I sighed as I adjusted the strap of my bag on my shoulder, feeling especially lethargic this morning as I made my way to my nine-to-five. My sneakers thudded against the concrete, slightly damp from the rain we had gotten just last night as I walked through the relatively empty streets.

The fog on the ground, combined with the empty streets around me gave off a feeling that would have been eerie to anyone else. I had grown more than used to it at this point however, and now I was just annoyed at how damp it made my clothes.

I glanced down at my watch before nodding decisively. I still had some time before I had to be at work. Just enough time in fact, to enjoy a smoke to calm my nerves.

I looked around for a moment before spying on bench near the next corner. There was another occupant already on it, one leg crossed over the other as he stared off into the fog in front of him. There was an unlit cigarette in his hand which was a bit odd, but other than that it was the perfect place to rest for a moment.

The man didn't even glance at me as I sat down beside him, merely continuing to stare off into the distance, though from the way his head inclined slightly I had a feeling he wasn't simply ignoring me. Either way, that was fine by me, I had more important things to worry about.

I pulled out my lighter, a vintage zippo that I had inherited from my grandma who had a habit of collecting nicknacks. It was over eighty years old and still lit up as good as always, as it proved when it ignited the end of the cigarette I retrieved from its pack.

The man on the bench held out his cigarette in askance, still not looking at me, and I rolled my eyes before digging into my pocket and retrieving a cheap gas station lighter from my work. I tossed it to him and he snatched it out of the air, "Here, keep it. I've got like twenty of them." I said as I went to sit down on the bench beside him.

He tilted his head and it was then I noticed just how odd his clothing was, a big brown trenchcoat and hat that completely obscured his eyes with how he was wearing it. He looked like he had just crawled out of an eighties mafia movie. He held up the lighter, the bright green contrasting oddly with the rest of his outfit, "Appreciate it kid." He said, moving to light his cigarette.

I raised an eyebrow at his extremely southern accent, an oddity for a city this far north. Putting it out of my mind, I gave a nod of assent before taking a deep draw of my own cigarette, filling my lungs with the acrid smoke before exhaling it with a small sigh of satisfaction as the stress practically melted from my shoulders.

"Excuse me? Ma'am?"

I nearly jumped as a voice sounded out from literally right beside me, whipping my head to the side to find a clearly homeless man sitting beside the bench. He was sitting right in the open, plain as day as I stared at him in shock.

He held out his cupped hands, "Spare change ma'am? Any little bit helps." The man's eyes locked onto mine, beseeching.

I eyed him warily for a moment, taking in his scruffy beard and beanie that was covered in decals of what looked like pickles. I knew for a fact that he hadn't been there before when I had sat down on the bench. Had he literally walked up and sat down to ask for hand-outs? Who the hell did that!?

Still, he was here now and I knew that he wasn't liable to leave me to my cigarette now that I had actually acknowledged his presence. Despite scaring the crap out of me, I couldn't help but feel a very slight amount of pity for the man's haggard state. I blamed my sister.

I thought for a moment, before slipping my bag from my shoulders, bringing it in front of me to dig through it. After a moment, I found what I was looking for and pulled out a fifty dollar bill, holding it out to the surprised man, in a bit of impulsiveness, "Here. Take it and leave me alone, yeah?"

It was much more than he expected judging by the way his jaw went slightly limp. He looked down at my hand for a moment before snatching the money out of it and standing. I watched as he practically jogged away, as if he was afraid I was going to go over to him and demand it back or something.

I watched him go with some confusion, before rolling my eyes and getting back to my cigarette. Work started in twenty minutes and I could be there in ten. I wanted to enjoy this while it lasted. I wasn't going to let some weirdo ruin my day before it had even started.

"You shouldn't have done that kid." I turned my head to find the man that I had given the lighter looking at me from his place on the bench. Now that his hat wasn't obscuring his eyes, I could see that they were an interesting shade of stormy grey that looked after the homeless man who I had just given money.

"So what? You're saying that I shouldn't give people money on the off chance that they might use it on drugs? I guess you're saying I shouldn't have handed you that lighter either huh? That cigarette actually have crack in it or something?" I said sarcastically, brushing a stray lock of hair from my face as I got comfortable on the bench.

