C2 Welcome to the Afterlife

"Am I really alive or dead?" Riley asked herself, her voice a fragile whisper against the backdrop of eerie silence. The remnants of the explosion still echoed in her ears, a haunting reverberation of the chaos that had torn through the airplane. Kenya. That's where she was supposed to be heading for her charity events. But now, as she stood amidst the spooky quietude of this unfamiliar city, she couldn't help but question the very fabric of her existence.

"I should be dead," she murmured, the words a fragile admission of the implausible reality she now faced. Her heart pounded in her chest, a steady drumbeat of disbelief. How was it possible to survive such a cataclysmic event? Where was everyone? And why was this city a ghostly tableau of emptiness?

Panic coursed through her veins, a relentless tide of questions crashing against the walls of her consciousness. "Can someone tell me what's going on?!" Her voice rose, an anguished plea for answers that hung in the air, unanswered. The silence pressed in on her, suffocating and oppressive.

Wherever it is this place was, She knew she couldn't just stand in one spot foolishly yelling through the quiet street.Riley drew in a deep breath, mustering the fragments of courage that remained. "I need to figure out what's going on," she resolved, her voice a blend of determination and trepidation. With cautious steps, she ventured forth, her senses attuned to any clue that might unravel the mystery shrouding her existence and survival. The city, devoid of life, seemed to mock her with its tranquil façade. "What could have happened? Why is it empty?" Her questions hung in the air, carried away by the wind.

As the hours wore on, exhaustion settled into Riley's bones, her body full of aches and weariness. Her stomach's plaintive cries were constantly reminding her that she needed to eat something. Her lips were parched, her throat a barren expanse yearning for moisture. Just when hope seemed to wane, a glimmer of hope appeared on the horizon. A supermarket, its doors slightly ajar, stood not too far away. With weary determination, she made her way inside, her footsteps echoing in the hushed interior.

The aisles stretched out before her, a maze of possibilities. With tired eyes, she scanned for sustenance, her fingers tracing the edges of packages and cans.She walked toward the refrigerator surprised that this place even had electricity. Finally, she found comfort in the form of a bottled water its coolness a balm to her parched throat. She didn't pause to check for expiration dates; the liquid was a lifeline, and she drank deeply and greedily the sensation both soothing and invigorating.

Guided by a gnawing hunger, she gravitated towards the snacks section. With a mixture of gratitude and urgency, she gathered an assortment of provisions, She ate methodically, moaning in satisfaction savoring the flavors that slowly filled her empty stomach.

And as she sat there, nourishing her body, she knew that she couldn't stay in this limbo of unknown. She needed answers, and she was determined to find them, no matter how crazy they might be.

The light that brightened the day slowly drifted away. As the day was getting dark, it dawned upon Riley that she had to find a place to lay down and get some rest as she sat staring at the supermarket ceiling, on second thought she could stay here, inflate some floatable bed she saw a while back or spread a thick blanket behind the sales counter to sleep. She had checked out the toilet and it was semi clean definitely not as messy as she had imagined plus it had running water, she had taken the opportunity to wash herself clean. Why was the place deserted then? She had thought to herself.

The supermarket light flickered on and off , its humming a welcomed reprieve from the thought that was threatening to drive her crazy. The sound of an engine made her jump up hurriedly, she cautiously made her way towards the exit of the supermarket, she dashed out seeing that it was a group of strangers, Riley didn't care that she didn't know them all she cared for was that they were living, breathing, human beings. she paused for a moment, shivers sent down her spine's, she stared at them trying to get a feel of them and administer if it was safe to approach any furtherand if they could help her, , just as they stared back at her. A thick voice filled with assurance broke the awkward silence, "Welcome to THE AFTERLIFE" he said.

"Who are you?" she asked with a trembling voice.

"No need to be afraid," he said with a smile on his face. "I know that you're scared and confused. Come with us, we have a shelter not far away from here. It's not safe to be out here all alone."

"I'll take my chances" she replied not comfortable following a bunch of strangers who are guys home. For all she knew they could be creeps.

"Look, Miss I understand your suspicion and I promise we will explain everything to you, it's really isn't safe out here all alone" the man replied raising his palm to her in a show to tell her he was harmless.

"I'm good, thanks for the offer" she obstinately insisted.

"Miss, we won't force you to go with us, haven't you wondered why this place was deserted and devoid of life?? I can guarantee you won't make it through the night. The voice replied his voice soothing like he was trying to calm a scared child.

"Let's go boys" the man said after waiting briefly for her to make her decision to which she said nothing.

Riley chewed her lips in contemplation, they clearly seem to know the mechanics of how this place operated, the man had sounded genuine and why would he say something terrible that she wouldn't make it through the night? She looked around once more at the desolate place.

As they got back on the bus with the man heading in last. "Wait" she called out. The man froze midstep turning to face her. "I'll go with you" she said tentatively wringing her fingers nervously.

When they settled on the bus, a voice whispered into Riley's ear, "My name is Tyrone, nice to meet you." She took a brief look at him as she sat.

As they journeyed to the shelter, a dark, tall, muscular guy sat beside her. She looked at him with contempt as she shifted away from him not comfortable with a stranger invading her personal space. Without paying much attention to the expression on her face, he said, "Hello, my name is Edward but you can call me Eddie. What's your name, please?"

"My name is Riley," she answered curtly.

"Oh! What a nice name!" he said with a little smile of appreciation.

"Nice to meet you Riley" he continued with a small smile.

"The pleasure is all mine" she responded unable to dismiss his kindness.

The bus came to a halt as they arrived at the shelter. Everyone got down from the bus one by one. "Here we are, lovely isn't it?" Riley, who was marveling at the structure of the shelter, nodded in response to Tyrone.

The shelter was a palace painted in beautiful colors, well guarded with an electric fence and a mounted automatic sensor machine gun that discharged rounds of fire swiftly whenever there was an attack, she couldn't help but wonder if she had landed in a military base with an afterlife code name.. As Tyrone showed her to the room she would stay, she asked, "Why is this place guarded so extremely?" Tyrone responded with a smile on his face, "You really need to rest. We can have this conversation tomorrow."