✠ Trials to Paradise : C O M A ✠

[Lone Insignificant]

Trials to Paradise: C O M A
a one x one production by
[Loveless.Valentine] and theinsignificantnerd

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✠ There was once the tale of three fragments of life after death; Heaven, Purgatory and Hell. Believers of the Almighty God and walked in his teachings always ascend to Heaven. All those who oppose him and live in the teachings of evil, always descend to Hell. All that is left is Purgatory. Some believers say that Purgatory is a place where people can repent on their sins and is still possible to be forgiven and ascend to Heaven. Some say it entails a life long journey to repent on their sins and would only end when they had reached the end. Some say it doesn’t even exist. Those were the three fragments of life after death, but what about the tale of the spirit world? Is the Spirit world the same as Purgatory? The spirit world, as believers explain, coincides with the real world. Is the spirit world Purgatory? What if people had met an accident and are left in comatose? What happens while they are in deep slumber? Where do they go? They are not dead and they seem half-alive. So what does happen when one is in comatose?

… It has always been the question that lingers in everyone’s mind …



Theme song(s):

[Lone Insignificant]

It was dark at the hallways of the Accident Branch which was located beside each hospital of the city. The Accident Branch is not real to the real world. No human knew it existed until they get to life after death. The said branch tackles all kinds of accidents; may it be from a car or motorbike accident, falling down a two, three story building, or some other type of accidents that fall into the category of the person ending up in comatose or death. The line at the comatose category was mere shorter than the death category, but the death line always runs faster. It is a one is to ten (1:10) people ratio because deaths are judged only in two; Heaven or Hell, while the ones in comatose are still alive in the real world, so they proceed to Purgatory. Purgatory is not an easy way to get through. Purgatory consists of seven different tests that would evaluate if the person will be granted awakening or death. If one fails on any of the seven trials, then they proceed in death and would be judged if they go up or down. No one knew of these trials and when one succeeds on passing all seven would be granted awakening from comatose but would not remember the adventure they had to get to Paradise.

It was around ten in the morning in the Spirit world in Purgatory. New addition to the death or comatose count rises each day. The lines are endless and tiring. No one in the comatose category knew of what awaits them after the judgment table, while the death category knew; Heaven or Hell. A young male, around his early twenties was next in line from the judgment table in the comatose category. He came in line a month ago and he was just getting towards his faith after so long. Of course, the line was quite long and from what the others had been gossiping about was that, each one in line will get a partner to travel with their journey to Paradise. The Paradise they were talking about was the end of the long road of trials that would make them eligible to be given a new beginning when they awaken. The five feet nine inches tall male took off his baseball cap, showing his medium dark brown hair. He waited for his name to be called and it was because there were no accidents occurring at the meantime. The judgment lady took a glance at him as she fixed her glasses, “I’m sorry lad. We’re still waiting for an accident to --” A ring on her telephone caught her attention,“Speak of the devil,” she answered the call and it was a call to tell her that an accident just happened. She placed the phone down and motioned for the boy to come to her. “Name please?” She asked and the male answered,“Kyle Ezekiel Giffin”

The lady in the judgment table typed in his name on her list and let him through the door. The door opened but it led to nowhere. The room that was supposed to greet him at the other side was just darkness. The lady told him to just keep walking and so he did. While he was on the endless tunnel of darkness, vivid images were playing all around him. He could not explain how it was happening or who the people on the images were. It was only when he walked to the last spot of darkness that a voice echoed; explaining the things that he needed to remember, the person on the images was his partner, and that she suffered a car accident like him. He was reminded of the seven trials, and after, a flash of light surrounded him. When he was able to open his eyes, he was already in a hospital room. He looked around but saw no one other than the comatose girl, lying on her bed. ‘So this must be room 109.’ He thought as he started to walk towards the bed. He stood beside the bed and looked at the girl. She did really resemble the girl on the vivid images he saw while on the dark tunnels.

