Too Broke For Afterlife

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I feel moss beneath my knees and bright light is scratching against my eyelids.

Great, where am I now?

I open my eyes slowly, inch by inch, making sure my pupils have time to get used to the new surroundings.

Once I can see again, I assess my situation.

I am still inside the forest but now it's the middle of the day. Strange.

Did Walter invent teleportation through time? Has he been hiding next to my college without me knowing? Is he the vampire the guys have been chasing? 

I'd be ready to believe any of these theories at this point. But something is off.

The trees are different.

The leaves are bigger and the ground I'm walking on is much greener than the one I'm used to.

I take a few steps to further investigate this scene when I stumble and fall over.

"F*ck!" 

Again? Seriously?

I groan and look at what has caused my imbalance this time but once my eyes identify the object, I freeze.

An old, crooked gravestone sticks out of the ground. The writing on it has mostly faded out, I can only read one number.

1788

What the fuck?

I quickly get up and look around. And then I notice them.

Gravestones. Lots of gravestones. Some are close to me, others peek through between the trees.

Oh my god. Walter sent me to a graveyard.

Either that or the vampire killed me and I'm now- No, shut up!

"You're so f*cking stupid." As I curse myself, I try to find a trail beaten into the ground by exploring feet and then follow it to wherever it may lead me.

This has to be a misunderstanding. You can't hide in a graveyard, it's all just trees and maybe a chapel. Walter probably messed up the coordinates and is waiting a few hundred feet away in an actual building. A building with a heating system and a coffee machine.

Yeah, that must be it. So it's time for me to find the exit.

After a bit of walking, the forest pulls back and the narrow trail turns into an actual foot path, covered with gravel.

I try to ignore the death that is lingering around me and instead focus on the big iron gate that is showing itself in the distance.

I increase my speed as the metal bars come closer and behind the entrance I can see a quiet street.

Good, at least there is civilization.

Once I reach the gate, I try to push it open but it won't move. I try again. Without success.

Then I notice the metal chain that is holding both wings together.

Oh my god.

I'm locked in.

I shake the gate with all my power but all I achieve is an obnoxiously loud noise of the chain clinking against the bars.

F*ck. I need a plan B. Maybe I can climb over the walls?

But looking at the brickwork, I quickly discard that idea again. They are too high. Even if I managed to somehow climb onto them, I'd fall down and break my neck on the other side.

Then my eyes fall onto a big sign, showcasing the graveyard's layout.

Okay, that's good. That might be helpful.

I take a deep breath and walk over to the wooden board.

On the top it reads:

BIEDERMEIERFRIEDHOF SANKT MARX

No idea what that language is but I definitely don't speak it. 

Below is a giant list of names. I assume that's all of the people who have been buried here but I can't be bothered reading them all.

Then my phone buzzes.

Please let this be from Walter.

But no, instead it's an SMS from my Internet provider.

Welcome to Austria! You are now using international rates.

Austria? Out of all the places in the world, this is one of the countries I had never expected to step foot into. Not because I hate Austria, I just don't like it either.

At least I know where I am now.

And then I hear it, the barking of a dog.

I jump against the gate. "Excuse me!"

A man walking his puppy flinches and shoots around. "Oh Jesus!"

He stares at me in shock, then he starts laughing at the sight.

"Ja, grüß Gott! Was tun Sie denn da?"

"Sorry, do you speak English? I need help!"

Usually I'm the kind of person who avoids asking for help whatever way he can but right now my life depends on this amused gentleman.

"Ja, ja sicher doch! What happened?"

"I...I don't know. I was here...and then...suddenly the gate was locked. Someone locked me in."

"Hmm."

The man strokes his goatee as he checks what I assume is a sign hanging on the other side of the gate.

"Ja, today it's closed. They will open it tomorrow morning."

"Does that mean I have to sleep here?" My head falls against the bars in despair as I already see myself lying on a cold bench with ants nibbling on my socks.

"Nah, iwo! There's a number here. Do you want me to call and ask?"

A number? "Yes, please!"

"Okay."

The man shakes his head with a grin and then pulls out his phone.

I don't understand anything from the following conversations except for a couple of ja and one nein. All the while, the dog is growling at me.

I'm tempted to growl back.

"Okay, they said they can't come over so you have to find the emergency exit on the other side."

"Emergency exit? Where?"

The man shrugs. "I don't know. Just go down the main road, past old Mozart and you should find it."

"Mozart is buried here?"

I turn around and inspect the broad way splitting the graveyard into two.

"Freilich! Is this not the reason you visited? Usually Piefkes and other tourists come to see Mozart."

