School of Deaths

by Christopher Mannino

  She got up, eager to visit Silver Lake. The more time she spent in this world, the better she felt. Sure, people stared, but she’d only be here a year. Besides, it was beautiful here.

  Jason trudged behind while Billy led her away from Weston. Suzie looked at some of the houses. Who lived here? What was a family like, if there were no women? A world of men was such a strange idea.

  The cobblestones ended, sinking into a narrow dirt lane. The lane twisted to the right. Mountains looked down from the horizon, and the ground swelled into small hills. Trees grew on either side of the path, strange trees with old, gnarled trunks and bright, yellow-green leaves with tiny red berries. A pair of birds with blue-tinged feathers watched her from a tree, chirping.

  They climbed another hill, emerging onto a clearing. In front of them, Silver Lake glistened in the sunlight. Widow’s Peak, the lone hill, stood off to her right. Scattered clouds covered the sky, while the sun shone above, casting its reflection onto the lake.

  The path veered farther to the right, toward Widow’s Peak, but Billy led them onto the grass. They sat near the shore of the lake, and Billy opened the bags.

  “I have gorgers, fruit, some cookies, and a few bottles of water.”

  “What’s a gorger?” asked Suzie.

  “Typical Death food,” replied Billy. “First time I had one, I thought they were magic. Here, try.” He unwrapped a nondescript sandwich and handed it to her. “Before you eat, imagine your favorite food.”

  “What?”

  “Trust me,” said Billy. “What’s your favorite food, or at least something you love to eat.”

  “Chocolate. Though, right now I feel like a cheese pizza.”

  “Well, pick one. If you want the pizza, get a clear idea of pizza in your head. Visualize everything from the cheese to the crust.”

  “Okay.”

  “You got that image? You can practically taste that pizza?”

  “Yes”

  “Now take a bite of the gorger.”

  Suzie took a bite, and her mouth filled with the taste of hot cheese dripping off a Tony’s Pizza, her favorite pizza parlor.

  Suzie took a few more bites and looked at Billy. “This tastes like pizza. I don’t understand.” She turned to Jason who was clearly enjoying his.

  “Mine’s a ham and cheese sandwich,” said Jason.

  “A gorger takes whatever taste you want. My teachers insist it’s not magic, but they won’t explain further.”

  Billy took off his shoes and socks, walked over to the edge of the lake, and dipped his feet in the water, while chewing on his own gorger. “Right now I’m eating a bacon cheeseburger. I try to have different tastes each time. We’ll get these a lot on campus.”

  He finished his gorger and tossed an apple to Suzie, who caught it.

  “You don’t catch like a girl,” said Billy.

  “Not funny.”

  “I’m teasing.” He lay back on the grass.

  Suzie finished her lunch and lay down on the grass, watching clouds drift overhead. A strawberry-scented breeze blew gently across her face. Billy rolled onto his side, watching her. She looked at Jason; he sat looking out at the lake.

  “Well, what do you want to do next?” asked Billy.

  “Let’s go to Widow’s Peak,” she replied.

  “All right. I’ve never actually climbed up.”

  They continued to Widow’s Peak. Its slopes rose from the fields, falling straight into the lake. Overgrown grasses and clover blanketed the sides of the large hill, which had no path.

  “We’re here,” said Billy. “Doesn’t look like it’s worth going up. No one comes here, I guess.”

  “I want to go up,” said Suzie. She pictured the wild-haired Lovethar in flames. What had actually happened to her? Why had she betrayed the Deaths?

  “It’s only grass,” said Suzie. “I’m going to climb up. You guys can stay here.”

  “You sure?” asked Billy.

  “I’ll climb where those rocks jut out. Should be easy enough. I’m curious.”

  “Be careful,” said Billy.

  Suzie walked up the hill, which was steeper than she had realized. She stumbled but caught herself and didn’t look down. She climbed over rocks and through grass until she reached the summit.

  Silver Lake glistened beneath her. Turning, she saw the stony towers of the College in the distance. A structure stood on the peak of the hill, an old building. She walked up to it.

