"To die, to sleep -

To sleep, perchance to dream - ay, there's the rub,

For in this sleep of death what dreams may come..."

-William Shakespeare, Hamlet- 

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One could say the spirit realm was a very peculiar place, when compared to its counterpart.  It seemed barren, a lifeless husk of the moving city.  The atmosphere took a very isolated feel, and everything looked like a purple, moonless night.  It would be relaxing if one wasn't unable to feel.  That, however, was not what Hayden had on his mind.

Right now, he just observed the people in the streets, the living who he could observe from the dead realm.  As they walked by, it was fairly obvious that they seemed to be moving at a snail's pace.  It was a bit unsettling.  Grim took notice to the ghost's discomfort.

"Freaky isn't it?  Yeah, since we are in the spirit realm, and our reality is parallel to the living realm, our concepts of time and physics are different.  Time moves about 1/1000 times slower for them than us.  They look like sloths compared to our speed."

He walked up to one of them and stared him square in the face.  Then he flicked his nose.

"Heh, when I'm invisible to them, sometimes I like to play small pranks.  Nothing big, just causing little inconveniences that give me a cheap laugh.  Then again, I don't get a lot a free time.  Time might move slow, but people die every second, so I always have a bit of work to do..."

He then remembered his time schedule, and then checked his watch.

"Crap!  Stop distracting me, man!  We need to go!  The hospital is just over there.  Once I get you to your body, just reenter it, and I'll leave you be.  Then I'll contact you later when it's time for your test."

"Is it really that simple?"

It sounded a little too easy for Faraway's taste.

"Yeah...Just kinda lie down in place.  Look, I'm too busy to spend anymore time helping you.  Just follow me and get back to your BS magically, impossible 'life'.  Come!"

He quickly walked for the entrance to the hospital, wanting to get this annoyance over with.

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The detective's soulless body laid in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV and a respiratory device.  A steady heart rate could been heard through out the room.  Flash sat in a nearby chair, asleep, while Old man Faraway now looked out the window.  He seemed troubled.  Others from the office stopped by to make sure the detective was okay, but sadly they all had to leave...It wasn't looking good...

Who could have done this to his grandson?  What kind of monster would harm such a valuable member of the community?  Had Hayden really been left for dead?  All of these questions made his heart heavy.

He just had to hope.  His boy will get better; he was a strong lad, and something like this wouldn't kill him.  At least, the old man could hope...

It was at this point two invisible beings walked in through the door.  Grim now took a breath of relief and now looked pleased with himself.

"Well, here you are!  Now go back to being alive, you pathetic human!  Contact you soon...Bye!"

With almost no time to waste, he now booked it.  He was already running late on his next real appointment.  Hopefully, the recently deceased would not be too angry with his tardiness.  It's not like he has anything else he could do instead of wait...

Hayden, however, simply looked down at himself, lying down on the bed.  His chest was wrapped in bandages, a bullet in a small metal tray sat next to the bed, and a few bruises covered his body.  Honestly, he seemed in alright shape.  The near-death must have been derived from a loss of blood.  Without any broken bones, major organ damage, or anything besides the gunshot, there would be very few other causes of death.  Still, this out of body experience sure has been...enlightening... 

He now bent down to the level of his body.  How exactly was he supposed to do this anyway?  Did he need to touch his body?  Or perhaps lie down into it?  Jump into it?  The reaper should have left him with more of a clue...

Okay...here goes nothing.

The boy reached out his arm and ran it through his body.  A bit of a light shown as it phased through.  Must be working.  Taking a risk, he then proceeded to slowly crawl into himself......This....What.....Light.........

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A gasp of sudden air now came from the bed, cuing the old man to turn around.  Hayden was making a response of some kind!

"Flash!  Get up!  He's moving!"

The photographer now wiped his eyes and then rushed over to the bedside.

"Holy Shit!  He is!  Come on, oldster!  Say something to him!  See if he's conscious!"

"Hayden?  It's your grandfather...Are you in there?"

The detective took in may deep breaths, his chest was heavy, but he felt no pain...the morphine prevented him from feeling that.

"W-What...is...W-Where are we?"

The two now seemed over joyed.

"Dude!  You almost died!  Are you alright?!  Do you need anything?!"

The elder now pushed him back a bit and leaned down to get close to his grandson's face.

"Lad, you are in the Central City Community Hospital ER.  We just found out you where shot about 12 hours ago.  You've been out in a small coma for that long...Please, is there anything we can get you to help you at the moment."

Hayden raised up a tiny bit.

"N-No...I'm...just having a hard time breathing....I need rest...."

The old man rose back up slowly, grunting.

"Well then...We are just glad you aren't moving on to the next life...You just rest...You've got to heal up here for a while, so you will need your strength...Sleep now, and we'll get everyone to visit you soon...Come on, Flash...We need to leave him be for now..."

"Okay...," He looked over to Hayden, "Looks like you're going to have an interesting story to tell when you wake up...See you around man..."

They now took their leave, silence filled the room.  The living Faraway simply laid back and tried to control his breathing.  Was all that real?  They said he was in a coma, so was it real?  Did he truly make an arrangement with a harbinger of death?  How could he know?

Nevermind...His mind was too tired to think it through anymore.  If it was real, he should find some form of poof of it in the near future...He did promise to contact him.........Let's just....rest........

The detective now dozed off into a peaceful daze, and all that was troubling him was over.  He had now crossed the bridge between the worlds for the second time.  Who knows if it was real...For now, all we can do is rest, and wait for tomorrow...

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One side living,

One side Dead,

One heart beating,

One heart lead...

Two beings,

work as one.

A contract bound

Will soon be done.

Rest now, Seer,

Regain what you have lost

But rememeber...You made a deal, 

so it'll be time to pay the cost...