by J. E. Taylor
Chapter 5
Principal Murdock and Mrs. Lambert thought the entire school needed a psychology session and they pirated our entire morning to discuss the death of Mr. Sanchez. As the student body filtered into the auditorium, I slipped away from the crowd and snuck into the computer lab. The whir of the computer filled the room and I kept checking the hallway for Sam, the school’s security guard, sure I was going to get busted at any moment.
Google turned out to be a dead end. Yahoo wasn’t any better and Ask.com just sucked balls. All I found on the internet were references to movies, gaming, myths and hearsay, nothing concrete and certainly nothing that had to do with people actually seeing reapers.
The shuffling of kids in the hallway drew my attention away from the computer and I flipped the switch, shutting the computer down before high-tailing it out of the room as fast as I could. All I needed was my mother to find out I skipped the assembly to research reapers.
Julia caught up with me in the hallway. “The principal is looking for you,” she whispered in my ear and threaded her arm around mine, steering me away from the auditorium exodus.
“Why?”
“He wanted you to stand up in the auditorium. I think he was going to thank you or something but when you didn’t stand, his face turned red and he kind of laughed it off, but I could tell he was pissed.”
The rest of the day, I avoided the office and any time I saw Principal Murdock, I turned the opposite direction. I thought the bus looked good yesterday, but today it signaled freedom and the start of the weekend. I smiled at Julia when she slid into the seat with me.
“Thanks for the warning this morning.”
“Anytime,” she said and flashed her sweet smile in my direction. “What are you doing this weekend?”
“I need to go to the library to finish my book report,” I said and looked away from her. She didn’t know I already finished the assignment last weekend.
“Do you mind if I come with you?”
I turned back to her, unsure of how to answer, but her brown eyes melted my resolve and I swallowed the lie, smiling and nodding. As much as I needed to research the mysterious dark figures I kept seeing, I also needed to spend some time with her. “Sure, I’ll call you when I’m ready to go.”
Her arm laced through mine and she leaned her head on my shoulder for the remainder of the ride, content to let silence settle between us. I kissed the top of her head, thankful for her attention and tolerance and closed my eyes, lulled to sleep by the hum of the engine and comfort of her sweet scent.
Don’t Fear the Reaper
Chapter 6
I stood on a plateau, darkness surrounding me like a warm blanket until a sea of hooded figures turned toward me. Their burning gaze sent fiery chills up my spine and through my extremities until I shivered. I turned to flee, and instead I teetered on the edge of a gorge, the drop endless and black beyond rocks that jutted out, jagged like a set of claws made for tearing the flesh off young boys stupid enough to jump.
Either way I turned, certain death awaited.
Fear stroked my shaking form, creating a panic as feral as a cornered bear and I spun back to the crowd of reapers...
...and sat straight up in the seat with Julia shaking my arm. “Nick, wake up, we’re home. This is our stop.”
I blinked and wiped my eyes, grabbed my backpack and followed her off the bus, still in a stupor, with my heart banging a new hip-hop tune in my chest. The dream still as vivid as the bite in the air, I tried to shake it, but the disturbing vision clung like a leach.
“Are you okay?” Julia asked.
“Yeah. I’m just having a hard time waking up,” I said and started the short trek home with her hand clasped in mine. The brisk spring wind wound through the streets, shuffling the lush trees and blowing the blooming flowers, demanding they bend to its force.
“You want to come over for a while?”
“Sure, but I need to stop at home and drop my backpack off.” Julia’s mother always had fresh cookies or pies on hand and I wasn’t thrilled about going into an empty house, especially after the nightmare. Besides, the pit stop offered a chance to be alone with Julia. Maybe I’d even get to second base this time.
The thought made me smile and I stole a glance at Julia. She sent her secret smile back in my direction telling me we were both on the same page. I couldn’t help the thunderous patter of my heart and as we rounded the last corner, all I could think of was the feel of her lips.
My mother’s car sat in the driveway, along with a silver sports car I didn’t recognize, and I stopped walking. “I thought my mom was working,” I said and traded a glance with Julia. The same disappointment pounding in my veins reflected in her eyes.
Fear rocketed to the forefront of my mind and my mouth ran dry. I broke out in a run, darting across the street with a cursory glance. Julia’s feet slapped the pavement in her bid to keep up, but I didn’t slow and flew into the house, sliding to a stop in the entry. Julia slammed into me and I teetered, out of balance for a second before catching myself and putting my finger to my lips.
My mother’s voice carried through the house and I knew the terse tone. She wasn’t happy with whoever owned the car outside. I tiptoed toward the kitchen, with Julia’s hand clasped in mine.
“Why, Dylan? Why now? I thought you said he wouldn’t be affected until he was eighteen?”
“I don’t know,” a deep voice penetrated the walls “He shouldn’t be seeing them. Not yet.”
I peeked around the corner trying to catch a glimpse of the man behind the musical timbre. He looked like he’d just stepped off an island cruise, with light kakis and a pastel yellow shirt that made his modest tan stand out. His dark hair reached his shoulders, curling every which way, like my hair right after it dried. When his weathered face turned in my direction, my breath caught at the blue-green glow of his eyes, hypnotizing and calming at the same time.