A dim flash of light surrounded the girl and when it faded, the spirit of the girl was beside her own body. Kyle heaved a sigh as he did not expect it to be like that; now he wondered if it is how he also ended up in the spirit world. He kept silent since the girl was still soundly asleep. He did not want to wake her up but he knew that time is running out. They need to move now or they will not advance to the first trial without getting to the designated place by the allotted time. He squint his eyes while eyeing the girl, “What was her name again?” He thought loudly. “I know the voice in the tunnel told me but I just could not remember.” He once again said as he scratched the back of his head. “Why am I always not good with names?” He asked once again before sitting down on the chair next to the bed. He rested his elbow on the arm rest and placed his hand on his face. He did not want to come out as rude for not being able to remember the girls name.




ooc:

[[Loveless.Valentine]]

talk - #7A5DC7 thought - #E1A3CE

tab It had been a perfect day. Claire couldn't imagine it any better! To celebrate two years together, Zack, Claire's boyfriend, had taken her on one of the most romantic dates she could imagine. There was no fancy restaurant or cliche movie that one had to suffer through for the other. No, Zack had surprised Claire with a spontaneous road trip out of state to a little diner in the middle of nowhere that no one knows about. Apparently her loving boyfriend took into consideration Claire's undying love for cheeseburgers and brought her to a little place his father used to bring him to before cancer got the better of him last year. It was noticeably something that meant a great deal to Zack; Claire did not take lightly that he had taken her there for their special day, especially knowing that he had not been there since his father's passing and it would be his very first time there without that man he had looked up to.

tab If that had not been enough, Zack surprised her further by traveling further north after Claire had enjoyed the most delicious cheeseburger surely in existence! The more miles put between them and their hometown, the more anxious Claire got to see what more her boyfriend had planned for them. And he surely didn't let her down. With a mix CD of her favorite songs, love songs that he related to their relationship, and even a couple songs that he wrote and recorded himself for her, playing in the background as they joked with each other and laughed at some of the ridiculous billboards they passed along the way, Claire really couldn't ask for a more perfect. It was almost like a scene from a movie! But Zack truly did have something even better planned. Hours later he pulled the car over into a little deserted gravel parking lot beside a lake. The sun was setting, casting the most beautiful array of colors across the horizon and over the gently rolling waves. The beach was abandoned for the day since it was nearing fall and the breeze cooled quite a bit in the evening. Not to mention they were considerably further North and the temperature was not as mild as it would be in their hometown. But Claire paid no mind to the goosebumps that formed over her skin as they sat on the hood of Zack's car and watched the sun disappear. With her boyfriend's arm wrapped around her, Claire had all the warmth she needed.

tab Once the sun had gone for the day and the star began to make their appearance and sparkle in the sky, Zack's eyes took on a sparkle of their own. Claire backed away and started to run from the mischievous grin that over took her boyfriend's face. A squeal followed by a fit of laughter escaped her just before she was thrown into the dark waters. Had she not known the boy better, she wouldn't be able to believe he would do such a thing! She resurfaced only to pull him back under with her playfully. The two ignored the breeze as they splashed around in the empty night waters until they were both shivering too much to speak. Only then did they return to the car, shedding their drenched clothes to change into whatever dry clothing Zack could fine in the trunk of his car.

tab Clad in a sweatshirt nearly three sizes too large for herself and a pair of basketball shorts that also hung loosely on her small frame, Claire sat in the passenger seat smiling adoringly across the car at her boyfriend as he stared intently at the road, lit only by the two headlights of the car. Occasionally Zack would glance across and smile at the girl he called his own. His hand reached across to bind with hers just as a blinding bright light illuminated his face. Claire's eyebrows furrowed in confusion before she pulled her eyes from her boyfriend to look out the windshield. As soon as Claire realized it was oncoming headlights that lit the interior of their car, there was darkness. No pain. No sound. No dramatics. Just pitch black emptiness.

tab Confusion and panic were ready to set in before Claire could release her breath, but then there was light again. It was an experience that could only be related to being pulled underwater than pulled back from the depths in only a split second, but it felt like forever had passed all the while. Time didn't exist. Even she felt nonexistent in that brief moment. But in an instant that feeling was gone and she was standing before herself, staring down at her broken body. There were bandages wrapped about her head and machines beeping beside her, letting it be known that the heart they were connected to was still beating... slowly. The room surrounding her was white. So white. Everything was maddeningly white. Except for the man seated in the chair beside the bed. It was then that the confusion and panic struck her. There were so many questions! Was this some twisted, messed up dream? Who was he? How can she see herself? Trying to answer these questions herself, she was struck with a thought that clenched her heart. Was she dead?! No, the machines told her no, but maybe she was dying...

