“Maybe later, it’s time to go.”
“Go where?”
“I needed to get you to safety. We’re here.”
“What do you mean, we’re here? Where’s here? We haven’t moved!” This was getting confusing. Grim smiled at me, and I felt a tug.
“Oh, and I’m sorry.” Grim’s smile was growing wider, like he was about to play some horribly evil trick.
“Sorry? Sorry about what?”
“This.” The tug got harder, but it wasn’t coming from outside of my body. The pull actually came from inside. Suddenly part of my body was moving again, but part of me was staying still, and both parts were shooting back and forth across the growing distance as though I was playing some strange game of tag with myself. I was stretched across the distance, and yet I was aware of my body being in one, singular place. I tried to rationalize it, but how do you rationalize feeling yourself in any one place at one particular moment, and still at every other place along the trip at the same exact time? An infinite number of me stretching the distance, and still all possessing a singular consciousness.
We rose up out of the Black. I felt myself being put back together. It was so disorienting that I immediately fell to my knees and started vomiting. How in the heck is Grim even standing? If he felt what I just felt, then he should be spewing right beside me. At least he was nice enough to help make sure my hair stayed out of my face.
When I had better control of my insides I groaned, “How? Why? Where?” It wasn’t my most eloquent moment, but give me a break. I think I just broke every law of physics.
Grim helped me to my feet, “The way it was explained to me is that before God created everything…there was the Black. Ever asked yourself what everything was like before God spoke the universe into being? Well, now you know. Think of it this way. If you ever saw a play, there’s the actors, and the set, and the lighting. That’s the universe. The black is the backstage area that no one ever really sees.”
“Who told you that?” I admit it. I was trying to buy some time while I tried to get my feet to stop wobbling.
“Jesus still drops by to teach me in my dreams.” Grim said it so matter-of-factly that I almost didn’t question it.
“He still talks to you?”
Grim smiled, “He talks to all of us. Of course, most of the time people just ignore him.”
“No, I mean he still actually shows up to chat with you?”
“Well I don’t know that chat really covers it. I mean, it’s not like he’s a neighbor dropping by to borrow sugar. He gave me an important job, and he spends a lot of time trying to help me get prepared for it.”
“It still sounds pretty cool. I mean, you actually work for God. Who else gets to say that?”
I must have touched a nerve because Grim actually looked a little sad. “DD?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve never really thought what my job is, have you?” He sounded depressed.
“You’re the freaking horseman of death. The Grim Reaper…people get tattoos of you. How awesome is that?”
Grim sighed, “DD, I’m not the hero of the story. I’m the coming storm. I’m the means to an end. When my job is done, I’ll have killed a quarter of the world’s population. That means I’ll have killed more people than Mao Ze-Dong, Stalin, Pol Pot, and Hitler combined. There are over seven billion people in the world today. If he calls on me to carry out my duties tomorrow…I’ll have to kill one billion seven hundred and fifty million people. No matter how you look at it, when my time comes, nobody is going to be cheering for me. God has asked me to someday be the monster that makes women afraid to let go of their kids. That’s going to be the hardest part, I think. I don’t know how I’m going to handle killing all those kids. I’d give anything to let someone else have this job.”
“Come on, maybe it won’t be like that.”
“DD, when the time comes, I’ll be responsible for the deaths of women, children, grandparents…and maybe some of you. How can he really expect me to do any of this? Maybe it’s for the best that I can’t have kids. What if I’d have had kids, and God asked me to take them? I’m not Abraham, my faith just isn’t that strong.”
“Grim…I never realized. It seems kind of cruel to make anyone do that. Why would he ask anyone to do it?”
“If the angel God had assigned this job to had just done what he was supposed to, then I’d never have this problem, but when the Angel of Death stopped listening to God…well someone had to take his place. I just wish it was someone other than me. Sometimes I just wish I could take Penny and live somewhere where she didn’t worry about vampire bullshit. Some place that we could adopt some kids, and forget about all of this, but that’s not how life works. You don’t just get to hop off because you don’t like the ride. My God asked me to be the boogie man. Maybe it’s time I quit whining and just accept it.”
