Death Wish

by Lindsey Menges

  Wish 7

  “This—” I say, holding up a shiny, pen-shaped item, “—is a Life Chip Extractor.”

  I hand the device to Robin, who carefully turns it around in her hands to look at it from all angles. We’re in my office today. She’s sitting in the fabric-bound chair in the center of the room and I’m leaning against the edge of my desk, one ankle lazily crossed in front of the other. Because we aren’t doing any physical training for this session, I get to see what Robin’s normal street attire is. Today she’s in a knee-length white skirt and a short-sleeved, button-up turquoise blouse that really brings out the green in her eyes. I’m wearing a pair of black skinny jeans, cork wedges, and a loose white tank top cinched around the middle with a wide red belt. The sun is bright and blazing outside, so I decided that for this portion of the training my pupil and I would retreat to the cool recesses of the Fairy Godparent building.

  When she first came in, Robin gave me a shy smile and a very friendly hello. There was no trace of yesterday’s tension, and I was glad for it. Not only do I want Robin to enjoy both her training and being a Godmother, but I also want the two of us to get along. She is absorbed in studying the Extractor, and in the silence I pray that today will go better than yesterday did. I clear my throat and she looks up attentively.

  “Today we will be going over the fundamentals of Wish completions, Chip extraction, and the areas about Death Wishes that the general public doesn’t know about. I’ll go over the main points, and then you can ask me any questions you may have. Sound good?”

  Robin nods and says yes. I hold out my hand, and she places the Life Chip Extractor in my palm. I shift to place it on the desk behind me before turning back to her.

  “Before I begin, I need you to understand something very important. The information we’ll be going over today is only known to select groups of people: the Surgeons who heal us, the Engineers who created the device I’m going to tell you about, and us—the Godparents of the Fairy Godparent division. No one else knows—”

  I lean forward and place a hand on Robin’s armrest. Now our faces are only six inches apart. I focus my gaze on hers, increasing the intensity in my voice.

  “—and no one else can know. What I’m about to tell you is the secret to granting death in our world. Only the Surgeons, Engineers, and Godparents can know. If the knowledge about death got into the wrong hands it could be disastrous. So, before I continue, I am required to remind you of the vow you took when you became an official initiate of the Fairy Godparent Organization.”

  Robin swallows nervously but I don’t stop.

  “As a Godmother agent for the Fairy Godparent Division of the government’s Federal Security Branch, you are sworn to a life of secrecy. Any confidential information you become privy to is to be guarded as closely by you as your life. If you should reveal any of the knowledge you gain as a Godmother to anyone other than a Surgeon, Engineer, or fellow Godparent, you will have effectively turned in your own resignation. Release of classified information to unauthorized individuals will result in Death Wish completions being carried out on both you and the individuals you revealed the knowledge to.”

  I straighten up and look down at her, my voice cool and authoritative.

  “Do I make myself clear?”

  For the briefest second I see a flicker of fear in her eyes. But that flicker quickly hardens into determination.

  Robin nods and says in a clear, strong pledge, “Yes, Godmother Hayworth.”

  I nod. When I continue my voice is softer, an attempt to ease the tension in the room.

  “Very good. Now then, the first thing you need to know, before I can teach you anything else, is about the device called the Life Chip.”

  I turn my head slightly while lifting my hair away from the nape of my neck. I intentionally wore a high-backed sleeveless top today, so that this demonstration won’t reveal my shoulder blade scars to Robin. I point at the exposed skin just below the base of my skull and tap it with my finger.

  “The Life Chip is attached to this section of the spinal cord at birth, and is the reason everyone in our world is able to live as long as they would like. I don’t know the specific medical details, but the basic premise is simple: the Life Chip acts as a relay station for the signals going from the brain to the body and vice versa. But instead of simply passing on the signals, the Life Chip modifies them—specifically, it increases the rate the cells in our body heal themselves. Here, let me demonstrate.”

  I push myself off the edge of my desk and walk around to the other side of it. Robin rubs the back of her neck like she’s trying to feel the Life Chip buried deep underneath the skin. I open the top drawer of my desk where the metal blades of a pair of scissors wink up at me. Nostalgia washes over me when I take them out. I gave Harrison the same demonstration when I was assigned to be his instructor. Even though it was over three years ago, it still sometimes feels like it happened only yesterday.

  “People don’t really think about this until they become Godparents—”

  I walk back around the desk to my place in front of Robin. She has a slightly queasy look on her face, and I bet she can guess at what I’m about to do.

  “—but our bodies heal at an incredible rate. Take this gash in my arm, for example.”

  I open the scissor and lay the edge of one of the blades across the inside of my forearm. I press down and sweep my hand away. A large red wound instantly blossoms on the skin, the blood welling up and spilling over. Robin lets out a gasp. I appreciate the sympathy, but after the sheer number of ways I’ve been injured on Wish completions a half-inch deep cut like this only registers a light sting. I hold out my arm to Robin so she can watch it more closely. Barely a second passes after the blade leaves the wound before the bright red blood becomes dimmer. As we watch, the skin scabs over, then the crust falls away to reveal shiny and new pink skin surrounded by a trail of drying blood.

