Chapter 2 — Heaven
"I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But as much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking."
― Carl Sagan ,
Billions & Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium
It felt like she was being pulled through a tunnel of sorts, and she could feel and see the lights that passed her behind her eyelids. Her skin was stripped tight to her bones, but it still felt like it wanted to leave her body, as if being torn off of it. Her eyes were burning from the many lights and movements and she wondered briefly if this was what it was like if someone went to the Afterlife.
She suddenly saw all her memories pass by her, from early childhood to before and even during the plane crash. The images rushing by at great speed hurt so much that she couldn't take it anymore and began screaming in agony. She could faintly register a searing pain at her abdomen, as if the flesh was being pulled together and ripped apart at the same time.
Then darkness came and she gladly embraced it.
As she came to again, the first thing she could hear was the rustling of leaves, the wind gently blowing through them, making the leaves dance and soar through the sky. The first thing she smelt was the smell of soil, dead leaves and something else that she couldn't place. It was a smell she was accustomed to and loved. Her home used to smell like this after a long downpour. The memory saddened her, knowing that she could never go back to her family or home ever again.
Blinking her blue eyes open, she saw everything blearily for several moments. Blinking again to get rid of said blurriness, she could see the sky above her, tinted in a faint orange color, clouds gently passing over it. Shifting her vision, she could see the leaves that were rustling, some flying in the wind and sinking onto her still form as she lay on the ground. She noticed that they were not the vibrant green that she was accustomed to, but instead a deep crimson, making her think that it must be fall. She breathed in deeply, savoring the smell of the earth.
When she thought she'd wasted enough time lying on the ground and doing nothing, she sat herself upright and looked at her surroundings more carefully. Figuring that she must be in a forest — for the only thing she could see were trees and some mountains — she got up and strolled around a bit, trying to find any sign of civilization, before asking herself if there even existed something like a town or city in the Afterlife.
Now that I think about it, they never show what the Afterlife looks like in the movies. Could be helpful right now, she mused to herself, continuing to stroll aimlessly through the thick, blood-red forest.
Only as she saw the beginnings of what looked like a city did she notice that, even if she found a shop or something, she probably had no money to buy anything. Digging through her pockets to see what was still left in them, she was pleasantly surprised when her hand brushed by her mobile, quickly pulling the device out of it. It was still fully operational but had no connection to any kind of satellite, although that was to be expected. Even if she could call someone, what would she say?
"Hey it's me, Serena. I'm dead but don't worry 'cause the afterlife looks pretty cool!"
Most certainly not.
As she continued the investigation of her jean's pockets, she pulled out the money that she'd still had in them only to find that they had changed. In her hand were no longer the typical US-Dollars, but banknotes that looked totally different. They had an orange color and on them were three people who seemed to be fighting monsters with swords and what looked like magic.
It was the first time Serena had seen this kind of imprint, but she found it most intriguing. Looking at the number inscribed on the left side of the note, her eyes nearly bulged out of her head as she counted the sum of money that was to her disposal. If she had not miscalculated, and if money still had the same value, then she had approximately three thousand dollars at her disposal.
Doubting her eyes — as well as her mathematical skills, — she re-calculated only to get the same result, making her heartbeat skip for a second and her breathing quicken. She'd never had so much money at once before in her life. Sure, her parents had sent some per post to support her in school and help her pay for everything that she needed, but they'd never sent three thousand dollars. If she was economical enough, this would last her for a long time until she could figure out how to gain money here.
Stocking it back into her jean's pockets, she descended the little path that led her to outskirts of the city. It was not a big one, but it had some shops and stores, each of them displaying something different. She passed a real estate agency that sold some houses and flats and looked up the prices for them. The cheapest of them cost 1,500 per month and it only had one small bedroom, a tiny kitchen and a toilet with a shower and basin as bathroom. If she were to rent this, she would be out of money after two months and if she hadn't found a job by then, she would have to live on the streets.
I guess it's not so different from real life. Even the prices are as high as in Washington, and this is the damn Afterlife where everyone is supposed to be happy and without worries. So much for a relaxing time after death...
She continued her way, all the while thinking about what to do about her problem. Finally, she drew the conclusion to be living in the forest in a cave. At least until she'd found a reasonable solution.
While it may seem odd that she wanted to live in a cave in the middle of nowhere where she could get attacked by a wild animal or something, it's worth noting that she had seen some nice looking caverns on her stroll to towns and thought that, with some decorating and a good warm fire, it would actually be pretty comfortable to live in one of them. She remembered seeing the documentaries about the ancient city of Petra, the city carved into the canyons of Jordan, and figured that it would be like creating a modern-day Petra, City of One.
But the main reason was that she wanted to have some solitude and calm while being here.
Back in Phoenix, they had lived in one of the busiest parts of the city, so there was always some kind of commotion or noise. Washington had been even worse, police sirens going off every ten minutes and the city never slept, so they would be heard even in the dead of night.
No, what she needed right now was some calm and time to think, to process all that had happened in much too short a time.
She needed to come to terms with her new life here, without any family or friends. It would be hard getting used to it, but she was sure that she would eventually come to enjoy it, and she could always come into town if she felt lonely or needed to talk or see someone.
Edited 30/11/2016
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of its characters. All I do own are my OC and the idea and plot of the non-canon parts of the story.