The InBetween

Fourteen Minutes Of Your Time (Connie's POV)

The mother-daughter duo enjoyed some ice-cream while reading by the bay window as Connie pushed aside more guilt that she'd been feeling since cloud lane. Guilt about her uncle, Tyrone, Jacob, Miguel...

"Hey," Marilyn's voice snapped the girl from her thoughts. "Wanna hear the story of a time I stopped a mugging?"

"Really?"

"I was pregnant with you at the time. Aside from having you it was one of my most proudest moments."

"Tell me!" Connie was eager for a distraction. Her mother went into great detail of how she was on a shopping spree in her hometown when a man randomly attacked a woman across the road. Connie had her ears wide open when a knock on the door interrupted the action-packed second act of the story.

Connie looked at her mother with concern and slight fright. "Please let that be some ancestor of ours or something."

"Uhm, it's definitely not. Sorry sweetie."

"Who else could it be?"

Marilyn casually got up from her chair and went to the door. "This is heaven, Connie. Nobody's gonna rob us or anything."

Marilyn was greeted by a small boy and what looked like a half-man half-god. They were certainly unfamiliar. "Hi," The beautiful man said "Is a girl named Connie here?"

"Uh, Connie?" Marilyn called from the door "Some friends are looking to see you."

The girl made her way beside her mother, clutching her waist close as she discovered who it was. "You."

"Connie," Miguel started "We have a plan-"

Connie didn't want to hear it. Before Miguel could attempt to explain she slammed the door on the pair and made her way back to the sitting room. "Never mind them."

She looked back, expecting her mum to follow her. Instead the woman was opening the door for the unwelcome visitors again.

"Sorry about that." She chirped.

"Connie please, we need to talk." Miguel said through the door.

"I'm afraid I've said all I needed to say." Connie called to him. A part of her wondered why she was doing this, she felt bad for Miguel, but she couldn't see him. She didn't want anything to do with him.

"That's fine, because I've got plenty to say." Miguel looked pleadingly at Connie's mother. "I messed up. I'm the reason she's here. But I need to talk to her."

Marilyn crouched to Miguel's level and looked at him with true sympathy. "I don't know you. But I don't believe you're the reason she's here. You're just a kid too."

She placed a hand on Miguel's shoulder. "You've got fourteen minutes. Go. Be quick."

Miguel smiled and went past her into the lounge. The man accompanying him brought out his hand. "Name's Life, by the way. Thought I should fill you in."

Marilyn took his hand and shook it. "That would be lovely."

Connie tossed a pillow at Miguel as he tried apologizing. "Connie-"

"I thought I made myself very clear," She snapped "You ruined my last life, stop worming your way into my after-life!"

"I need your help," Miguel ducked as Connie moved on to throwing heavier objects. "Life and I have a plan on saving Tyrone and Jacob. But we can't pull it off without you."

"I just got my mother back!" Connie gave up on throwing stuff. She lunged herself at Miguel, pinning him to the ground and throwing punches he managed to dodge and block. "I've accepted the fact I'm gone. Why can't you accept it too?!"

Miguel shoved Connie off of him. "Just hear me out...please." Now Connie got a good look at him, he seemed really sincere. Most of the time, Connie saw Miguel as either a bully, a nuisance of a straight up murderer. For the first time, the girl could just see a boy, a boy pleading with her to save his friends from an unimaginable fate. The boy put his hands together and begged "Please..."

She just sighed and sat up, crossing her legs as if preparing for a story. "Tell me your plan."

"It's not very elaborate. But it could work." Miguel explained "We're still wanted by the shadow imps, right? The plan was, Life takes us down to hell disguised as a demon. Yeah, he can really do that. Anyways, he takes us with Jacob and Tyrone as our new guard and sneaks us out before the sacrifice can happen! What do you think?"

