Life after Death: The Afterlife of Hezekiah Chamblee

Chapter Six: The Gathering of the Nexus Teens

Hezekiah's POV

Back in the Nexus...

The following day, I managed to keep to myself with a intimate walk around the streets of Pleasantville before it was soon time to check out Chance's home. And his ranch-style home here in Pleasantville was a far-cry from his mediocre one-story home that was on the verge of destruction back on Earth. His place was one that most people from Texas might envy to have for themselves, especially with the small pond and fountain in the front and his swimming pool in the back ("My pool was finally cleaned, so you can be free to swim in yours in peace," he had said good-naturedly when I saw him running shirtless in the morning).

"Hurrah, you came!" Caroline, now dressed in a tasteful blue dress with her hair in a bun, cheered as Chance joined her as he was in his usual blue jeans and form-fitting T-shirt. "Come in, everyone's been waiting to meet you."

"Sure," I said, walking inside the home and feeling more at ease once I inhaled the scents of honey and rainwater. I soon stepped inside the spacious living room and was met with two more women (a coffee-skinned young woman with a small Afro was showing skin with her sleeveless dress while the other woman- a dark-skinned beauty-  was dressed as if she was from the 1930s) and two there guys (one of them being a bit taller and bulky with muscles despite having a babyish-face and the other was from Carolina's time period with him being a typical nerd save for him having some muscle).

"Eva Sinclaire," the dark-skinned woman said in a British accent. "Came here after my parents sacrificed me to gain fame. A lot that did for them since they were betrayed and hung. Last time I checked, they're still burning in hell."

"Ouch," I said.

"Damon Van Halles," commented the baby-faced  young man in a Dutch accent. "Died from yellow fever before I turned seventeen. My parents hated me because I was too...well, let's just say that any sign of weakness- physical or no- was forbidden."

"Alvin Cartwright," his nerdy male counterpart said with a slight Southern lips said, his almond-brown eyes glowing bright as he and I shook hands. "My brother's girlfriend seduced me before he and my parents decided to drown me in the family pool. Nerds like me weren't welcomed back in the day."

"Catalina Slade," the coffee-skinned siren said in a seductive Brazilian accent said. "And all I can tell you was that my death's a secret, just like my past. I don't like to talk about it."

"Good to know," I said, staring into her dark-green eyes that contrasted her complexion.

"So, that's about it," Carolina chirped as she and Chance joined us. "We're the many few teenagers who got a bad rap in life and got sent here because we were scorned by family or got told that we didn't have any lifeline."

For the next ten or fifteen minutes, I took in the camaraderie as everyone recounted their lives back on Earth. They had friends who turned on them or stood by their side. Family members were either denounced or cherished while snacks and drinks (no alcohol was allowed) flowed freely.

"So, Hezekiah," Damon asked as the topic turned to me and my time on Earth. "Did you really not expect to be killed by your own family or was there some clues to your end?"

I thought for a moment. "Well, I had a guess that I wasn't going to be sticking around on Earth if my parents would allow it," I replied. "I mean, I knew that I was a reminder of my mother's rapist with me looking like him. But it wasn't until I met this one fortune teller that kind of sealed the deal completely..."

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FLASHBACK (The Day Before the Death)

No sane kid from Allendale Christian Academy would dare walk the streets of West Rosslake, everyone citing that it was full of low-lives and criminals.