I wasn't exactly sure where that little tirade had come from, but something about this man rubbed me the wrong way. Every time I looked at him my gut curled with apprehension and my proverbial hackles raised, leaving me restless. I didn't like it.

The man gave me a small smile, blowing a puff of what was definitely nicotine smoke into the air, "Course not. Crack's so last century, it doesn't even do anything for me anymore." He laughed, showing teeth that were much whiter than I had thought they would be. He gave off a certain air about him, one that made me imagine he wasn't the type to brush his teeth nearly so regularly, but I suppose appearances can be deceiving.

I nearly flinched as his laughing face suddenly morphed into one that was much more serious, almost stoic. His grey eyes stared into my own with a startling amount of intensity and no matter how much I tried to look away, I wasn't able to.

"What I was saying is that actions have consequences, kid. Good or bad, everything has consequences." He spoke quietly, looking away and finally freeing me from the trap I had found myself in. He stared after the man who had gone on his way the moment I handed him the fifty, "Even those with the best of intentions sometimes find that not everyone has those intentions themselves."

Despite my unease, I managed to dredge up the snark that came naturally to me, "Oh wow, wide words old man. You think you're some sort of ancient monk or something spewing proverbs like that?"

"Or something." He said cryptically and I just rolled my eyes, glancing down.

"Right. Well it's been nice chatting with you mister monk, but I've wasted whatever time I had left with this nonsense so I've really got to be going." I said, scowling down at the watch on my wrist. More than fifteen minutes had passed since I had sat on the bench and even if I hurried, I was going to be late for work.

And I didn't even get a quarter of the way through my cigarette. Fantastic.

I tossed the still–burning cigarette into a nearby puddle, putting it out as I rose off the bench. I looked back towards the man still on the bench, grey eyes staring into my soul. I swallowed, before nodding at him, "Have a good day I guess."

"You too kid. Stay safe tonight."

What? I looked back to find that the man had gone back to staring out into the fog, one knee resting over the other once again. My gaze was drawn to his hand. I furrowed my brow as I noticed it once again held an unlit cigarette, like he had already smoked the one and had simply retrieved another.

"Whatever." I muttered as I turned myself back forward, continuing on towards my work. I didn't have time to wonder about the weirdos who inhabited this city. I had a job to get to.

That didn't stop the slight pit that formed in my gut at his words though.

I nearly stomped as I made my way home from work, seven hours after my shift was supposed to have ended.

Work was especially awful for a number of reasons. First, the second shift called out and I had to fill in for them. Double shifts were no stranger to me so I had been somewhat okay with that, mostly due to the extra pay, but then everything went downhill from there.

Customers were assholes as usual, the ATM broke down halfway through my original shift so that was great , the stocker got into an argument with one of the cashiers and nearly made her walk out as well, and then, as if to deliver one final kick between the crotch, my bitch of an ex decided to make an appearance during one of my two lunch breaks to well and truly fuck up the rest of my day. The cheating skank.

Deciding to take a bit of a shortcut to get back to my apartment a bit faster, I cut a path through the nearby alley. I knew it probably wasn't the best idea, but I had done it several times before and had never had any trouble. It was only a few meters long and it cut out around five minutes of walking if I had gone around. I would get through it and be on my way. Simple.

That was a mistake.

Only a few feet into the alley, I startled as a figure darted out of the shadows of the alley, latching onto my bag and tugging it with all of their might. I stumbled before managing to slip my arms free of the straps, causing my assailant to go sprawling from the lack of resistance, landing on the hard ground with a thud.

I immediately whirled around with a scowl. I darted forward, grabbing the straps of my bag in my hand and yanking it backward, trying to pull it free of the fucker's grip. I actually had some stuff in there that I cared about, there was no way I was losing it to some piece of shit mugger!

My assailant's grip was strong however, and my tug only succeeded in helping them to their feet, giving them better leverage to hold my bag with. They stepped forward, grabbing onto my bag higher up with a powerful grip, nearly yanking me off of my feet as they yanked backwards.

"Let GO you stupid asshole! I don't have anything you'd want anyway!" I shouted, tugging on my bag. The person, a man likely from the way he was grunting, didn't heed my requests, instead deciding to just pull even harder in an attempt to get the bag from me.

