Weirdo (Steven Grant)

Chapter 59

I have a really good idea for the memories but I gotta wait so..

"Im sorry what?" Marc says, very confused.

"But.." Steven tried to find the words.

"Im dead? We're Dead?" Marc asks, pointing to Them both.

"Yes. Yes, Marc I think she's right." He paused for a moment and his face dropped into pure terror.

"Wait.. Where's Lana? She was just here a few minutes ago, but then..." his voice broke. "Is she dead too?" Steven asked, his eyes glossy, showing he was about to cry.

"Lana Harrow? You know her? She's a very good friend of mines, but I'm afraid she was never here to my knowledge at least." Taweret said.

"But..Never mind. I was imagining things I guess."

"Okay can we please get back to the conversation. Are we dead?"

"Marc, she's right. I think we're dead." Steven said, and Marc looked at her slowly.

"I actually... I have... hold on a sec. It's been a minute since we've had a soul pass through here. Bit distracted.... Excuse me.  A-ha! Okay, here we go." She held up a paper while preparing herself before reading.

"Welcome, gentle traveler... Travelers, to the realm of The Duat."

"Duat? The Egyptian underworld. This is Taweret, goddess of women and children. And she's guiding us through our journey to the afterlife. Wow." Steven said, sounding pretty excited for some reason.

"Okay.. right, so this is the afterlife?  The afterlife?" He said, not very amused while looking around the Mental Hospital.

"An afterlife. Not the afterlife. You'd be surprised how many intersectional planes of untethered consciousness exist." She said.

"Yeah." Marc nodded while looking around again.

"Like the Ancestral plane. Oh! Just gorgeous. Anyways. I do actually have cards for this. If you just wait, and... I'm sorry." She tossed some paper before she found the cards she was talking about.

"Okay, so. Because the Duats true nature is impossible for the human mind to comprehend.. you may perceive this realm as something more easily recognizable to you." Taweret said, turning her head to look around as Steven did the same.

"Uh huh." Steven said.

"A psych wards a first for me. But, hey, we can roll with it, right?" She looked at Marc then to Steven.

"Why would we imagine this realm to be a psychiatric hospital?" Steven asked, looking up at the goddess.

Steven found it very fitting that Lana was there with yet another goddess. even if she isn't now. She always found herself being friends with Gods and Goddesses, hell, she thought of one as a parent.

"Because we're insane." Marc exhaled "We're insane. This talking hippo, talking dead bird, you're outside of my body now. And now the afterlife, right? That's the reality and this..." Marc walked down the halls of the hospital as he spoke, slightly raising his voice and gesturing around him as he spoke.

"But Marc, Marc..." Steven tried.

"The hospital. That's the imagination." He pointed to his head.

"Sorry, he's.." Steven apologized to Taweret.

"Oh, man. Dr. Harrows right."

"Dr. Harrow? Which- which Harrow, because I don't know if your talking about Lana or Her dad.."

"Her dad. This is an organizing principle. " Marc said.

"Is he a doctor now?" Steven asked, confused.

"I'll prove it you. So like, right through these doors for example, we go through here, there's gonna be patients, and there's Crawley probably about to yell bingo!" Marc went towards a door and opened it.

"Oh, my god! Oh my god!" He was now on a giant ship, it was moving on sand.

"What is this?" Marc asked Steven.

"This is the underworld. " Steven answered as he and Taweret both stepped out.

"I'm not crazy. I'm dead."

"Where did you say we're going?" Marc asked Taweret, looking up to her now.

"We're sailing to A'aru. To the fields of Reeds, right, Taweret?" Steven answered, both of them looking up to her now.

"Ah, so he's the smart one, hey? Well, if your hearts balanced in life, then you will spend eternity in paradise. The field of Reeds." She said excitedly.

"But before we get there I've just got to do a quick little..." she reached out to them and put her hands in their chests.

"Whoa! Easy! Easy, easy, easy there!" Marc said.

Taweret gasped as she pulled out the stone hearts.

"Oh. Goody, it worked! Look at that! Here was little old me worrying I'd blow your chests wide open."