Dying Wish

It was two in the morning when I received a call from Kevin. Layla had started having contractions and she wanted to me come over right away. I hurried to dress and ran down the street all the way to their house. In reality it was only a couple blocks, but it felt like I had just run a 5k. I got to my destination and found my heavily pregnant daughter slowly waddling across from one side of the living room to the other. She was doing all she could to control her breathing and was remarkably calm.

When I arrived, she threw her delicate arms around me. Her hands were sweaty and her body was very warm. “Dad, I’m so scared. These contractions are so painful and they are only going to get worse. We called the doctor and he told us to wait until the contractions were closer together before we came in.”

I looked her square in the eyes and spoke to her with a very firm, parenting voice. “Layla, you will be just fine. Your mother did this three times, never with any medication. You are just as strong as her, and you will deliver this baby safely.”

She smiled weakly at me, concern still heavily painted on her face. She turned away and began her slow pacing again. When she reached the other side of the room, I noticed that I was shivering. Instinctively, I looked at my arms. They were covered in goosebumps and the hair was standing on end. A bright burst of light came from my chest, engulfing my body.

What happened next is hard to explain. It was sort of like taking your coat off while outside in the snow. I felt my warmth peel away from my body and then I had this sensation like I was being pulled; like a snail from its shell.

Before I could make sense of what was happening, I was nothing more than a pale soul hovering above my lifeless body.

I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. If I had died, then why was I still here? Surely not every soul was lost in the unseen realm of the living world. A few minutes passed. I had not moved an inch, I was dumbfounded by what had just happened to me.

Suddenly, a black pool began to swirl out of my corpse. I looked over to Layla, she was screaming and crying. I don’t believe she could see me, or the black mist.

I saw a flash of light, followed by a loud cracking sound. Almost resembling a high-pitched thunder-clap. In the same moment, a tall skeletal figure appeared before me. It was cloaked in black and carried a large scythe in it’s boney hands.

And eerie voice boomed throughout the house, “Gideon, I have come to take you to the after life. Take my hand, or go by force.”

I dropped to my knees.

“Please, let my stay. I wish only to see my grandchild. To hold him just once. I’m not ready to go. I beg of you, just a few more hours of life. Even if it must be spent as a ghost.”

The shadow man bellowed out a roaring cackle.

“I have a schedule I must abide by. To the Afterlife with you!”

The figure lunged at me and pushed me through the living world. It pushed me harder and we plummeted deeper. I was surrounded by darkness, but I could sense my soul falling.

We came to an abrupt halt, so fierce it flung my head forward. The shadow man vanished and I was alone in the dark. I scurried around trying to find anything.

I saw a bright light begin to glow. It put me in a daze, however I still could feel myself clawing my way towards it. I heard a seductively sweet voice beacon for me, calling me to come closer. It sucked me in, pulled me to it with an unseen grasp; but I did not fight it…

 

This concludes Generation One.

Continue on to Generation Two.