FicWad

A/N- Sorry if updates are slow, y'know, exams and stuff.

Frank  was more than just a little shocked. He had spent the last hour or so, sitting against a tree and trying to comprehend the news he had just been told. "You're fucking joking." Frank repeated for the tenth time.

The strange man with the bluish tinted skin and red rimmed eyes only laughed. "I'll tell ya again' son." He said. "I'm not jokin', I'm as serious as a dead man can be-"

"Oh no, don't try to tell me that you're dead again." Frank rudely interrupted. "You're fucking insane! You're a mental case!" Frank took out his iPhone and waved it in the man's face. "I'll call the police! They're probably looking for you! And then I can try and find my way out of this fucking forest. God knows how I got here. You-" He prodded the man's chest. "You, probably drugged me! What are you, some kind of fucked up fan?" He continued hysterically.

The man shrugged and looked Frank in the eyes. "My name's Carl. I been sent here to come an' get you."

Frank ignored him and dialed 9-1-1 into his phone. He held it up to his ear and waited for a reply. But no reply came. He scowled and threw his phone on the floor in anger, and it broke into several prices. "Goddammit! No reception..."

Carl sighed. "Ya won't get any reception aroun' here. I seen plenty of folk come here an' try to use their telephonic devices, but they never get any reception." 

Frank looked at him angrily and bit his lip. "Well, what do I fucking do now, then?"

Carl smiled. "Y'a come with me." he started to limp of toward the forest, but Frank stayed firmly put.

"I'm not walking off into the goddamn forest with a fucking stranger!"

Carl just ignored him and continued to walk away. Frank scowled again and finally decided to follow, as the idea of standing around in the cold and waiting for someone to find him, didn't really appeal to him. They walked deeper into the forest, in silence. The only sound heard was the crunching of the autumn leaves beneath their feet, and the gentle rustling of tree branches in the chilly breeze. Soon, it got rather dark and Frank struggled to see where he has going. He tripped and scratched himself several times. 

Carl stopped suddenly, causing Frank to bump into him from behind. "Ouch! How much further do we have to walk?" Frank asked.

Carl rolled his eyes and pointed into the darkness before them. "We're here." 

"Here? But I can't see a fucking thing!" 

"Exactly." Carl replied. "Now...just walk into the darkness there and close your eyes."

Frank frowned. "What? Go in there? No way, dude, I wouldn't be able to see." A gust of cold air blew into his face, and he suddenly became very frightened. "At least...um....you come with me..."

Carl shook his head and turned to look at Frank. "This place. This forest. It's kinda like purgatory. I can't go with you, it's my job to help lost souls like you find their way."

Frank felt very cold. "W-What, so this is r-real? You're not just some mentalist p-playing a fucking joke on me? I'm...d-dead?"

Carl nodded sadly and it was then that Frank broke down. He felt his hands start to shake, and then his whole body shake, too. His heart started to beat very rapidly, Frank could feel it going crazy inside his chest. "I'm d-dead..." He said, before finding that he could no longer breathe, every attempt was futile, he could taste the cold air but not use it.

Carl wrapped his arm around Frank's shoulder and held him close to his chest. "S'okay, buddy. Everybody's gotta die sometime." He rubbed Frank's back comfortingly.

Slowly, Frank started to regain his breath. He felt extremely tired all of a sudden, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he began to cry quietly into Carl's shoulder. Carl kept rubbing Frank's back and murmuring to him softly. "H-How?" Frank blurted out suddenly. "I d-don't remember...I don't remember!"

 Carl tried to calm him down. "Tha's normal, don't you worry, tha't completely normal. You'll remember eventually. It'll come back to you." 

Frank nodded, and straightened up suddenly. He wiped the falling tears from his cheeks and looked Carl directly in the eye. "I've h-had a good life." Carl nodded sympathetically, as Frank continued. "I lived my dream, I was in a band...I had amazing friends, that I...I love so much." He wiped fresh tears away. "And my wife, my darling wife, was the best anyone could ever ask for. And my kids, my babies. They were so beautiful, ARE so beautiful. I just...I hope they grow up knowing how m-much their daddy l-loves them." 

He couldn't stop the tears from flowing, so he left them to fall freely. Carl smiled slightly and put his hand on Frank's shoulder. "I know all about you, son. You accomplished some amazing things, you were absolutely beautiful. Never forget that."

Frank nodded sadly. "I won't. Thank you." And with those words, he turned away from the strange man, and made his way into the darkness. He stopped, when he could finally see no more, and he closed his eyes, counting. "One, two, three..."