Free The Ferryman by Amy Neftzger Page A

we would have given her what she wanted from both of us without actually giving in to whatever she really wants.”
    Trevor tapped his index finger against his temple as he pondered this suggestion. Then he folded his arms in front of his chest and scrunched up his face.
    “Your girlfriend would still know where to find you. In fact, she’d have to walk right by you if she came down the alley looking for you.”
    Trevor clawed at the brick wall as he attempted to pull himself up. It took a long time, and Karen wondered if he would be able to stand after sitting for five years. She watched his bent skeleton slowly unfold and straighten. He took one step, still holding onto the brick wall and turned his head to smile at Karen. She felt guilty for attempting to make him move and wondered if a few steps would be all it took for Trevor to move on. He was shrewd, but at the same time he appeared so helpless. All he wanted was to meet up with his girlfriend again. The thought of two lovers reuniting after death brought to mind her bad experience with Fate. Karen felt sick as she thought about the librarian Betsy and her lover Jonathan entering hell because Karen had coaxed them into proceeding into the afterlife.
    “Stop!” Karen shouted as she nudged Trevor back to where he was sitting. He felt sticky and airy, like cotton candy, but he yielded to the pressure from her hands. “What if she wants this? What if a few steps is all it takes for Fate to get what she wants from you?” Karen didn’t think it was really true, but the thought was already running through her mind that Trevor may not be headed towards an afterlife of bliss. He was drunk, after all. There was no telling what he had done when he was alive. He didn’t seem like the sort of person who wanted to hurt others, but he may have accidentally done so. Something was causing him to drink to excess, whether it was because he had no self-control or because he felt regret over an event in his past.
    “She can’t win,” Trevor said as he slipped downward with his back against the coarse brick wall. He settled into the same position he had been in for years and began searching the bag of bottles.
    “I know why she wants you to go for a walk,” Karen said. “She wants you to move into the next life instead of staying here.” Karen had known this all along, but she had decided that Trevor needed to know it, also.
    “Well, I’m pretty stubborn,” he slurred with determination.
    “I don’t want to be manipulated by Fate, and I do want to help you. I understand what she wants, but what I don’t know is why you were drunk when you died,” Karen said gently. “Maybe if we talk about why you were drinking, it would help us figure out how to win against Fate.” She really just wanted a clue on the direction his soul was headed. If he was headed towards a positive end, she would help him to move on. But if the ending was unpleasant, Karen didn’t yet know what she would do. She also didn’t know what Fate would do to her if she refused to complete the assignment.
    “I drink for personal reasons.”
    “Most people do,” Karen said. “Especially when they drink to excess. Were you a heavy drinker before you died?”
    “Yes,” he said with one of his slow uncoordinated nods. “I drank a lot that night right before I died.
    “What about other nights?”
    “Yes!”
    “And days?”
    “Yes!”
    “Were you sober at all?” Karen asked cautiously.
    “Yes!” he exclaimed a third time, and Karen fought back a giggle before attempting to continue the conversation on a serious note.
    “Can you recall what you did when you were drunk?”
    “Only what I remember.”
    “Trevor,” Karen began after taking a deep breath, “do you remember ever hurting anyone?”
    “Yes.”
    “Who?”
    “My ex-wife. But she did have it coming. She was a bitch, too.”
    Karen felt the tears of panic coming and she turned away. She refused to allow herself to do the dirty part