I snarled, bringing a hand to my pocket where my phone was, hoping to grab it and turn on the flashlight. Maybe I could blind the fucker and get a better grip on the ba-

BANG

My hands went limp around the bag as an excruciating surge of pain made itself known in my chest. I stumbled backwards with wide eyes and my hand came up to the area automatically.

It came back wet, crimson liquid glistening along my pale skin.

"Oh." I spoke quietly as I stared at the trail of the same crimson liquid quickly soaking into the front of my shirt. This was my uniform, I would have to pay for ruining it. "That's… oh."

My body caught up with my brain and my legs crumpled beneath me, sending me sprawling to the cold ground below. I fell on my back, long hair haloing my head as it nearly cracked against the concrete. The impact sent a surge of pain throughout my body, and I couldn't hold back the whimper that escaped me.

My vision blurred from the pain as I turned it to my assailant, taking him.

Now that I took a good look at him, I actually recognized the man who had shot me. It was the same homeless man that I had given the fifty to, same scruffy beard and pickle themed beanie covering his head. He was rifling through the bag that had slipped from my fingers as I had been shot, no doubt looking for the source of the money that I had given him.

He found my wallet pretty quickly as I hadn't really made any attempt to hide it inside the bag and after another moment or two, he pulled out all the cash I had left inside. Eighty dollars. He looked at it with something akin to disbelief, no doubt expecting more and immediately went to look for the rest of it.

He found nothing but a giftcard to the local Panera Bread and a couple quarters. I worked at a gas station, I wasn't exactly rolling in dough.

He gave me another look, regret washing over his features as I stared at him numbly, "I-sorry." He said quietly before he whirled around and booked it in the other direction, fleeing the alleyway with the soon-to-be corpse in it. My eyes followed him as he went, but I wasn't able to even lift a finger, much less chase after him.

I wanted to scream at him, over a thousand curses coming to mind as I watched the tail end of his shitty coat round the corner. Sorry? He was fucking sorry? He just fucking shot me over less than a hundred dollars and he had the gall to be SORRY!? Fuck him!

All of these words came to my tongue and yet none emerged. Instead, I just stared at the lip of the alley where he disappeared, taking in the darkness of the street beyond. It wasn't likely that anyone would be coming to help me and even if they did, there was this deep feeling in my chest (probably beside the bullet) that said it wouldn't help anyway.

I heaved a wet gasp, falling back to the ground from where I had sat up to watch the man. From This angle, I could just barely see the stars peeking out from above the buildings making up the alley. They were beautiful, and the moment I realized this, I was suddenly filled with a great deal of regret that I hadn't taken much time to appreciate them when I was still able to.

Dying was both a lot more, and a lot less painful than I had thought it would be. I hadn't expected it to be like falling asleep, not the way I was going out, but I had expected it to at least continue hurting until it was all over.

Instead, as I lay there in the alley, a pool of blood forming around my prone form, the pain gradually began to fade, turning to an overwhelming numbness that gradually spread throughout my entire body, relaxing my muscles automatically. I let out a small sigh of relief as the pain disappeared almost completely, a sense of calm coming over me.

And with that calm came the realization that I likely wouldn't be living through the next hour. I wasn't very brushed up on my anatomy, but even I knew that gunshot wounds to the chest had a relatively low survival rate. Add to that the fact that I had relatively thin blood and would bleed out faster than most, I knew there wasn't much hope for me.

That realization didn't cause nearly as much panic as I thought it would. Instead, I was filled with a sense of… relief? Yeah, relief.

My life wasn't exactly one I would call horrible. I had a job that paid rent and was well liked by my coworkers. I kept in contact with my brother and sister, being the youngest of three, and even visited my parents every now and then. It was the kind of life that a lot of people wished they had, and I knew I was lucky to have it for myself.

And yet, despite knowing all of that, despite knowing that there were undoubtedly people that would miss me, I was truthfully a bit relieved that it was finally all over. It was like a weight on my shoulders that had gone unnoticed until now was finally disappearing, leaving me more relaxed than ever.

I wasn't suicidal, despite my somewhat depressed nature, but for the past several years I had simply felt like I was coasting, waiting for it all to finally come to an end. The monotony of my daily life had sucked the colors from the world around me, and now as I lay dying, things were vibrant one last time, as if some higher power out there was giving one last incredible sight to take with me on my way out.

