Where These Souls Go

Chapter 3

"Come on, let's get you dried. You're soaking wet..." Beck mumbled, awkwardly reaching out to guide me along.

But where? I had so many questions. All I knew was that I was apparently asleep. That my body is in a coma and my mind is asleep. Dreaming. That's what this is, right? A dream?

But it all felt to real. Why was it so real if it was just in my head? I needed to know. But I wouldn't get any answers by letting him tow me along. I was a detective. I was supposed to be fearless. And take charge. I needed to do that now.

I halted to a stop with such force, it almost caused Beck to trip and fall, but he quickly regained his balance before he did.

I ignored the water that was seeped through my clothes as I crossed my arms and faced him again.

"Not so fast. I need answers," I told him, trying to be bold.

He let out a sigh, stepping closer to me.

"Fine. Two more, but then we really have to get back,"

"Back where?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"The city. Was that one of 'em?"

My eyes widened and I quickly shook my head. He gave me a "fine" look, and waved me along.

"Two questions only? That doesn't seem fa-- fine. It's fine for now. Okay, so you said I'm in a coma? And that souls come here when they're asleep or--"

"--not asleep. Just unconscious for extended periods of time," he corrected me, "and the bodies are asleep, not the souls."

"--r-right. Yeah. Okay. So...how long will I be here?"

The time. It was the question nagging at me for however long I've been here already. I wanted to know when I could leave. No matter how amazingly beautiful this place was. I didn't exactly plan on staying long. If, of course, that's up to me.

"However long you need to be. Whenever your body stabilizes and it's okay to wake up, you will," he patiently explained.

"But how will I know?"

"You'll know. See, when your body is ready, your form will begin to falter--"

"--then?"

He paused for a moment, looking past me.

"Then? You'll head over to what we call the "station". That's you choosing to wake up. Your soul will be transferred back into your body. You'll wake up. Forget everything that happened--

"--whoa, whoa. Forget? I'll forget?" This almost made me sad.

He sighed again.

"The memories here will still exist. Usually in fragments, and you'll just recall them as dreams. But otherwise? No. You won't remember," he explained.

I took a moment to absorb the information. So...I have to live here in dreamland until I can wake up? This is crazy--no, insane. It's insane. I cannot honestly believe any of this.

But looking up at his face--his gentle, caring, understanding face, I couldn't help but believe every word. I smiled softly up at him.

"Thank you..." I nodded slightly.

His eyes flashed, like I already gathered they do when he didn't know what to say, but wanted to say something nice. Beck was like that. In these few minutes I've known him, I've already figured him out. He was patient, kind, understanding, but too proud to admit it. So his eyes did the trick. And I'm glad they did too. Otherwise Beck would be just too hard to understand.

We resumed walking for a brief moment, before another question suddenly surfaced. Without realizing what I was doing, I was moving my lips and speaking. The question came out of nowhere. I should have thought before I spoke. I regret it now. Why did I ask? Why?

"When are you going home?"

It echoed in my brain. And his look. The look on his face. That's forever stamped into my memories.

At first, his shoulders fell, as if gravity was grabbing them and pulling them down with all its might. Then went the corners of his mouth, as they formed a huge frown on his face. His eyebrows knitted together, and his eyes, they bore into me with anger.

But it was what was behind his eyes that got me. The thin coat of sadness, like water underneath a cold, hard, frozen sheet of glassy ice. You forget it's there when you see what's on the surface. But it's there. And it's deeper than any amount of anger Beck could muster.

There was no doubt Beck was beyond furious at me. There was no doubt I overstepped my boundaries and crossed the line. There was no doubt that I had stirred something inside of him that made him so angry, that he marched away from me, his jaw clenched and his fists squeezed tight at his sides, only a growl escaping his lips.

"That was more than two,"

There was no doubt that Beck was pissed...

Beck was angrier than hell.

His eyes told a different story.