Niall stood frozen for a very long time. People passed, quite literally, through him, without even a second glance. Niall tried really hard to keep his tears in, but it became hard when he thought of everyone he'd left behind.
"Are you coming along?" A voice spoke from behind him, and Niall spun, startled. Willa stood a few feet away, glaring slightly at a whimpering Niall. "You really don't get much done if you just stand there like a lump." She said, the stain on her dress the same sick shade of red. It must have been that way for some time now.
"I, uh, I guess I'll come along." Niall said, following Willa as she turned on her bare foot and stomped away from the scene. They walked for some distance in silence; Niall in front, Willa leading him God-knows-where.
"Here we are," she said, and Niall almost slammed straight into her back. Before him was a church that struck him as painfully familiar...
"This is my family church... We come here every Sunday." Niall said, smiling at the memories he had. Niall was still questioning his faith, but he came every Sunday, and he enjoyed the company of everyone he met.
"I know. And just so you know, God isn't real." Willa said, and sauntered into the church. Niall felt a part of him chip off; he never decided what he believed in, but to know that there wasn't anything in the great beyond made him rather upset. Heaving a rather large sigh, Niall followed Willa in, and sat beside her in the last pew. For a few moments, Niall let himself admire her beauty; she was long, and slim (slimmer than most) with perfect hair fluttering down her back. Green eyes were trained forward, framed by long dark eyelashes. She had a perfect pout, making her seem so innocent, yet so devilish.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Willa said, without turning her head. Niall faced the pew in front of them, his cheeks flushing red.
"Why are we here?" Niall asked after a considerable amount of time had passed. Willa scoffed.
"Well, since you're so impatient, I'll just speed time up a little here..." Willa waved her hand, and Niall saw the sun begin to shine through the glass panels above them. "I'm here to take you through your first test." Willa said, and just as Niall began to speak, the church doors flung open and in walked...
His family.
"Mum, Dad, you're here." Niall said, and went to grip his mother, but slipped through her body, leaving him with a rather warm patch on his chest.
"Don’t touch them. You feed off their energy and it makes them cold and tired." Willa said, and Niall felt sick. He was hurting them? "Come sit, Niall." Once seated, Willa cleared her throat and crossed her legs. "This is two weeks after you've hung yourself. Your parents haven't slept, and the town isn't handling a suicide very well. Nobody understands why you did what you did. It's unexplainable." Willa said. Niall choked up. Now that he looked at his parents, they looked horrendous. Bags under their eyes, black mourning clothes and tears still trickling down his mother’s face. Her only son, up and killed himself.
"What... where has the time gone? I can't... I can't see them like this. This is wrong." Niall said, coughing down his own sobs.
"I don't care if it hurts. You want to kill yourself so bad? Well I'm here to show you what will happen when you do. There is no heaven, Niall. There is no beautiful paradise waiting for you. It's sitting in an endless cycle of watching, waiting, never escaping. Stuck here, as we are. Watching those around you suffer, and then die. This isn't a game Niall." Willa said, death gripping his arm. Niall stared at her hand, fingernails painted blood red, pressing crescent moons into his arms.
"I get that... please. Just let me go back." Niall said, but Willa just shook her head.
"I just want to start with a prayer for our boy, Niall James Horan," Niall's mum's voice came through the crackly speaker. Niall jumped; it felt like forever since he'd heard her speak. "Wherever he may be now, I hope there is everlasting love and happiness for him there, and whatever struggles he faced on earth, they have left him in heaven." Her voice shook as she spoke, and Niall caved, letting the tears fall down his cheeks.
"I'm sorry, I just can't..." Niall said, standing up and passing right through the large chapel doors without opening them. He slid onto the concrete steps outside and sobbed into his hands. At some point Willa crept up beside him and laid her arm across his back, resting her head on his shaking shoulder. She let him cry it out; he was sure she'd done this before, and was used to emotional sobbing messes. After he finished, she offered him a tissue she'd probably swiped from some old lady's purse in the church. He blew his nose and took several deep breaths.
"I'm okay now," He said finally, keeping his eyes on the ground.
"I'm so sorry, Niall. I don't like making people feel this way. But it's a job; a responsibility. Too many lives are being taken, and people need to know what happens if they hurt themselves like this. I swear, only a few more days and you can go back, and live your life, and be happy." Willa said, still sprawled on Niall's shoulder. He sighed loudly; a few more days. He could do this.
"I'll be alright. I can make it through this." Niall said, and before he could continue, a rustling came from beside him. Both of them looked over to the bush beside the church door.
"What the fuck?" Niall said, and Willa stood, peering over his shoulder. Second slater, a peeling arm came popping out of the bush, skin falling away in chunks, and blood oozing from open pores. Willa screamed, and pulled Niall off the steps. Next came a head, scraped and peeling as well, one eye fallen from its sockets. Grumbles fell from its mouth, and Niall couldn't help but feel like they were looking at a... zombie.
The creature pulled itself from the bush and landed with a splat on the concrete, before pulling itself forward with its scarred arms. It had no legs, yet moved increasingly fast. Willa and Niall continued to back away, until the rustling could be heard from behind them. Whipping around, the two spotted more zombies limping from within the trees. More grunting noises came forth, and their skin was just as charred and disintegrated.
"Holy fucking hell," Niall said, gripping Willa's wrist, her voice coming quietly from beside him:
"We've got company."
