Not Human

Sara walked out of the office building with glazed eyes, and found herself still in a daze as she entered Gray City for the first time. She tried to take in the sleek modern buildings, the neon signs broadcasting the names of restaurants and clubs, and just… everything.

The office of the Afterlife Syndicate was situated in the very middle of the city, and as a result, every single street and boulevard originated here. In every direction was a different world. Down one street was a series of modern casinos, strip clubs, entertainment halls- and another street was full of various shop fronts that ranged from small boutiques to mall sized buildings. Sara even saw one street on her far right that looked like it had popped right out of an arts festival, with various tents set up for artists to sell their work. Gray City was in one word: overwhelming.

For several moments, all Sara could do was stare at the cheery lights and listen to the sounds of people going about their day. She saw a handsome couple walking hand in hand past the art tents before pointing at something and disappearing inside. She heard a group of men laughing obnoxiously as they left a casino, and a group of women chit-chatting as they walked past her carrying a ridiculous amount of shopping bags. In every direction, no matter where Sara turned, all she could hear was more laughter, more chit chatting, and more Noise.

Noise. Noise. NOISE.

It felt dreamlike, though it was more of a nightmare then a dream.

'I'm dead.'

A little Lolita girl brushed past her, sucking on a lollipop with a haughty expression.

'I'm actually f*cking dead.'

A man in a trench coat huffed, and bumped past her in order to continue his fast pace.

'This… isn't a dream.'

Sara continued walking. She was pushed and shoved in the crowd due to her dazed state, but Sara didn't really care at the moment. Had she been alive-

… had she been alive, there would have been hell to pay.

Sara somehow ended up standing on the edge of a park. It was beautiful, a piece of nature surrounded by industrial buildings. And it was huge, on a magnitude Sara had never seen done on Earth. There was even a huge lake a little further down the path she had ended up on. She automatically followed this path, and found herself in a place that was finally quiet.

She stopped walking.

Sara stared at the beautiful lake, with its beautiful blue color and the matching lushness of the trees. It looked like something right out of a painting.

'I should be happy right?'

After all, now it was confirmed that there was such a thing as an Afterlife. Sara was sitting pretty, and after two years, her chances of going to 'heaven' were high. And while she was forced to wait, she could indulge in whatever she wanted!

This was truly a fantasy land- she could do whatever she wanted, be whoever she wanted to be! She could eat cheesecake every day and not gain a single pound, she could even drink alcohol without any consequences (if she didn't want any consequences at least).

But no matter how many sweets she stuffed in her mouth, no matter how many things she could buy for herself, and no matter how perfect this place was-

Sara was dead.

Sara was dead, and who knew how long it would be until she saw her husband again. She wouldn't get to see her little sister off to college, she would never meet her future nieces and nephews- she would never even get to have children of her own.

Her 'Afterlife' may just be beginning, but Sara's Life was over.

The most important thing in Sara's life was her family, and in one night, it felt like they all had been taken away from her.

Sara let out a deep sigh, and looked down at the folder she held in her hands. She untied the band holding it shut and looked at its contents for the first time- and of course the first thing she saw when she opened the folder was her death certificate. Sara grit her teeth in annoyance, and after a casual glance to confirm what Eve had told her earlier, she resentfully flipped past this part of the file.

Appearances could be deceiving, because there looked to be more then a hundred sections to this 'Welcome Packet'. Sara flipped carelessly through them, knowing that she had an abundance of time to read the damn thing, and only paused when she found the Section that detailed how her new body worked. It was discerning.

Apparently, this body could not die for it was not an actual body. Sara skimmed over the detailed explanation and realized just how different this world was. She would not feel pain if she hurt herself (she couldn't even really hurt herself because her body was immaterial), she couldn't feel exhaustion, and she didn't even need to breathe- her body was only doing it out of habit.

Feeling unnerved, Sara glanced at the lake, and shrugged past her civilian manners. She set aside her packet, got down on all fours, and then leaned over to dunk her head into the water. She stayed there, holding her breath, and waited for the discomfort to come. On Earth she was quite decent at holding her breath, she would always hold competitions with her sisters at the pool, but she could never go longer then a minute and a half.

The physical discomfort never came, but as Sara opened her eyes and stared through the clear water, she had to admit that she felt mentally discomforted, because this was… unnatural.

She didn't even feel human.

Sara lifted her head out of the water and took in a reflexive breath. Her wet hair swung back and began to soak through her white pajama shirt. She could not have cared less. She stared down through the ripples in the water, and met the eyes of her reflection. She had the same eyes, the same face, but…

'I feel like some kind of genetic freak.'

Suddenly, the quiet park was filled with hysterical laughter as Sara sat on the Lakeside in her wet t-shirt and squeezed the water from her hair.

'Okay. I can deal with this- I'll just have to go back to the Office tomorrow and see if they can make this body more… human'

Sara wiped her wet hands on her still dry pants, and then gently reached over to continue flipping through her packet. What else has changed? How does this world work?

'Do I need money? Do I need to get a job? I wonder if there is anyone I know here…'

Sara paused in her reading, and for the first time since she realized the truth, her eyes regained a bit of warmth.

'I wonder… is Melody still here?'