm, the population was even smaller - there were less than ten houses within his peripheral vision. As soon as Ike shut off the car and stepped out of it, however, something else seemed off to him.

"Wait a minute." He said, rechecking the address he had been given, "I'm positive this is the right place, but... why is my house already here?"

Curiously, Ike walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell, only to receive no answer. Shrugging, he unlocked the door and cautiously creaked it open as he stepped in, revealing the foyer and living room to be dark, though he could still make out the familiar home interior that had last been in his house before his demise.

"Er... h-hello... ?" Ike's voice trailed off as he looked around nervously.

Suddenly, a series of growls could be heard, growing slightly louder by the second, signifying that whomever was making those noises was steadily approaching him. Ike didn't hesitate to hurriedly fumble around for the light-switch, finally finding it and illuminating the room. It turned out that the source of the noise was a trio of dogs. One was a border collie with a tag that read 'Brutus'. The second dog was a dachshund with a tag that read 'Liverwurst', sunken eyes, slightly baggy skin, and a chestnut-colored pelt flecked with grays. The third and final dog was a cardigan welsh corgi with some dirty and slightly bloody tire-tracks branded into the fur on the left side of its torso, complete with a tag that read 'Conroy'. Ike backed up nervously towards the door as the three dogs continued to inch closer to him - all three of them growling at him and baring their teeth (except for Liverwurst, since he was sorely lacking in that department).

"Alright, pups! Simmer down!" An elderly voice called from upstairs, prompting all three dogs to back off.

Ike looked up to find an old man descending down the stairs. He was bespectacled, had a pot-belly, and was clad in a pale pink turtleneck under a denim sport coat and matching pants, complete with some black loafers. The top of his head was completely hairless and smooth, though the hair remaining on the sides and back was ivory-gray, and tied up in a ponytail. Ike immediately recognized this man as Russell Van Dyke - someone who meant quite a lot to him.

"Dad?" He asked in shock, "Is... is that really you?"

"Ike! My boy!" The man replied, hurrying over to embrace his son, "God knows how much I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too, but... what are even doing here?! You died, didn't you?! I mean, the last time I saw you, you were on the way to the cremation center after succumbing to prostate cancer!"

"That's true. But... son, you do realize we're in heaven, right?" Russell asked.

"Oh, right! Right!" Ike quickly replied, "And my other question is: why was my house already waiting here for me?"

"It's simple, really: in order for a building to appear in heaven, at least one person needs to die inside it." Russell explained.

Ike briefly thought back to a few months before he himself had passed away, immediately remembering that both of his parents had been staying in his house at the time of his father's death.