tab "Are you- are you an angel?" she stuttered, almost afraid to speak. He certainly was attractive enough to be an angel. At least, that's how she always had envisioned them. But if he was an angel, that would mean... "Am I dying? What's happening to me?!" Her voice cracked as she desperately forced back her tears. Her breathing was ragged as she tried to compose herself, but the panic had set in and grasped her so tightly in was nearly impossible to find air. This couldn't be happening! This wasn't normal. How was she here. Why was she hear? She tried to remember what happened, but all she could remember was- "Zack! Where's Zack? What happened? Is he okay?" Her eyes were wild with alarm, it was clear she was on the brink of hysterics. A single tear fell from her sapphire eyes only to be quickly brushed away. "What's going on?" she sobbed desperately, looking down at herself, lying unmoved in the bed, bruised and broken. Her eyes glanced back up to the man, silently begging him for answers.

ooc: ---

[Lone Insignificant]

Sitting on the chair, unmoved since he sat, Zeke was still focused on finding out his partner’s name and had closed himself from his surroundings, unaware that the girl had finally awaken and confused. Her movement had not caught his attention and it was only when she first spoken that he removed his hand on his face and looked at her. Seeing her confused eyes and her soft voice, he could understand how she was feeling, however, comparing him to an angel, he deeply believed he would not be one even when he died. He let out a small smirk; considering the conclusion that he could never be an angel as he walked to her, “I don’t think angel is-” His voice was halted by her sudden questions; one after the other. Watching her as she showed her confusion and her panic, Zeke tried to answer them but her constant questioning and the difficulty of each one to explain was weighing down on him. In truth, if the situation was controlled in a way that she was briefed with what was happening and what was supposed to happen, similar to how he was told before he even woke up to line up back at the Accident Branch; he would have answered her every question quickly. On the other hand, she was not and because of the emotions behind each question, it was harder to answer without making them more worried and panicked as how they already were.

Zeke was silent. He knew not on how to tell her everything in just one brief conversation. Her sobbing only made it heavier on him since he had no idea how to make her feel better. Glancing at the parcel bag he had, he remembered how his mother would take him in her arms in an embrace, leaning close to him as she whispered soothing words in his ear and it always made him feel better. Hesitating a little, he stepped closer to her, lending her his arms as he gently wrapped them around her, letting her cry onto him. “It’s going to be okay.” He gently said, before taking a slight pause, unable to think of what to say next. He caught a glimpse of the clock and it was nearly time for them to leave and make their way to the train station as the start of their long journey. He would not want for them to miss the first train or they would wait another week before the next one comes. Pulling away from her slightly, he managed to let out a small smile as he looked at her, “Hey… I know you have a lot of questions and believe me, I would love to answer them all here, now, but I’m sorry to say it has to wait.” He moved his hands to her arms, rubbing lightly to calm her more as he tried to explain his way to getting her to their first destination. “We need to catch the first train out of here and it will be leaving in fifteen minutes. So we need to hurry.” He let go of her and made his way to the door, stopping a few feet away to look back at the girl. “I’ll explain to you everything once we get settled in the train. We’ll have a lot of time to talk by then.”

Opening the door, he made sure she was following him as he made his way out of the building and into the streets, evading the ongoing traffic as he nearly started to run. They only had a few minutes before the train leaves and it would not be a good thing if they would need to wait for the next one. As the train station came to view, Zeke stopped slightly, waiting on his partner to catch up. “Come on now, we can still make it.” He motioned for her to hurry up and once she was already beside him, he moved behind her and pushed her up the walk and to the platform. The train was already there and there were only a few more minutes to pass the conductor and into the train. The train conductor halted them, opened his palm and asked for their ticket, “Tickets please”. In a hurry, Zeke opened the parcel bag and pulled out two train tickets, “Here”. He gave them to the conductor and they were allowed to get in. Once in, Zeke heaved a sigh of relief, looking over at the carriages surrounding them just to find an empty one where they could settle and talk.