The big guy just looked lost. To think that before it’s all over he’d have a body count that would dwarf all the wars and genocides combined…it’s just horrifying. I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him for all I was worth. “I’m so sorry.”
Grim hugged back, “I keep telling myself to trust in God’s plan, but it isn’t easy.”
“Can’t you just ask him to give it to someone else?”
“We talked about it, but he just says that he trusts me to carry out my job when the time comes.”
“So he wouldn’t give it to someone else?”
“Maybe, but it’s God. God is never wrong. If he thinks I should do this, then who am I to criticize? I just wish that he didn’t have so much faith in me. Then again, if he didn’t want me to do this, he wouldn’t have helped me survive everything with Alhambra. I’d have died several times over by now. Because of God, I’ve got Penny, I’m still alive, and I’ve still got my friends. Without his help I wouldn’t be here now.”
“It sounds like, in spite of everything, you’ve got a lot you’re thankful for. I don’t want to poke you on a sore spot, but most of your career has involved killing. Is it the numbers that bother you, or something else?”
Grim turned toward me, and his face was haunting. “I’m afraid of myself. All the horrible things I did serving my country…deep down I enjoyed a lot of them. I kill as easily as you breathe. Good people shouldn’t treat killing as casually as brushing their teeth. I always told myself that I was one of the good guys, but good people shouldn’t enjoy hurting people. They shouldn’t enjoy killing. Deep down, I do.”
“What does Jesus say about that?”
“He told me that he made me for a purpose. He said there are some people who are created to be peacemakers, and some he designed to fill the world with beauty. Jesus said he created me for this purpose.”
“Well then, why are you wasting time dwelling on it? If Jesus says he wants you to be Death, then get your cute little butt out there and be the best Death you can be.” I wasn’t sure I believed that, but I know deep down Grim does. For all his quirks, the man is as devoted to God as anybody.
Grim stood tall, and smiled, “Thanks DD. You’re a great friend. I needed this.” Then he leaned in and kissed me.
“What was that for?” I stammered, and tried not to grin like an idiot.
“I just finally see what Penny sees in you.” Then he turned and started walking off.
“Oh, hell no! You get back here and explain that, mister.” I yelled.
“I would, but I need to go help Penny. She can’t have all the fun.” There was a dangerous glint in his eyes.
“Fine, but I’m going, too. You can explain on the way.” I said as I hurried to catch up to Grim.
Grim shrugged his shoulders, and without warning a horse was rising up from underneath me. I was suddenly sitting on his horse. I looked down. The ground wasn’t even disturbed, but then, where did the horse come from? Grim lifted himself onto the horse and settled down behind me. I could feel his broad, muscular chest against my back. Grim grabbed my hips, and pulled me up closer agai
nst his body. Then without a word, we were off.
Chapter 13
“What happened to getting me to safety?” I screamed. It’s one thing to ride a horse at a slow leisurely pace, but it’s a whole other thing when you’re on a rampaging beast that’s acting like it’s part of the charge of the freaking Light Brigade. I kept screaming for it to stop, and Grim kept egging the four legged monster on.
“Well, Penny was supposed to drop back and meet us back there at the clearing, but she wasn’t there. So something went wrong.”
“But we were only gone two minutes.” I howled.
“Two minutes to us, but ten minutes to everyone else.” Grim’s voice was a low rumble. The Black started oozing out from his skin, and soon we were both covered in it. The scythe extended from Grim’s hand. He twirled it as we stormed deeper into the park.
