MELANIE OPENED HER EYES TO a bright light, only it wasn't a light at all; it was the sky. She frowned. The sky hadn't been that bright and clear before - it had been dark, just after midnight. With a shake of her head, Melanie sat up from where she was lying - in the middle of a road, near a towering oak tree.

"What the hell?" she whispered to herself, looking around. The landscape was familiar, but so empty and desolate. Melanie looked around to find a tree line to her left and she soon recognized where she was - sitting just outside her hometown. She looked over her shoulder and saw the outline of houses in the distance.

But there was something wrong. Everything was ... colourless. The surroundings made Melanie think of a black and white movie, where everything was dull and lifeless. But why was it like that? Was she possibly dreaming? Melanie looked down at herself to find that she was the only thing still in colour.

Slowly, Melanie stood up and looked around. In the distance, a mist-like cloud could be seen crawling its ways towards her and she shuddered. It was like living in a nightmare - everything quiet and eerie right before a psycho jumped out from the shadows and killed you. She wrapped her arms around herself and started for the town.

As she walked, there was no way to ignore the dull ache all over her body, in her chest and head especially. It was uncomfortable and so was the cold air seeping through her clothing as the mist curled around her.

She ran as fast as she could to her home, leaving the fog behind. As she passed the 'Welcome' sign to the town, her eyes darted from window to window to try and catch a glimpse of movement. But she never saw any - the whole place was deserted. No people, animals, insects - just nothing. No sign of life at all, except for her.

"Hello?" she called out, her eyes starting to water. Melanie had never been one to cry, but being so alone scared her. She knew that there was something wrong and that this wasn't the hometown she had grown up in. That town had been a well inhabited, warm place - not cold and dark.

Melanie wandered over to the closest house and knocked three times on the door. She waited ten seconds before trying again. No one answered. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked around at the ghost town, panic increasing within her.

She had never felt so alone. It terrified her to know that there was nobody else around. Where could they have gone?

"Hello? Is there anyone here?!" she yelled, her voice laced with panic. Her breathing was erratic and she was shaking. "Hello? Please tell me where I am!"

Silence followed and she began to cry harder. Where was everyone? Was her friends and family around? The thought had her running towards her home. She lived about five minutes from the town centre, so the run was quick, but the pain in her body made her wince constantly. She ran up the steps to her door and let herself in.

"Mum? Dad?" she called out, rubbing the tears from under her eyes. "John?" Her brother was always there for her, so if there was anyone around, she knew it would be him.

After realizing that the house was completely empty, she left the building.

"Where is everyone?!" she shrieked. "Where the hell am I?!" She shuddered involuntarily and turned to see the mist from before creeping around the buildings towards her, like a snake slithering towards its prey. As it enveloped her in its cold embrace, she let out a loud sniffle and fell to the ground in tears.

What was happening? It was as if everyone had left the face of the earth and taken everything happy with them. Melanie curled into a small ball, letting the foggy cloud wash over her. What if she was stuck like that forever? What if she never saw her loved ones again? What if-

"Melanie Cooper." Her sobs were silenced by a male's voice in the distance. She slowly sat up and looked over by the garages, where a lean silhouette stood in the shadows. She slowly stood and squinted at him.

"What's going on here?" she asked, her voice shaky. "Where is everyone?"

"Are you always such a curious girl?" asked the man who remained in the darkness of the garages.

Melanie shook her head. "No. I don't understand ... I'm just-"

"Scared? Confused? Wondering why this World seems so familiar yet not quite like home?" he questioned, tilting his head to the side. Melanie nodded slowly, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand.

"Please help me?" she said quietly. "I'm not sure what's happening or where my family is-"

"Your family is fine, it's you who's not." The man took a small step forward, the mist curling around his figure like a python.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm trying to tell you something deeply tragic in the nicest and most sensitive way possible..." he said before taking a deep breath. "You're dead."

Melanie laughed out. "You're crazy."

"Some believe so, but I know I'm not. At least not in this situation."

"So ... I'm dead? How is that even possible? I'm right here!" Melanie said, anger bubbling inside her. It wasn't the time to play games with her, and she wouldn't let this stranger torment her in such a way. Not when she was so vulnerable and confused.

"You are here." The man nodded. "But do you know where 'here' is?"

Melanie looked around and shuddered once again. "I'm in my town."

"But are you really?" questioned the man, taking another small step towards her. "How can you be sure when everything seems so lifeless? Drained, that's what this town looks like."

"But it's not!" Melanie argued. "That garage you're next to is green, and the roof of that house over there is red!"

"Not here, it's not."

"Where is 'here'?" asked Melanie.

The man chuckled darkly before stepping out of the shadows, into the light. Melanie noticed that he too, was in color. He had tousled dark hair and piercing blue eyes. His lean figure was dressed in a long black coat and a smile was placed upon his lips as he spoke. "This place has many names. The Beyond is one ... as is The Underworld, but I'll keep it nice and simple for you, dear Melanie."

Melanie shuddered at his informality and the fact that he knew her name. She didn't recognize the man at all and for him to be chatting with her in such a friendly manner, frightened her. She took a deep breath as he slowly waltzed towards her.

"This place," he said, spreading his arms out and spinning around on his heel, "is the place between the World of the Living and the World of the Dead. You're stuck between Worlds, Melanie. It seems you have a reason to not want to die just yet."

