Chapter 2

AXEL'S POV

I'd seen newbies come and go in SRP but there was something different about this one and I felt it the second she entered the bus. She had a face that would make angels jealous and a body that would makes gods go mad with lust but whatever made her different went deeper than the physical appeal. I could feel she was no ordinary deadie. 

She was staring at me, holding onto a seat like it might bite her as we went airborne. “You never told me your name,” she said.

I smiled at the effort she made to sound tough. Her voice was wobbly and unnaturally high pitched. I wanted to answer. I tried to answer but the moment she asked, my brain ventured off into the past like I was watching a really old ass reel play in my head.

And suddenly I wasn’t on the damn bus anymore. I was in 1926.

Back then I wasn’t this perfect version you all see and love. I was smaller and the peak target for bullies. I was the kind of man life looked at and said, you’ll make a fine punching bag everyday of the week. I lived in a village that smelled like smoke, sweat, and depression. In this particular village, people prayed harder than they thought. I wasn’t brave nor was I special in any way. Mostly I was just trying to survive each day without getting kicked by a bigger guy or accused of stealing bread.

Then there was her. The girl from the farm across the field. She laughed like she didn’t know life was supposed to hurt and she was the only human who ever smiled at me. She had hands that were too soft for a farm girl and eyes that could shame the sunrise.

She saw something in me I didn’t and only God knows what it was. I was one lucky bastard. We got married and for the first time, life had colors once again. For a while, the world shut up and let me be happy. We had two twin girls. I remember them running through the fields, playing without a care in the world. I can’t remember their names anymore, and that hurts worse than anything hell’s thrown at me. I can't even remember my wife's name no matter how hard I try to remember.

Time’s a cruel bastard that way. It erases what matters and leaves the scars as companions.

One evening, I came home from the fields, ready to meet my girls but something felt off immediately I entered. The house was too quiet and empty. It was the kind of silence that eats at your ribs. The table was set with half eaten food that still felt warm and I could see the girls’ favorite doll on the floor. I didn't need a psychic to know something had happened.

Through the back door , I saw footprints in the mud. The prints looked like they came from heavy boots and they led off towards the direction of the square.

My stomach twisted and my heart raced faster than my legs. I could smell the smoke even before I reached the crowd. I pushed through the people gathered trying to get to the center. They were chanting, “Burn the witch. Burn the witch." 

I could still remember the self-righteous looks on their faces like they had been handpicked by God Himself to pass His judgement.

I saw my wife tied to a stake with my girls tied beside her on either side. The magistrate said her herbs and voodoo cures were signs of the devil. I remember yelling that she only healed people just as she saved the Miller’s boy from fever but nobody cared. Nobody ever cares once they’ve decided who to blame. They weren't listening.

I saw the flames starting and I fought to stop them but I wasn't strong enough. The guard held me down as I watched the horrific scene. I heard the girls crying somewhere, or maybe that was just inside my skull. My memory fractures there. Every time I try to remember clearly, it’s like someone scraped the scene away with a glass.

I remember the heat and screaming. Their cries echoed deep within my core. I struggled to break free from the guards but they held me down. I watched the woman I loved with all my life go up in flames. Her screams... 

The firelight swallowed everything I loved.

I managed to break free from the guards and ran to her. I held her in my arms and whispered to her. “I'm here. Don't shout anymore." 

I don’t remember pain. The only thing I remember was the smell of ash and the sound of laughter that wasn’t mine.

I woke up to the empty darkness and void.

That was ninety-nine years ago. Give or take a few eternities. I’ve been playing the Soul Recycle Program’s games ever since hoping I'd find them. I've won and tore up my ticket for reincarnation more times than I can count. What’s the point? I can't start over in a world where they no longer exist.

A sudden jolt pulled me out of it back to reality. 

“Uh…” the newbie’s voice cut through my head. “I just asked for your name. You don’t have to ignore me and be an asshole about it.”

I blinked, realizing I’d been staring at the floor the whole time. Like a fucking idiot. I forced a smile.

“Axel,” I said finally. “Axel Rivers.”

She squinted at me. “That’s a cool name. You might be the first Axel I've ever met?”

I tilted my head to the side. “Does it count as meeting since we're both dead?”

She smiled nervously. “Uhh, I hope so." She shrugged, confusion furrowing her brows. “You're the pro. You should know." 

“For what it's worth, you're my best newbie so far, newbie." 

“I'm Mia. Mia Lively." 

“Ironic last name. Considering you're a deadie now, newbie."

She rolled her eyes. “You're not going to stop calling me newbie, are you?”

I shook my head. It felt normal for the first time in a while. Here was someone talking to me without fear or worship or disgust. And then she smiled at me. The last time someone smiled at me was… I suddenly realized the reason I remembered my girls after so many years. 

This newbie…

The intercom buzzed to life before I could say anything else.

“Congratulations, contestants! You’ve reached your next destination. Dracula Castle! I'm sure you're all excited.”

The bus tilted downward, and Mia grabbed the seat again. She looked like she was going to be sick. I felt bad for her. Her eyes were huge, and I could practically hear the internal monologue running inside her head— this is bullshit, I’m not dying in this fucking rip-off vampire movie.

I couldn’t blame her. First world’s always the worst, especially when it's a world as ruthless as Dracula's Castle .

I looked out the window and caught a glimpse of the castle through the fog. The last time I was here, the count's daughter tried to compel me into getting her pregnant. I'd gotten out purely by luck.

“Welcome to the afterlife,” I muttered to newbie.

She turned to me with worried eyes. “So… we really have to fight to survive?”

“Fight, run, scream, pray. Whichever keeps you alive until the times up.”

She gulped. “And if we don't make it?”

I smiled again, but this time without the humor. “Then we stop existing. Which some days doesn’t sound half bad.”

The bus stopped just as the intercom buzzed. “Doors opening in three… two… one…”

I stood and completed my routine stretch just to get warmed up. She was still seated trying hard not to show she was trembling. She's brave. Or stupid. Maybe a bit of both.

“Axel?” she called softly.

“Yeah?”

“You ever get used to it?”

I glanced down at her. I wanted to lie and give her hope but lies are for the living. We're deadies.

“No,” I said. “You just learn to fake it better.”

The doors pulled open slowly and cold fog breezed in. I stepped forward first ready to face whatever was waiting on the other side. Always the first to walk into hell.

The screen above lights up and the rules of the castle get displayed. I had seen it before so I looked away but froze when I saw the fourth rule. There have always been three rules to Dracula’s castle and I knew them at heart. The first rule was no swearing in the castle. Deadies that swear inside the castle get terminated asap. Even swearing in your mind was forbidden. What can I say? The count was a petty son of a bitch. The second rule was don’t look into mirrors. The third rule forbids deadies from hiding in the shadows for more than a minute or they become shadow fiends. 

I stare at the new rule for a moment. I don’t know what to make of it. The rule stated, “The girl in the yellow hat is off limits. Whoever touches her shall die.”

“Is everything alright?” Mia asked.

I don’t know how to answer her question so I just give her my realest fake smile and nod.