DEADTOWN

Chapter 2

"You ready to go meet the others?" Tim asks softly as he lifts Adam's head by placing his finger gently under his chin.

"Tim, I'm scared." Adam says as he swallows hard.

"And you will be for awhile. Everyone here has gone through the same thing you are now. They understand how you are feeling." Tim says as he brushes back the blonde's hair.

"Just how many are here?" Adam asks looking at Tim with sad eyes.

"Surprisingly, not that many. I guess there must be other places like this." Tim answers as they head toward the door.

"Is this a hotel?" Adam asks as they walk down the hall.

"Yeah." Tim nods. "We all have our own room."

As they go down the stairs and into the lobby of the hotel, Adam couldn't help but notice how old everything looks.

They walk out the front door onto a wooden walk. 

"This." Tim says with a motion of his arm "Is Deadtown."

"Wow. It looks like something from 'Bonanza' or 'Gunsmoke' or like Tombstone." Adam says.

"I guess you might say that it's our eternal resting place." Tim shrugs.

They walk in silence with only the sound of their boots on the planked sidewalk. A million questions ran through Adam's mind.

This is not at all how he had imagined death. Everything seems so real. He was breathing, he cried real tears, his body felt the same. There was no light that he had heard that people saw when they passed away.

"This is the saloon." Tim says, pulling Adam from his thoughts. "This is our hangout." Tim smiles as they walk through the swinging doors.

"Well, there's Mayor Tim." A heavy-set man with a beard chuckles. A beautiful lady with a pretty smile sat beside him.

Everyone was sitting around at several different card tables.

"Yall, this is Adam. As you all know, he just arrived." Tim says as he and Adam take a seat. "He was shot during a holdup at a convenience store that a friend of his worked at. I thought each of you could introduce yourself and tell him what happened to you."

"As you know, I'm Austin." Austin says with a small wave. "And you already know my story."

The next in line was a shorter man with long dark curly hair, a beard, and beautiful green eyes.

"I'm Avi." He says as he smiles at the newcomer. "My dad and I were on the way to town when we came upon a bad wreck. There were people trapped in their cars so we started to help try to get them out. A trucker went to sleep at the wheel and plowed into the wreck, hitting me in the process."

"Oh, my God." Adam whispers softly.

"I'm Rob." The heavy set bearded man says. "And this is my wife, Kelsey. We were on the way to Paris to celebrate our anniversary. The plane's engines failed and the plane crashed into the ocean."

Next was a dark haired girl with an angelic face.

"I'm Olena." She smiles. "I was driving to a friend's house. I was texting her to tell her I was on the way. I crossed over the yellow line and hit an SUV head-on."

Next was a black man with a friendly smile.

"Hi, I'm Kevin." The man smiles. "I went to this huge party that was on the roof of the apartment building I lived in. There were so many people there. Well, a fight broke out. Someone bumped into me pushing me over the edge of the building. I fell seven stories to my death."

"I'm Chance." A guy with a round face, a beard and wearing a baseball cap says. "It had just come a heavy rain and I was going to my mom's house. My car hydroplaned and rolled down an embankment, landing on the roof. The car exploded into flames and I couldn't get out."

"Geez." Adam says as he looks around at Tim.

"And you thought your story was bad. At least you didn't suffer." Tim says with a shrug.

"Hi, I'm Jenika." A beautiful girl with long blond hair smiles. "Tim and my story kind of cross paths so I'll let him start."

"I was in a band that traveled around to different country clubs." Tim starts. "Quite often, I would hook up with someone for the night. This one particular night, this pretty blond, Jenika, brought a beer to the stage and gave me a wink. So after our set, I started talking to the girl and we decided to take it to her house. Of course, we ended up in bed together. There was one thing though that she forgot to tell me and that was, that she was married. Her husband came home from work early and caught me f*cking his wife. Did I fail to mention that he was a police officer and had a gun on him? Before I even had time to think, he shot me right between the eyes."

"After he killed Tim, he turned the gun on me. He shot me but I didn't die instantly like Tim did. I died three days later in the hospital." Jenika says.

There was only one left to tell of his death. The guy wearing a cowboy hat. He looked to be bald but had a beard.

"I'm Chris." The cowboy tips his hat. "I was a rodeo champion. One night I was picked to ride a bull named Typhoon. About have way through the ride, I fell off but my hand got caught up. He dragged me around a while then he swung his head around and his horn gorged me right in the heart."

"So you see, Buttercup. We all know what you're feeling right now. So don't think you're alone in this." Tim says as he lays his arm on the back of Adam's chair.

"Who has been here the longest?" Adam asks.

"Me." Tim answers. "Then Jenika, Austin, Rob and Kelsey, Avi, Olena, Kevin, Chris and then Chance. There was two more that arrived after Chance. Scott and Mitch but they didn't last long."

"What happened to them?" Adam asks.

"Drunk driving." Austin answers.

"No, I mean, you said they didn't last long." Adam says, looking around at Tim.

"There's something very important that I need to tell you." Tim says. "It's very crucial that you listen and obey me. Please. I can't express enough how important this is."

"Okay?" Adam asks as he quickly glances around at the others. "What is it?"

"Never, and I do mean NEVER go outside after dark." Tim warns, looking seriously into Adam's eyes.

*********

THANKS FOR READING!

Hope you're enjoying the book. Let me know by VOTING and Leaving me a COMMENT!!