"𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬"

𝟑𝟎. "𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞?"

★ Jerome P.O.V. ★

I came around, and the very first thing I noticed was that my face was burning. I touched it to check whether it was actually on fire and immediately regretted it. It stung like hell, and I hissed with pain. Then I actually felt for the surface and quickly realised I didn't even have one.

My eyes popped open at once, and I looked down at myself. The rest of my body seemed to be intact, but it was covered in a weird skintight grey fabric. I scanned the room I was in, and it seemed to be a hospital, but the last thing I remember was the benefit.

Right. I was killed.

I exhaled deeply, got up from the steel table and grabbed a roll of bandages. Then I attempted to wrap them around my head. I managed to get them to stay on me and looked around again. My eyebrows shot up when I saw a cop sleeping on a chair.

"Well, now." I croaked out.

Then I just shivered at the sound of my own voice. It was grating and horrible. But after getting stabbed in the neck, it was good I was able to speak at all. The cop suddenly stirred a little bit. I quickly came up to him, pulled a gun out of his holster and swiftly shot him in the head.

He fell to the floor, and blood pooled next to him. I stepped back to not get it on my feet and was about to leave the room when I heard high heels clicking against the floor from behind the closed door. I promptly pressed my back up against the wall next to it. A black-haired woman then stepped into the room and exhaled with frustration.

"What the-"

She didn't get to finish the sentence because I shut the door, jumped towards her and placed my hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming for help. She immediately started muffling words against my palm and grabbed my hands.

"Boo." I chuckled hoarsely and pointed the gun at her head. She let out a stifled yell.

"Shhh. Be quiet, and maybe I won't kill you." I growled and forced her to sit on the slab. Then I calmly sat down in front of her on a desk.

"You're going to tell me what is going on since I'm sort of out of the loop. I've been dead, right?" I cocked my eyebrows. Her eyes were wide with fear, but she nodded.

"Well, great. Proceed." I waved my gun to hurry her.

***

"Wow." I wheezed and started patting my gun.

"Well, that is quite a story. You know, I know I've been dead, but doesn't that seem kind of crazy to you?"  

"Hey, maybe you're dreaming. Try shooting yourself." She sneered. I looked away, pretending to think it through.

"Huh. Oh." I groaned and raised my gun to my temple, but then quickly pointed it back at her.

"Nah. Hey, tell me more about this cult. They think I'm pretty great, huh?" I grinned and hunched my shoulders.

"They're a bunch of raving lunatics and idiots." She grimaced with distaste.

"Lunatics and idiots?" I gasped derisively and stood up.

"Ooh, my kind of people." I mused, let out a couple of choked grunts and contorted in pain.

An unpleasant feeling, but not the worst side effect of death. My head still felt really clouded. I was pretty sure I saw that woman somewhere before, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out exactly where that was.

"Sorry. Head's still a little fuzzy." I cleared my throat, turned to her and gestured to my head.

"You know, I was just reborn." I pointed the gun at her chest, and her eyes widened slightly.