Life On The Murder Scene (Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge)

Part 2 - Dr. Death

I woke up on a cold hard ground, not remembering the previous events. My heart hurt. I felt a strange hollowness, like something was missing. I opened my eyes a bit wider, but I couldn't see anything but darkness. Nothing but black surrounded me. I felt alone and cold and confused. I sat up and tried to look for at least something. Someone. But there was nothing around. My side ached extremely like it had been hit by something.

I then heard footsteps coming from behind. I quickly lifted myself up and got to my feet then turned to face the direction the sound was coming from, backing up a few steps in fear. I just stood there, confused and completely still, as I saw a tall dark figure coming closer. It was a built man dressed in a brown t-shirt covered by a grey vest. His hair was long and draped over his shoulders and his beard was full and unkempt. A red bandanna hugged his forehead and wrapped around his dark brown hair. He slowly kept walking closer, step by slow step, he walked toward my direction until he was standing right in front of me. He looked down at me, uncomfortable glaring into my eyes as he stood up straight, a burning cigarette in hand. "How ya doin'?" He said, looking at me with an evil smirk painted across his face. His cigarette burned as smoke danced circles around the two of us before vanishing into the blackness.

I opened my mouth to speak but could not mutter a single, simple word or sentence. The words wouldn't spill out, for I was in a state of utter confusion and anxiety. I was missing something. A big piece to my puzzle. I was shocked, confused, and mostly scared. I had nothing to say, so I kept my mouth shut and backed up a few steps as he stared at me for quite a while then finally said, "Hey, kid. Listen, I don't got all day." He continued to speak in a quiet, deep voice that I could not trust. "I know what you're thinking. You're probably wondering where you are.". He then swung one arm around my aching right shoulder. His touch, it burned.

He disgusted me. I don't really know why but I got this bad vibe from him. I pulled away from his touch and stared at his smirking face with anger starting to show on mine. "Wait, what the hell? I have to be dreaming right now." Then it hit me. "Where is Helena!?" He leaned over and looked into my eyes and replaced his grin with a dead serious expression. His eyes glowed as we stared at each other for what seemed like forever.

"Helena is dead." He said. Now, all of the sudden, I experienced a painful disbelief at the dreadful words he spoke to me.

"What do you mean Helena is dead?" I asked, shocked. If he is joking, this is a fucking sick joke. I'm distraught. So lost. My heart aches and I can't find her in this sick nightmare. I'm-

"She's dead. She's gone. Ghosted, dusted out on route Guano just how I was. Just how you were! I don't know how else to explain this to you. Do you remember anything? Some men were having a clap in that restaurant that went all costa rica from there." He stood up straight as he put his cigarette between his teeth and deeply inhaled. He just stood in front of me for a while, staying silent. He looked down at his shoes, knowing I needed some time to process what he had just explained to me. And then it all came back to me. All the memories came flooding back- The restaurant, the men in the suits, the blood, Helena. It all hit me at once. It was like a slap in the face, a scream in the ear, a kick in the stomach, and it was too much to hear.

I refuse to speak of her as... deceased.

I felt my throat start to ache and I tried to fight back the sadness that overcame me. I tear rolled down my left cheek as I stared at at the ground then to the black emptiness surrounding me. The man in front of me actually looked sort of concerned. He put out his cigarette, leaned over, placed his bony hand on my shoulder, and stared into my swelling, leaking eyes. "Hey, hey, hey" He whispered to me. "Hey there, don't be sad. This happens all the time."

"How the hell do you even know what happened!?" I angrily shouted. He backed two steps away from me, knowing I was really upset. He looked at me with a blank emotionless expression as I continued. "Why the fuck are you the one telling me this!? YOU'RE LYING. YOU WEREN'T EVEN THERE. THIS IS A DREAM. SHE'S SAFE IN THE HOSPITAL. SHE'S SAFE. YOU WEREN'T EVEN THERE!"

He looked down at my shoes then back at my red face I guess. "She's dead in the hospital, Adam. Her wounds were fatal." He started. "I was there to take you with me. I sort of run this place. Listen, I know this is a lot to take in, but you're just going to have to deal. I don't know what else to tell you."

"Well, where's Helena?" I asked.

"Oh, she's somewhere else." He replied, not really answering my question.

"Where's that?"

"Uhh, I'm bad at explaining these things. Jeez. Well, my name is Dr. Death by the way." He reached out to shake my hand. I reached out as well but before our hands met, I brought mine back down and just gave him an emotionless nod. He nervously brought his hand back to his stiff side. "Helena's with another demon. Her next life should start pretty soon so uh..." Dr. Death explained not looking me in the eyes as he scratched the back of his head. Dr. Death? What kind of name is that? Something's up. This doesn't feel right. He let out a deep sigh then suspiciously looked around and leaned over to whisper in my ear, "Okay, kid. I'm not supposed to be doing this, but I feel kind of bad knowing something you don't. I know how I can help you get your little girlfriend back and reserve a spot for you both in Heaven." I was surprised that he's even trying to help me.

"What are you talking about?" I whispered back.

"You need to bring something important to me. I know this sounds weird but I need extra souls. Save me the trouble. I don't want to have to drag every one of those guys to Hell. It's too much work for me and I'm exhausted as it is. I can make this happen for you both so you can be eternally happy, and I don't have to work as hard. So it's a win win!" Dr. Death grinned devilishly at me once again, awaiting my reply. I was desperate. I needed answers. I needed to find Helena.

"Well, how will i do that?" I asked him, suspicious if there was some sort of catch to this.

"Oh," He chuckled nervously. "Its quite easy actually." He reached his hand into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a shiny gold revolver and handed it to me. "This, sir, is for you."

I suddenly realized what I had to do. Don't fucking say yes. Don't do it. I swear, from that point on, I regretted thinking this was a good idea. Heart racing, I slowly grabbed it from his hands.

You idiot.

His eyes burned into mine. "Have fun."