1 Between Life and death

The siren was loud, and the stroller I'm in was shaking uncontrollably sending my body centimeters into the air for a few seconds before going back to the stroller with an impact.

I wince my eyes and saw the blue flame growing large, eating my house.

"Mr. Walker"

I heard the nurse call my name and could feel her hand on my chest.

Her push gave me temporary life.

"Stay awake please!" The nurse cried as she yell for help.

"It's not like I'm gonna die," I said my entire body feeling like it was shackled to the stroller, saying those words made me lose breath.

I grabbed her trembling hand that was on my chest and said for reassurance.

"I'll live, I won't die"

"Not until I get reveng-

My words are cut short by the feeling of peace.

My tense muscle calmed down and my eyelids become so heavy, it was chanting for me to rest.

I huff for air but my lungs cease to function.

As I felt the last breath leaving my body, my hold on the nurse's hand got tighter.

"Don't let me die, not now. I believe you"

Don't let me die until I got my revenge, I need to live, or else..

A long river.

I was in a small boat with a dark cloaked man by my side, I couldn't see his face all I know is he was the one controlling this boat.

The water flowing below us was darkly red, it doesn't look natural

Its strong smell partnered with the bubbles blowing up here and there made traveling through this long river almost unbearable.

The boat we are in was slowly getting filled by the water, it seems like there was a small hole below the boat.

The cold liquid corroded my skin, the boat shuddered as it slowly sink.

As it all happened I was silent, not moving a single inch.

It's like me back there was empty, with no emotion nor soul.

I could see land meters away but the boat is already below the red liquid.

"Your sin was too heavy for the boat to take" The dark cloaked man spoke with me face to face, his skin was sucked to look like his bones his eyes were hollow, and the smell of death and rotten corpse linger around him. He sunk to the ground motionless.

'And after that is....this' Walker thought, three people circling him.

He doesn't have a clue where he is, all he could remember was that he was in a stroller when he lost consciousness.

"Can you tell me where I am?"

The three young men looked at each other giving signals to one another

One of those men break the silence when he clasped his hand together

"What can we call you?"

Another one talked

"What's your name?"

"It's Tan Walker" Walker quickly responds while looking around.

The wooden walls are full of holes, the roof was made with dry leaves patched together, surprisingly the roof could take the heat coming from above.

'This is like the house in those survival series' Walker thought.

"You remember how you die?" One of those men asked, the one who talked was the tallest among the three so Walker assumed his the oldest.

Disturb by the question and thought that maybe he didn't hear it correctly,

Walker leaned his head closer to the man

"Can you repeat that?"

The three men looked at each other confused by his words.

"Did you know how you died?"

"Yes,...I mean no!, what do you mean died?, I'm dead!?" Walker's voice showed confusion and fear.

"Let's break the ice first, sir Walker" The oldest of the three grabbed a chair to sit beside Tan walker's bed while the other two left the room.

It was like they were trained to do this.

"Why did they leave?" Walker asked looking at the door.

"Because they don't wanna hear this"

"First of all, I'm Hans Serra and I died in an explosion"

Hans looked at Tan expecting a response but he didn't utter a word.

"This place is the purgatory everyone who died gets here"

"And sir Walker you are dead, it's sad that you can't remember why, but this is the purgatory only way to get here is to..."

"...."

Walker stood up from the bed going towards the wooden old door.

"I want to go out"

The man on the chair lowers his head

"Sure"

Going outside of the small hut, Walker found himself in a rather bizarre place.

This place being purgatory, he immediately believed it, seeing the outside world who wouldn't.

The two brothers of Hans were preparing food using an old stove, there was a table and a set of wooden chairs not so far from the stove

The sky was bright but the one giving light to this world wasn't the sun but a giant eyeball, a pure white ball with a dark retina staring back at Walker.

He was startled when he saw it blink.

The tree's near them were moving, it doesn't have any feet or legs it just slide through the ground.

"That tree isn't as scary as it looks" A gloomy voice surprised him from behind.

"Ahhhh!" Walker screamed, he look behind to see one of the three brothers grinning.

"Sorry, I just-hahhaha" He burst out laughing before his brother yelled at him.

"Go back to work johny!"

Johny looked back at his brother who is cooking at the stove his smile all dried up.

