Hope In Heaven

He couldn't believe it. Of all the days for him to be caught in traffic, it had to be today! He was running late as it is. Nothing had gone how he planned; everything had taken longer than it should have done. He glanced once more at his watch, half an hour late and he still had at least another 45 minutes left to travel - if he ever got out of this jam!

She watched him sigh in frustration. She wished she could warn him but that was against the rules. She was seated beside him but she knew he couldn't see her and he wasn't in the right frame of mind to sense her. Not long now, she thought. She looked ahead of them, out of his windscreen towards the cause of the traffic back up. A black Toyota had swerved across the two lanes, the driver behind the wheel just sat there, staring straight ahead, not paying any attention to the honks of horns and shouts of impatience from the drivers whose route he was blocking. All of a sudden she sensed her charge tense his leg muscles and reach for the door handle. He exited his car and made his way to the black Toyota. Very soon, she thought.

Kraig approached the car that was causing him to become even more behind schedule. He could see the driver had his hands clenched around the steering wheel, spotting even from this distance the white marks of his knuckles. Finally he reached the side of the car, leaning down he tapped on the window, looking at the driver. The driver looked towards the sound and appeared to see straight through him, as if he was invisible, then he shook his head and noticed Kraig staring in at him. Taking his hands from the steering wheel he reached towards the door, looking as if he was going to wind down the window. Kraig watched the movements and those that followed as if they were in slow motion. The hand of the driver reached towards the door but instead of winding down the window it reached for something in the storage compartment. In extra slow motion the driver pulled up a handgun aimed it through the window at Kraig and pulled the trigger. Kraig never had a chance to move or make a sound of distress!

Charmaigne stood beside Kraigs' body; it lay motionless on the ground. The driver then took the gun and aimed it at his own head then pulled the trigger. On the other side of the car she spotted his guide. She nodded in acknowledgement then turned back to Kraig. His spirit was stood at the side of the car still, staring into it at the driver, the expression still one of shock at what he'd seen. He still hadn't realised that the driver wasn't the only one that was dead. Kraigs' spirit then stared in even greater astonishment as the drivers' spirit separated from his body and left the car. His guide stood behind him, turned him around, and led him away with a hand on his shoulder. Kraig kept looking from the body in the car to the now fading pair that had walked away. Charmaigne thought it was time to make herself known.

"Kraig, it's time to go," she whispered in a soft voice. He turned towards her and caught a glance of his own body.

"What the FUCK!"

"It's time to go Kraig," she repeated. He looked at her.

"What in Hell is going on?" he shouted at her, "Who the fuck are you and what did I just see?"

"You already know what's going on. As for who I am, I'm your guide. I'm here to show you the way towards your next plane of existence." she replied calmly. She could see the reality of the situation setting in, his eyes became dull as he realised the truth.

"I'm dead aren't I? That idiot in the car really did shoot me! The lousy BASTARD!" he turned to examine his body again, taking note of the patch of red that was spreading across his chest, soaking his white shirt. Charmaigne just nodded in an affirmative.

Kraig turned back to the woman that stood beside him. She was about 5' 10", with long dark brown hair, blue eyes and dressed in a long flowing cream dress. He only had one name for her; it just popped into his head and wouldn't go away. Angel. She looked like one and if he was dead then there was a good chance she was one.

"No, I am not an angel, well not the kind with whom you are associating me. I'm a guide for new souls; I show those that die unexpectedly that there is something beyond death."

"Can you read minds also?" Kraig was hoping not as the thought that just went through his head was not for her ears. She was hot!

"No, but I can read expressions. Yours was the standard expression of a non-believer." Her smile was that of one who had a secret, and all Kraig could feel was that the secret involved him. Then it dawned on him, and he began to laugh.

To Charmaigne's astonishment, Kraig began to laugh, "This is all some high tech joke right? Everyone I know is in on it. You got Jenny to tell you what I was wearing and that's some wax model of my likeness. All the other stuff is holograms and projections right? Okay, where are the cameras?" Before Charmaigne could speak he began to walk towards a small group of people that had got out of their cars and were standing and staring in amazement at what they had just witnessed. "Okay, which one of you is the producer? I must admit that you nearly had me there for a minute, but you slipped up with the Angel, too stereotypical and that smile was too obvious!" He continued to make his way towards them, not seeming to notice that no one seemed to notice him at all and made no attempt to reply to his questions.