After a few attempts, he finally found an empty one and he thought they were lucky to find one at all. The train seemed to be jam-packed for some unknown reason or maybe spirits from the city before them, making their way to their first destination as well. Locking the door after the girl came in; Zeke sat adjacent to her and placed the parcel bag beside him. “That was close.” He commented before heaving out another sigh, glancing back at the girl, quickly remembering her questions and he promised to answer them once they were in the train. He was about to get her attention but her name was still lost in his mind. He cleared his throat in an attempt to make her look at him, “Uhm…” He started as he fixed himself on his seat. “As promised, I will answer all your questions here but before that, let me introduce myself. I clearly forgot to do so earlier.” He flashed a soft smile, “I’m Zeke and I sure hope I did not scare you earlier, or make you uncomfortable.” He was referring to the embrace that people don’t normally give to strangers. His smile faded as he recalled about it but brought it up again as soon as he looked back at her, “I just.. don't like seeing girls cry." He softly said before leaning back on the backrest, "So anyway, what question would you want me to answer first?” He asked as he tried to change the subject and to not get himself embarrassed because of his act.




ooc:




[Loveless.Valentine]

[[Loveless.Valentine]]

talk - #7A5DC7 thought - #E1A3CE

tab Claire was less than comforted bu the man's reply Her questions were left unanswered for the time being and she was just supposed to trust this stranger? Then again what other choice did she have? He seemed to know more about the situation than her. At the very least, he wasn't freaking out. That's more than she could say for herself, but honestly she thought she was going pretty good considering she just woke up to find herself lying in a hospital bed apparently unconscious. But his embrace was comforting. Claire honestly found herself confused how this stranger's touch could effect her that way; however, she wasn't going to question it. Instead, she was simply going to accept the comfort. She needed it more than she cared to admit.

tab The moment was short lived when he pulled away. Claire then realized she had yet to learn his name. She was about to ask, but was interrupted with him informing her that they needed to hurry along to catch a train. She was honestly unsettled with the thought of leaving. Her eyes fell upon her sleeping form as the man crossed the room to the door. Bringing her hand to her mouth and tapped her nails against her teeth as she contemplated her options. As badly as she wanted to stay with herself, she figured that the man knew what he was talking about and it would be best to follow him and listen to what he had to say. Perhaps he would help her find a way to return to her body and find her boyfriend. Poor Zack, where ever he was. She prayed he was at least alright. If anything happened to him, she didn't know what she would do!

tab Giving her still body one last look, she released a sigh and followed. Once they were out of the room, the man picked up pace. Claire had to job to keep up. Her thoughts and questions stilled whirled about making it hard for her to pay attention to her surroundings. All she had was the handsome man playing beacon for her, leading the way. At times amongst all the people and his fast pace, Claire had a hard time keeping up. His long legs carried him so much faster; she had to take two steps to each of his. Not to mention her mind was running in a thousand different directions itself. Luckily, he did slow down once the train station came into view. He then changed his position to behind Claire and hurried her along that way.

tab Claire was happy that the man apparently know what he was doing. When the train conductor asked for their tickets, she was taken aback. She certainly did not have a ticket on her. Thankfully, the man extended his hand past her with two tickets in hand. She simply offered the conductor a small smile before they were granted access to the train. Claire then let the man lead her to an empty carriage. In a way she felt dazed. So much has happened in such a short amount of time. Her mind had yet been able to process most of what had occurred. What she had processed was still had for her to grasp was real. It all seemed like a dream, but surely if it was she would have waken up already.

tab Sitting in the carriage with the man, Claire's gaze fell to the window as she allowed her mind to wander. The questions continued to accumulate while answers were yet to be had. Her mind raced far beyond her until the man cleared his throat subtly demanding her attention. Claire turned her gaze to him, allowing herself to appreciate his handsome features momentarily. THen he spoke and she could not fight off the smile of mild endearment she found for him. He apologized for trying to comfort her because he was afraid he had made her uncomfortable. It was very sweet of him to be considerate. Truth be told, it almost made Claire wish to hug him and assure him he did no wrong. Instead, she maintained her composure and simply offered a smile. "It's fine. You'd have to try a lot harder to offend me. I'm just on edge about the whole situation. I'm not sure exactly what you're used to, but waking up outside of my body is not something that happens to me terribly often. I'd actually have to say this was a first, if you couldn't tell," Her lips twitched in a lighthearted grin. She may have dowsed her words in sarcasm, but she truly did not mean to offend Zeke. After all, for all she knows he very well could be some kind of host to this odd adventure she finds herself on. "Anyway, Zeke -that's an unusual name, is it short for something?" she interrupted herself before continuing with her initial comment, "I'm Claire." She offered a kind smile before taking a deep breath. Her eyebrows furrowed as she contemplated where she should start question wise. "I honestly don't even know where to start," she admitted. "There's so many questions. How 'bout you give me a briefing on what exactly is going on and we'll get to my questions from there," she suggested. Her hands fell to her lap as her head tilted in wait for some clearance to her jumbled mind. She realized then that she actually felt exhausted. Perhaps it be from emotional strain, but could she get tired in this... state? All she knew was she needed her mind to slow down and give her some clarity on her situation so she could concentrate. There were so many things going through her mind it nearly made her nauseous. It seemed like her thoughts would never be silenced, but she gave Zeke all the attention she could, hoping that he would give her some peace of mind.

ooc: Sorry it took so long to reply, Dahlin.