  “Now,” I say while setting down the scissors and reaching for a tissue to wipe off the blood, “about how long would you say that took?”

  I pause and quirk an eyebrow at Robin. She still has a slightly queasy look, but there is also a sparkle of fascination. Like I said, no one really considers the healing speed of our bodies until it’s brought to their attention.

  “Um, I’m not sure, maybe… a couple of seconds?”

  I nod and drop the used tissue in the wastebasket next to my feet.

  “That’s right; barely more than a blink of the eye, and a surface wound is completely healed. Before the Life Chip, do you know how long an injury like that would have taken to heal?”

  “Actually, I do,” she answers, a look of interest in her eye. “It would have taken a few days for it to completely heal, but even then there might have been a small scar.”

  I widen my eyes in surprise. “Wow, that’s…exactly right. How did you know that?”

  She blushes and looks down. “I—um, I like studying. The—the Old World. It’s interesting.”

  I laugh. “You should meet my boyfriend. You two would have a lot to talk about. But yes, you’re right. A wound like that would have taken a day or so to completely heal, but even then the skin would be somewhat marred. But with the Life Chip, what would normally take days to heal takes only seconds.”

  I smile at Robin. “Any questions?”

  She starts to shake her head, but then pauses before speaking up in a quizzical voice.

  “No, not about that, all of the Life Chip stuff makes sense. But, I still don’t understand why Godparents are able to kill people. Wouldn’t the Life Chips just heal any injuries immediately?”

  I smile and tap my nose, one of Harrison’s Old World gestures that means she asked just the right question. “You’ve got it, Robin. Any efforts we make at completing Wishes would be futile while the Life Chip is there. So that’s how Godparents complete Death Wishes: we remove the Chip.”

  *

  Hours later, with the daylight outside dimming, we still sit in
my office while Robin reviews what she has learned today. She speaks in a slightly monotone voice, like a student testing herself on material for an upcoming exam.

  “Okay, so the Life Chip is right below the base of the skull. The skin above this area is reinforced with a special material at birth so that no one will die accidentally if this area is injured. In order to kill people—”

  I raise my hand and stop her. “Actually, Robin, we don’t use the word ‘kill’.”

  “What?” She looks confused again. “But that doesn’t… I mean, that’s what we’re doing, isn’t it?”

  I shake my head.

  “No. See, the word ‘kill’ implies the Old World crime of murder. And because the only people who die are the ones who asked to die, we aren’t killing anyone. The Godparents are essentially tools; we’re a means to an end. So we don’t say ‘kill’, we say ‘complete the Wishes’.”

  Robin nods. I don’t think she completely understands or agrees, but we’ve been here so long that I’m sure she just wants to agree and go home. I know I’m ready for the long day to be over. I hold back a yawn while she continues, fantasizing about the cup of coffee I’m going to get when we’re done.

  “So, in order to complete Wishes, Godparents must remove the Life Chip. To do this, we use the Life Chip Extractors.”

  At this she holds up the instrument I gave to her at the beginning of our meeting. She presses the small silver button in the middle, and a shiny blade pops out of the end.

  “The blades are made of a certain type of metal that can cut through the reinforced skin, so we slice at this section using the blade.”

  She clicks the button again, the knife retracts, and a claw-like device replaces it.

  “Next, we force the claw into the incision, which grips the Life Chip, and we pull it free which severs its connection to the spinal cord. This is essentially the same as cutting off the brain from the rest of the body. The body begins shutting down, and after a few moments the client dies.” She looks up. “Did I get it right?”

  I nod and clap my hands. “Great job! Wow, you got that really quickly. It took Harrison much longer to catch on.” I smile and she grins.

  “So Robin,” I say, glancing at the clock hanging above the door, “that’s all I had planned for today. Do you have any more questions before we call it a day?”

  She starts to shake her head, but then she pauses. I wait for her to speak. She is clearly mulling something over in her mind. Her expression is thoughtful when she finally speaks.

  “Well, it’s not really a question, but I just wanted to confirm some details.” Her voice sounds normal, but I notice that she’s clenching and unclenching her hands as they lie folded in her lap. I hope that the load of information today didn’t overwhelm her. It’s a lot to take in.

  I nod and sweep my hand in front of me. “Fire away.”

  “So the only way for someone to die is to remove the Life Chip?” She emphasizes the word only.

  I am about to say yes, but then I stop to really consider the question. “Well,” I reply, my words drawn out by contemplation, “not technically, I suppose. Remember that the Chips are responsible for healing any injuries we sustain?”

  She nods.

  “Well, if the functioning of the Chip was damaged somehow, it wouldn’t be able to heal the body, and that would certainly cause the person to die.” My voice trails off as I think about this scenario, but then I snap back to attention and look at Robin with a shrug.

  “But that’s never happened, and the Engineering teams are the ones who handle the technical aspects of the Chips. So the Chips would have to malfunction in order for something like that to ever happen.” I cock my head to the side while looking at her. “Why do you ask? Are you worried someone will die before submitting a Wish?”

  She looks to be deep in thought, but after my question she looks back at me and shakes her head.

