Rachel Green had never spent a great deal of time thinking about death or the afterlife. Now that it all seemed to be bearing down on her, she couldn't think about anything else.
She had never really taken the time to decide if heaven existed.
"This certainly can not be heaven," she surmised. The beach seemed like an ideal setting for heaven if there was such a thing, but being too incapacitated to enjoy it seemed to bear far more resemblance to heaven's fiery counterpart.
Suddenly, Rachel felt a startling reassurance that she was, in fact, alive. Pain. A piercing throb ripped through her forehead. It was dreadful and yet delightful at the same time. She had been numb to sensation up until this point. If the source of this pain wasn't going to kill her then maybe it meant she was coming out of the unremitting sedation that had been her captor for all too long now.
"...Unnhhh...," she groaned, surprised her voice had found her again. "....H-h-help...."
She hoped against hope that her cry would be answered, but it had been so faint that she barely even heard it. Still it was the strongest effort she had put forth since regaining consciousness and something about hearing her own voice made her a little less anxious. She was convinced she was still alive, but for how long? She was obviously in bad shape. Was anyone to come to her rescue or was she doomed to perish alone in this mysterious land?
Suddenly, as if intending to answer her question, a noise arose from the drone of the waves. Thump...thump......Thump...thump...
There was something unusual about the rhythm; indeed it was uneven, yet it was organized and continuous. The sound was growing louder every moment, its source presumably nearing as fast as its uneven means could bring it. Footsteps! There was no doubt about it. Someone or something was approaching. But who? Rachel began to panic and tried to move but it was of no use. Her body was too weak. Whatever she had gone through had taken everything out of her. If the encroaching entity meant her any harm, she was a powerless victim. Through her narrowed vision, she saw a silhouette pierce the murky shadows. It looked like a human, but the features were too cloudy to be certain. An appendage thrust forward from the shrouded form and she could feel it drawing nearer to her helpless body.
"D-don't..." she whimpered, pleading for mercy, "he...h-help.....m-"
Before she could finish her plea, darkness descended on her mind, the last of her physical energy drained from her body, and she fell into the grasp of unconsciousness.