Disclaimer: "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" is created by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill. Apart from the character "Kenneth Tam", not one character used here is mine.
When he opened his eyes, he had no idea as to where he had ended up. When he looked about him, he saw darkness, filled with lights, which appeared to crawl around like snakes. It's like nothing in the immediate vicinity could take an actual form.
"Stop me if you know this one." a voice spoke to him.
He turned to look, and saw a man in dark clothes and a painted face.
"Who are you?" he asked the man.
The man shrugged: "Eric. Do you know this one?"
"Which one?" he replied.
"I take that as a no." he continued, "Jesus walked into a hotel, gives the innkeeper three nails and asked 'will you put me up for the night?' "
He didn't know whether he should laugh at that joke or not, particularly as he didn't know where he was or how he got there. The man, Eric, laughed out loud, before turning into one of these shapeless lights. Another one of these lights changed after this. It shaped itself like a young girl, about sixteen or seventeen years of age, wearing clothes which appear to be out of place. That is to say, it's nothing that he's ever seen anyone wear, past or present. Is this girl from the future? If so, then why did she look a lot like a girl he knows.
"Tess?" he asked, but he already knew the answer.
"I'm not her." she answered.
"Got off at the wrong station." a deeper, echoing voice spoke, "Did you not?"
He turned to look at the source of that voice. What he saw then was what he could merely describe as a walking skeleton, dressed like a cowboy. In his own mind, he started to call this man the Skull Cowboy.
"What's going on here?" he asked the Skull Cowboy.
"Don't mind him." another, more croaking voice sounded, "Listen to her."
This time, it came from a black bird, similar to the one he saw before... that's when he remembered.
Moments ago, or at least what he experienced to have been as much, he was out with his girlfriend, called Tess. He only narrowly managed to escape another discussion in which he'd bring up an old wound of hers. In an attempt to make a real conversation, he mentioned a story he knew about a murder that happened, miles away from where he was at the time. A memory that wouldn't have popped up if it wasn't for this black bird. Shortly after this, Tess was snatched away. Under normal circumstances, she would have used her special powers against them, but they had drugged her before that was possible. He tried to help her, but got hit by something when he tried. He himself didn't know what it was, as it happened too fast for him to perceive it, but he does know that when people are hit by something when running on the streets, they don't always make it out alive.
He looked around again. What he saw made no sense, but remembering what had happened before he got here, helped him realize where he might be.
"This... this is..." he tried to put it into words, but couldn't figure it out.
"This, may be heaven, or this could be hell." another, almost normal sounding voice sounded.
He turned to look at who spoke this time. He saw a black man, wearing white clothes. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear he's seen this man somewhere before.
"This... does not concern you." the Skull Cowboy told the black man.
"I am the Almighty. Everything concerns me." the black man said.
"Is that so...?" Skull Cowboy hissed, after which he launched an attack on the black man.
The black man raised his hand to the Cowboy, apparently trying to use some kind of telekinetic powers against him, but the Cowboy appeared to be too strong for him to have any effect.
"Kenneth Tam." the bird croaked again, "Or Kenny, as you prefer."
He, who appeared to be called Kenny, turned back to the bird.
"Follow me." it added, after which it flew away.
Before Kenny could follow it, it had already disappeared, as did the area around him. This time, he was somewhere that appeared as a tunnel, with a bright light at the end. The light was blinding for him, it made him wonder whether he should be heading towards it, like he's heard so many people tell him before. That's when something came from that light. Kenny couldn't be sure, but this one looked like a human-sized voodoo-doll, which could fall apart any moment.
"Come on." it told Kenny, "There's no other place you'd rather be, I can guarantee it."
Kenny was still taken aback, although he wasn't sure if it was because it was a doll telling him, or because he has nothing else but it's word to go by, to know whether this light is the place he needs to go now.
"I..." Kenny stepped back.
"There's nothing to be afraid of." it told him, "You don't believe me? How about you go see that ghost whisperer? She'll tell you."
This was getting too much for him, so Kenny turned away and ran.
He didn't run very far, as he met with that Tess look-alike again.
"Who..." Kenny started, "Who are you?"
"I'm River." she replied, "River Tam."
"Tam?" Kenny repeated, "Are we related?"
Before she could answer that, she raised an axe, which she swung around, completely disregarding whether there was someone in front of him or not. Kenny ducked down, giving room for River to slice someone behind him. Kenny tried to crawl his way out of this line of fire. When he did, he saw what it was that she was fighting. What she fought appeared human, if it weren't for their savage looks and behaviour, even worse than that of sports fans. Stepping back, Kenny hit something. He turned to look, but didn't see anything. He raised his hands to touch, only to feel some kind of an invisible wall. Upon further touch, he could feel an edge to it. When he looked passed it, he saw something made out of wood. He wasn't sure of what it may have been, until he looked around more. He then realized he was inside a painting. All he had to do, he thought to himself, was step outside of it.
Doing so, he saw the man painting it. The man in question was dirty of all his paint, had stains of blood on his head and arms, as though he was wounded there when he died, and his eyes were completely white while he was painting. Who this man was, Kenny couldn't guess. He looked at the man's painting, where he saw River, still fighting those creatures, only this time it was as though it was a fragmented still-shot. When Kenny looked around the area, he saw more of such things. There was one painting of River, along with a whole group of people. Though, Kenny must admit that the entire painting appeared quite contradictory. The background appeared to be part of some kind of a spaceship, but most of the people on the painting were dressed as though they were in the old wild west. Other than that, there was a painting of two giant robots, one of which appeared to be mundane vehicles stitched together. Above the two, there was a night sky, where one of the stars was brighter than all the others. There was also one that had a man on it. Kenny didn't know him, but the fact that he had lightning coming out of his hands made him look dangerous enough. Next to it, there was one with a much older man on it, dressed in a ragged old black cloak, with a very long and grey beard, holding what looked like a blue human-shaped rock, glowing brightly, and behind him there was what Kenny could only describe as a dragon, skinny to the bones. On another painting, he saw River again, inside some kind of chamber. At least, he thought it was River, but upon closer examination, he realized it was somebody else. Somebody he knew only too well. Tess!
"What... what is this?!" he exclaimed.
He then realized what was really going on. His reluctance to head into the light, it's because he knew this wasn't right. He's dead, while his girlfriend Tess is in trouble. And not just her, but their offspring as well. He should've known, as he remembered her morning sickness for the past couple of days. He even saw that the survival of their child is more important than he could possibly imagine it to be.
"You understand now?" the black bird had returned.
Kenny turned to face the bird: "You're not a real bird, are you?"
"I am but a guide." it replied.
"And you've shown me what needs to be done." Kenny replied, "The living don't stand a chance to help her. I must go back!"
The bird, somehow, managed to make something that looked like a smile: "Fail this one chance I offer you, and humanity will have another, nevermore."
Kenny opened his eyes again. This time, he wasn't in that realm anymore, but in the cemetery, lying upon somebody's grave. He didn't need to look to know it was his own grave. He got up. In doing so, he accidentally cut himself on a rock, which lay nearby. He cried of agony, but when he looked at the wound, he saw it heal, as though it wasn't hurt. Or is it because he can't get hurt? He picked up the rock and smashed it on his hand. He could feel all the bones in his hand break, but could feel them heal again too. He laughed, but not because of his new-found powers.
"Will you put me up for the night. Now I got it." Kenny laughed.
THE END
Note: the voodoo-doll mentionning a ghost whisperer was in reference to another story of mine, "Ghost Note".