Grim Love - A Novella

by Grae Lily

  Chapter 2

  Marie paced from one side of the living room to the other as Evangeline watched. Soon she'd be dead and Evangeline would reap her soul. Another simple job. There would be no problem taking this one, although it might have been nicer to see Marie rot in jail where she belonged. Sighing, Evangeline waited with as much patience as she could, that being her least favorite part of the job. Lucius liked his reapers to be in position early, just in case.

  Determined to follow orders after the mistake she’d already made, she stood in Marie’s apartment, listening to her panic about her scheme being discovered, certain that she’d be arrested. It hadn’t crossed her mind that panicking might lead to something much worse. This time, Evangeline knew Marie couldn't see her after a few minutes of testing her theory, figuring the drunk man must have been a fluke.

  After what felt like hours, Evangeline decided to join Marie, pacing back and forth, but did her best not to think about the same things she'd been thinking about earlier. Going over it wasn’t helping. She didn’t have enough experience yet to understand why Lucius had chosen her and pushing all of her unanswerable questions aside would be the logical thing to do.

  When he’d asked her, she knew it wasn’t going to be an easy job. Doubt, being another reason she’d wanted to turn it down and after everything that happened, she wished she had. In hindsight, she wouldn’t be in such a difficult position if she'd followed her instincts. Even though she didn't think that he had any way of knowing about the drunk, the way he'd looked at her earlier made her wonder if he did. Lucius studied her, making her uncomfortable. Doing her best to push that thought away, she focused on Marie.

  Evangeline was tempted to tell Marie to sit down. She kept pacing, kept muttering to herself about what she should do next because she'd stolen from a charity and no one would like her in prison. Maybe she could run away. That would make more sense than letting herself get arrested when she knew everyone would want to teach her a lesson. Evangeline watched and listened, disturbed by Marie's lack of remorse for those she'd betrayed.

  Pilfering their money had been a terrible thing to do. Marie knew that, but she needed the money more than the charity did, she thought. Anyone who bothered to research them knew most of the money they raised went toward paying the CEO and very little of it went toward helping the people who needed it - like her. Nodding to herself, Marie went into the bedroom. When she tried to take the suitcase off the top of her armoire, it happened.

  Evangeline breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped into the other room, watching as Marie died. There might have been a time when doing that would have made her uncomfortable, but, because of the choices Marie had made, Evangeline wouldn’t have tried to save her even if she could. Death wasn’t the easy way out for her. Marie would have to account for her actions in the afterlife. When her spirit stepped out of her body, she looked at Evangeline, confused. Evangeline grabbed hold of her arm, not wanting her to disappear. She'd been told that some of the spirits could disappear in an attempt to escape their fate. They were the ones who became poltergeists, roaming the Earth, preying on innocent people.

  “Who are you?”

  “The question you should be asking is what, not who.” Evangeline shrugged. “Your problem, though, not mine.”

  Evangeline took a step. That's all she needed. In that one step, she went from the world of the living to the world of the dead, taking Marie with her, and Lucius stood there waiting to take Marie to her final judgment. “Thank you, Evangeline. You have the rest of today off, so do with it what you will, and I'll see you in the morning.”

  Nodding, Evangeline left Marie with Lucius, already certain of what she wanted to do with her time, even though it wasn’t something she had permission to do. Knowing that she could do the job she'd been chosen to do made everything simpler, so she felt it'd be safe to break some of the rules again. Breaking the rules had always been a part of who she'd been. Lucius had to know that. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if that's part of the reason he'd chosen her.

  Lucius could see the confidence in Evangeline's eyes. He knew what it meant, but he wasn’t worried. The drunk she'd saved - the drunk who should have died - started to get sober and it had been an interesting transformation to watch. Close encounters with death always changed people. Death itself changed people.

  He glanced at Marie as he led her to where she'd be judged by a court of spirits, who would know whether or not she could redeem herself, glad that Evangeline hadn’t gone through that process. It would have changed her into something he never wanted her to be because she remained, as he believed from the beginning, a compassionate person and having a compassionate reaper meant that things were changing.

  Lucius liked change. He lived for change because otherwise his afterlife would be quite boring. Evangeline, he knew, wasn’t going to have the rest of the day off, but it wasn’t a job he’d sent her to, so her reaction would be different and one he'd keep an eye on.