"I have many," snapped Melanie.

"Hm," hummed the man. "I like you. You're lucky that I'm here to help you, because as you can probably see ... it's just the two of us."

"I don't think I like the idea of us being alone in a desolate world," Melanie said. "I don't even know you."

"Nobody knows me. At least not well enough to call me a friend. You'll have heard of me no doubt - everybody has."

"You're not a deceased celebrity are you?" questioned Melanie, trying to put a name to his face.

He laughed loudly. "Hardly. I'm more of a religious figure, but that's putting it lightly. I'm not at all religious, who would want to be?" He shuddered.

"You're a cocky wanker," Melanie seethed before she turned and started walking away from him.

"Where are you going, Melanie Cooper? There's nowhere for you to go! As soon as you walk five miles from where you died, you can't go any further!" he called after her as she moved away from him.

"I'm not dead!" she yelled, spinning around to face him. She jumped back. He wasn't standing where she had left him but right in front of her. He tilted his head to the side again and looked down at her.

"You were in a horrible accident, Mel," he said, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear. "You just haven't remembered it yet."

She slapped his hand away. "I was not! I think I would remember if something bad happened to me."

"You were in a terrible accident, Melanie. I'm not lying."

"Prove it then. Prove to me that I'm dead, because I don't believe you."

"In due course, the memories will come back to you. Sometimes people forget their deaths as they pass on but because you're stuck here they'll eventually come back to you."

"This is bullshit," she huffed, running a hand through her hair. "I'm stuck in this place until what? When do I wake up from this nightmare?"

"If this was a nightmare, you'd be alive in it, not dead. And you're stuck here until your memories resurface and-"

"Then what?" she urged. "Do I go home?"

"No. Once you remember, I'm going to offer you a choice: you can pass on peacefully to Heaven - or The Other Side, as some like to call it. I'm guessing you'll be on a safe trip to Heaven since you seem like such a good little girl," he said, grinning wickedly down at her. "Or, I'll resurrect your body in exchange for your soul when you die ... for real though."

"So ... I'm not dead?" she questioned.

"No, you are dead, that's why you're here. But, because you're stuck here in The Beyond, it means you have unfinished business to tend to and that's the reason you've not passed on to Heaven. You still have something to do."

"I do?"

"You do."

"What is it?" she asked, confused.

"I have no idea. Maybe you need to save someone or learn a secret? It could be anything, but there's one thing in your life that you'll discover that will determine whether you pass on or give me your soul."

"You're a creep," Melanie said, sick of hearing all of his mythical stories. "You can't take someone's soul. It's not as if you're the Grim Reaper."

"He doesn't take souls - he's the Angel of Death. All he does is take life away for me to then swoop in and take the souls."

"You're nuts," Melanie said. "Who are you anyway?"

"I'm someone you should fear, Melanie," he said, walking around her in slow circles, his eyes raking over her body. "Someone you should run from."

"Well, I can't, can I?" she said. "You made that very clear with your whole 'you can't go past five miles' bullshit."

"True, true," said the stranger, tapping his chin with a finger. "But still."

"So, you're a soul collector? What exactly does that mean?"

He smirked at her. "So curious... I like the curious - I always have. It makes you attractive ... wanting to know more about things you can't possibly understand."

"Stop pissing about," ordered Melanie. "I need to know what's going on and why I'm apparently dead."

"I've already explained why you're here: you're dead and have to wait until your memories come back before you decide to pass on or live in exchange for your soul in future years. That's all you need to know for now, dear one."

"Who are you?" Melanie shook her head at him, still not sure what to believe.

"You won't believe me if I tell you," said the man.

"Try me. I'm already confused about all of this so it's not as if a name is going to mess my mind up any-more."

He let out a deep sigh before looking up at her slowly. "I go by many names - some of which you may have heard before. Satan, Abaddon, Beelzebub, Lucifer? Or more commonly, The Devil. But I go by my abbreviation of Lucifer now: Louis. It just sounds more ... human, you know? I can fit in that way without anyone giving me so much as a second glance."

"Fit in? There's nobody here to fit in with!"

"But there are. Others like you who get stuck and need my guidance - I don't want to scare them off before offering my deal. Most of them aren't as curious as you and so my name isn't usually asked."

"So you're seriously telling me you're The Devil? You dick," said Melanie, shaking her head. "I don't believe you."

"You don't want to believe me," Louis said, placing his hands on her shoulders, "because you're scared. Don't deny it - I can sense your fear, Melanie."

She pushed his hands off of her and took a step back. "If you truly are The Devil, then surely you'd be able to give me my memories? You know, since it was such a 'horrible accident' and you're the type who likes all things nasty."

Louis raised a brow. "I could but it would be risky and it would hurt... It would be like a fire-hot poker being embedded into your brain as I dig out the memories."

Melanie shuddered. She was already experiencing small amounts of pain in her head, and she didn't think she could take much more quite yet. But she was so desperate to go home...

"Right up your street then?" Melanie said, rolling her eyes. "I don't care." She stuck her chin outwards, towards him in a stubborn way. "The sooner I remember, the sooner I can leave this Hell hole."

"Nice choice of words, but trust me when I say you haven't seen anything like Hell."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. You live there don't you?"

Louis laughed. "Still curious, I see."

This guy is not right in the head, thought Melanie, narrowing her eyes at him.