Read Online This is Your Afterlife by Vanessa Barneveld - Free Book Online

watch Dan trudge from the trees, about fifty yards away. His pale face is smeared with dirt. It seems he doesn’t notice me at first, but when he does, his eyes go completely round.
    â€œKeira?” Two bright splotches of color bloom on his cheeks. He moves more purposefully toward me. “What are you doing here?”
    In a flash, Jimmy steps in front of me. “Stop him. I don’t want Dan or anybody seeing me. Not like this. Not with me bloated up like some...some blimp.”
    Nodding rapidly, I yell out, “Don’t come any closer, Dan!”
    He stops short and pushes a fringe of dark blond hair out of his eyes. Emotion simmers underneath his fine cheeks as he raises a trembling finger at the water. “Is...is that what...who I think...it is?”
    Jimmy, the
real
Jimmy, drifts behind his brother. He holds Dan by both arms in an effort to hold him back. An effort that goes unnoticed. Jimmy’s hands strike through the air. “Keira, help me out.”
    I run to Dan and use all my strength to spin him around toward the wooded path. The crow circles, its button-like eyes zeroing in on Jimmy’s body. “I’m sorry, Dan! I’m so sorry. Please. Just stay where you are.”
    â€œI’ve been searching for him all night.” Dan fends me off easily. “If that’s Jimmy, I have to see for myself.”
    My hands slip down his goose-pimpled arms as I try to lead him away. “Jimmy doesn’t want you to see him like that.”
    His blue gaze scorches my face, and I realize my mistake. “What?”
    Backtracking, I stammer, “I...I mean, he
wouldn’t
want you to.”
    â€œLet me pass,” he growls.
    â€œHe was badly injured. You just have to trust me. Please.” I push against him so hard my feet slip on the rocks. Dan steadies me. Tears gather on my lashes. I blink them away rapidly but not before a salty drop slides to the corner of my mouth.
    For a second Dan falters, then he stalks right by us. “You wouldn’t know what my brother wants.”
    Jimmy strides after Dan, grabbing futilely at his brother’s shirt. “Help me stop him!”
    How can I do that, short of tackling the guy? He’s determined and pumped full of adrenaline. If our situations were reversed, nothing would stop me from looking at the body, no matter how grisly the scene. I get that Jimmy wants to spare Dan the pain and the finality of seeing his body, but just because he’s dead doesn’t mean Jimmy’s right.
    I whisper, “Sorry, Jimmy. I can’t.”
    Jimmy stands alongside his brother. Identical expressions of anguish contort their handsome faces. The sound of ragged breathing cuts right into me.
    â€œOh, Christ, no!
No
!” Dan’s tormented voice reverberates off the falls. He collapses sobbing on the rocks. Jimmy looks away, perhaps knowing there’s little he can do to comfort Dan. Can’t put an arm around him. Can’t talk to him. “We’ve gotta get him out of there.”
    Reason and logic born from years of watching crime dramas jump into my head. “No, we need to call the police. We can’t disturb the scene.”
    â€œThe
scene
?” he says in an incredulous tone. “Screw it. That’s my brother.”
    Dan leaps into the water without bothering to remove his shoes or clothing. Jimmy dives in after him. The current fights them as both boy and ghost throw their strength into freeing Jimmy from a heavy branch. I kneel on the embankment. Moisture from the moss seeps through my jeans.
    From my perch, I pull on the branch as hard as I can. I fall back. “It won’t budge. We should get Charlie.”
    Exhausted, Dan nods. He refuses my hand as he drags himself out of the water. He shakes uncontrollably, but he makes an effort to stand up straight next to me. On his other side, Jimmy does his best to prop him up.
    â€œHow did you know?” Dan says in a strained