[Lone Insignificant]

Zeke listened and a slight grin painted his face as he heard her say he would need to do a lot more to offend her. He wanted to comment about it but kept quiet and continued to listen. Hearing how she was unfamiliar to waking up beside her body, his grin faltered for a moment as he remembered it was not the same as how he woke up. “I’m sorry. I forgot your awakening was different from mine.” He paused for a few seconds, shifting his weight a little. “I woke up a little different. I knew I had an accident. I was with a few friends. We were riding our own cars and we tried to have a fast drag race.” He shrugged. “We finished the race and I won, actually. We stopped our cars but I stopped at an intersection, just a few feet from them. And I guess that was my mistake.” He winced and leaned back. “Headlights blinded me as I took my seatbelt off. I froze. The next thing I knew, I woke up inside a building they called, Accident Branch. Then, I waited in line. I never knew where the line would take me, but it took so long.” He flashed a slight smile at her, figuring he was boring her, in a way. “I was only given a briefing when I was already on my way to meet my partner; you.” Shifting his gaze toward the window as the buildings started fading. “I’m sorry it was different for you. “ Looking back at the girl adjacent to him, Zeke smiled. “But don’t worry. We’ll catch up with your guy.” His smile widened, “And, It’s nice to meet you, Claire.” He winked slightly, showing he was a bit of a fun person. “My true name is Kyle Ezekiel Giffin, but you can call me Zeke.”

Remembering his promise, he needed to explain everything to Claire, and it’s better to start now than later. “Well,” He started, shifting to a more comfortable position since it would take a while to tell her everything. “We are currently in a place that coincides with the living world. We don’t see them but they are here. We are the same as well to them. We may live in one space but the structures in the space differ.” Zeke looked out the window and then back at Claire, seeing her listening intently to what he was saying. “We, the half living yet half dead; the comatose patients, are sent out to accomplish seven trials in order to get back to our own bodies and live once more. If we fail with just one of the trials, we’ll die and proceed to judgment.” A knock on the door stopped Zeke and when he opened the door, the trolley lady asked them if they want something. Zeke asked for a sandwich and a bottle of water. It was actually fascinating how the spirit world was alike the real world in so many ways. “We’re actually on our way to the first trial. It would actually take two weeks of travel but that is already a month at the real world. Why? Because time is slow here.” He took a drink from his bottle before continuing. “I’ve been in line at the accident branch for a month and it’s just now that I got a partner.” He chuckled slightly, “Oh yeah, the one in front of me was your boyfriend’s likely partner. I guess they left earlier.”

He watched as the girl in front of him take in what he just said and he thought it was actually pretty simple. “Our first trial would be at…” Zeke opened the satchel and took out a map. “Ah! There.” He pointed out as he spread the map on his lap. “We’ll be going to England…” He looked at the map once again. “Yeah, that’s what the map pointed to. I guess this train will get us there.” He scratched the back of his head before handing the map to Claire. “We’ll be stopping over at Florida in three days then the next eleven we’d be stuck here.” He cleared his throat and took another drink. It was easy to get thirsty in this word and it was good to have some water here in the train. “So, anyway… I hope we’d be best partners on this trip.” He smiled at her with great enthusiasm. It would be great to go through these trials with a partner and Zeke thought he was lucky to have a partner as gorgeous as her. Of course, he knew she was taken and so he would restrain flirting. He was known as a player back at the real world and he knew she was off limits, but it wouldn’t stop him from protecting her. After all, he was placed as her partner. He’ll do everything to get her back to his man and for himself to get back to his unshaken life.



ooc: So sorry for taking so long and a short reply.. Hit a bit of a stump but promise to give a much more decent reply on the next one.




[Loveless.Valentine]