The Afterlife Series Box Set

  We stared at the huge pillar for a few seconds in total silence. Then the professor continued, “Now, a tornado is very different from a hurricane. Why?”

  I raised my hand.

  “Yes, Meghan.”

  “It spins faster, it moves faster, and its winds are much more destructive but in a smaller area.”

  “Correct,” the professor said. “The rapid rotation is what we must be aware of. Now, occasionally a single storm will produce more than one tornado, either simultaneously or in succession. Multiple tornadoes produced by the same storm cell are referred to as what?”

  I raised my hand.

  “Yes, Meghan, once again.”

  “A tornado family."

  “Correct again. Now tornadoes normally rotate cyclonically in one direction. That means counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere, clockwise in the southern. We are now in the northern hemisphere. The winds always move from the ground into the air. Therefore we approach them from the bottom and let ourselves be sucked into them and shot out in the air at the end. It is quite a fast rotation and you will feel a little dizzy afterwards, but that will eventually wear off. The most important thing is to avoid all the flying objects inside of the rotating funnel.”

  The professor took an instrument from his jacket and looked at it. He pointed it at the storm and did some calculations. Then he turned a handle and measured some more.

  “It looks like … the wind speed in this one is about two hundred miles per hour at this time. It is perfect.”

  He put away his instrument and looked at us. Then he smacked his hands together so hard they were still wobbling long afterwards.

  “So … are you ready?” he asked with great anticipation.

  Chapter 16

  The first to go in was the professor. He asked us to wait until he was gone before we followed him and then he said he would wait for us at the other side, ready to grab us.

  “It will be like being shot out from a canon,” he said with a wide smile the second before he started descending toward the beginning of the funnel.

  The last thing we saw was him waving at us, the second before he was sucked up into it like he was dust being removed with a giant vacuum cleaner.

  When we were sure that he was gone and we wouldn’t crash into him, we looked at each other and, since no one else seemed to want to go, I went first. I didn’t look back until I was almost at the bottom end of the funnel. I was struck by the huge noise it made as it moved toward me. It sounded like a combination of a freight train approaching, rushing rapids or waterfall, and a nearby jet engine. Identifying the noise didn’t make it less scary.

  When it was close enough I turned and smiled at my classmates before I closed my eyes and stretched out my arms. In a split second I felt a strong pulling in both of my arms. It was like the wind wanted to rip them off entirely but luckily they stayed on; they were only stretched out to double the length of what they normally are.

  I heard myself scream as I entered the rotation and started centrifuging around. It felt like I was in a washing machine while it was spinning. It pressed my body against the wall of the funnel. My body shook all over and parts of my fingers dissolved in the wind, only to return seconds later.

  My entire body was stretched as far as possible as I was being spun around and around. It made me dizzy and sick to my stomach. And it seemed like it would never stop. I couldn’t see the top end of the funnel yet. Beside me was the top of a magnolia tree getting the same treatment as I was, and above my head I saw a kayak and some patio furniture. None of it threatened to rip me apart if it hit me.

  In the beginning I was extremely tense and scared, but eventually I found a technique to make myself relax. I spoke to my body and told it to just go wherever the wind took me. And that made me calm. From time to time, I closed my eyes and tried to enjoy it. At one point I was actually laughing out loud.

  It wasn’t so bad after all. The huge noise had turned into a sort of rhythmic sound, like a harmonic whistling, humming, or the buzzing of innumerable bees. It was almost as if it were whispering my name.

  Meghan … Meghan … Meghan.

  The sound was loud. Soon it became louder and clearer and I opened my eyes. But nothing was there, nothing that could whisper like that. I closed my eyes again. A few seconds later it was back.

  Meghan … Meghan … Meghan.

  It was much louder than the first time and I felt a pinch in my stomach. What was that? It was like a small distant voice whispering from inside the storm. Like an alluring little voice singing my name.

  Meghan … Meghan … Don’t forget … don’t forget to watch your back. Meghan … Meghan … Don’t forget.

  “Who is there?” I shouted. It was hard to move anything but I managed to move my head and look down into the funnel, where I thought the sound was coming from, but I couldn’t see anyone.

  “Who said that?” I yelled again but as I did I lost my concentration and fear overwhelmed me.

  I should have seen it coming toward me, but I didn’t. I was too shaken to notice the big car flying right toward me and slamming right through my soft body.

  “Aaaaarrrrgggghh,” I screamed.

  When it had gone through, my body started dissolving. I saw my arm fall off and turn to hundreds of small beads. Then my legs, my other arm and …

  I didn’t realize what had happened until much later when I woke up. A bright light shone in my face and made me open my eyes. That was when I realized my head hurt badly. I tried to move my arms but they were too heavy. The light was so bright I couldn’t see. I blinked a couple of times. It wasn’t the sun. How strange. I blinked again but it made my head hurt even worse. Two blue stars shone in the brightness. Two very blue eyes. A face appeared in front of me. The smiling face of Rahmiel swam into view above me.

  “Good morning, my dearest Meghan,” she said with her gentle singing voice.

