"Do you believe in heaven?" He'd asked me.

Back then, I wasn't sure of my answer. The whole God-Heaven-Hell nonsense was just confusing to me, and life seemed better if you weren't constantly dwelling on what happened next. I wish I had told him something comforting, like, "Sure." But that's not what I said.

"I don't know." I told him. He'd looked up at me, with those big brown eyes, so warm even though the hand I held was cold and clammy. I wonder if he appreciated my honesty, but I never really got to know. The corner of his mouth tilted up into a smile, and the light faded from his eyes.

And that was how Jake died.

I'm still pretty sure it was my fault. I was the one driving, after all. It wasn't like there were any distractions like other cars or animals or just loud music. Nope. Just a patch of black ice that had appeared out of nowhere, like all black ice tends to do. Then we were sliding, and then we hit a tree. Jake flew out the windshield, because my passenger seatbelt was broken. Dazed, I had clambered out of the car after him and stumbled towards the crumpled body laying on the grass twenty feet away. In the light of the headlights I remember seeing the grotesque shadow of the tree root sticking out from his chest. I remember thinking how unreal it was, that there was a tree growing out of Jake's chest.

He'd reached for me, outstretched his bloody hand, and I'd taken it. "I think I'm dying." He'd said, eyes unfocused.

"Nah. It's just a scratch, a flesh wound." I'd replied, but even as I had reached for my cell, he'd said those final words and he was gone.

I'd sat next to him for close to ten minutes, staring at his body. It was strange to tell myself this, that I was sitting in front of Jake's body, although without life it didn't seem anything like him. Even the smile on his lips wasn't the same, a perverse shadow of what Jake's smile really was, warm and welcoming. That was when I felt the hand on my shoulder, and the reality of the situation hit me at last.

"Scarlett."

I screamed and screamed, until I heard the other voice whisper something and my consciousness faded.

"Scarlett? Scarlett, wake up."

"No."

"That's my girl. Open your eyes."

I groaned and blinked my eyes open, wincing in the harsh white light that filtered in through the skylight overhead. There was a clatter of metal beside me, and memories of the car crash came flooding back. The screech of metal, the wild fear that coursed through my veins as I lost control of the steering wheel. Then, and this was the worse, the smile on Jake's face, with the blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth. I couldn't breathe.

"I need air." I choked, sitting up and reaching around frantically for something to hold on to. A pair of strong hands gripped mine, but I was blinded by panic and could do nothing but gasp for air. I felt myself being lifted and carried somewhere, until I was surrounded by light and placed on what felt like a stone bench. I held my hands in my lab and inhaled, exhaled, inhaled once again. I must be in the hospital. That was what happened to everyone in these situations, right? Which meant that the person who picked me up would have been a nurse, or something, though he was a pretty strong nurse to just pick me up like that, and weren't nurses forbidden to just carry people around like rag dolls?

I spread my fingers slightly and looked between them. I was still wearing my clothes from before, which didn't exactly support my hospital theory. There were even bloodstains on my jeans, though I don't really remember how they got there. The bench beneath me was indeed stone, and I soon realized that I was sitting in some sort of circular courtyard. There was even a small stream that wound about the edges and under a massive iron gate set into the far wall. The walls were high, maybe 20 feet, topped with wooden shingles.

"Are you okay now?"

I jumped, forgetting the presence of the nurse/orderly/whatever the hell he was. I turned. He was standing a few feet away from me, leaning casually against the trunk of a young widow tree. He sure as hell wasn't dressed as a nurse, that was for sure. He wore jeans, like me, and a short sleeved black t-shirt. His hair was messy, blonde, and fell into his eyes. He strode forward gracefully, and knelt down before me so that we were eye to eye. His eyes were green, like jade.

"Scarlett, are you okay?"

"How do you know my name?" I asked. The guy sighed and tossed something into my lap. My wallet.

"How do you think?"

"But… were you the one who…"

He frowned. "Who what?"

"You know…" I trailed off, but from the blank look in his eyes this guy had no idea what I was talking about. Maybe he wasn't the person who pulled me away from… The guy stood up and offered me a callused hand.

"We've got to get you back inside. Cara's going to want to talk to you."

"Who's Cara?" I asked. "And who the hell are you?"

"It's Kyle. Cara's our captain. She's going to have to figure out something to tell the guys in charge, and that involves getting to meet you."

"Wait, who are the guys in charge? What's going on here?"

"Walk with me, and I'll tell you."

I looked at his outstretched hand once again, wondering whether or not I should take it. I mean, it wasn't like I really knew this guy. Maybe I was still dreaming. Maybe I'd never woken up after the car accident. Maybe there was no one behind me. Hell, maybe I'd died too.

I took Kyle's hand.