Purgatory is Real?
Rez
Afamiliar soft and stubby tail rubs against my cheek making me smile, and I roll over to get more comfortable.Thunk. The sensation of falling and my head bouncing off the hard surface of the floor jolts me awake.
What the hell?
Blinking my eyes against the harsh light, I sit up and rub the grogginess from them. Groaning, I scan around the unfamiliar room and I find a sofa right behind me.Huh. So, that’s what I fell off of. Ugh. My eyelids feel like lead and my head throbs like it’s been through a blender. What the fuck happened last night?
The spacious room I find myself in is decorated with dark gray walls and sleek black furniture scattered around. Side tables throughout the room hold brochures and vases filled with lilacs, their sweet scent wafting through the room. A ticket holder and TV are mounted on the wall across from me, and an unoccupied check-in window is to my left. Other than that, the room is completely empty of people and unrecognizable.
Where the hell am I?The eerily quiet room gives me goosebumps.Please, God, don’t tell me I woke up in a horror movie. I'm definitely not first death material.
I take a minute to assess my body for any injuries. My right arm is a little sore at the elbow, and my head is throbbing slightly. Running my hands through my long, curly brunette tresses, I notice the pain is sharper at the back of my head, but I don’t feel a knot. My clothes are intact, although a little dirty like I was rolling around in the gravel, but that’s normal when you live in the country.
Standing up, I stretch out my limbs to relieve the ache in my back. Now, time to get some answers.Where do I start?Before I can decide what to do, a door creaks open next to the window and I hear heels clicking on the tile floor, freezing me in place.
A woman comes strolling in, looking like a runway model as she makes her way across the room. She glances my way, does a double take, and stops in her tracks. Rolling her eyes, she turns towards me with an annoyingly perfect hair flip.
I’ve never seen material like her light gray metallic pantsuit before. It hugs her body like a second skin as it clings to her form. The top she’s wearing is two sizes too small and has a deep V-neck, which barely contains her ample cleavage, but the color pops against her alabaster skin and dark blue eyes. Long, intricate braids are woven throughout her hot pink hair that flows down to her waist. I watch as she flips her hair again, and that’s when I notice the ears. Large earring hoops and delicate vines run up along her elf-like four-inch long ears on both sides of her head.
“Finally. You’re awake. Took you long enough.” Her high-pitched voice drives nails into my already throbbing head. Cocking her head to the side, she assesses me, and by her look, I’ve come up lacking.
I must still be drunk—Damn you, Ryan, for fixing the last drink with more Vodka than OJ.Shaking my head to help clear it, I finally find my voice. “Where the hell am I? And what’s with the… um, the ears?” I ask, pointing to the side of her head.
She must have gotten ear modifications done, or those are some excellent prosthetics.
Smooth Rez. Real smooth.
Spaz-tastic Gucci Hoochy just continues to glare at me with a demented look. She’s either contemplating taking a shit or shanking me. My guess would be on the latter.
“You’re in the waiting room at Nova’s City Hall.” She smiles, and it’s not a nice one either.
“Where?”
“You’re in Purgatory,” she says and motions to her ears. I can’t help but scoff at the idea.The first thing I did when I died was fall off the couch in purgatory? Riiiiight. That makes perfect sense. Whatever!“These mean I’m an Elf. Where have you been living? Under a rock?” she huffs. “My name is Emer, second of the Elverson Clan,” she continues while straightening her shoulders, like this was supposed to mean something to me.
I’m trying to hold it in, but the giggle bursts out of me.
After a moment, I’m in full-on fits of laughter, you know, the obnoxious kind.
Tears stream down my cheeks, blurring my vision. Trying to relieve the cramp in my side, I bend over and gasp for air. “An... el–elf?” I sputter out between breaths.
“Yes,” she growls, crossing her arms over her chest.
I finally get myself under control and wipe the tears from my face. Cute. Got to love the jokes my friends like to play on me. Like the time they hired a prostitute for Timothy and told him we found his drug-addicted mother. Yeah, I never said we were smart, but their jokes have always been over the top. Though we’ve never moved someone to a different place before, but hey, there’s always a first time for everything. Right?
“I’m sorry, but... really?” I mock, shaking my head in disbelief. “Mad props on the costume.” I point to her clothes and suppress another bout of giggles. Passing her on the way to the door, I notice her face is now the same color as her pink hair.
“It looks phenomenal. Bet you’re a hit at all the comic-cons, but it’s time for me to get home. Thanks,” I call over my shoulder and make it two feet before she blocks my escape. She's visibly shaking and her jaw is clenched.
“Look, you little wainch,” she snarls, baring her extra-pointy teeth. “I didn’t have to stay here, wasting my day to make sure you weren’t made into someone’s snack. I should have been at Newt’s with my friends, but instead, I’m here babysitting you,” her lip curls, flailing her arms in the air.
Eat me? Yeah. Okay, I’ll bite and play along. She might just slip up and tell me where my friends are hiding. I’m going to strangle someone when I get my damn hands on them.
“Okay, so why did you waste your day then?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest. I give her my ‘this should be good’ look, and patiently wait for an answer.
I watch as a multitude of emotions cross her face until annoyance wins out. “Because when one of the princes asks for a favor, you jump for the chance to serve. Besides, he’s got connections I need—doing this small favor is worth it.”
