Chapter 3 The Courtroom

Once people die,what happens next? Col never bothered himself with something like that, but perhaps, if he ever did, he would most likely be of the opinion that we will be manure for the soil, vanishing to the nothing we were before us. Well, anything but what he was experiencing now. Col was sure he was dead. He wasn't some stupid, delusional person to believe he will come back to life after being shot in the heart and left to drown in a bloody foam. When he saw himself diving into an endless hole however, he knew this was an after death experience. And for reasons well known to him he was scared. If truly he was going to be held account for all he did in his lifetime, then he was in deep shit. He knew he deserved it, so he tried to brace himself, ready to answer to whatever he had to. He had chosen his Path, and he wouldn't regret it now. It was already too late. Suddenly, he landed on a hard floor. Surprisingly, after all that journey upside down, he didn't feel an element of vertigo. In fact, he was standing upright in an office he would describe as fragile because everything was made of glass. There was no reflection of his image in the glass and as he looked closer to exami e kt, he heard a voice, a deep calm voice, void of emotion. "Those are there to save us the trouble of having to explain to your kind that you are dead," he paused and looked at him. "Though you seem awkwardly calm for somebody with a hole in the heart." This made Col look at his chest, there was nothing there. He turned around to face the man talking to him. The sight before him startled him. The man was wearing a long white coat over a white trouser. He had buttoned the coat just a little above his waist as he stood tall and graceful, his long shiny black hair, pulled back and tied at the nape of his neck. He looked heavenly but not peaceful. He was wearing white but his aura was dark, his tone calm but unsettling and he was downright intimidating. Such thoughts were foreign to the mind of Col, so for the first time in his life he didn't know what to do next. As if reading his mind, the man spoke up again. "I am Leon, and here is the "in-between". It's between heaven and earth. You see, the main purpose of the "in- between" is literally in it's name." He gave a dark chuckle. "It's an in-between, for in between people, people the superiors are unable to classify as good or bad. What humans call grey characters. They are sent here, where they become messengers of death, something you've always prided yourself to be. Well, the saying; be careful what you wish for was not for show. The motive is to make you either pay for your sins, find salvation or just pure torture...." "So I am not classified as bad." Despite himself, Col let out a bitter chuckle. "You guys must be inefficient then." he concluded, looking at Leon straight in the eyes, as if challenging him. "You are a terrible person worthy of hell. You've killed the old, young, adults, children, teenagers, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters. Just about anybody you were ordered to. You killed without mercy, you killed a woman who loved you enough to sacrifice her child as salvation for you. You killed the innocent child, you killed the husband who loved her unconditionally in front of his own mother and subjected her to living a life with such horrors in her mind and refused to let her die so she can find the peace she desperately seeks. You are Worthy of all 11 phases of hell. The only reason you are here is because of 3 wishes, your stupid boss who killed you and the stupid rule no:153." "What is rule no: 153?" "Whomever dies in the hands of a fellow human died an unjust death and will be compensated with 1 wish granted. So don't come here and think you can exert the same dominance you did on earth. It wouldn't take minutes for me to break you and remake you. Now come along so I can introduce you to the team you will be assigned to." Leon stated,his voice harsh enough to send chills down Col's spine. It felt like a bucket of ice poured on him, awakening him. Slowly seeping into his mind were the lifeless blue eyes of Caroline. Quickly he blinked, pushing the image from his head as he followed Leon into a larger room. There, he was greeted by a lot of people behind a lot of cabins in a lot of sections. The room seemed to be endless. The sections were demarcated by glass doors. "This is section 1; my section. I am the team leader and general overseer of death domain, Leon." Leon said formally introducing himself, a hand on his chest another on his lower back as he straightened himself, puffing his chest out. "Brace yourself, there are a lot of crazy people in there" Before the warning could sink in, Leon opened the glass door to the section, a woman dressed in white jumpsuit jumped in front of them, her hair bouncing in the same fashion down her back. "Finally! I thought you had kidnapped the fine man." She pouted, her green eyes peering at him as she tried to see the man Leon had intentionally hidden behind him. "Move, Leon. Don't be a spoilsport." she ordered, pushing the daunting man out of the way. She let out a gasp and squealed. "Nick! He's way better than he looks on the