  I stared at her, trying to remember. Then it all came back to me. “The funnel. I was in the funnel.”

  “Calm down, sweetie. You are safe now. You have been unconscious for a couple of days, but we are very glad that you are back.”

  “I was hit by something … a car, I think,” I said and held a hand to my head.

  “You will be a little sore for a couple of days, the nurse told me.” Rahmiel stroked my cheek gently.

  “My body … My body was torn to … ” I sat up in the bed.

  “It was torn to beads, I know,” Rahmiel said. “Do try to calm down or nurse Becky will have me thrown out of here.”

  I looked around. I realized I was in the hospital tower. I was in a bed with white linens and on the table next to me was a whole garden of flowers and piles of candy that I would never be able to eat by myself.

  But none of the screamers seemed to be here.

  “Abhik,” I said. “Where did you take Abhik?”

  “He is in good hands. They have all been taken to a place where they are being helped. Don’t worry. You will soon have your friend back.”

  I took a couple of deep breaths and realized that sitting up was hurting and making me exhausted.

  “So what happened in there?” she asked.

  I stared at her astonishing face. I didn’t know what to say. I remembered very clearly what had happened now. I remembered the whispering of my name, the fear that overwhelmed me and then the car coming toward me. I remembered everything, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to share it with her. The last time I had a warning like that, my freedom had been taken away. And furthermore I wasn’t even sure that it had really been there. Maybe it had all just been in my head. I didn’t want her to know, so I decided not to say anything.

  “I was hit by a car. That is all I remember,” I said.

  I felt that she looked at me like she didn’t believe me, but I could have been imagining things.

  “A car, huh?”

  “Yeah. It was suddenly there and I didn’t see it.”

  “So you lost your concentr
ation?”

  “I guess so.”

  “And you didn’t get scared of anything or something like that?”

  “I guess I was a little scared of the tornado. Maybe I panicked.”

  Rahmiel nodded speculatively. “Hmm. You know you can always tell me if something is bothering you, right?”

  I nodded but stopped since it hurt too much. “Sure.” I forced a smile. It came out a little awkwardly.

  “Anything that is on your heart,” she said.

  “Yeah. I know that.”

  Rahmiel smiled again. “Good. I am glad. It is very important for me that my students know I am there for them. Always.”

  “I am sure they all know that.”

  Rahmiel nodded. “Now you have to get some rest. Being ripped apart and put back together like that is very hard on the body. It will take a couple of days for you to get your strength back,” she continued with a gentle smile.

  I lifted my comforter and looked at my legs. The last thing I remembered was my left leg being torn. It looked almost normal but the right one was missing something. A bandage was put over the knee and it felt strange when I tried to move.

  “Yes,” Rahmiel said. “Since you were in such a strong wind when you were ripped apart, all the beads containing your body were spread in many different directions. Led by Raphael and Professor Grangé, we had a great search team out to find all parts of you but unfortunately we couldn’t find your right kneecap anywhere. The hospital crew did an amazing job of putting you back together again.”

  I felt how my eyes grew wide and big. “I’m missing a right kneecap? Will I be handicapped?”

  Rahmiel burst into a light laughter.

  “You are still so earthly in your way of thinking. Look around you. Have you ever seen anyone on this school in a wheelchair? Even though most of the people coming here are old and haven’t been able to walk in a long time when they were still on earth?”

  I thought about it for a second and I really hadn’t.

  “I guess you are right,” I said. “I have never seen that.”

  “That’s because you are in a different world now. And your body is different. So should your thinking be.”

  “But what about my kneecap?”

  Rahmiel laughed again. “You will grow a new one. It will take a couple of days, maybe a few weeks, and then you will be back to your old self again.”

  I looked at my leg and couldn’t help but be a little impressed with this new body. It was going to grow a whole new kneecap, just like that.

  “How long do I have to stay here in the hospital?”

  “It takes a lot of strength to regrow a body part, so you have to give your body a lot of rest. It is up to nurse Becky when she is willing to release you.”

  I looked at the flowers and the candy on the small table next to my bed. I reached out and picked up a basket.

  “From your friends at the dormitory. Mai is very grateful for what you did for her and made everybody help gathering things to put in it. Books, magazines, chocolate, just the basic essentials.”

  “Then who is the rest from?” I asked and pointed at the forest of flowers and the piles of candy.

  “You have one friend who has been extremely worried. He has been here every day while you were unconscious.”

  Rahmiel looked at me and pushed back a lock of hair from my face.

  “A friend like that is very special and very valuable to have.”

  I nodded. I knew who she was talking about. It could only be Mick.

  Rahmiel smiled. “In fact he is here right now. Maybe you would like to see him? He will be very thrilled to see that you are awake.”

  “Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?” Mick had barely entered the room. He ran to my bed and grabbed my hand.

  “I know I have been acting like a complete fool, I am so sorry. It was the jealousy. It got the better of me. I am so sorry. It will never happen again. I promise you that.”