Julia shivered as his gaze passed over her and she pulled her hand from mine, backing out of the house like she had seen a ghost. Caught between intrigue and worry, I hesitated, wondering if I should go after Julia or step into full view of my mother.
“But...” My mother started and the man raised his hand, stopping her and nodding in my direction. She spun, gawking at me with wide eyes. “What are you doing sneaking around like that?”
I stepped into view and shrugged. “I, um, I didn’t recognize the car...” I said, still trying to make heads or tails of their conversation. My gaze traveled to the stranger in my kitchen and back to her.
“How long have you been there?”
“Not very long.”
She sighed and traded a glance with the man. “Nick, this is Mr. Mckay and he was just leaving.”
Mr. Mckay raised a questioning eyebrow. “Holly, this conversation is far from over.”
“Dylan, please just go.”
For a moment, I thought she was talking to me, but her gaze didn’t leave his and I had never seen her eyes pleading like that with anyone before. Who is this guy? Mr. Mckay broke the stare and swung his gaze to mine like he heard the question.
“I’ll let your mother explain that. Right now I need to swing in and see your grandmother.”
My mom’s face blanched and she grabbed Mr. Mckay’s arm. “Dylan,” she said and her voice shook. He glanced back at her.
“Holly, it’s her time and I need to do damage control before they get out of hand.”
“But it’s my mother.”
“I know. That’s why I’m going,” he put his hand over hers and sighed. “There’s dissention in the ranks and if I don’t correct this, it will be all out war.”
“Correct what?” I was now more confused than ever.
“Please,” my mother pleaded.
“If I don’t, they’ll come after my son,” he said softly, but I still caught it, followed by the immediate reaction of my mother. Her gaze sought mine and then jumped back to the man in front of her and she shook her hea
d, letting go of Mr. Mckay.
The realization struck me like a two-ton truck slamming into a brick wall and I reached for the counter. I stared at the man and then my mother. “Who is he?”
“Nicky,” my mother started and I grit my teeth.
She only called me Nicky when she wanted to avoid the subject. Anger brewed under my skin and I stood straight and pointed at Mr. Mckay. “Who the hell is he?”
Mr. Mckay’s eyes sparked and he stepped toward me, towering. “You will not talk to your mother that way.”
Fear shot through me like a razor slicing through my soul but I stood my ground. “Who are you to tell me what I can and can’t do?” I shot the question, not really wanting to know the answer but challenging the anger I saw in his narrowing eyes.
“Don’t,” my mother yelled, but she wasn’t quick enough, the words already spilled from his lips over her protest.
“I’m your father,” he said and grabbed my arm.
Tingles spread from his touch through every fiber of my body and I stared at his unearthly eyes, drowning in their depths just before the world went black.
Don’t Fear the Reaper
Chapter 7
Hushed voices pulled me from the dark void. Foggy beings hovered over me and I blinked until my vision righted. My mother sent a strained smile in my direction before looking over at the man standing next to her.
“I told you he’d be okay,” Mr. Mckay said.
I studied the man who said he was my father and when his gaze turned to mine, I shivered. Something about him struck me as ominous and dangerous but right under that façade, I saw something deeper, less scary. Pulling myself into a sitting position, I broke eye contact and looked at the floor trying to figure out what just happened.
“So, you’re my father.”
“Yes,” he said and took a seat next to me and glanced at my mother before focusing back on me. “And my last name isn’t McKay. It’s Ramsay.”
I opened my mouth but with so many questions flying through my mind, I couldn’t pick just one so instead I sighed and turned my gaze to him.
“I left because I had no choice, Nick. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to be with you and your mom.”
His answer pissed me off because you always have a choice. “What do you mean you had no choice?”
“It comes with the job.”
“What the hell kind of job do you have?”
“Dylan Nicholas Ramsay!” my mother scolded.
My father raised his hand, stopping my mother. “He has a right to be upset, Holly. He doesn’t know me from Adam and I had the same reaction when my father showed up. Fortunately for Nick, he’s got a hell of a lot more time to learn the ropes than I did.”
The icy tendrils of fear scratched my skin and I broke out in a rash of goosebumps accompanied by another shiver. I thought I wanted an explanation, but now I wasn’t so sure and when his gaze swung to mine I knew I’d rather be left in the dark.
“I’m sorry son, but the truth of the matter is, you’re destined to follow in my footsteps. There is no choice.” He shrugged and glanced at my mother.
“And what exactly does that mean?” I scooted to the corner of the couch, as far away from the man next to me as I possibly could get.
“It means when you turn twenty-five, you take over my job.”
“What exactly is your job?”
My mother stepped closer and touched his shoulder, a silent plea in her eyes stopping my father from expanding further. He covered her hand and brought it to his lips, and I saw the compassion and love he felt for her in this simple move. “He needs to know.”
“Know what?”
“Who I am,” he said.
I waited, raising a questioning eyebrow because as much as my mind was screaming to run, to hide, to deny the truth, I couldn’t help the curiosity that took control.
