Life Afterlife: the Purg

Episode 1

I should be dead by now.

I’m surprised life didn’t deal me the card of death sooner. Given how the past twenty years of my life have played out, one would imagine I’d have been invited to an appointment with the Grim Reaper a while ago.

Of course, I wasn’t so lucky.

“… critical condition. She needs to be moved to emergency.”

“I don’t know if she’ll make it. Her condition is worsening by the minute –”

“That’s not your decision to make, dammit! Just get her to emergency. Now!”

White lights blur my vision as I try desperately to keep my eyes open. I almost feel as though, if I close them, I’ll be engulfed by an inescapable, eternal slumber. The ceiling is painful to look at – so bright, I think I might go blind anyway. Maybe I’ll just let the darkness take over …

I try to keep my brain moving instead, but there are only painful memories. Memories of growing up, switching homes every couple of years. Memories of Mom and Dad fighting over his new “business ventures” – Mom throwing a plate at the wall and me accidentally stepping in one of the shards of porcelain. Memories of the loan sharks knocking violently at our door, even though we’d already told them that Dad had run away from us for good earlier that year. Memories of Mom falling ill shortly thereafter. Memories of her funeral last week, at which I was her only visitor. The final memory of me, trying to kill myself by driving off the bridge, but having the stupidly icy road steer me into another car instead.

I wonder if that driver is okay.

What a sad, shitty life.

I wish I had the strength to laugh. It’s ironic. Death doesn’t sound so bad when life barely felt like living.

I slowly let go of my hopeless hold on consciousness. I can hear the doctors next to me going crazier, yelling incoherencies at one another. My eyes flutter shut, the brightness fades, and the warm embrace of darkness swallows me whole.

___

When I blink my eyes open again, I’m lying in white.

I bolt up, and before I realize that there is no longer any pain in my body, I’m captivated by my surroundings. It’s white. Everything – that being … nothing at all – is just white. But it’s not a white room – at least, I don’t think so. There’s no hint of dimensionality; no ceilings, no edges, no walls. Even when I place my palm on the – floor? – I’m not sure where the surface starts. It’s as though there is supposed to exist absolutely nothing here, and I’m the anomaly that invaded this empty space.

Heaven?

No way. I didn’t do anything saintly during my life. I’d like to think I didn’t have the chance to.

Hell?

Well, if that’s the case, it’s not too bad. I might go crazy after a while, but hey, if you’re the only witness to your craziness, are you actually crazy?

I’m starting to feel nauseous from the lack of spatial normality in this place, and I try my best to get to my feet. Almost immediately, something zooms through the corner of my vision and appears in front of my face – a light blue spark of some sort. Amongst this sea of white, I noticed the movement instantly, despite its speed. Seemingly out of thin air, the spark produces a hollow diamond-shaped figure, a small circular face floating in the center. It’s translucent and pale blue, like a thin jewel, but it has a floating egg yolk with a digital smiley-face in the middle.  

“Greetings, Skylar Song!” the yolk exclaims in a high-pitched, robotic voice. “Welcome to the Purg. My name is Pai. Well, technically, my name is Purg Artificial Intelligence, but as we have received complaints from previous contestants with regards to the length of my name, you are welcome to simply refer to me as Pai.”

I’m speechless. “Uh … hi?”

“No, Pai. Do not worry; you will get used to it shortly.” Pai rotates to the sides, as though taking in the surroundings. “As you can see, we are only in the loading section of the Purg. You are not in danger here. When you are ready, however, I will transport you to the first stage of the Purg. Please let me know when you feel sufficiently awakened.”

I quickly shake my head, Pai’s words bouncing straight through my ears without reaching my brain. “Wait, no. Stop. I am not sufficiently awakened, and you have not sufficiently explained anything. What do you mean, the ‘Purg?’ Where am I? And what do you mean, danger?”

Pai’s little face depicts a concerned frown. “I am sorry, Skylar Song. I did not understand your requests. Please repeat your questions, one at a time.”

I take in a deep breath, trying to force my heartbeat to slow. It’s beating madly inside my ears and driving me even more insane than I already must be for imagining up this place.

“Where am I?” I finally manage to ask.  

Pai looks pleased with my question. “You have been graciously selected to take part in the Purg! The Purg is a transitionary setting between life and death. It is a very special place, only allowed to be traversed by people who receive invitations! You, Skylar Song, are one of those lucky people. Congratulations!”

“Okay,” I say slowly, though I am very much not okay and very much did not understand anything that had just come out of Pai’s voice. “And what am I supposed to do in the … Purg?”

“Well, now, that is entirely up to you, Skylar Song!” Pai exclaims, whirling in the air so quickly in becomes a blur of blue before returning to its original state. “Though the Purg has missions and goals that you must accomplish in order to leave, there are no rules stating that you must take part in these challenges.”

“Missions? Challenges?”

“I am obligated to take you to the first layer of the Purg if I am to tell you more,” Pai says. “Do you consent to be taken?”

“What? No!” I can feel the panic setting in again. “I don’t want to do this, Pai. Can you take me back to the hospital? I mean, can you just let me go?”

“It is indeed very easy to leave the Purg,” Pai says thoughtfully. “All you have to do is die while you are on any layer of the Purg.”

I stare at its stupidly blank expression with my jaw agape. “So, you’re telling me,” I say, “that you stopped me from dying so that you could bring me here, but the only way I can go back to dying is to die in this place … again.”

Pai looks pleased. “That is indeed correct, Skylar Song! You are a quick learner. I am looking forward to being your assistant.”

I’ve had enough of this thing already. I lunge for it and grab the sides of its diamond body, shaking it forcefully. “Are you kidding me, you stupid thing? Take me back to my hospital right now. I don’t want your stupid invitation or whatever it is!”

Pai’s voice remains completely stable even as I shake its body. “I’m afraid there is no rejecting the invitation of the Purg. However, I can assist you in moving forward to the afterlife once we enter the next layer of the Purg.”

I let the thing go, realizing that I’m only tiring myself out by getting angry. It zips merrily away, still smiling.

“Fine,” I say, my will crushed. I look around, hoping to see something – anything – materialize out of this white backdrop, but it’s just as barren as it was when I got here. I guess anywhere else would be better than staying in this place with this sociopathic robot chattering in my ear.

“Take me to whatever’s next,” I mutter.

Pai does a flip in the air. “Fantastic! Then, let us begin.”