The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek(83)

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—

SO THIS WAS death.

Blackness.

Nothingness.

For all time.

Or…wait.

Leif slowly began to feel his body again, at the same time that his surroundings came into view, as if someone were very gradually raising a dimmer switch.

He was in an endless ocean, where breathing didn’t seem necessary. He held his hand out in front of him. Glowing faintly in the dreamy haze, it appeared to no longer be injured.

“Hello,” a voice said from his right. Leif somehow shifted his floating body so that he was looking at a boy his age, also suspended in the water, emanating the same dull light as his hand. The boy had a hockey haircut—a mullet fanning out behind his head—and wore a jumpsuit similar to, but not quite the same, as Leif’s.

“Hey,” Leif said, discovering he could speak underwater.

“I’m Rich,” the boy said. Leif couldn’t tell if his mouth was actually moving. “Who’re you?”

“Leif.” He pronounced it Layf.

“And who’s she?” Rich asked, pointing behind him.

Leif was surprised to see J floating toward him.

“I’m Josefina,” she said.

Leif was glad to finally know her full name.

Rich narrowed his eyes. “How’d you both get here at once?”

Leif shuddered instead of responding, as he’d just made eye contact with an unsmiling little boy in a polo shirt who’d floated up next to Rich.

“What?” Rich asked, before noticing the little boy. “Oh. Timothy, don’t stare! We talked about this.”

Timothy looked down, then began to stare again.

“Is this Heaven?” Josefina asked.

“Uh, no,” Rich said. “You’re not dead. You’re in the spring.”

“What do you mean?” Leif asked, excited to not be dead but also very confused.

“We’re all in the spring. Physically, at least. Our bodies are still alive, but our minds, or souls, or whatever you want to call ’em, are here, in this place. We call it the Void. It’s actually quite extensive once you look around. You’ll meet the others eventually. They’re busy now.”

“What year is it out there?” the stone-faced little boy asked.

“It’s 1992,” Leif answered.

“Wow. Still 1992,” Rich said. “That’s the same year Alicia joined us.”

Leif’s heart—or whatever one would call it in this strange place—practically stopped.

Alicia was here.

“What— Why— How did—” Leif couldn’t make a sentence.

“What do you mean, still 1992?” Josefina interrupted. “Alicia was kill— Uh, put here, like a week ago.”

“Yeah,” Rich said. “But we don’t really have weeks here. Or days. Or years. Or even minutes. Time is sort of irrelevant.”

Leif didn’t understand, and trying to do so made his not-dead brain hurt. “Can we see her?” he asked instead. “Alicia?”

“Hold on.” Rich and Timothy appeared to dissipate into the water.

Leif found it hard to believe he might actually see Alicia again, but he couldn’t help but feel incredibly excited.

“So,” Josefina said as they floated awkwardly on their own, “this is pretty weird.”

“Yeah,” Leif agreed. “I’m, um, sorry you ended up down here with me.”

“Not your fault,” she said.

“I really appreciated how you, you know, helped me. At the school.”

Josefina shrugged. “I really appreciated that you were willing to stand up to those people.”

“Thanks,” Leif said. “I just can’t believe we’re—” He was distracted by a dissonant noise, like an incessant whirring, as he noticed a shadowy presence moving all around them. Moving wasn’t quite the right word, as it seemed almost to jump instantly from one point to the next, one moment twenty feet away, the next moment jarringly close to his face.

It gave Leif that same feeling he’d had right before he’d drowned. Like he was being judged.

Then it was gone, just as abruptly as it had appeared.

After a few moments of pure stillness, Leif saw a distant point of light moving toward them at a great speed. As it drew near, it became clear it was a person.

Alicia.

She stopped mere feet away, the soft glow surrounding her and her jumpsuit only accentuating her awesomeness, like some otherworldly version of Glamour Shots.

“Alicia!” Leif said. He’d never been happier to see someone. He wished he could hug her, but physical contact didn’t seem possible, so he just smiled as big as he could as she came closer.

Alicia seemed perplexed, her eyebrows furrowed like she was trying to solve a riddle.

Leif was seized with panic. Did she not recognize him?

“It’s me…” he said, hoping she would interrupt before he had to tell her his name. She didn’t. “Leif.”

She stared at him a few more moments—it felt like an eternity—before a twinkle of recognition finally registered in her eyes. “Leif!” she shouted.

“Yes!” he said, feeling profound relief. “I can’t believe you’re alive! This is— We all thought you were dead, and it was…I just…I missed you.” He felt his face contort into a cry, though he couldn’t feel any tears falling.