Although… There was one thing that I needed to do before I went. My older brother lived in the same city as I did and would no doubt hear about this on the news come morning. I didn't want to do that to him and to be honest, despite my earlier bluster, I was kind of scared to be alone when it finally happened.

With some difficulty, I brought my head to face my phone, which had luckily ended up just beside my head, "Hey Siri. C-call Andrew. And put it on speaker please." I said, closing my eyes as the edge of my cheek rested against the cool concrete.

There was a moment of silence where nothing happened, and just as I began to think my phone had been broken during the scuffle, it lit up and Siri's automated voice was heard throughout the alley, "Calling: Big Broseph."

I felt my lips quirk into a small smile at the name, one that I had specifically chosen because it drove him crazy.

It didn't take long for him to pick up which had been what I was counting on. Despite being in a relatively prodigious college, Andrew had always been a night owl.

"What's up Riley? I'm kinda in the middle of writing a history report for Mr. White at the moment." He didn't sound too annoyed, probably actually relieved that he had gotten a small break in his studies.

I laughed lightly, wincing as the numbness in my chest bled into pain at the movement, "Hey Andrew. Still procrastinating I see."

"Jokes on you. I actually got this assignment yesterday." He sniffed, "I'm on top of it for once." I could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke next, "Anyway, what were you calling about?"

"Just… wanted to hear your voice. D-do you remember that time we went to that amusement park a few years ago? The one in Tennessee?" I said quietly, staring up at the curtain of stars above as I thought back.

There was a moment of silence before my brother's confused voice emerged from the phone once more, "Yeah? Dollywood right? I remember. You said you wanted to go cause you saw a Family Guy skit and dove for over twelve hours on six hours of sleep. I don't think you even rode anything the first day we were there." He chuckled quietly, before his voice became confused once more, "But wait, why are you asking me at four in the morning? Are you drunk again?" His voice turned slightly accusatory.

The numbness had long since crept to my legs as I slowly shook my head, "No… n-not drunk. Just reminiscing. We never really hang out anymore outside of family stuff a-and I kind of miss that." I gave a sigh that was slightly wet from the blood no doubt stuck in my throat, "I d-don't think I'll get the chance to do that with you again."

There was a beat, before, "Where are you?"

I gave a small chuckle at the instant concern despite the hole in my chest. My brother always was a worrywort. I didn't deserve him.

I grimaced, blood leaking from my lips and feeling a particularly warm drool as it slid down my chin, "In an alley near my work." I managed to get out without sounding too hurt, "Some guy mugged me and I fought back… I-uh, I got shot." I painstakingly brought a hand up to my wound, pressing my digits against it lightly. "It… it doesn't hurt anymore, but I don't think that's a good thing."

There was a massive burst of movement from the phone and I could hear running in the background. He was no doubt rushing around his apartment, grabbing things as he prepared to come to my rescue despite living on the opposite side of the city, "Listen, do you still have that handkerchief you bring with you everywhere!?" He asked urgently as a door slammed in the background.

I nodded even though I knew he couldn't see me, "'Course I do. Never leave the house without it. It's in my back pocket."

"Can you put some pressure on the wound? If you can at least stop the bleeding a little bit, I might be able to get to you! O-or at least call an ambulance!" He said hopefully.

It took great effort, more than I had ever exerted on anything in my life, but after several seconds of trying, I finally managed to move the muscles in my hand, attempting to move it behind me to retrieve my handkerchief.

And yet, in the end all the effort did was twitch my fingers. It was such a miniscule movement that it was almost invisible, the small disturbance in the blood below me the only indication that anything had happened in the first place.

"I can't." I finally said, giving up, "I c-can barely move my lips at this point honestly."

It was getting cold now, my skin prickling with the frigid temperature around me as the liquid keeping me warm drained out of me. I probably didn't have long.

He made a noise that was remarkably akin to a wounded animal at my words, and I was filled with a great deal of regret that I had decided to call him in the first place. Still, I was selfish. I wanted to hear my big brother's voice one last time.

"Hey… listen, don't tell Bianca about this alright? About t-this conversation. Y-you know it would kill her." I gasped out wetly as black stars began to dance at the edge of my vision, "J-just say I died instantly or something. There's no reason to make her sadder than she'll already be."

