After

My eyes fluttered open as I awoke with a start.

I sat up and looked around me, unaware of where I was.

I was about to cry out, but I looked down, and I saw my blood stained dirty clothes, I remembered.

I remembered me being in the car, with my father, arguing with him, as always.

I remembered being in the passenger seat, and a truck randomly driving recklessly in the middle of an intersection and hit the side of the car I was on without hesitation.

I remembered the force I felt at that moment, how time seemed to slow down, but only for a couple of seconds.

But in those couple of seconds, everything happened at once.

My father's and my screams and painful cries echoed in my mind.

The sharp pieces of glass from the windshield and my window entering so many parts of my body.

But the worst part of those couple of seconds was the pain.

The agonizing pain that wouldn't go away. It hurt so bad, the thing that I wanted most in the world was for it to stop.

And in that lasted second, my wish was granted and the pain stopped and my eyes shut.

I heard my father yelling at me to not close my eyes, to keep fighting.

But as much as I wanted to listen to him, I couldn't. My eyelids felt like weights and I couldn't keep them open.

That's when I fell into this darkness, and kept falling, until I landed here, wherever this was.

I then realized that I was dead. That I would maybe never see my father again and apologize for whatever we had been arguing about when I was alive.

But there was no bright light, there was no reuniting with my mom, who had died many years before, or any other loved ones for that matter.

Instead, I was in a cavelike place. A cave that seemed to go on forever, so far that I couldn't see any light from either side.

The cave was dimly lit, which was pretty strange, considering there were no sources of light whatsoever.

It's not like I cared, however. I was dead after all.

But I still had no idea where I was.

"Hello?" I called out, hoping for someone, practically anyone, to answer.

"Welcome." A deep voice said, but this voice hadn't come from a specific spot. it seemed as if it had come from all around me, echoing off the rock walls.

I wasn't aware of who-or what-this voice had come from. It almost seemed as if the voice came from everyone but also no one at the same time.

It sounded both familiar and unknown. It was deep and raspy, a voice that if heard from a dark place would run from but I also sounded strangely comforting.

It sound both like nails on a chalkboard and my favorite song.

I thought about, what I should say next. I wasn't expecting anyone to actually answer me so I didn't think of an answer beforehand.

After some thought I decided to go with, "What am I doing here?"

"Whatever I decide to do with you, my child." The voice replied, the statement both calmed and worried me in equal amounts.

"But, what exactly is "here?" Where am I, exactly?"

The voice didn't respond, and I became anxious that whoever-whatever-was speaking to me had left and that I would be alone forever.

But the voice spoke again, "The place where all living beings with a soul went to. The place where you will spend the rest of eternity."

"Well what is this place?" I questioned, "What is the name of the place I will spend for the rest of  time?"

"Most people call it hell. The place where souls like yours come to rot."

When those words were spoken, an unknown type of fear entered through my body. The tension the words made was so great I could feel it deep in my bones.

I didn't understand. Why was I in hell? I've lived a pretty good life. Sure, I've messed up a few times. I didn't go to church as often as I could've, but I tried.

I was shocked and scared. I couldn't be in hell, there must be some mistake. Maybe this was some kind of a test.

I could hardly find my voice, I could barely breathe. I felt as if I was on the verge of a mental breakdown. My breathing became faster.

"W-hat do you mean?" I finally spoke after what seemed like ages. I took a few deep breaths and managed to slightly calm myself.

The room felt as if it was closing in on me. It took every ounce of strength I had to not fall over and cry.

"You're in hell, child." The voice seemed lighter, as if what it was telling me was pleasing him.

"Why? Why do I deserve this? Who are you?" My visions was blurred by my tears, but I quickly blinked them away. I had to be strong right now.

"I," it said "I am the creator, the true creator of the world you live in. I created the ground you stand on, the water you drink, the food you eat. I created animals and the skies and my most advanced species, humans. I spread my word through prophets, who wrote the bible. But not all things in the bible are true. I created only one place for living beings when they die. You could describe it as "hell" but I prefer to call it "after" There is no alternative to me. There is only me. And I am."

This time, I couldn't hold back my tears. This time I sobbed. I put my head in my hands and wept.

After a while I looked back up, and wiped my tears with my sleeve. I sniffed and took a shaky breath, attempting to calm myself.

I took another trembling breath and spoke, lightly almost like a whisper.

"You mean, there is no God?"

The voice chuckled and spoke three words. Three words that sent shivers up my spine. Three words that made my heart sink to my feet. Words that filled me with utter horror, confusion, and disappointment, all at once.

"I am God."