After I died

1

Annalise

The bullet hit straight throught my safety vest, I didn't see the person holding the gun, I didn't want to see them, or for them to see me. Dying was my only chance of escaping The Anchor. I was never here by choice, but I could leave by choice. 

I remember the feeling of laying on the roof top, index finger on the trigger of my rifle, a bullet from a gun having ripped open my chest, blood running our of my body like a waterfall, but it was peaceful, the stars shining above me. Nothing to disturb this beautiful peace of freedom,

I never wished to die, but after time, I've come to the realisation, that it had always been my only way of escaping. It was the biggest mission I was ever assigned for and making it fail, also getting myself out of here was my perfect plan to leave. 

Name: Anastasia Srijokowitsc
Age: 28
Height: 5'2                                                                                                                                                                          Cause of death: shot to heart

... 

As my eyes closed, the hard concrete roof below my back softened, it almost felt like I was laying on a meadow. Maybe it was my nerve system shutting down, back numbing slowly. Sucking in a last breathe of air, I smelled a soft breeze of summer air. The smell of smoke, exhaust and cars was gone, the coldness of the night was gone, it was warm, like sun shining on me. 

The noises around me had vanished, leaving me only hearing wind going through trees and bird chirping. This wasn't what I thought death would be like. I opened my eyes out of confusion but sensed a weird feeling of comfort, like there was no need to panic. I sat up, looking around.

The sun was shinign through the leaves of the tree I was layng under. Near me was a huge wall, approximately 150 foot and pretty massive, this was weird. If I was indeed dead, why was I still not free? This must be my punishment. There was town nearby, it looked quite old, like it had been built somehwne in the 1500s or so. It was weird to me but had it's charm. 

Getting up from the grass, I walked to the town, the people also looked like straight from the middle ages. Most of them were friendly, greeting me. I wasn't really used to people being nice to me but I was glad to have another form of interaction other than the strict commands from the Anchor people. 

I entered an inn as the sun was slowly setting. It was quiet inside, most people were drinking and talking amongst themselves or having dinner. i walked up to the bar, where a woman was standing. "Excuse me?", i asked. She turned to me with a sweet smile. "Yes, dear, what can I do for you?" "Who owns this inn?", I asked and she let out an amused chuckle. "That would be me and my husband, what do you need?" 

"Oh, I'm sorry. Well, I just arrived here and I do not own anything, I don't have money. IT's a long story. But I was wondering if you would let me stay in one of your rooms and have a few warm meals... in exchange of my help of course, I can work." The woman put the glass she had just been polishing aside, smiling at me. "We are currentl yrunnign short with waitors, our last waitress just moved to behind wall Sina for her fiance, so we do have use for a new one. You can have the room and two warm meals a day." 

"That sounds great, thank you so much.", I replied. "Oh no problem sweetheart. I'm Anya.", she held out her hand to me. "Anastasia.", I took her hand, slightly shaking it. "You can start tomorrow, but for now, we'll just get you something for dinner and then you can take a nap. I'll show you your room then." Anya went over to a door at one end of the bar, opening it and calling inside: "Tom, dear, could you make a plate for our new guest Anastasia? Thank you."

She then came back to stand in front of me. "I'm sure you'd like a glass of water, wouldn't you?" "That would be great, thanks." Anya grabbed a glass from the shelf, filling it with water and placing it in front of me. "Here you go. Now I wanna know, how did you end up here, with no money or belongings?" 

I figured that this was indeed some form of middle ages world, so there was probably no use in telling the truth anyway. I had already accepted this as some kinda of coma dream or after life thing. "I had some trouble with my family. They wanted me to marry someone, I didn't even know.", I lied, but anya seemed to believe me. Anya gave a look of pity and a sad sigh. "That does sound like a bad situation, but don't worry, you'll be just fine here with me and Tom. I promise." She then put her smile back on. 

 I smiled back at her nodding. Even with the huge wall outside, maybe I coul dfind me peace here after all. I did seem very peaceful so far, at least. I was probably worrying too much already. The door at the end of the bar opened and a man, carrying a plate of hot potatoe soup came out. He looked over at Anya and me, walking over immediatly. "Is this our guest?", he asked and Anya nodded. 

The man placed the plate in front of me and extended his hand. "I'm Tom.", he introduced himself. "you must be Anastasia.", Tom then added. "Yes, I am. Thanks for the soup, it smells great.", I replied. The man smiled even wider as I complimented his cooking. "I hope it tastes as well as it smells." I nodded along and he went back through the door, probably into some kind of kitchen of the inn. 

After I ate up the plate of delicious tasting soup, Anya brought the plate away and then walked me upstairs to a room at the end of the corridor. It had a bed, a cupboard and a desk standing below the window facing towards the street. "You can stay in this one.", Anya explained. "It's great, thank you." "Good night, there is a sleeping shirt in the cupboard right there, if you ever need clothing, don't hesitate to ask me.", with that she left, and I went ot bed.