Disclaimer: I only own Aaliyah and Uncle John. The rest belong to Tim Burton, but I envy him...
Author comments: This is my first story here, and there will be a more detailed description of Aaliyah and her Uncle in later chapters. All comments are welcome, and sorry it seems kinda rushed.
Chapter 1: Accidents Happen
It had been an unnaturally long night, and the car ride was less than soothing. Her eyes fluttered gently as the car's AC washed over her. The coldness felt nice as she was lectured about how her part was very unacceptable for a young lady such as herself. Why couldn't her Uncle just shut up and drive? What was her crime that had been so offensive, yet had been her sole desire for at least a month? A role in a play, one that had fascinated her, Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
"When will you learn? That's a role for boys. I'm surprised Miss Shannon had even allowed this! Plenty of female parts, but noooo… It had to be a male part!"
That had been the point her Uncle had been making for the last, unimaginably long, half-hour. She was dressed in a suit with long coattails and a black top hat. This very outfit had belonged to her long dead brother; excluding the top hat. That had been her father's. A stubborn sigh fled her lips as she muttered, "Yes Uncle." over and over. How she longed to be home and asleep or at school; a thought suddenly entered her mind which caused her to imagine how the play had went. What a night of splendor.
While he went on about how it was so improper, which she found utterly ludicrous, she found herself drifting off into her personal world. Everything was right in this world of hers. No hate, no vile creatures of any sort (but her meaning of vile was much different from normal children), and where anything good that could happen did happen. She imagined her family that had been dead, as she was told, but they were always blurry. Having no recollection of them was so strange to her. In fact, the only things she knew about them was what her Uncle had told her.
She was forced from her place of safety by a screech from the car. Bracing herself against the seat, the girl watched the car do a complete donut on the street, then to her horror saw a car speeding right towards her. Frantically, her Uncle grasped the wheel and tried to force them out of the path of the motorist. It had been too late. The car slammed into them and she felt a piece of metal pierce her stomach. She made a gurgling noise as warm blood dripped from her open mouth, and then she passed out.
Finding herself waking up and not dead was a big surprise. Finding herself in a completely black room was an even bigger surprise. She made an attempt to feel the large piece of metal that had earlier impaled her and found another surprise. She couldn't move! The thought terrified her and she screamed, or tried to. She was zapped of energy, but knew she was merely drifting in nothingness. Once or twice this had happened in her dreams, but she knew that she was not dreaming.
A feeling of dread made sure of that and she felt her vision getting fuzzy. Suddenly she noticed that an overwhelming coldness had filled her body, but that wasn't what made her shiver. In front, no, passing through was something that could only be imagined in ones nightmares. Oh how she longed to scream and close her eyes, but the ability had been taken from her. She began sinking and noticed that she was in a sea of these inhuman beings! They looked like humans, except they also looked like raisins. Green, floating, human raisins and each looked exactly like the other.
More energy was drained from her when she noticed the sound of a door opening behind her. There was a gasp but she could not see the source. Instead, she merely passed out again, hoping when she awoke the specters would be gone and she would be safe again. The coldness had not left her, and it would never leave her. Had she been conscious she would have felt herself being pulled out of the dark abyss she was falling into, and soon laying on a tile floor.
Once again, she woke up. This time in what appeared to be an office. The smell of coffee, ink, and the sound of typing and papers rustling had tipped her off. Then she heard an exhale and the scent of smoke was taken in. Before she began coughing in protest, a woman had appeared before her with a rather disheartening frown on. Of course, the girl hadn't noticed that because she was staring at something else. A hole, a hole right in the woman's throat, which made her want to vomit on the spot.
Swallowing to keep her stomach down, she watched the lady place the cigarette in the hole and inhale through it. She exhaled through her mouth and then began speaking. Her tone seemed to be that of an annoyed business woman, which she obviously was, especially the annoyed part. "Ok, why exactly did you go into the room of lost souls? If you had paid attention and came to my office when your number was called, I could help you. But no, you had to wander about aimlessly. What's your name anyway? I'm sure I have a file on you somewhere…"
Slowly her name spilled from her lips, "Aaliyah, Aaliyah Barnaby. My Uncle is John Marks." At first the woman came up empty handed so she asked for her Father's name. Aaliyah shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine. By the way, where am I?"