I saw Penny. Four of the werewolves had her pinned down, but she was still fighting. Niki and Danika were both pinned down by several other weres. The horse slid to a stop. The black smoke flowed around us both like a cloak. Then we began to sink to the ground as the horse melted away to nothing. Instinct screamed that now would be a great time to put Grim between the werewolves and me. I’m not proud of being a chicken, but what was I really going to do? If they were able to get Penny pinned down, then what chance did I have?
One of the weres stood up and glared at us, “if you leave the chubby one here, we’ll let you pick which one we will let live after we’re done having our fun.”
“Fun…” It was just one word, but Grim’s voice was filled with an almost evil glee. Grim’s always been a little crazy when it came to protecting us. Maybe it was seeing Penny helpless, or maybe it was the threat. All I know is that there was a dark joy in his voice that terrified me.
Penny strained up to her knees. The werewolves forced her back to the ground. She kept trying to bite them, but they kept a safe distance from her fangs. Niki held still, and Danika was out cold. Even though she was unconscious, two weres still held her tightly to the ground. I counted fifteen weres total. Grim moved closer, and then the scythe’s blade glittered in the moonlight. Even I could tell it was razor sharp. Penny tried to force herself back to her knees again. This time her shoulder gave out, and popped out at the socket. Penny was still trying to rise, and the weres were trying to pull her down by both arms. The dislocated arm tore away, and the were holding onto that arm fell face first onto the ground right in front of Penny.
Penny didn’t even hesitate. She collapsed on top of the were on the ground. She bit down on the were’s side, and began gnawing her way to his kidneys. The were howled in pain, and tried to beat Penny off of him using her recently detached arm. It didn’t really help him, though. Penny was latched on with the single mindedness of a Great White shark attacking a seal. All I could think was that it takes about four to six pounds to break a bone. Every study we ever did on Penny’s anatomy centered around her mouth and fangs. One particular study we carried out involved Penny’s bite force quotient. The bite force quotient is the animals’ bite force divided by its body mass. Hyenas have a bite force quotient of one hundred thirteen to one hundred seventeen. They are known for their powerful bite. Penny’s bite force quotient was measured at approximately three hundred and twenty. We had to stop measuring because it was breaking her teeth. Oddly, when a vampire cracks or chips a tooth, another grows in underneath almost immediately, and replaces the damaged tooth. It was a pretty interesting test, but Penny was a crankypants for about two weeks afterward. Apparently regrowing teeth is painful.
Penny was gnawing her way into the werewolf’s side. She’d already bitten through the hip bone. She had half of her head stuffed into the wound and was chewing her way deeper into the were. She caused enough of a distraction that Niki decided to make her move. She gave a hard kick into one of the were’s knees, and it folded sideways. The other were holding onto Niki screamed in terror as the angry blonde gouged his eyes.
Danika kicked the now blind were right in the groin. She was hurt pretty bad, but healing quickly. The impact made a low meaty thud. She kicked so hard that her leg broke. The were rolled on the ground, blood coming from his eye sockets while he clutched his ruined genitals. One of the other weres punched Danika in the back of the head, and she crumbled into a heap. Niki threw herself at her lover’s attacker, but the were grabbed her by the throat. Her feet dangled as the were sniffed her a few times before licking her face.
The were Penny was gnawing on had already stopped moving. He was just crying and screaming as she tried to gnaw deeper into him. Finally, some of the other weres were able to pull her away from him. Her arm lay on the ground beside her victim. Some of them changed to wolf-human hybrids so that they could hold Penny more easily. In human form they were strong, in wolf form they had better access to their senses and instincts, but in wolf-human form they were at their most formidable. It wasn’t without problems though. A human changing into the hybrid can grow anywhere from five inches to almost a foot and a half. They can easily put on thirty to fifty pounds of muscle.
