Ground Level
“It all started in like, Korea man.” Two men sat across from each other. A half-eaten cheeseburger with no ketchup and extra pickles was on the plate in front of him. The other continued to chew the bite of his chicken sandwich. “You remember Elly, right?” Steve nodded. “She did it, man. They found her in a vat on the roof. The fucking roof, dude!” Steve continued to chew. “I’m gonna try it. I wanna know what’s on the other side.”
He stopped chewing. “Dave, you’d have to be the stupidest son of a bitch if you thought this was a good idea. Elly fucking died doing this shit.”
“Okay but just hear me out, man. What if she’s still there? Like still in the Otherworld? Maybe I could bring her back.”
Steve breathed out a laugh, “Bring her back to what dude? Even if you did find her, are you going to put her back in her body? It’s in the ground. She’s dead, dude. There’s no coming back from that.” He lit a cigarette and offered one to Dave, who declined.
“You can’t talk me out of it, Steve. I can’t go on without her. Even if I don’t bring her back, at least I can be with her again.” Dave reached into his right rear pocket. Opening his wallet as he pulled it out, he retrieved a small folded note. “All the instructions are here. I’m going to the Marion tonight.”
“There are other ways to deal with her death, Dave. I’m here to help, I’ve been here. Maybe she was on drugs and that’s how she died. Maybe-”
“The fucking toxicology report came up negative man,” Dave cut him off. “Even if she was, how did she get to the roof? How did she get in the goddamn vat, Steve?!”
“Fine. Let’s say she did do this Elevator game, maybe there’s another way to this Otherworld.”
“There are. But who knows where I’d end up or if it’s the same realm?” Steve took the note from Dave and began to read it over. “Come with me, Steve. We can get closure.”
“You gotta do it by yourself. Says so right here. Look, if you’re hell bent on doing this, I won’t stop you. Just call me when you’re done. Promise me you will Dave.”
“I promise. Thanks, Steve.” Dave tossed a ten dollar bill on the table to cover his bill. He took the note back from Steve and stood to leave. “You’re a great friend, man.”