"I wouldn't get wood when your shouting, you idiot!"

Johny looked back to Walker

"Wanna help me?"

...

On an open hill where the number of walking trees is close to none.

Johny and Walker were in the middle of that field, their clothes full of squash and dried flowers.

The temperature was comparable to summer, Walker could feel his skin melting the longer he stay below this 'eyeball-like sun'

"Soooo Tan Walker right?" Johny spoke grabbing the nearest dried branch, he already have plentifully tied to his back

"Yes, and your johny?" Walker replied grabbing a wood near him, he looked around and notice that the moving trees are somehow afraid to go to where he is, the moving trees circle the hill with no hint of getting close.

Walker didn't think too hard about it and continued gathering wood.

"Yea, of course you heard, it's johny Serra" He chuckled when he said his name.

"You know that...umm that popular wrestler, we got a similar sounding name and..umm it's a joke between as brothers"

"you guys seem pretty close" Walker said with a smile.

"Yeah...aside from that do you know the wrecking show?" Johny asked.

"Oh yeah it's that old series...it's one of my favorite, the endin-

"Ahhhhhh!" Johny's scream pierces through walker's ear.

Walker accidentally dropped a stick he was about to stack up on his back before going towards johny

"You okay!?"

The guy was huffing for air the large hump of wood was like a shell on his back.

"Are you tired?"

"No spoiler!" He yelled

"Episode 2 season 3, you still remember it?" Johny asked sweat falling off his chin.

"A little blurry but yeah" Walker respond sitting down on a patch of grass, sweat flowing through his face, his thumping fast heart wouldn't calm down.

Just thinking that something bad happen to Johny and he'll be left alone, in this unfamiliar place, was a nightmare he doesn't wish to ever happen.

"Sweet!, tell me eveything" Johny spoke with a wide smile

Walker laughs nervously trying to calm his heart.

"Sure, I'll try to remember"

Going back to the hut the two can be seen laughing at each other a huge large hump of wood on their backs.

The wooden table that was empty earlier was now full of food, fish, and a large slab of meat.

Hans was waiting for them arranging silverware, while his brother was already eating his fill.

"Jonah!" Johny yelled dropping the woods on the ground letting it scatter everywhere and going towards the table.

"Not fair, we're supposed to eat together."

"Well..your late" Jonah said munching his food, he wave the spoon on his hand

"It looks like something good happened, tell me"

"What?" Johny slowly walk away trying to get away from Jonah. "how could you say that, no"

Seeing it, Jonah pointed his spoon at Walker.

"I could just ask that guy if you won't talk"

"Fine!, I finished the wrecking show" Johny stated

"Want me to spoil it?"

Johna threw his spoon toward john yelling

"Don't!"

While the two brothers are bickering with each other

Walker approached Hans the most mature looking of the three brothers

Before Walker could come close Hans dropped the silverware on the table and approach him first.

"Let me"

Hans grabbed the wood on walker's back with ease.

Using his bare hands Hans hugged the pile of wood on walker's back before walking nonchalantly to the stove.

Walker wipes his sweat looking at Hans with awe.

'How could a small child carry that much!'

"Walker, join us" Johny spoke his cheeks stuffed with fish.

...

Night came and the surroundings were silent.

The three brothers sleep together on the ground while Walker was on the only bed in the hut.

"Hey"

"hey"

Walker whispered at the three brothers until a reply came.

"Yes, sir Walker" Hans whispered.

"How could I get out of this place?" Walker asked.

He couldn't accept that he died, maybe the fact that he didn't get burned by the fire that ate his home, he was saved by an ambulance and carried using a stroller there was a huge chance that he could have survived and only a small chance that he didn't.

Did something else happened while he was being carried to the ambulance?, Walker tried to remember but his fuzzy memory couldn't make out a thing.

"Sorry for asking just, I don't think I'm dead."

"This might really be real but maybe I'm just here temporarily, you know I'm in a coma or something, close to death but isn't dead"

"Maybe" Hans whispered

"But it's better to get used to this place sir Walker"

"...." Walker couldn't sleep the whole night.

He try to force himself asleep, but the thought of maybe he wouldn't be able to come back to earth just made him woke up and think hard about whether he was in a coma or death.

'...I'll get out of this place, I promise' He thought finally having peace of mind and dozing off.