There’s no scientific explanation for how a werewolf suddenly gets bigger and heavier. The closest theory I could come up with is that whatever changes a human into a were creates a deficit that the were has to fill. It’s why werewolves are so hungry when they change. If a were changed into the wolf then there’d be no problem, but changing into the hybrid puts them in a difficult situation. They have to consume enough food to offset the sudden weight gain and physical adaptations, or when they change back their normal bodies suffer. It’s why there are no fat werewolves. Fat is turned to calories, and burned away as their human bodies try and return to normal. If a werewolf doesn’t eat enough while they are changed then it’s conceivable that they could suffer from several metabolic issues, not to mention the high likelihood of anemia, and of course all the calcium that leached from their bodies to rebuild their skeletons. How a werewolf changes is a mystery. For all intents and purposes they should die from the sudden traumatic stress their bodies undergo in the change. Bones shifting, reshaping, and new ones forming as old ones fuse together. There’s no reason they should survive the change, and they certainly shouldn’t survive the change back.
As it is, the change doesn’t come without drawbacks. An adult were can grow two to eight inches in height over the course of their lifetime depending on how often they change. From what Danika has told me, almost all weres suffer terrible arthritis as they get older because of the stress and strain on their bones. If I could just learn how they make those changes before they are able to take in enough food to fulfill their body’s needs. Maybe it’s like a shell? We never weighed Danika until after she’d had a good meal before. Maybe they take the shape, but without the necessary food intake it’s just a shell. Maybe the bones are brittle and hollow until there’s enough food to solidify them? Maybe that’s why they are always so desperately hungry at the beginning of their changes?
Most of the weres had changed to hybrids now, and many of them were kicking Penny as hard and fast as they could. Grim was assessing the situation with a glee I found truly disturbing. Seeing a one armed Penny woke something up inside me, and I screamed, “She’s mine! Let her go!” The weres were laughing right up until Grim made the first swipe with his scythe. It just barely clipped one of the weres holding Penny. He never made a sound. He just collapsed onto the ground, dead.
Suddenly the weres tones changed. They were willing to laugh at us when they thought we weren’t a real threat, but now that Grim killed one of their pack with almost no effort…they were taking us a lot more seriously , and Grim was now the one laughing.
It was a deep, menacing laugh. The kind of laugh you only hear in movies when the villain is about to do something truly heinous. “Well? She said let her go. Now do what my friend said, or should I just start putting you down like the worthless animals you are? Please go with the second option. It’ll be so much more fun…for me.”
One of the weres
leaped at Grim. The Black swirled around Grim until it was like a three-dimensional shadow. The were grabbed Grim, and they sank into The Black. Immediately, The Black rose up nearby, and Grim stepped out all by himself. The Black dissipated and left only the were’s head on the ground. The body was nowhere to be seen. I could only guess that Grim had closed The Black leaving part of the were there and his head here. The eyes were still moving, and his mouth opened and closed as the last few synapses were firing before he died.
The Black started swirling around Grim’s body. It was spooky. The weres must have realized that the situation had changed, and things were no longer in their favor. They released Penny. She crawled over to her arm slowly. I couldn’t just let her suffer like that so I ran over and picked up her arm. It was all floppy, and cold. I had to really fight back the urge to vomit. I carried the disgustingly floppy arm back to Penny, and after helping her to her feet. I handed her the arm.
Calmly and courteously, she stuck the bloody nub to the other bloody nub, and waited patiently for it to begin knitting back together.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Tis but a scratch.” Penny said it in her best Monty Python Black Knight voice, and I knew right then that she was going to be okay.
Thinking that her arm had knitted enough to hold itself on, Penny let go, and the arm immediately fell onto the ground. “Well…shit.” I couldn’t help but laugh. She shot me a frustrated glance, and I helped her gather up her arm and stick it onto the bloody nub. Her brow furrowed in concentration, and soon the arm was reattaching itself.
“Is the Black Knight going to be all better soon?” I laughed.
“That’s racially insensitive. I prefer the term African American Knight.” Penny said with a smirk. It was one of those jokes that you’d normally just groan and roll your eyes, but for some strange reason it made me laugh.
Midnight Squad: The Ties That Bind Page 21