“Simply put, I’m Death with a capital D.”
I was not prepared for his answer and I blinked, trying to reconcile the information I dug up on reapers and death and the history of these beings, and this man, this manifestation was nowhere near what I expected. Then the follow up realization hit like a bomb.
My father is Death.
Holy shit.
Still trying to wrap my head around his words, I stuttered, “Y-y-you don’t look like a reaper.”
“I’m not a reaper. Reapers collect the souls on the master list when I need them to.”
The nightmare on the bus surfaced in my mind and I looked away from my father. Those reapers weren’t there to do my bidding, they were there to destroy me. I glanced back at him and his eyes widened.
“A nightmare?”
His statement sent a wave of unease over me and my stomach tightened into a knot of pain. I clenched my teeth against the thin stream of bile burning my throat, swallowing and nodding at the same time. He was in my head, hearing my thoughts, seeing my nightmares and that didn’t settle well.
Dimples appeared briefly and his eyes flashed. “That comes with the job, too.” His smile faded. “I have to go fix something, but I’ll be back and we can talk then. Okay?”
Thoughts swirled and I glanced at my mother, the sad expression traced in her face brought focus to the reality of his words and my gaze snapped back to him. “Not Gram.”
“Yes. I’m afraid it’s her time and when you ordered that reaper away, it set some nasty things in motion on this side of the realm. I have to fix it, otherwise a few in the ranks will go rogue and that’s dangerous, son.”
“If it’s dangerous for me, I’m okay with that if it means my Grandmother lives,” I said, remembering the conversation I overheard in the kitchen and unwilling to swap my grandmother’s life for my safety.
“I’m afraid it’s not just that simple, Nick.”
“Why not?”
“Because if the reapers go rogue, there will be more death and destruction than you can imagine.” He stood and turned to my mother. “Stay here,” he said and walked out the door before I could collect my thoughts and stop him.
I ran after him, but by the time I got to the driveway, his taillights disappeared around the corner.
Don’t Fear the Reaper
Chapter 8
I sat with my mother, holding her hands while she cried, both of us mourning the death of Gram in our own ways. The call hadn’t come, and my father hadn’t returned but we both knew Gram’s soul was being escorted to a better place. After what seemed like hours, my mother wiped her face and glanced at the clock. Her eyebrows knit together and she crossed to the phone, dialing without looking in my direction.
“Mom?” Surprise laced her voice and when she turned toward me, her face reminded me of the grey ash in the fireplace. A chill settled over the room and the concern in my mother’s eyes sent my heart into a staccato drumbeat.
She turned away and settled into a chair, her posture tense as she did her best to engage in small talk. After a few minutes she cut the call short, blaming it on me and after she hung up, she crossed and took a seat across from me, her hands kneading together like a mini-wrestling match.
“Gram’s okay?”
She nodded and inhaled, her chest inflating and deflating slowly before she spoke. “Yes and I’m not sure why.”
“Maybe my father changed his mind.”
Mom looked beyond me out the front window and sighed. “Maybe.”
Her tone didn’t convince either of us and when her gaze finally landed back on me, I knew she didn’t believe it. That worry crease was back between her eyes and she offered a tight smile. “You should head over to Julia’s for a while.”
“Are you going to Gram’s?”
She hesitated and looked toward the door, the conflict visible in the tension in her neck and jaw and then she nodded. “But I’m not sure it’s safe for you to go.”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Because if something’s happened to your father...”
I waited for her to finish but s
he just drifted off, pressing her lips against any possible scenario those words led to. Finally, I prodded her to finish, “Really, Mom? He’s Death, what could happen?” I refrained from rolling my eyes at her.
Her brows arched and her head cocked to the side for a moment before she laughed and the lines creasing her forehead smoothed. “I guess you could come with me.”
My stomach clenched and fear stroked my skin, creating a chill that was colder than an iceberg. I forced a smile wondering what was wrong with me. I loved my grandmother’s house. It always reminded me of chocolate chip cookies and apple pie, so why in the world was I afraid?
Don’t Fear the Reaper
Chapter 9
When we entered Gram’s house the warmth wrapped around us like a summer day and we glanced at each other before heading toward the delectable scent of chocolate. Gram stood next to the stove, stirring a pan of fudge and she glanced over her shoulder with a smile. “They said you would be coming over so I thought a fresh batch of fudge would be just what the doctor ordered.”
“Who told you we were coming?” Mom asked, her tone guarded.
“The nice men who came by earlier. I’m sure you saw them on your way in. They left right when you arrived. Stood right there and said you’d be coming over and I should bake something nice for you.” Gram waved the chocolate covered spoon toward the dining room, splattering the refrigerator and floor with dark drops. The action was so unlike my grandmother that I shivered and my gaze snapped to where she pointed.
Two figures stood in the shadows, their red eyes burning into me and the scowls on their skeletal faces relayed their dark intent. I wanted to run but my feet wouldn’t listen to reason, they stayed planted in the same spot like they were wrapped in lead. My voice caught in my throat and I couldn’t pull my gaze away from their sinister expressions.
