“There will be consequences.” Joel just waved him off. “Each time you go on being the man that you were in life, you will add time here, yes, but you’ll have to pay the price of that time. Do you want me to explain that?”
“No. No I don’t. I don’t want you to bother me again.” The man nodded and faded out. Joel stared at the book and decided that whatever was in it wasn’t going to be all that helpful anyway, so he ignored it. But when he went to his bedroom, the first thing he was going to do was to shower and dress for the day as if nothing had happened.
Standing in the bathroom, he stared at his reflection. The man there wasn’t him. And if he was, there was some trickery going on. The large piece of wood protruding from his neck was a problem with the lighting, or someone was playing a cruel joke on him. Joel went back to the kitchen and picked up the book.
“Who is playing tricks on me? And why does it look as if I have a leg of a chair in my neck?” The book vibrated in his hand and he opened it. On the first page, a white one, a mark appeared. The green page had nothing on it, and the red page had writing on it.
You’re dead. Like that was fucking helpful.
“How long have I been dead?” The vibration was slight this time, and a second mark showed up on the white page. The green one said eighteen on it. Eighteen what? But he didn’t ask the book. He had a feeling he was going to be limited on the amount of questions he could ask, and he didn’t want to fuck that up should he have a real need for the book. Moving through the house to his bedroom, he stood in front of his closet.
All his suits were there. Reaching out to one of them, his favorite blue one, he was scared when his hand went through it. No matter what he tried, he couldn’t touch them. Not his shoes, his ties, not even his cufflinks. Joel backed out of the closet and stared around the room.
“How am I supposed to go to meetings when I can’t even dress myself?” The book, forgotten in his hand, vibrated again. When he saw the third mark, he turned it to the red page. It said the same unhelpful thing.
You’re dead.
“This is fucking stupid. What can I do to entertain myself?” He looking longingly at the bottle of drugs on the side of his bed and knew that having sex wasn’t going to happen. The evil laugh behind him had him turning slowly.
“Hey there. You’re the man I’ve been looking to meet up with.” The hair on Joel’s neck stood up, and his body felt like he’d been touched by something moving, nasty and full of things that went bump in the night. When the man took a step toward him, Joel took one back. “No need to be afraid of me. You and me, we’re going to be great partners.”
“In what? And if you want money, I’m afraid you’re going to be shit out of luck. I can’t pick up my dick, much less my wallet.” The man laughed again, and Joel took another step back. “Who are you and what do you want?”
“Well, my name is Dane, Dane Glass. Never heard of me, I’m thinking. We don’t exactly go in the same social settings. But I have a feeling we’re going to be the best of friends around here. Oh, and if you’re dead with your wallet on you, you can touch it. Same goes with the shit you have on. Watch won’t work, of course; something about your body being cold I guess. And if your keys were on you, those too you could hold. You can touch them, but not unlock a door…not that you need to unlock a door or start your car. See how much help we’re going to be to each other?” Joel asked him why. “Because I know where your future wife is, and you’re going to help me give some payback to the bastard that murdered me.”
“Addison? You know where…is she dead too?” Joel thought that if she was dead too, then all his problems were solved. He could just torment her for the rest of their days together. “Take me to her now.”
“Now hold your shit there, buddy. We have to come to some agreements, you and me. Like when I help you, you’re going to go over and beyond it to help me right back. Like I said, I got me a bastard to kill too, but I want him to suffer. And you’re going to help me with that.” Joel was liking this plan more and more. The book in his hand vibrated, and he looked inside. This time the green page was written on. “What’s it say there?”
“It says that I should avoid you at all costs or pay the price.” Joel looked at Dane. “Why would it tell me that when I didn’t ask it any questions?”