Moving on

By Al Horn

Imagine a place where light meets darkness... abruptly.

"Whoa! What just happened?" asked Bill Maples.

"Please, sir, just stand still for a few moments," said one of the two men in front of him.

Bill noticed they were dressed in tattered, dark suits that were badly stained on the fronts and arm sleeves. They were also holding objects that appeared to be weapons of some sort. Said objects were pointing at him. A quick look around told him he was in a room twenty feet by twenty feet. The walls, floor and ceiling were all white. Soft light emanated from all the hard surfaces. A draft of cool air came through the room and forced him to notice that he was naked.

"Excuse me, am I still in the subway station?"

The taller of the two men responded. "You're in a processing station."

"A processing station? What do you process here?"

A woman stepped into the room. She appeared to have passed through one of the walls like some kind of ghost. She was dark haired, fair skinned, and wearing a sagging leopard skin leotard. "You, Mr. Maples, are being processed."

"I don't understand."

"Of course not. If you had been warned, you might not be here now." She walked up to him and looked into his eyes. She did this while leaving a clear shot for both of her companions. "I can answer some of your questions. I doubt they are any different than those who came before you."

"There were others before me?"

"Oh, yes, there were plenty of others. Most of them came to us on a regular basis. Lately, the numbers have thinned. We have had to resort to... recruitment."

"I have been recruited?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. Your next question is: 'how did I get here'? Answer: you died in the world you lived in. Unfortunately for you, you had some help. Now that you're here you will be judged in some manner to determine what happens next." She looked around and said, "That's strange the others are not here yet."

The shorter of the two men nodded his head. "I agree. Usually a decision has been made by now."

Before he could finish his statement, a dozen other people, dressed like the two holding weapons, walked through the walls of the room. As the last one entered a flash of light filled the room. Once Bills eyes were able to adjust, he saw a naked woman standing next to him.

"It makes sense now," said the woman in the leotard. "Mr. Maples, Ms. Long, please stare into each other's eyes. I repeat, the eyes only."

Bill turned to look into the woman's eyes. He immediately experienced an unnamed attraction. He found his eyes wandering down the woman's body. He looked up just before the woman could take her eyes off of his groin.

"Finally," said one of the men holding the weapons. The walls turned a bright red just before he pressed something on his weapon.

Bill never saw what hit him. He just knew that his body had gone completely limp. As he fell to the floor he noticed the naked woman was in the same predicament. Every one but the two men holding weapon descended on the two fallen forms and began to tear the flesh on their arms, legs, and torso away, stuffing pieces into their mouths. Despite the pain, Bill remained conscious through the ordeal. After stripping the skin away, they laid him flat next to the newly arrived woman. Again the room was filled with light.

Once the light had faded he discovered that all his pain was gone. Able to move, he looked at the new woman and discovered she was dressed in a black business suit just as he was. They stood up to see the room of people bowing to them. A few seconds later, the two holding the weapons began to glow. They began to shout. Not from pain, but from joy. After thirty seconds passed, they faded completely from sight.

"Where did they go?" asked Bill.

The woman in leotards stepped towards him. She now filled the suit out in a most pleasant way according to Bill's eyes. "They have served their time in Purgatory. Now, they are moving on."