  It felt nice holding his hand again. It made me smile while a warmth spread in my body. I had missed Mick so much.

  “Is that for me?” he asked. “That beautiful smile? Is that for me?”

  I smiled even wider as I nodded. “Thank you for coming to see me every day,” I whispered. “Thank you for the beautiful flowers. Thank you for caring.”

  He sighed and sat down on my bed. Then he leaned toward me still holding my hand tight in his. “It was quite a scare, when they brought you in,” he said with a low voice. I looked directly into his sparkling blue eyes. They seemed to be glittering as he talked.

  “I was afraid of losing you, afraid that we would never get back together again. I thought my heart would burst. I flew to the hospital tower but they wouldn’t let me visit you until the following day. And then I saw you lying in your bed, all pale and lifeless. It scared me. And I realized just how much I really love you and how I can’t go on living without you.”

  Mick exhaled and stroked my cheek with his hand. Then he whispered, “The last couple of months without you have been like one long winter with no sun. You light up my world, Meghan. I am like the flower that cannot grow without your beams. Without your love I will wither.”

  I saw tears were welling up in his eyes. I squeezed his hand.

  “So is that a yes?” he asked. “Can you forgive me?”

  “Yes, Mick. You are forgiven.”

  Chapter 17

  My reunion with Mick made me well in no time. Faster than they had ever seen anyone recuperate from being torn apart, they said in the hospital. So a week later I had regrown a kneecap and was back in my class and, most importantly of all, I was back with Mick. Soon it was almost like it used to be. Mick and I would hang out after school and on the weekends and during meals in Hornam Hall.

  And he was nicer to me than ever before. A real gentleman, really. Bringing flowers and chocolate-covered strawberries to my room and basically taking care of my every need. It was like he was constantly trying to make up for the lost times and I could tell that his guilt over acting badly toward me was bothering him.

  Finally it became a little too much for me and I had to tell him to slow down a little. We were on my bed when I addressed him. “You are smothering me,” I said.

  He sighed deeply and looked so hurt that I immediately regretted having said it. He got up from the bed. His eyes had that angry look in them.

  “Now I am being too nice to you? I don’t know how to please you. What do you want from me?”

  I got up and grabbed his shirt. Then I pulled him closer and kissed his soft lips. I loved the way he smelled and took in a deep breath. Then I let go of his lips and looked him in the eyes.

  “I love you Mick, I really do, but you don’t have to feel guilty. I forgave you, remember?”

  He nodded. “Sure. But I just—”

  I put a finger on his lips. “Shh.”

  He looked confused.

  Then I whispered, “All I want is for everything to go back to be like it used to. I want you to be like you used to be. I want you to be yourself.”

  Mick nodded. Then he smiled. “That doesn’t sound too hard. I think I could do that.”

  Mick stared at me. It made me feel a little shy. Then he grabbed my shoulders and pushed me gently back on the bed.

  I never told anyone the truth about what had happened inside the tornado, but I had a hard time forgetting about it myself. It was like the whispering was stuck in my head. Especially at night I would hear the small alluring voice calling my name again.

  Meghan … Meghan … Meghan …

  It drove me insane and I didn’t get much sleep the following days and weeks. Instead I would sit in my window sill and read my books in the light from the shining moon outside. My nights became long and lonely and somewhere inside of me a fear had taken root. It was slowly growing inside of me, filling me with this nervous feeling that something bad was coming, that something evil was after me. What if this was a real warning? The message on the
horse, the whispering voice. What if it was really something I should be afraid off? I began regretting not having spoken to anyone about it, but I really didn’t want them to take away what little freedom I had. I was free to go wherever I wanted on school premises, but I still wasn’t allowed to go and visit Jason. It had been such a long time since I had seen him—and it was even longer for him. I had no idea what had become of him. Was he still doing drugs? I began devoting my nightly reading to learning more about healing. I wanted to find something that could help me heal Jason. I knew he would have to want to get out of this abuse, and I was so sure that he would come around one day soon. I wanted to be ready.

  I sighed while imagining his face close to mine. I don’t think I even remembered how it felt to touch him, let alone kiss him any longer. Suddenly I was filled with guilt. Here I was, Mick and I were trying to figure things out, and then I started thinking about Jason again. Why couldn’t I just let him go once and for all? It certainly wasn’t fair to Mick who was trying really hard to fix our relationship. I had to put in an effort as well.

  As my mind wandered, I suddenly gazed out the window and spotted the big black panther again. It had been a long time since I last saw it. I had become more and more convinced that Adahy was feeding it.

  “Going off for a nightly snack, are you?” I whispered.

  I followed it as it moved toward the stables again. I saw it lift its paw and scrape at the door.

  Since I had seen it before I turned to look at my book again. But something made me look back outside, like a feeling that something was very wrong. As I turned to look I noticed that the door to the stables was still closed and the panther was still outside scratching on it. It had become angrier and now I even heard the panther burst into a roar. It rose on two legs and started hitting the door with its paws. When the door didn’t open, it did something strange. It turned itself into a human spirit and went right through the door.