"Ah."

I turn back around, tempted to ask what a Piefke is but I can already feel my social battery running out.

"I wanted to...study some trees."

I facepalm my inner self for that sentence. Study trees? What am I? A hippy? Oh my god.

"Okay, ja, that's nice. I have to leave now. Good luck! Don't let the ghosts eat you."

The man waves at me and I nod.

"Thank you. I'll try" 

Then I'm alone again.

But with new fire under my ass.

It can't be a coincidence that Walter chose a graveyard hosting such a famous person. Maybe this is a sign. I should go to Mozart's grave and there I will find a hint to where Walter is. Or maybe even Walter himself?

I take a deep breath before I make my way up the hill, always staying on the main road. 

Graveyards don't scare me, obviously, but this whole situation is just a tad bit too crazy for my taste.

I don't care what Walter was thinking when he chose this place, I will definitely beat him up. Despite it being the middle of the day, it's freezing cold outside. 

Why Austria? Why not the Bermudas?

After a bit I notice a small sign to my left reading MOZARTGRAB and turn around.

The gravel beneath my feet is now white and leads to a well-kept gravestone that ends in a pillar, with red flowers in front of it.

W. A. MOZART it reads in golden letters and I stop to check it out for a second.

It's pretty and shit but I had expected something bigger. After all, Mozart is the only big thing that came out of this country. Except for Hitler of course. And that one rapper from the 90s who my dad likes listening to.

"Out of the dark," I quietly start singing as I walk around the grave, trying to find any possible hint.

"Into the light. I give up and close my eyes."

This must give off a strange view to bypassers but hey, I'm alone. A whole graveyard all for myself.

"Out of the dark. Something something. Into the light!"

"Zurück!"

I can't suppress a girly scream as I shoot around and stumble for the third time today.

But I can't see anyone.

"Was tust du da?" a female voice asks me angrily.

"Sorry? Hello?"

I turn around but I'm still alone.

"Where are you?"

"Oh, no German?"

Suddenly, the voice is close to my face and I can hear her hiss into my ears.

"You can't see me because I am a ghossssst."

I sigh in relief. "Okay."

"You're not scared?" She sounds confused and a bit disappointed.

"Not really. I'm too busy to be scared."

I kneel down and start looking through the flowers. Maybe Walter hid a note under the leaves.

"Why are you touching his grave? You have no right to do so!"

Oh my god.

I get up slowly. "Who are you? His wife?"

The woman chuckles.

"I was born a bit too late for that. My name is Annika and I am the protector of this grave."

Oh great.

"Okay sweetheart, listen. I don't have time for games. A friend left a hint for me here and I have to find it."

"I see all the people who visit the grave. What does your friend look like? I can help."

"A bit shorter than me, black hair, round glasses, looks like he is about to piss his pants 24/7, probably talks to himself. Does that ring any bells?"

Annika is quiet for a few seconds. The next time I hear her voice, she is behind me.

"Yes, I have seen your friend before. Just earlier he walked past me."

"Really? Where? Was he here at the grave?"

She chuckles. "Silly human, I won't tell you that for free."

Of course not. That would have been way too easy.

"Fine, what do you want?"

"Yesterday your friend was talking to a mysterious woman. She took something from the grave and left. You have to retrieve the item."

Okay, this is getting weirder by the minute

"What kind of item?"

"It was an old gold coin. Big and well polished. The coin belongs to Mozart as it was put onto his grave. She stole it."

"So you want me to find some woman I don't know and get a coin from her in order for you to tell me where my friend is?"

Annika hesitates.

"No, I will tell you where your friend is. But you have to promise to use his help to find the coin."

"What if I lie and break my promise?"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."

My fricking Lord.

I sigh and nod. "Okay. Once I found Walter I'll ask him about the woman. Deal?"

"Deal." I flinch as her voice is right next to my ear again. I guess that is her version of a handshake.

I wait a bit. "So?"

She chuckles. "You're so eager."

"Well no shit! You've been distracting me for ages! Where is Walter?"

If Annika wasn't a ghost, I'd be twisting her throat right now.

"In the back right corner of the graveyard you will find a big grey tombstone with a silver inscription. Push away the stone plate on the ground. And there you will find him."

"Excuse me?"

"What?" She must have notices the shock on my face. "No, he is not dead! There's a hidden mausoleum beneath the stone."

"So you want me to play tomb raider and desecrate a grave?"

"No!" Annika sounds annoyed. "You asked for directions and I gave them. Now leave me alone."

I just shrug and make my way back to the main road.

"Thanks I guess."

"And don't forget the coin!"