  A marble staircase rose for a few feet; its top had fallen into a heap of ruins. Weeds poked through the stairs, which appeared thousands of years old or older. On the other side of the staircase, the remnants of a stone tower lay on its side, with broken walls. The entire site seemed ancient.

  Suzie climbed up the stairs and leaned over the tower. A window faced skyward, covered in dirt and cobwebs. A flock of birds fluttered out of a tree whose roots grew right through the ancient stairs.

  “What is this place?” she whispered.

  Suzie remembered Lovethar, burned on the top of Widow’s Peak, burned where she now stood.

  Flames.

  The vision startled her. What had happened?

  Bright red flames. Burning, burning, burning.

  Images of fire poured into Suzie’s head. Her skin burned and charred, she felt the heat. She screamed, waving at the air.

  Red flames, searing, scorching. Red eyes, burning with red heat. Eyes filled with rage.

  Suzie fell into the tower, and the wall collapsed beneath her. She crashed through dust, landing hard. As she tumbled through stone and dirt, a pair of glowing red eyes surrounded by flames watched her.

  The red eyes cooled, changing to green.

  Beneath the green eyes, the faint outline of a flame-lit smile flickered.

  She blacked out.

  Chapter Six

  Echoes and Expectations

  “Suzie? Suzie, are you all right?”

  She opened her eyes. Billy stood over her, his face full of concern. She was in a ruin; broken stones lay all around. Her body throbbed with pain, and something sharp was digging into her back.

  “What happened?”

  Billy shrugged. Jason’s head popped up behind his, also worried. Suzie sat down again, groaning in pain.

  “Slow down,” said Billy, “you’re stunned. We came up when you screamed. You must have fallen into this old ruin.”

  “My side hurts,” said Suzie, “but I’m okay. What is this?”

  “I have no idea. I've never been up here. Were you trying to climb the ruin or something?”

  “No, there was—” Suzie stopped herself.

  “What?”

  “I had this weird experience.”

  “What?”

  “It was weird.” Suzie didn’t want to say any more. She was the only female Death; she didn’t want them to think she was also crazy. Were visions normal in this strange world? Somehow, she guessed they weren’t.

  “What did you see? What happened?”

  The pain continued, but was bearable. Billy held her in his arms, helping her stand. Suzie blushed.

  “What happened?” repeated Billy.

  “A bird,” she lied. “A big, strange bird flew at me.”

  “A bird made you scream and fall into this?” Billy eyed her skeptically. “And that was weird?”

  “The bird flew right at me, and scared me. Anyway, what is this place?”

  “Looks like an old tower,” said Billy.

  “With weird pictures on the wall,” said Jason.

  Suzie stood up, wincing at the pain in her back. Billy helped her walk over to Jason. He pointed to a carving on one wall, which was broken but showed a bat-like wing.

  “I think they’re Dragons,” said Jason. “There are some more pictures over here.”

  “We should get out of here,” said Billy.

  “Look at this picture of a woman,” added Jason.

  Suzie nodded, wincing again. “Billy?”

  “Yes?” />
  “In my pocket. Aghh.” She grimaced. “Can you get my pouch?” She hurt too much to move.

  Billy leaned her against a wall and looked at her. She nodded, but blushed when he reached into her pocket and pulled out the small bag. He handed the cake to her.

  She bit into Athanasius’s cake. Instantly, her pain flowed away and her muscles relaxed. She put the cake back in the pouch.

  “The woman,” she asked Jason, while studying the images of Dragons. “Where did you see her?”

  “Here.” He pointed.

  Suzie looked at a section of the crumbling wall. A woman with long hair and a fair face looked out from the stone. The carving was beautiful, and more detailed than the crude Dragons. A group of Deaths stood to one side of the woman, carrying away a bundle. The woman’s mouth was open and her arm outstretched. Was she supposed to be Lovethar? This picture looked nothing like the wild-haired witch burning in fire. However, there were no other women in this world.

  Until now.