"They can't see or hear you Kraig, they wouldn't even be able to feel you." Charmaigne shouted after him. Kraig turned and shouted back to her, even as he continued to walk backwards.

"I'm not falling for that trick. Give up lady, I didn't fall for it. I caught you out. You should really learn how to hide your emotions, you'd never play poker!" He walked even further back but did not turn back around.

"Kraig, I think you better look down." Charmaigne replied back to him, that smile of hers showing once again on her face. "I think that then you'll believe the truth."

Kraig stopped and wondered what she meant. He glanced down. Without realising it, he had walked back further than he had intended. Not only was he now in the middle of the group of people, he was currently stood in the middle of one of their cars! His head and upper body protruded from the bonnet of an old Chevrolet Nova. "What the Hell kind of trick is this?" He screamed. Only Charmaigne took any notice. The rest of the crowds stood in huddles, whispering and hugging each other. A couple of men had slowly approached the Toyota. One was feeling for a pulse in Kraigs' neck, whilst the other just stared at the body of the driver, not needing to check for a pulse. Kraig ran towards them.

"The game is over you hear me? I know all about it, no need for anymore play acting!" He went to wrench the shoulder of the man leaning over his body, but his hand passed straight through. "What the....!" Just then, the conversation of the two men seemed to penetrate his thoughts.

"The poor bugger didn't stand a chance, from the looks of it, the bullet went straight in his heart." The one knelt by his body said.

"I can say the same for the psycho in there, don't need to see if he's alive though; he's brain dead if he is as most of his brains are splattered over the inside of the car."

"Better call 911, if no one already has, someone gotta tell this blokes family, and I ain't volunteering"

"The cops were called as soon as the loony stopped his car, a lot of people were being held up by him, myself included. As soon as that one got out of his car, we all followed suit and asked each other if we had called them. We knew something was gonna happen, something always does when someone tries to play hero." He looked down at Kraigs' body. "Looks too young to die. But I suppose one of us had to be stupid enough to see what was holding us up. I suppose we'll never know what caused him to crack up and do this!" Just then the sound of sirens interrupted them. Both stood to greet the emergency personnel.

Kraig had yet to move from his position. He just kept looking from his hand to the two men and back again. Charmaigne moved to his side.

"I wish they wouldn't call Jed those names. It really isn't his fault" She placed herself in front of him and spoke again. "Kraig, we really have to leave now. You'll soon start to feel better" She placed a hand on his arm. Kraig jumped as he felt it, then turned his head to look at her.

"This is real isn't it? Not one of those mad capped joke shows that are a dime a dozen on cable? I really am dead?"

"I am so sorry Kraig, but it was your destiny to die here, on this day, by Jed's hand. If it wasn't by a bullet then it would have been by some other means. All will be explained after you follow me. Please Kraig?" Her eyes pleaded with him and she prayed that he would start to understand that nothing could be changed. As that was what he was thinking, again his face showed his thoughts. 'What ifs' kept racing through his mind and across his face. He would be the one that was lousy at poker, she thought silently.

"Where are we going?"

"Someplace where all will be explained, any questions you have will be answered, any doubts will be appeased."

"Why do I get the feeling that that was a set speech and not something you just made up?" He replied with a small grin, which was amazing considering what he was going through.

"Please Kraig? Just follow me.Trust me!" Her eyes glowed with sincerity, her hand held out before her, palm upwards. Awaiting his hand. Watching her eyes, he decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"I'll come with you... What is your name by the way?"

"Charmaigne"

"Well Charmaigne, I'll 'follow' you, but be warned, if I find out that this is some practical joke - someone is going to pay!" With that, he placed his hand in hers and follwed her as she walked away, trying to remain skeptical as his surroundings began to become cloudy.....

~~~~~~

To be continued...