Simply Dead

- f o u r -

Arielle's POV

"I'm sorry but the what now?!" I yell hysterically, confused about the entire situation.

Yenial simply smiles and says, "Tnecniv will explain it later. You must be hungry, hmm?"

I nod, wondering how she knew. My stomach was growling a bit but I didn't think it was that loud.

"Well then follow me to my rac and we shall drive to Yelle's Renid."

As we walk to her car which she for some reason called a rac, I can't help but notice that the once empty streets are now filled with horrendous creatures. Most of them are half way transparent like Yenial is.

But a few I have seen are fully visible. They are all very tall but a few I have seen have short bodies.

"Are you just gonna sit there or are you gonna get in the rac?" Yenial asks, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Oh um.. sorry. This is just a bit weird for me."

She simply nods and I get in the rac, sighing at how I'm calling it that now. Everything seems.. backwards. Maybe that's why it's called Reverse?

We finally get to the Renid that she was talking about and she immediately gets out.

A lot of cars are parked but one specific spot by the doors is open and glowing, as if it's saved especially for Yenial.

"Just to warn you, everyone here speaks in Reverse. I know you aren't fluent yet but it's kind of like piglatin. You just talk backwards," she explains as we walk up the wooden steps. They creak under our feet and I notice the checkered floors inside.

A dim light illuminates the Renid as we walk in. Yenial smiles at me and leads me to a table where a man sits, looking angry. "?!Yenial kcuf eht tahw," he whispers, staring her down intently.

"!ereh si luos eritne reH .pleh sdeen dna hungry sehs llihC," Yenial states, placing a bony hand on my shoulder. ".elbuort ni teg nac ew wonk ouY," the man scolds, sighing.

".tnecniV ,tae ot gnihtemos reh teg tsuJ"

He sighs, passing over his uneaten burger. It's an Olive burger with fries.

I wolf it down immediately, crunching on the last few fries. "Zeej," he remarks, and I completely understand what he's saying. I narrow my eyes at him and he mumbles sorry in actual English.

"I am confused about all of this. Why are you guys half way transparent but I'm fully visible?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows.

Tnecniv looks confused and Yenial translates for him. He simply nods, stealing a fry.

Yenial sighs, "Basically, this is a different dimension where half of your soul lives. But sometimes people's souls get lost in between and end up here."

I nod, taking it all in. "Is there any way to go back?"

She sighs, saying, "Reverse government is trying to fix this and they take full people captive to do tests. That's why we could get in trouble for having you here. Most people escape but some don't."

"So.. there's a half of--"

"Yes there is a half of Lauren here. She goes by Nerual, though."

I sigh, leaning back in the booth. A lady walks over, gasping at how I'm fully visible. "Anel, it's okay!"

I snort at her name backwards.

Anel runs off and out of the diner and we all glance at each other worriedly.

"Anyways, I'm actually Lainey. I work as a detective and this right here is Vincent who is also a cop. Last time I checked with the government about your missing, we're the lead detectives working on your case."

"So.. is Lauren okay out in the real world?" I ask, fiddling with a string on the seat.

She sighs, shaking her head. "She started drinking again," she simply states, placing a hand on mine.

"We will get you back to her. I promise."

I hoped that was true. I know that when Lauren drinks, she gets crazy and doesn't know how to handle herself.