Ride to Heaven or Evil

It's snowing outside; drifts come and go. Sunshine is muffled and fights hard for a chance to get beyond the clouds. Rain and sleet came together in the morning. Once I got back from the office, it all turned into snowflakes. Maybe tomorrow morning we can make a snowman or some angels.

But who are we? Just me. Janet and our son died in a car crash two weeks ago. I still see their faces around the house. But they're gone. Permanently, unequivocally. All the photos in this world won't let me hug them again.

Enough with sad thoughts. There's writing to be done, and it's getting colder. I sit at my desk wrapped in my favorite blanket. The lights get lower as dusk sets in. I'm on chapter 8 in my story ... what spell can Lizzie cast on that locked door? My eyes feel heavy; snow wails in a storm outside. What if I took a tiny break?

...

Someone is laughing, running, cheering. Could it be? It's Andie, my son! My eyes half-open, I spot him running, playing fetch with Ginger, our puppy. But wait, it's moving. The house is lurching. Right, left, right again, then fast. I blink; it can't be real.

There's Andie again, waving at me.

'Hey, dad! Come play. We've got a new ball-fuzzy!'

'Be there in a sec!'

Did I say that? Andie? How can it be?

Before I can think about it, someone grabs my hand. Janet draws me into a corner and whispers, 'I thought you'd never get done. There's a birthday to plan, you know. Even if she's not the world's greatest aunt (wink).'

'What, when? Whose birthday?'

'Aune Zelle, next Monday. One of your three aunts, your favorite, from down low,' and she can't stop laughing now.

'Oh, right. What are we getting her?' I just realized Zelle's birthday is next week. But I was planning it as a sad reunion. What changed?

'Was thinking of roses, peach, some homemade jam, and that scarf she's been talking about the last month. Sounds good?'

'Absolutely. Can we add a card with our wishes?'

'Yes, great idea!' and she hurries away to another seat, blowing me a kiss.

Is this truly Janet? And Andie? But they're not here. They can't be. And where is here?

It looks like a train; I'm not home at my desk anymore. Where are we going?

I check my pockets for a ticket; nothing. I look on the floor, around the seat, and under the window. Still empty. Where are we headed?

'Hey, Janet! Did we get any tickets for the trip?'

'Not exactly," she answers, smiling from the farthest corner. I start walking toward her. No sign of Andie and the dog now. I can still hear running somewhere close.

'What's this ride? And how come we keep speeding up? No stops at all?'

'We just stopped for you,' Janet says.

'What? How, why? Was I asleep?'

'Yes, dear. You were working late, writing your book like you always do. Andie and I thought you needed a break. So, here we are. Or, here you are.'

'What do you mean? Are you here? Is it just me?'

'We're all here, in your head. For now.'

I ponder that for a while.

'The accident? The hospital? You were gone, Andie too.'

'And so we are. For other people.'

Is this train part of a nightmare or the nicest dream?

'Can you please stay? Am I dreaming this?'

'It's up to you. This is a ride between worlds. Good and evil meet here. Life and death. You can choose to stay or come with us.'

I reach for her hand. I need a sign I'm not just imagining things.

Janet pulls back. I get an inkling of fear.

'What's going on? Why can't I touch you?'

'I'm here; you can see me. I can call Andie back,' she says.

'Back from where? He's here; I just saw him.'

'Being undead is a bit more complicated than that,' she adds in half-sneer.

'Are you Janet? My Janet?'

I suddenly feel cold. This can't be my wife. Each time I look at her, I'm frightened. Wait, her brown eyes are different. Smoldering reddish, pupils enlarged. No, something is wrong.

'I am Janet. Or I used to be. This is what's left. Of Andie too. We stayed undead because of your regrets. Now you're here, we can be together again,' she adds, trying to smile.

Fangs peek out of her mouth.

'Have you brought me here to kill me? What's this train?'

A trap, I suddenly feel. I step back from her, slowly heading for the door at the end of the compartment.

As soon as I touch it, screaming begins. Andie is in pain, bleeding on the floor. A spider has him in its clutches, biting and hurting him more every second.

'Now be nice and come back. There won't be any lucky escape. Not this time. We're not in one of your books,' the eerie Janet says.

'Don't hurt my son! Who are you?'

'Can't guess?'

I go through a list of everyone who's ever disliked me, but no one would go this far to hurt me.

'Listen, I would do anything for my family. I can give you all the money in the bank.'

I teeter on the brink of running to get my son. The spider vanishes. Janet is closer, breathing down my neck.

'I'm Alsie. The vampire you wrote on a piece of paper and threw in the trash. I wasn't worth much to you then. I'm sure you'll change your mind now,' she hisses.

It suddenly hits me. For my first story, I toyed with the idea of creating a vampire world. I gave up one a week into it after I made up three characters that frightened me even on paper. One of them was Alsie.

'But... you're not real. I only wrote...'

'You brought me to life and then left me suspended between worlds. Because you got bored!'

'No, I didn't mean to. It was just paper,' I plead with her.

'It's a lot more now, right?' she laughs throatily.

A character in a story is chasing me and killing my family?

'What did you do with Janet? You leave Andie alone. He's got nothing to do with this!'

'Oh, but Janet is here. I took her body. Mine, the woman you adore. Andie is still alive, but only just.'

'What do you want for their lives? What can I do to set them free of you?'

'It's too late for them. You only get to choose if you stay. I won't take your blood; you're my creator. But I can't vouch for all the others here,' she winks.

I look around me cautiously. Hands move in the air. Feet become visible. Faces start forming in the air.

I run to get my son, to snatch him away from her fangs. He's barely breathing in my arms.

Paddlelocks sit on each window; the other half of the compartment is slowly filling up with bodies. Voices start as whispers and get louder.

'If I am your maker, I order you to begone!'

'That's not how it started. I am alive now. Too late!'

She lunges toward me. I fend her off with an umbrella at the last minute.

'Good try. How long do you think you'll last until you get tired? Remember, vampires don't sleep,' she sneers with a sweet smile.

Andie starts moving and opens his eyes.

'Dad, what happened? I was playing with Ginger... did I get sick? Did I faint?'

'Something like that. It's ok, don't worry,' I try to comfort him.

The bodies in the other half of the carriage are more clear now. Half-transparent and more solid than before.

'Listen, Andie. Alsie used to be your favorite character, right?'

'The vampire you threw away? Oh yes, I really liked her.'

'Do you remember her story? What I wrote about her? Anything she was scared of?'

'She was a bit like a ghost, never knew what she looked like... she had fangs... never ate,' he says.

'What about dying? Could anything kill her?'

'Oh yeah, that's an easy one. It was the third line in your story. Never tell Alsie she's beautiful. She will melt if she feels happy.'

I look at the vampire. She hasn't heard us. She's busy giving orders to the half-bodies, telling them how to torture us.

'Alsie! I've changed my mind. I have something to give,' I say louder.

'Let's hear it. More money? More threats?'

'No, I'm in love. Hate me all you want. You are beautiful. I will gladly be your victim,' I say.

A scorching sound, a bubble goes out. No light.

Janet! She's on the floor, not moving. I feel her pulse. I check her teeth... no fangs!

How do we stop this train?

© 2022 Amy Christie