  “Oh, no, nothing like that. I was just curious. Thank you for clarifying that for me.”

  Robin stands, smoothing her skirt with her hands, and gives me a slight bow. “Thank you very much for today, Eliza. Is that all?”

  “Yep.” I move off of my own chair to stand as well. “That’s all I’ve got. And hey, I have some good news for you before you leave. I just got a new Wish submission for next week, and I’ll be taking you with me. Are you ready to go on your first assignment?”

  I’m sure my eyes are sparkling with excitement. I can’t wait to see how Robin does on the field.

  A trace of nervousness passes across her face, but then she swallows and gives me a shy, excited smile.

  “I can’t wait.”

  Wish 8

  The week leading up to Robin’s first Wish passes by uneventfully. I continue working with my trainee, complete my piles of paperwork, ingest absurd amounts of coffee, and spend time with my boyfriend. But the day finally arrives and I’m sitting in my office, waiting for Robin to join me for her first Wish completion. My pendent is near my lips while I talk with Harrison, who’s currently on his own assignment.

  “So what did your guy request?” I tilt back in my chair and prop my legs up on the desk. The cuffs of my black pants move up slightly, showing the smooth skin of my ankles.

  “Eh, it’s a pretty normal one—basically he wants to be a victim of a mugging-turned-murder.” Harrison’s voice is hushed and the sounds of traffic ring in the background. He must be at the completion site now. “I’m all decked out in my standard robber outfit, complete with dirt and an air of desperation.”

  I laugh. “Oh yeah? So you aren’t looking very clean and put together, I take it?”

  He whimpers. “It’s horrible Elly. I smell like a freaking dumpster. And frankly, I look like one.”

  I cluck sympathetically. “Well I still think you’re sexy, with or without the smell of garbage on you.”

  “Love you too, sweetie,” he replies. “Alright, the client’s going to be here in a couple of minutes. I’ve gotta go. I love you forever, and good luck with pixie’s first assignment! Knock ‘em dead.”

  He laughs under his breath and I grin at the pun. There’s a knock at my door; I wave Robin in as I say “Always do. Love you for always, Hare,” and drop the pendent back to my chest.

  “Hey, Robin. Have a seat.” I greet her with a smile.

  “Hello, Eliza.”

  She remembered to wear an all-black outfit like I requested. She has on a black t-shirt, black pants, and black ballet flats. I almost match her perfectly, except I’m wearing a black tunic instead of a t-shirt. While my hair is pulled up into a half ponytail, her hair is down, the A-line cut of her black and green hair framing her face. While she sits down, I pull out a manila folder from the middle drawer in my desk and lean forward to hand it to her. She opens it while I speak.

  “Every time we are assigned a Death Wish, we receive one of these envelopes from the Clerical Department. Inside is a picture of the client, the manner of death they have requested, and any details pertinent to helping us complete the assignment.”

  I walk around to take the empty seat next to Robin, and point to a section in the middle of the client’s profile.

  “As you can see, this client has wished for Death while sleeping. So,” I move my finger to another part of the page, “under the ‘Pertinent Information’ section, we have been given her home address and usual times when she goes to bed. It says that she usually goes around nine o’clock, so we’ll go in between eleven and midnight to ensure that she’s soundly asleep.”

  I stand up and Robin stands with me, holding the file to her chest. I lean down and look at her. I hadn’t noticed before, but she’s even shorter than Harrison. And with the nervous way she’s clutching the folder to herself, she looks even smaller.

  “Hey.” She looks up at me. “Are you okay?”

  She nods, but she still looks scared and possibly nauseous. I put my hand on her shoulder and give it a gentle squeeze.

  “Robin, everything’s going t
o be okay. The first assignment is always the most challenging, but I know you’re going to be great.”

  She gives me a timid smile.

  “Thanks, Eliza.” Her voice is barely a whisper. “I’ll do my best.”

  *

  Getting into Marlene Rogers’ apartment is easy. The only resistance we encounter is a locked door, but I make short work of it while also teaching Robin the basics of lock picking. I straighten up and the door swings open into an unlit living room. Marlene’s Wish submission included a blueprint of the apartment, so I motion Robin forward to the bedroom in the back. There is a large bay window in the living room, and the moonlight provides enough illumination for us to make our way through without running into any furniture. I glance around at our surroundings.

  There is a beautiful, plush sofa nearby, and decorating the walls and every available surface are a large assortment of knick knacks. I think back to the file and remember that our client is two-hundred-and-seven years old—that’s a lot of time to accumulate personal belongings. Robin comes up close and whispers in my ear, an undertone of anxiety in her voice.

  “It looks like she’s lived such an exciting life… Why do you think she submitted a Death Wish?”

  I’m about to say that I don’t know, as I have no way of knowing the inner workings of our client’s mind. But then a picture on a nearby desk catches my eye. The frame is worn, small hairline cracks line the wood, and the moving image inside was clearly taken a few decades ago. But that’s not what grabs my attention. The picture is of two people. One is Marlene, smiling happily as her yellow-blonde hair is blown backward by a breeze. The other is a man with pale grey eyes and dark brown hair, a laugh dancing on his lips as he holds and twirls the woman he loves in a dance.