There are so many customs associated with the slipping of human life to the unknown otherworld's that await us, some believe that the passing should be a celebration of remembrance, others a mourning of those who will no longer share our walk of the mortal coil. Customs litter the passing of life, such as paying the ferryman or how long a body must remain exhumed before being given into the earth's embrace, methods of preparation and even the trappings of burial from mighty pyramids to humble wooden boxes. And for each method of mourning there are as many beliefs in what lays beyond the veil waiting for us, when some pass they go on to the bliss or blasted landscape they deserve, others to have their spirits rekindled into different bodies to live life anew and accumulate more experience for their immortal soul. Whatever the case it's very rare that death is actually the end for a spirit, whether or not they linger is another thing entirely. For Amanda death was far from the end of her Journey though it did make things much more lively, not that she remembered what her life contained as we meet her at the start of our tale.
Amanda's lithe young body lay in the dark dust that seemed stretched on to the edges of the horizon, her blue eyes were closed and her face was peaceful as if asleep. Scraggly trees dotted the wasteland like clawing hands desperately reaching for a sun hidden in the perpetual gloom of the clouded sky and a melancholy wind stirred their bare branches, kicking whirls of grey dust across her pale skin and silken blonde hair splayed out like a halo beneath her head. She was dressed in tight fitting black and red biker leathers replete with thick soled boots and reinforced gloves, of a helmet there was no sign, her body curled up on its side in a foetal position. Through the dark sky came something black and winged, its feathery wings beating the swirling air as its beady eyes glittered on the possible carrion laying in the fields of death, it alighted on the dark swirling dust a few feet from Amanda's prone body and let out a hungry caw.
Something pierced the darkness that held her mind in thrall, it slowly receded leaving nothing but the persistent feeling that something was very wrong . . . where was she? The ground felt hard packed beneath her body, had she come of her bike? Her head throbbed and then it came again the sound that had dragged her from the black, a mocking "CAWW! CAWW!" accompanied by the ruffling of feathers as something moved closer, she peeled her dusty eyes open and coughed to clear her lungs as she looked around, it looked like some kind of nightmare dreamscape, where on earth was she? Her mind reeled as the grey desolation stretched on and on away from her in all directions, and for a moment as she wrestled with memories that would not come, horror and confusion, she blacked out again.
This time when she awoke it was to a pressure on her abdomen, she let out a moan and looked down to see a large black Corvid of some description perched on her stomach, its sharp break picking at the tough leather across her small B cup breasts, causing a reasonable amount of damage for so small a creature, with an angry snarl Amanda batted it away sending it winging into the air with those mocking "CAWW" calls that had woken her the first time . . . where on earth was she. Why couldn't she remember how she came to be in such a hellish place? The thoughts reeled through her mind as the Raven. . at least she thought it looked like a raven, circled overhead, still repeating its mocking cry. How was she going to get out of this desert? Which way was out? She gritted her teeth in frustration and picked a direction, any action was better than standing here in bewilderment and she always felt better on the move. The dry grey dust crunched underfoot as her booted feet carried her forwards, long blonde hair hanging down her back as she moved and overhead that blasted bird mocking her as she was forced to walk while it glided and waited.
Amanda lost track of how long she had been walking for, the only sounds her laboured breathing interweaved with the cries of her aerial tormenter as it lazily circled above her, still nothing could be seen on the horizon and there was no sign of a sun through the dark clouds. She had unbuttoned her black jacket to let it hang open, wearing a simple white tank top beneath which did little to hide the twin swells of her B cup breasts rising and falling as she sucked air into her lungs, gloves tucked into the back of her tight leather trousers smacked against her firm ass with each step. It seemed like hours and she was parched, the dusty air making the feeling worse, grit grinding beneath her boot steps and flavouring her mouth. Eventually she collapsed to her hands and knees her breathing coming in gasps as she despaired at ever escaping this place pleading with whatever gods were listening she begged "Please . . . please get me out of here. . . I just want to get home. . . "She started sobbing not even able to clearly remember what home was.
It was then that there was a thump before her and once again that mocking caw, she looked up her blue eyes filled with fury thinking she had found something to vent her frustration on but those same anger filled eyes quickly flickered and were replaced with fear as she continued to look up, pushing away from the ground and backpedalling as fast as she could. The Raven was huge now, it would have towered over her even if she was standing, its beak as long as her arm easily and beady black eyes regarding her far too intensely. A strange blue corona shimmering on its dark feathers as it moved, massive taloned feet bringing the monstrosity closer to her prone body. She could barely move now for fear of this massive beast that couldn't possibly exist in the world she vaguely remembered still, it was an abomination; surely this was all a Nightmare. The voice rang in her mind without the bird's beak moving at all, speaking to her and neatly cracking the precious sanity she had remaining
"What would you do to get Home Amanda?" she looked around desperately calling out "Please Help!" the strange hollow voice from the air repeated its question as the raven stamped its feet impatiently raising swirls of dust into the choking air.
Her tongue was thick in her mouth as she stopped to consider the question wanting more information and seeing that while talking the Raven seemed to be keeping its distance, if the words were even coming from the beast. "What would you ask of me in exchange for passage home?" she called to the air, feeling only a vaguely remembered sense that hearing voices was one thing. . but replying to them carried completely different connotations. . . overtones of madness, padded cells flashed in her mind, grinning orderly's with rough hands, they flickered and faded as the voice invaded her mind again, bringing her back to her twisted present leaving an unpleasant taste of things forgotten.