Too Broke For Afterlife

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"I'm going to kill you." I grab Noah's collar and pull him up from his crate.

He looks at me with terror, his eyes wander over to where Parker was sitting just a few seconds ago.

"I-I...I didn't…"

He tries to free himself but I make sure he can't escape.

"Get him back right now. Else I'll slit your throat open."

I don't care how barbaric I might sound right now, Parker just disappeared right in front of my eyes and the ground closed above his head. The Earth literally swallowed him. And it's all because of this scammer.

"You're the second person to threaten me today." Noah tries to laugh it off but that makes me even more angry.

"You think that this is funny?"

"N-no!"

"You said Satan would use his body as a host, not abduct him! Where is he?"

I shake the young man until Clemens pulls me away from him.

"This surely is an unexpected turn of events but violence won't help us." He turns to Noah. "How can we retrieve Parker?

Noah shakes his head. "No, we can't do that. He is in Hell now. We don't know what he would be once he returns. We might summon a demon or zombie."

Enough. I rush forward and push him to the ground.

"I don't care! It's Parker! Get him back right now!"

Wow. I don't remember the last time I screamed at someone but damn, does it feel good.

"Do you really want to be responsible for his death?"

"Isabella." Clemens puts a hand on my shoulder but I push it off.

He doesn't let that fluster him.

If Noah is right, then Parker is in Hell now. And nobody returns from Hell alive."

"No."

As realization hits me, my legs get shaky and I have to lean against the German robot to not fall over.

"He is dead?"

"He is not. Parker is fine."

Nox starts walking over to us, she is completely calm.

"We can't do anything, he will return on his own."

I stare at her. She stares back.

"How can you be so sure of that?"

"I just know, okay? Parker is not in danger."

"But-"

"We should prepare for the next phase while he is gone."

She offers Noah a hand so he can get back on his feet. 

"Thank you for your help."

"But…"

He looks at me, then Clemens and Walter.

"I can't just leave now. Parker...he…"

"Stop whining, we will fix it. You need to get home and keep what happened to yourself. Okay?"

Noah does not seem comforted after Nox' words. But she clearly won't give in. 

"Okay," he replies with a defeated tone.

"And we… " Nox turns back to the group."...are going on a road trip."

Oh yay.

<<<

First Peru, now Texas. I'm starting to get really sick of this heat and wish I could be back in my rainy hometown. The only time you will ever experience true heat in New York is when you take a trip to the solarium to get a trendy tan.

Currently I'm sitting in the backseat of the car, next to me Clemens who has been trying to start a conversation with me. A conversation based on sea creatures. But I just leaned my head against the window to signal him my disinterest.

Nox in the passenger seat is even quieter than usual, but her expression seems relaxed. I almost want to punch her in the face.

How can she be so calm right now? Does this woman not have a soul?

Walter is driving and singing along to the radio. I've never seen him this expressive before but I almost believe that he is just trying to distract himself from the fact that Parker is...you know.

I wish that would work for me as well. Fake happiness seems so much nicer than the depression that has taken over my mind. 

Although Nox has tried to convince me of it, I can't be sure that Parker is alive and well. Hell does not seem like a place any living person should ever have to witness. What if Satan just straight up cut off his head and…

I scold myself for these dark and cruel thoughts.

You're overreacting, Isa. He is fine. You can't do anything so just be optimistic.

But who can be an optimist when facing death? The only reason I'm not crying right now is because I know he'd come back as a ghost.

Right? Or won't he because he is already in Hell?

"Okay, we've arrived."

Walter slows down the car in front of a two-story residence with a beige facade and a picket fence. 

Hello suburbs.

Nox unbuckles herself and turns around to us.

"Parker has hid the gem somewhere inside his room but we don't know where exactly. We will have to teleport inside and look for it."

"What if we get caught?"

"We won't."

"Right."

Breaking into somebody's house. Funnily, that's a crime I was not planning to commit.

How many KP will this cost me?

"I suggest that Isabella and I go inside. You guys park down the road and wait."

I look at Nox. "Why me?"

"Because you know him best so maybe you'll have an idea of where he might have hid it. Let's go."

Nox and I get out of the car which wastes no time driving away.

I look after it wistfully but Nox pulls me out of my trance.

"You've done this before, right? Hold my hand."

I look at her long pale fingers and hesitate. Do I really want to touch this woman? 

"Come on, stop being a bitch."

She grabs my hand and then pulls out her small blue teleportation device. 

"Ready?"

"No."

"Good."

She presses the silver button and a white light envelops us.

You know what? Maybe we shouldn't have done this in the middle of the road but apparently Nox doesn't care.

After the blinding light comes the darkness and next thing I know I'm falling down onto my knees. And that not very quietly.

"You're a horrendous spy."

I slowly open my eyes and look up at Nox who is already starting to pull open drawers.

"Let's hurry."

I roll my eyes and get up from my hurting legs. 

Okay, if I was Parker, where would I hide a mysterious crystal?

My first instinct is to check beneath the mattress but what I find instead are a bunch of Playgirls. Great.

"It may be tempting because you just lost your girlfriend and your life came to a standstill but don't take any. We can't leave any traces behind."

I ignore the inappropriate joke and let the mattress fall down again.

"So what does this crystal do?"

"What do you think it does?"

Nox is pulling socks and briefs out of the drawers and I'm glad that she voluntarily chose to inspect the underwear. I like Parker but that would be just a step too far.

"The other crystal opened a gate to hell so maybe this one closes it."

"You know, Isabella, you are absolutely…"

She throws a sock at me.

"Wrong."

Of course. That would have been too easy.

I kneel down to check beneath the bed.

Shoes, tissues, a few CDs and...a shoebox.

I pull it out and remove the lid.

"Found something?"

Inside is a bunch of knickknacks. Old Pokeman trading cards and hot wheels cars. Remnants of an American boy's childhood. And a small box with a bear on it.

What could this hold? Mints? Baby teeth?"

I shake it and hear something rattle.

Sounds promising.

But before I can open it, Nox rips the box out of my hand and does it herself.

"Bingo."

She lifts up the crystal and I look at its beautiful colors in awe. 

"Good job, Sher-luck. Let's get out of here."

But right as she says that, the door gets thrown open and an angry looking teenage boy stomps towards us.

"Who are you? Intruders?"

"No!"

I jump up and raise my hands. 

"What are you doing inside our house? I'm calling the police."

"No, we are just…"

I look to Nox for help but she is as calm as ever.

'We won't get caught' my ass!

"We are friends of Parker and he asked us to get something for him. He gave us a key."

I pat my pockets and put on a shocked face. "Where did it go?"

The boy does not seem convinced and shakes his head. 

"He is on a road trip and...hey, stay away from me!"

But Nox doesn't listen and pushes a small round device against his forehead.

Parker's brother stops in his motion and stiff as a board, he falls over.

Thanks to my reflexes from playing tennis for years and years I manage to catch him before his head can hit the ground. I put him down softly.

"What did you do?"

The boy isn't moving, just staring at the ceiling.

"He is unconscious and when he wakes up in a few minutes, he won't remember what happened. So let's leave."

Nox grabs my hand.

"But…"

"He'll be fine. Okay?"

And the white light fills my vision.