Connie wanted to scream and throw another pillow. Instead she flatly replied "No." Sadly when she's angry her mouth tends to keep flapping without her permission. "You must be out of your mind. You want me to risk my happy ending to act as bait to be lured into hell on the slim chance we can find your friends in that wasteland and escape without being burned alive by whatever devils they have working down there? You're crazy. You are honestly insane. You wanna reunite with your friends so bad? Go and do that. Just don't drag me into it."

Miguel didn't say anything. Connie had turned away at this point so she couldn't see his face. He stood slowly and made his way to the door. Before leaving he muttered "My Mum still thinks I'm alive."

"So what?"

"It's likely your dad - or whoever's down there waiting for you - could think your alive as well. That was the case for Tyrone and Jacob."

"What are you trying to tell me, Miguel?"

"It's not over. Our families may realize soon what happened to us. When we have to watch that happen, I'd at least like to know Jacob and Tyrone are resting here with us instead of burning." With that Miguel left for good.

Connie looked at the door. He left it wide open. Maybe for her, or maybe to be a jerk? Connie thought about Jacob and Tyrone's family, how by now if the boys bodies were found they'd be saying things like "The angels are resting now" and Connie would have to move on knowing that was not true. All the girl wanted now was peace with her mother. But if what Miguel's words were true: If she could give those two REAL closure for their deaths? If there was a possible chance she could go back to her uncle. Five more minutes to change her last words to him. That opportunity just walked out, but left the door open wide enough for her to follow.

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"It's alright, Miguel," Life rubbed the boys back as he slouched over the kitchen table. "It was a long shot anyway."

"It really was." Marilyn agreed. Life had filled her in on the plan while Miguel tried reasoning with Connie.

"C'mon buddy, let's go." Life stood up and propped Miguel on his feet, re-assuring him the plan would still work without Connie.

That's when she walked right through the door, towards the opportunity. "I'll help you sneak into hell." Connie could not believe she actually said that.

Miguel stared at her. He looked as if he physically couldn't speak. "Thank you!" Life said for him. "Thank you so very much!"

Connie looked at her mother. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she replied "Your doing a very selfless thing right now, Constance. I'm so proud of you."

Connie choked back on the lump in her throat as she embraced her mother for possibly the last time. "I love you."

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Connie and Miguel took a while packing everything they would need for the trip. Miguel went home and came back a while later with a backpack full of orange juice bottles. Connie packed ice-cream and ice-packs in general for the steam bath they were about to take. As Connie dumped the necessities in Miguel's bag she caught a view of something interesting. A satchel containing a spiral patterned notebook and a camera was placed at the top. 

"For Tyrone." Miguel suddenly entered the kitchen, taking the satchel from Connie's grasp like she was carrying a priceless relic. "He lost his last one, so I found these lying around my grandpop's house and thought 'why not?' Plus, Life gave me the camera so y'know..."

Much to his and her disbelief, Connie smiled and said "That's actually kind of sweet."

"Isn't it?" Life came into the space now. "Don't worry guys, he'll see the satchel, and we'll be back here before you know it." he ruffled the children's hair and directed them to the front door. Connie locked eyes with her mother watching them leave from the bay window. She never broke contact until she was too far to see. "Alright," Life announced. "To hell and back we go!"

"Not so fast." A voice whispered in everyone's ear. Black mist circulated in front of them. Connie and Miguel hid behind Life as the darkness spun round and round from a mini hurricane to a body with a voice and form. This man was paler than a ghost, with limbs so skinny they looked like bone. He had a mop of dark blue hair parted at the side and eyes filled with red rage and confusion. The only thing making him look somewhat human was the sunny eyeshadow he wore along with the golden ring he wore on top of his head as a crown. It was lined with diamonds and pearls in a linear pattern. The man wore all black top, trousers, boots and buttoned overcoat with a silver skull necklace making it look like a single star in a black night sky. He bared a stygian staff with a crystal at the top for grip. When he spoke it was with  elegance, but Connie could still detect a little bitterness in his voice aimed at their ally, Life.

"Life, dear," He said calmly before spitting at him "What in the four dimensions do you think you're doing?"