The frown turned a bit smaller, as if she were confused. The woman quirked an eyebrow before telling the child, "Your in the Afterlife. You didn't know you had died? Well, I imagine you died in your sleep then… alone." Aaliyah's eyes opened wide. She was dead? Then she quickly told the story to the woman who later called herself Juno. With each new detail the woman seemed more, and more interested.
"So, your telling me you got in a car wreck, a big chunk of metal stabbed you, yet your body remains unscathed. Then you wake up in that room instead of at your accident or the place your body currently was? Well this is extremely strange. Now, if your lying you better tell me, because I can't help you otherwise. I need to know so that if you do have a different name I could find your file so I can know how you died and why you ended up where I found you. So, are you lying?"
After a steady nod from the child, Juno sighed and paced. "I'll kill those idiots if those files are laying about somewhere. Now… I need to find someone who could baby-sit you for awhile… I mean watch over you." She had changed the end of that sentence because of the look on Aaliyah's face. It had been bad enough that she was alone, but it also seemed as though she had never existed. Which was impossible. Either that or the entire building was insane. More insane than usual.
Next thing Aaliyah knew, a man in a red tuxedo was storming in with the smuggest smirk she had ever seen. He hopped onto Juno's desk and leaned close to the nervous woman. Fluttering his stunning jade eyes at her, and with that he spoke in a sweet and gruff voice. "Hey June, miss me?" Then his pale lips puckered up as he attempted to plant a kiss on her cheek. Instead a lit cigarette was forced into his mouth. The wrong way.
He spat it out and scowled dangerously at the cool business woman who stood unimpressed in front of him. Juno smirked and said, "I see you just tried to pull one of your old schemes. I guess it's true that you can't teach old dogs new tricks." The guy muttered something under his breath as Aaliyah got a better look at him. His platinum blonde hair stuck out in any direction possible and his skin was very pale. She could see some grime had gathered on his cheek. He was covered in sand as though he had just taken a bath in a sandbox.
Then his eyes shot towards hers and she froze. There was a predatorial grin on his face as he slid off Juno's desk only to be grabbed by the collar of his tux and pulled back, "Don't touch her. Unless of course you wouldn't mind doing me a favor. If you can watch her and not violate her for a couple hours I can find her file and get her a permanent guardian." The girl's eyes went wide and she lurched forward. "Whoa, you can't leave me in his care. I should have a say since this is my life- I mean… afterlife?" She looked confused, "I mean, I just found out I'm dead! And frankly I don't wanna get raped either!"
The guy rolled his eyes and turned back to Juno, "And what do I get? I mean I hate babysitting and you know that I don't do nothing for free that I hate." Juno sighed and then grabbed his tie and pulled him close, "If you do, you don't get exorcised." Nodding the unkempt, rumpled man seemed satisfied, and that's when Juno addressed Aaliyah. "If he gets on your nerves just call his name three times. It's Betelgeuse." Then she turned back to him and gave the tie she still held a harsh jerk, "And don't do anything you'll regret. No nightclubs, no restricted areas, and especially don't take her haunting with you. I don't her to start doing bio-exorcisms like you."
Finally, Juno left. This left her and Betelgeuse. Aaliyah winced as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Well babes, your stuck with me. Let's hit my house and get you situated before I start teachin' you the ropes and everythin' about the afterlife! By the way, what's your name? Or should I just keep callin' you babes?" Aaliyah swallowed and sighed, "My name is Aaliyah. Would you please get your arm off me? I'm getting a bit uncomfortable." He grinned and said in that voice that sounded oddly like honey being poured on gravel. "Sure babes, just give me a sec…" Suddenly she found her stomach had been twisted in knots and the world around her was spinning rapidly. Could dead people throw-up?
