Jeremy stood there looking at my corpse.  He was shaking so badly I thought he'd drop the damned gun, and then, he did.  It clumped against the thick carpet and lay there, completely ignored by either Jeremy or Lisa.  She'd stopped screaming, finally.  That was a relief.

     I can't recall any preconceptions about death.  I'd heard all the stories about a brilliant light, floating above your dead, physical body, voices of relatives and loved ones calling to you; all of the things that people with near death experiences talked about.  Floating was the only thing going on right now.  I could see and hear, but I couldn't touch or control my movements.  No emotions, either.  It was like watching a movie that was interesting but, at the same time, unchallenging - emotionally or otherwise.  I was relieved that there wasn't a brilliant light and relatives calling to me.  I didn't need that **** at the moment.  I wanted to watch the rest of this story unfold without fighting off any kind of "soul movement" or whatever the hell came next.

     Lisa caught my attention when she jumped out of the bed and ran for the door.  She caught Jeremy's attention, too and snapped him out of his malaise or whatever the hell he was feeling.  He looked scared, actually.  I thought that was good.  I hoped he was scared shitless.  I wished him a pants full of crap, he was so scared.  He grabbed Lisa by the arm as she tried to run past him and wrapped her up in his big, strong arms.  His eyes were wide and wild and he was still shivering like it was the middle of December there in Lisa's bedroom, but all he did was hold her.

     She kicked, she bit and scratched like a wild **** little cougar but Jeremy held on to her.  He didn't say a word.  He didn't slap her.  Maybe she decided he wasn't going to hurt her, after all, or she simply gave up her struggles as useless.  Whatever she was thinking she suddenly slumped in his arms.  Beaten.  Defeated.  He moved her to the bed and sat down on the edge with Lisa surrounded by his hairy arms, sitting on his lap.

     I don't know what I expected, but this wasn't it.  What was going on?  Neither Jeremy nor Lisa were talking.  Dried tears glistened on her face, his remained wide eyed and somehow - disconnected.  They sat there like statues.  Shouldn't Jeremy be worried about the police?  Surely, someone had heard the shot.  And what was up with Lisa?  Shock?  Her lethargy was palpable. 

     I felt a pull.  Hard to explain but it was like someone gently pulling my arm, only it was my whole body.  Okay, not my body, there wasn't a body - make it my whole being was being pulled.  The really strange thing was that whatever was moving my spirit wasn't trying to take me out of the room; off and away to heaven or hell or anywhere else.  No, the pull was downward, toward Jeremy and Lisa.  It was a slow tug.  Easy, soft, something.  It would come and then, go again.  Each time a little stronger than the last.

     I started to spin like a piece of driftwood entering into an eddy.  This was slow, too - relaxing, gentle.  I was being drawn downward.  No doubt about it, but where?  Would I make my exit from this world through the floor?  Why not the roof, that's where I went initially?  No, I was definitely being taken down toward Lisa and my murderer.

     Lisa moaned.  She grabbed her stomach like she was having cramps or something.  Jeremy tightened his hold on her and lay back on the bed, taking her with him.  "Easy, baby," he said.

     "Easy, baby!?"  What the ****?  She turned her head and kissed his neck.  He moved his right arm and stroked her face with his palm.  What in the hell is going on, here?  He kissed her forehead and uttered something nonsensical, something I didn't quite get.  I was whirling faster and the circle was growing tighter and tighter as I descended toward the two - lovers?  How could that be?  I knew it to be true, though, just as sure as I knew this was some kind of plan they'd hatched together.

     I could see something in my mind's eye.  Well, that's the only way to describe it.  It was very small.  It was like a beacon guiding me in to a landing, a lighthouse in a stormy night and I was coming in for a landing.  Holy ****, what the hell was going on!?!

     "I feel it, she's here, she's with me," was the last thing I heard Lisa say before I was sucked into the beacon.  It was pitch black inside here and sounds were muffled.  I was surrounded by soft, wet - tissue?  Yes, tissue.  I felt warm, safe and totally unconnected to the world I'd recently left.  My memories of the shooting disappeared.  Slowly, everything about my past life left me.  After awhile, I have no concept of time, everything that was before was gone.  My last thought? 

     I am Lisa's newborn.