  Professional reapings were different from the ones a reaper stumbled across in a normal day. It would always be possible for the reaper to change the fate of the person who might have died. That's why she'd been able to save the drunk. Of course, spirits could do that as well, if they were strong enough, but they were a rare occurrence. Lucius found himself hoping, even though he shouldn’t, that the spirit she came across would be strong enough to hold on to his life.

  Evangeline's life had been lost in the sea. She remembered that. There had been some time between that and when Lucius found her because she’d wandered off. She didn't remember the wandering, although there were flashes of other memories, most from when she'd been watching the family she’d left behind grieve her death.

  In the weeks following her death, Evangeline spent whole days wishing she hadn’t died. Many newly dead did depending on the circumstances and those that were left to live their lives without them. Seeing how much pain her death had caused, regret and remorse became a constant. She hadn’t gone back to the place she'd died. A part of her knew not enough time had passed to revisit the day she found herself staring down at her own lifeless body.

  The day she died, Lucius found himself caught between deaths and wasn't able to guide her soul in the initial aftermath. Stunned by her sudden demise, Evangeline wandered, desperate to turn back the clock, wishing it away. Lucius, seeing her desperation, had to break the news to her and, based on his experience, mincing words wasn't an option.

  He told her that wandering souls could become poltergeists. She'd seen enough horror movies to know she didn't want that, so she went with him. Like all living beings, she had no point of reference as to what the afterlife would entail. She could conjure up images, but that did nothing to quell her fears. Following a cloaked figure to places unknown had never been something she'd considered. While she'd followed plenty of questionable characters to strange places over the years, considering her circumstances, this ominous presence wouldn't have been one she would've felt confident trusting.

  The manner in which he carried himself told her Lucius never did anything without being fully prepared for the consequences. She, on the other hand, had just realized that there were dire consequences for even the slightest infractions.

  Hesitant to look at his face under the dark cloak, Evangeline made it a point to concentrate on their journey. She didn't know what to expect and couldn't be positive that what she saw wasn't an illusion. The tall figure moving next to her made no effort to usher her into the afterlife with ease. His movements brisk and his voice low, Lucius sensed her fear and rather enjoyed her discomfort. He had no intention of explaining until they'd reached their destination. He thought the silence would do well to encourage her to consider his proposition.

  * * * *

  Evangeline wondered if he knew she'd accepted his offer because she feared how he’d react if she didn’t. She had the feeling that he didn't understand the spirits he gathered. For him, dying no longer had anything to do with em
otion and loss. He'd been given a job and that's what he did. The notion of considering the reactions of the departed didn't fit into his mission. Evangeline couldn't believe she'd been the only one that questioned the experience and, now, her status in the afterlife.

  As much time as she spent pining over soulless bad boys, when she looked at Lucius, she didn't feel that same admiration. She wondered what her reaction to him would have been if she were still alive. Would he have been someone she'd find attractive and alluring?

  When they reached, what could only be described as his office, he'd told her that she'd been chosen to do a job like no other and that this new position would be both difficult and rewarding if done well. Lucius said nothing to explain further other than to say there were strict guidelines and parameters to stay within and, if she chose to step outside of those guidelines, there would be a heavy price to pay. She shivered at the thought. Her knee-jerk reaction gave him pause and prompted him to add that a phenomenon she may find appealing would be that spirits clung to what they understood for a long time, including having the sense that their heart still beat and offered the illusion of skipping a beat or stopping under certain circumstances. He warned that regardless of the situation and the length of time, this strange phenomenon wouldn't be present for all of eternity. It would fade in time.

  Breathing a deep sigh, Evangeline stared out at the sea, wondering what happened to the spirits of her friends. They’d all gone down to the marina and stolen a boat, because they could, because they were young, reckless, and didn’t believe it'd be possible that anything bad would happen. They were wrong about that. Everyone drowned due to an accident she couldn’t remember. She hoped the memory would remain elusive forever. Knowing they'd all died traumatic deaths caused enough pain. She didn't need to know what caused the accident, fearing her own drunkenness and feigned bravado would be to blame. Not having confirmation, would forever haunt her, but she knew enough to hate herself for it. Remembering herself drowning, she shuddered.

  A ping took her by surprise. Someone would soon die and she seemed to be the only one close enough to guide the spirit to the world of the dead. Even though the last unexpected death that happened around her had gone wrong, she decided she would go because she didn’t want whoever died to end up wandering like she had.