  “Let’s go,” she said.

  They climbed out of the ruined tower

  “I wonder what that place was?” asked Jason, taking another glance back at the pictures.

  “Don’t know,” said Billy, “but we should probably keep this to ourselves. The Dragons are the enemies of the Deaths. I’ve only seen one once, from a distance. There are rumors of them on the borders from time to time. The senior Deaths go out and fight. One of my teachers came back missing an arm, nothing left but a charred stump. I tell you those things are evil.”

  “Lovethar was supposed to be connected to the Dragons, and my history book said she was burned up here,” said Suzie. They climbed down Widow’s Peak as they talked, working their way to the bottom of the hill.

  “You studied before you slept?” asked Billy. “I’m impressed. School hasn’t even started yet.”

  “I was curious. She was the only female Death…until me.”

  “Hope you have a better legacy than she did,” muttered Billy.

  “I’ll be gone in a year. I wondered what she was like.”

  “Right, well, be careful about what you do. I was worried. If you die in this place, you cease, you’re done.”

  “They mentioned that before,” said Suzie. “I don’t understand.”

  “We don’t know what happens after people die,” said Billy. “Whatever happens, we bring them to their fate. We’re ferrymen in a sense, escorting souls. However, if a Death dies unnaturally they cease, they end. Every memory of them vanishes, and it’s like they never existed. Imagine your parents and everyone you loved suddenly forgetting that you were ever born. It’s scary.”

  Jason shuddered.

  “I don’t want to die here,” said Suzie. “I’ll do whatever I need to, to get through the year, and then I’m going home.”

  They reached the bottom of the hill. For a split second, Suzie thought she glimpsed movement behind a tree across the path. She stared but saw nothing.

  They continued back through Weston and then walked back through the Ring of Scythes.

  “I’ll show you around campus a bit. We can do dinner back at the house,” said Billy.

  He led them through the stone maze, by mounds and windows, over courtyards, and under rocky bridges. Reactions to Suzie continued to be mixed. Younger boys ignored her, while many older ones stared. A skinny Death with black hair smiled at her, but another, noticing the smile, punched the black-haired boy in the side.

  “It’ll take some time,” said Billy, “but some are trying to be friendly.”

  “Trying,” she murmured.

  They turned a corner, and Suzie cringed. The Examination Room. Standing in a large open courtyard of white stone, the solid black cube looked ominous.

  “I can’t say where you guys will have your actual lessons,” said Billy, hurrying them into the next corridor. “You’ll probably be with other first years for some classes and in mixed age groups for others.”

  “I have a map back at the…” She paused. “Back at home.” The last word caught in her throat. Her courage started to fail again, and a shot of pain coursed through her back where she’d fallen.

  “Are you all right?” asked Jason.

  “I should lie down for a bit, I’m still sore from the fall.”

  “I’ll take you home,” he said. “We can relax until dinner.”

  The rest of the day seemed to fly. The three returned to Eagle Two, and Suzie lay in her bed. She kept going over the incident on the top of Widow’s Peak in her mind. She heard Billy and Jason fixing dinner, but couldn’t stop picturing the flames and the eyes. The fire had seemed real, and she glanced at her hands expecting to see burn marks.

  Widow’s Peak. Where Lovethar had burned. Strange that Suzie, only the second female in this world, should see flames in the same spot.

  And what about those eyes? They had changed color when the fire died. Or had they? She wasn’t certain. She only remembered flames and a terrible burning sensation.

  She rolled onto her side, gazing out the window. The sun was setting, turning the sky orange and red, with bands of blue and violet. It was strangely beautiful, this World of the Dead.

  She remembered the Tower. The pictures seemed related to Lovethar, but something else was happening. They weren’t just burning a witch. The Deaths in those carvings had a package, and Lovethar was upset. Perhaps they were bringing Lovethar a package she didn’t want. Suzie’s head hurt. What did it matter? It was a million years ago and had nothing to do with her.

  “Hey, you awake?” Billy asked, knocking on her door.

  “Yeah.”

