When a human dies, they go to heaven or hell.
But a reaper?
Where do they go?
This was the question that was constantly on Alan Humphries mind. Ever since he had been taken ill with the Thorns of Death, he was treasuring each moment, since each moment could be his last.
Each breath could his final.
Each time he blinks, there was no guarantee that his eyes would open again.
Everything is uncertain anymore.
And to Alan, his current life wasn't the only thing uncertain; so was the after life. Is there was one.
Reapers had a soul, so it had to go somewhere. But where? Did it simply die with them, or did it get reaped as well?
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He could feel it.
He could feel his heartbeat slowly fading away, and his breath becoming more labored. He could hear Eric telling him not to go, not to leave him behind, and that he couldn't live without his best friend at his side.
The last thing he heard before descending into darkness was Eric screaming his name in a mix of horror and despair.
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That was when Alan woke up. Except he wasn't in his bed. He was in a dark forest that was just cold enough to make it uncomfortable.
He turned as he heard a scream, before turning again and looking around for Eric….or for anyone.
"Eric?!" he called, his voice echoing through the thick brush.
"Hello? Anyone?" he called. "I don't know where I am! Please, anyone, help!" he called desperately, falling to his knees. That was when he noticed two things, almost at the same time.
1-There was no pain. The Thorns were gone.
2-Someone was behind him.
He got up, and turned around, only to be greeted with the face of someone he remembered reaping recently….if memory serves him correct, and it usually does, this man was a vampire. But for him to be seeing his soul meant he was…...
Dead.
He was dead.
"You 'member me? I'm Benny, Benny Lafitte," he said in a thick cajun accent.
"H-hello, Benny….do you know where I am?" Alan asked. He knew he was dead. But where had he gone? Heaven?
No, this place was too dark to be Heaven.
Hell?
This place was dark, but it wasn't horrible enough to be Hell.
That was when it dawned on him.
"Am I in Purgatory?!" he asked with wide eyes.
"Sure are," said Benny. "And you're gonna be here for an eternity too. Just a piece of advice? Don't trust anyone. Even yourself," he said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna find a place to stay for the night," he said. "You comin'? Or are you planning on freezin' to death to night?" he asked.
"I…..yes, I'm coming," Alan said, following behind Benny closely and silently.
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While humans may go to Heaven or Hell, reapers had a much different fate.
They went straight from their bodies to Purgatory.
After all, that's where all the monsters went.