My big sister always was a bleeding heart. Where most siblings tolerated each other with a small amount of fondness, Bianca was the glue that held us all together. She regarded both Andrew and I with an insane amount of love and care, acting like the ideal oldest sibling despite being the middle child.

I would miss her.

There was a moment of silence and a loud creak, like Andrew had sat down in a chair especially hard, "... and what about me? You asshole!" I could hear him sniffle, "How could you go and do this? What's mom gonna say when I tell her that you died? What about dad!?"

My lips parted silently, a trail of warm liquid making its way from my eye as it slowly flowed down my cheek, "I'm sorry." I croaked out, for lack of anything better to say, "I shouldn't have put this all on you. I-I just… I didn't want to be alone when it happened. I'll hang *gasp* up if you wan-"

"Don't you fucking dare!" Andrew's voice was insistent, though I could tell he was holding back sobs, "You stay on the line for as long as you can! My roommate's already called an ambulance."

It wasn't going to make it in time. I could feel that in my bones but I didn't tell my brother anything. I wanted my last moments with my brother not filled with panicked yelling. Dying with a headache would suck.

"...Hey Andrew?" I spoke slowly, feeling my words slur thanks to how numb my lips were. The black at the edge of my vision was gradually making its way in, and it was all I could do to keep my eyes open, much less talk. My head felt foggy and getting my thoughts in order was getting harder and harder.

But this was important, I hadn't said it nearly enough and now that I was dying, I probably wouldn't get a chance to.

"*sniff * Y-yeah?"

"I love you… and t-thanks. For staying with me."

"Riley?" His voice cracked but I could barely hear him by then. The fog filling my head was almost all consuming, "Riley hang on! The ambulance should be almost there! Riley! Come on stupid answer me! Riley!"

I couldn't hear him anymore.

Darkness, oppressive and utterly blinding to all my senses, consumed me. Up and down didn't exist as whatever I had become, pure consciousness perhaps, floated in this endless void.

I had no body. No eyes or ears, no lips or mouth or hands or feet, there was nothing holding whatever was left of me together. And yet despite that, I didn't float away into the nothingness. It was like there was something unseen, something unknown, holding me together.

Just as I began to wonder if this was my afterlife, a little piece of oblivion all to myself, there came a voice, piercing through the darkness surrounding me, "What'd I tell you kid? Every action has consequences. Now look at you, dead as a doornail. Moron." There was a sigh, "Lucky for you, I've found myself extremely bored here recently. Congratulations! You've been awarded the special spot as my entertainment for the next few decades!"

I recognized it, thick and southern, ringing several bells in my non-existent head. It was the same man I had given the lighter to, and I was suddenly filled with a good deal of outrage at the idea that his was the last voice I would hear before whatever fate awaited me on the other side instead of my brother's.

"I wouldn't worry about that kid. Where you're going, my voice is nowhere near the worst thing you'll likely experience." He sounded oddly eager for some reason. I was going to hell wasn't I? Damn.

"Not hell, but certainly… adjacent. From some people's point of view at least." He laughed, grating on my non-existent ears. There was a sound, as if he had snapped his fingers and the darkness shifted around me, "Have a good time kid. And do me a favor and make it interesting. Entertainment's no fun if it's not actually entertaining. I would hate to have to step in for my own sake."

I wasn't given the chance to wonder what the fuck this guy was rambling about for long. Like a snap, the darkness finished shifting and everything faded back in all at once. I was surrounded by an intense warmth, infusing my very being and bringing a sense of intense comfort that filled my very bones. It wrapped around me like a warm hug, causing me to feel things that I hadn't in several years despite my intense confusion.

And then I was ripped from it, brought from the warmth and comfort into a place that was decidedly not that.

The sounds were confusing and the lights were blinding. The air was freezing, and completely and utterly too much for my oddly sensitive skin. I was overcome with a nearly irresistible urge to cry and despite my efforts to hold them back, wails and sobs soon began to escape my open mouth, vibrating in my ears as whatever was wrapped around my body shifted to bring me against what felt like a massive, but soft, wall.

If this was the afterlife, it was pretty shitty.

"Congratulations ma'am! It's a healthy baby girl!"

…

…What?