screens." "Yeah, yeah, Alisha. At least, I'll have you off my back." A gruff voice replied from behind a cabin. The owner of the voice peered his head from behind what Col assumed to be the screens. His white hair fell on his face. He was dressed in a black coat yet he still looked bright all thanks to his white hair, his fairness, bright features and extremely bright blue eyes. "Just like Caroline's." Col thought. "I'm Nicholas, You can call me Nick. Welcome to 1." he introduced himself. "Oh. Forgive my manners. Welcome to 1. May I add, the best in death's domain. I am Alisha, the brightest, friendliest and if i may say so myself, the most beautiful in death's domain." That, he didn't agree with, for far behind in a secluded corner, was the most enchanting woman he had ever seen. Her blonde hair tumbled in beautiful waves down her arm, her eyes were like honey and fire. How that combination was possible was beyond his imagination. Her skin smooth, oily and glowing. She was an image created from his deepest desires, and in that second, Col forgot all his sorrows, all his worries and even where he was. All that  mattered was the smoking hot blonde enchantress in front of him. As she made her way to him, he could see her dress, revealing and tempting. Maybe that's what heavenly lingerie looks like but wow, goosebumps were now evident on his skin as he allowed his eyes to roam down her body. "That's enough." Alisha or Ariana stepped in between them distracting him, forcing him to tear his gaze from the enchantress he had just found. "Yeah, you can be angry but you will thank me soon enough, that's superior lust. Though, I prefer to call her lost with the 'o' instead of 'u'. Whatever she was saying wasn't really settling in his mind as the enchantress or superior lust as they called her walked forward, her luscious hips swaying, the way the fabric glided against her naked curvy, hot body, her brea... A slap landed on his cheek and before he could react, Alisha turned his head, making sure his eyes settled on a man crawling after Superior lust. He looked like a lost puppy hungry for bone. Col could swear he saw his tongue wagging and he involuntarily shuddered. "Now, that I've gotten your attention, if you fall for lust, if you allow any of those beauties and temptations you see make you fall in her trap, just one intercourse will render you that way." Now, that got his attention as he looked at Alisha, "I don't understand." he whispered. "Superior Lust is like the Temptation. She becomes one's dirtiest desires. Whatever you see in your wet dreams, in your dirtiest fantasies. What ever that is. If you fall for her, with one intercourse, she sucks your soul out and leaves you lifeless and lost, with only one lifelong need, her attention." Leon explained "So that's how the name superior lost with the " o" came about." Col said nodding his head. "You should learn to resist her. She's approaching and you can't refuse her hand, so try and turn away from her when the introductions are done." Nick added from his cabin. "We can't have anymore useless bodies to cater for." he stated. "You guys are being spoilsports. Can't a lady have some fun?" Superior Lust cooed in the most calm, seductive voice Col had ever heard. "This is going to be very difficult." he thought. "I am superior lust, you can call me anything you wish though, something like...enchantress." She winked at him, drawing her words out in a seductive manner and biting her lips at the end of her speech. She gently brought out her hand, her fingers slender and long, her nails painted dark red, a beautiful combination with her glowing skin. Col swallowed a lump in his throat as he tried to control his wandering mind and eyes. He tried to channel his thoughts elsewhere. He didn't want to end up like the man crouched on the floor. As he forwarded his hands to hers, he tried not to look at her and while roaming his eyes everywhere in the room, he caught Nick's eyes. Those blue eyes just like Caroline's, just like that, he forgot about Superior Lust. He didn't feel her presence anymore. All he could see was the slow change of Caroline's vibrant blue eyes to the cold lifeless ones he had given her. By the time Alisha snapped him out of his thoughts, Superior Lust had long gone back to her cabin. "You did it!" Alisha clapped. "More than 80% of men had fallen at her feet even before she gave them a hand. You are a hero." She concluded, jumping around him. For a little while, he could feel her joy getting to him. He felt like he did something good, a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. "Okay then, get settled in the empty cabin and rest as much as you can. Your trial is tomorrow." Leon said, turning his back to Col as he made to walk out. "Trial? What do you mean by trial?" Col asked, completely taken aback. "Your sentence has to be decided. Some superiors will be here and it will be decided if the "in-between" will take you in, for how long, your punishment, for torture, salvation or pay for your crimes. A tip, do not even think about lying to the superiors. You saw for yourself." he said, pointing at Superior Lust. "They can read your  mind." With that, he was out the door, leaving a very confused and terrified col.