Somewhere In-Between ~ An Adventure in the Afterlife

Chapter 2 - Ghost Town

As Max walked down Cleveland Street, the term "Ghost Town" felt a little too close to home. It wasn't just the streets that were empty. The houses looked vacant as well. Where were the cars? There wasn't a single driveway with a car in it. Thank goodness home was close by. Someone had to be home, he thought. Mom and Dad would be there, and if they weren't, he would try the hospital next. Max halted at that thought. Oh, no. Where is the hospital? "Oh, man," he muttered. Never having driven himself anywhere, he had no clue. "This is going to suck big time."

His walk turned to a jog and then to a run. He needed to get home now. Needed to see home... be home. He realized quickly that running was easy. There was no running out of breath. He was running so fast, he felt like he was almost flying down the street - like he didn't even have to move his legs. He moved faster and faster. "Oh, man! Oh, man!" he stammered as he realized he had no idea how to slow himself down. No body anymore! I have no weight. No weight, no gravity! Max let out a yelp, pushing his arms forward. Every bit of energy inside him was saying, "STOP!" And quickly he came to a halt, like the jolting stop at the end of a roller coaster ride. "Whoa! Oh, jeez, man. This will be really hard to get used to."

Faintly, Max could hear laughter. Searching for the sound, he was thrilled when he saw an old man on a porch up ahead. The man was sitting relaxed, cross-legged on a porch swing. It was one of Amherst's grandest century homes on Cleveland Avenue, on the corner of the Maude Park entrance. Max walked or rode by it almost every day of his life, and he never saw anyone there before. "Hey!" Max called out and moved toward him - careful this time, not to get too carried away. He didn't want to accidentally end up nearly flying again. "Hey, you!"

"Hey yourself, kid!" The man said lightly. He didn't get up from his seat. He stayed in his position, legs crossed, arm out beside him. The classic pose of a man relaxed on a porch swing. "Looks like you're having some trouble adjusting." He chuckled, and shook his head with amusement. "Heh, Heh! I sure love watching the new folks arriving. It's the only entertainment you get around here."

Max knew the old man was picking fun at him, but he didn't care. He was overjoyed to see another person in what appeared to be an otherwise abandoned town. He decided to introduce himself. "My name's Max."

"Hi there, Max! I'm John." His pose didn't change, Max noticed. The man nodded toward the end of the street where the Rite Aid was. "I saw you in the light, over there. What made you decide to stick around here, kid? Ain't nothin' here but dead people, and they're no fun, lemme tell ya."

No small talk in the afterworld, Max noticed. "I stayed to wait for my sister. She's dying, and I'm guessing she must be in the hospital. But, but..." Max looked around. "I have no idea how to get there."

John shook his head slowly, smiled, and chuckled again. "Oh, son, you've made one heck of a mistake."

Max's anger was returning. "Hey, what do you know about anything? You don't know me!"

"I know you're a moron, kid, that's what I know." The old man kept his relaxed demeanor and didn't budge.

Well this is just great, Max thought. The first person I meet in the afterlife and he's a cranky old geezer.

"I tell you what, kid. I'm gonna tell you everything you need to know." The laughter went out of the old man's face completely, and grew stone serious. "Stay away from the Living. You want to help your sister, your momma, your papa?" His body finally moved, but slowly. His relaxed demeanor changed completely. The old man sat straight with both legs planted firmly on the porch floor, his body leaning forward with purpose. "You leave them alone. You hear me, son? Leave...them... alone."

Max backed up and started back down the porch steps to the sidewalk. He didn't speak. Creepy old man, he thought. What does he know? He certainly wasn't going to help him find the hospital. "Good to meet you, John," Max said. "But I don't care what you say. I'm going to find my sister. She needs me."

John barked out a laugh so loud, it almost knocked Max over. "She needs YOU, eh? She needs you like a hole in the head, kid! You need HER! You need HER, boy!" His voice was angry.

Max started to run again. He wanted to get as far away from this old guy as he could. The farther he ran, the louder the old man called out to him.

"That life is over, and you gotta deal with it, boy! You hear me?! Let your people go! You're no good to them now!"

If Max had a body, he knew he would be feeling sick right now. Old man John had to be wrong. He had to just be a cranky, crazy old geezer. The fearful thought crossed his mind that maybe he did make a terrible mistake. He made it all the way to Five Points — the intersection of five streets in downtown Amherst. Still no cars. Nowhere. Nothing. And where were all the other dead people in the world? The old man said this place was "full of dead people." So where were they? Max stood alone in the middle of Five Points, a place when alive he would never be able to stand with all the traffic. He sat there, cross-legged, and cried. No tears, no mucous, but he wept the only way he could. The thought occurred that maybe he should try to pray, and he gave it a try. I mean, why not? He thought. I'm probably closer to wherever God is than I was when I was alive, right? Max folded his hands in his lap and gave it a whirl. "God please help me," he whimpered. "Can you please help me find my sister?" He remembered what the angel said to him before the light dissipated. She told him to be present when his sister's light arrived. Max gasped at this and shot up on his feet. "I can't miss the light again!" He said aloud to himself. "Oh my gosh, that old man John was right! I need Perry. I need to get back to the Light!" Max looked up. Up was where heaven was, right? "Please! Help me! Where is the hospital? Where is the hospital?!!" His voice grew desperate.

Suddenly he heard a noise he thought he would never hear again. The sound of a car engine. A silver Toyota Camry was waiting at one of the stop signs. Max squinted. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. There was a woman in the driver's seat, but she was almost transparent. In the back seat there was a girl, somewhat transparent, but a little more solid. And she had a glow around her. Max was confused. Was this another angel, come to answer his prayer... in a Toyota Camry? The girl was looking right at him. She stared, wide eyed, with a look of complete surprise. She seemed as surprised to see him as he was to see her.

And then he recognized her. It was Lizzie Boggs from his Language Arts class. "Dizzy Lizzie" everyone called her in class. She was always an odd girl, keeping to herself all the time, always reading those weird Manga books. The car sped up through the intersection, and Max ran over to it. He didn't care if it was weird Dizzy Lizzie. He just knew he needed to talk to her. She was glowing, just like the angel. Was she dead too? "Lizzie! Lizzie, it's me, Max Fletcher! Lizzie, can you hear me?!" As the car came closer he could see her tears. Lizzie closed here eyes tight and pressed her hands against her ears.

"Lizzie, no! Lizzie!" He called out, but the car kept driving away, and faded into nothingness the farther it drove down Cleveland Avenue.