  “Dinner’s ready.”

  “Great, thank you.”

  “You look stressed, Suzie. Still getting used to this place? Or still upset from Widow’s Peak?”

  “A little of both. What’s for dinner?”

  “Runny eggs and burnt toast.” He laughed. “Jason and I, well, we’re not exactly the best cooks. I can fix you a tuna sandwich if you’d rather have that.”

  “No, eggs and toast sounds fine. Thank you, guys.”

  “What elective did you choose?” asked Jason, starting to eat.

  “Art. I liked to paint in school.”

  “Hey, I’ll be in Art too,” he replied.

  “Not me,” said Billy. “I’ll be in gym. I’ve got boskery this year, and competition will be tight.”

  “Boskery?” asked Suzie and Jason together.

  “The big sport here on campus. It’s a game with a ball and four teams, the only sport I’ve heard of where more than two teams play at once. Only, it’s not just for fun. Every Death in the Junior College, other than first years, has to play. You try out for teams, and the teams compete. Each Death is monitored, and your performance in boskery determines your placement when you go to Senior College. It’s a game with scythes, supposed to show how well you can master a blade. If your team wins, you’re guaranteed a great spot by the time you graduate. With thirty-two teams, competition is rough.”

  “Well, I don’t understand what the game is, but good luck,” said Suzie, finishing her runny eggs. “And thanks for dinner.”

  “You’ll catch on if you come to a game,” replied Billy. “And you’re welcome. I’m sorry many of the guys here keep giving you a hard time. It’ll probably be even worse on Monday. Once school gets going everyone will have their own work to worry about.”

  “Well, thank you again, for being considerate. Back home, it seemed like my friends didn’t care how people treated me.”

  “Did you get skinny too?” asked Jason.

  “Yes, everyone said I was anorexic.”

  “Me too,” he replied.

  “It happens to every Death before they’re brought here,” said Billy. “My parents,” he stopped and looked away. A tear slipped from his eye.

  “Billy, I’m sorry.”

  Billy shook his head, rose, and started to clear the table.

  “I haven’t thought about them in a while. I’ve be
en here over a year. Now they don’t even remember I exist.”

  “Billy, I’m sure they haven’t forgotten you.”

  Billy shrugged. “They say our existence in the human world is erased when we fail the test. If that’s true, my parents have no memories I ever existed. Yet, I still wish I could go back. If I saw my parents one more time—”

  “Isn’t there any other way you can go back home?”

  “I go back to that world frequently to reap. But no, if someone I care about dies, they won’t send me near them, it’s against the rules. I’m not allowed to see anyone ever again. Seems like a long time ago, sometimes.”

  “You’ve only been here a year.”

  “A year in this place ages you, Suzie. This is a tough place.” His eyes focused inward, lost in thought.

  “I’m going to pass the test,” said Jason.

  “Me too,” said Suzie.

  “Well, who will stay and keep me company after you’ve both gone?” Billy smiled, breaking the tension. “These guys are death to hang with. Right? ‘Cause they’re Deaths?”

  Jason rolled his eyes and Suzie grinned.

  “Guys,” she said. “We’re going to be all right.”

  * * * *

  Suzie awoke the next day to the sound of raindrops. She looked outside and watched steady rain falling from dull, gray clouds.

  “We’ll stay inside today,” said Billy at breakfast. “No reason to go out in the rain.”

  “What do you do when it rains? With no TV or anything.”

  “Rain here never lasts too long, but we usually read or talk. I’ve a few comic books and novels, if you ever want to borrow one. Deaths sneak a good amount from the Living World.”

  “You mean you’ve stolen books from people and brought them here?” asked Suzie.

  “Me? No,” said Billy. “I buy ’em off of others who have. The job again. You two might want to consider working, even if it’s only part-time. You’ll find a ton of openings around the College or in the villages.”

  “I just want to get through the year.”

  “Let me take your plate,” said Jason. He seemed less inward today, though he still stared at the floor more than he looked up.

  “Thank you, Jason. I’ll help clean up too.”