  One step took her to the multistory garage where it would happen. She waited, grateful for the chance to fix things after the mistake she’d made. After what felt like hours, a car barreled into the parking garage, weaving out of control.

  People saw it happen. The walkway next to it had been full of people strolling or biking along the man-made pond. It didn’t take long for people to call 911 as they watched the car speed through the garage, coming to a sudden halt as the car hit a concrete column. Someone, much braver than Evangeline would have been, used an extinguisher from their trunk to put out the engine fire. Others rushed to the aid of the driver, trying to keep him awake, fearing he'd suffered a blow to the head.

  As Evangeline got closer, she could understand why. There wasn't an airbag, so he’d hit his face hard on the steering wheel. She bit her lip, studying him, wondering why he’d driven at such a high rate of speed. Knowing she shouldn’t care, didn’t help. It would be her downfall in the end, so she did her best to push her interest away, leaning against the car as she waited for something to happen. His spirit didn’t seem like it wanted to leave his body any time soon.

  The ambulance and fire engines arrived. Since there could be a chance of spinal damage, they waited until the top of the car had been chopped off before removing him. Evangeline watched it all, more fascinated by this than anything else, even though she would have been squirming if this happened in front of her in real life. She hated blood and gore and there seemed to be a lot here. Yet, in her position as reaper, all that proved easier to deal with since she knew his spirit would move on to another life.

  Her parents had her remains cremated, sprinkling the ashes over a lagoon she’d loved as a child. She’d spent a lot of time there with her family. Until she died, she didn’t realize how much she missed the lagoon. Observing this scene reminded her of another part of her life that she missed.

  Evangeline went with him in the ambulance. She didn’t listen to what the paramedics were saying, but stared at him instead, wishing she knew what he looked like before he'd come close to mangling his face. Something told her, he would be handsome behind the blood and gashes. Growling, she shook her head. He’d also be dead and she knew that would happen soon. She had to remind herself her concern should be with taking his spirit to the world of the dead. Brushing a hand through her hair she waited, knowing it had to happen soon, but when they arrived at the hospital, they wheeled him into the emergency room.

  “Jasper Muldoon, 26, BP 60/40 and dropping. Crashed into a concrete pillar at the multistory garage next to the marina. I’m not sure he’s going to pull through this time.”

  “This time?” Evangeline spoke out loud even though no one could hear her, studying Jasper even more than she had before. “What sort of life have you led?”

  “Another suicide attempt?”

  “Maybe. He’s drunk, so there's a chance he might have tried again. He totaled his car doing it.”

  The doctor nodded. “If he wanted to be dead, that wouldn’t bother him. Sometimes I wonder why he can’t manage to kill himself when it’s obvious how much he wants to be dead. I'm sure if there were some God up there, they’d put the poor guy out of his misery, instead of bringing him back here so we can patch him up and send him out to try again.”

  “Isn’t there anything more we can do for him?” The nurse's irritated tone pleased Evangeline - at least someone thought to consider the poor guy who'd just gotten hurt. “After two suicide attempts in what - like a few months? Isn't there better treatment than us bandaging his scars and having him put on a hold for evaluation? He’s depressed.” The doctor looked into the nurse's eyes for a moment before returning his attention to the patient that needed his assistance. He had no words.

  Evangeline watched the precise movements the entire team used to care for Jasper. Everyone had a role and, despite the initial verbal sparring, they all played their parts. Their job required them to try to save him, regardless of their personal feelings about him.

  She wondered if when she and her friends had been dragged from the sea, did someone attempt to save their lives? If so, did they do everything they could and not debate about why they'd been in a stolen boat in the middle of the night in the first place? Doctors took an oath to protect life even if that life did belong to someone who might not deserve it.

  Looking at Jasper now, Evangeline thought, maybe Jasper could be one of those people, but she didn’t know. As she studied him, she wished she knew why he'd been trying to kill himself. What sort of life led him to this?

  Chapter 3

  Evangeline stayed with Jasper. He'd been placed in the ICU, but as the doctors discussed, he'd been stabilized. She couldn’t understand why she'd been called to escort him. Lucius said that would only happen when death loomed and Jasper, by all accounts, didn't appear to be dying. She sighed, wishing she knew more, but until she dared asked questions of the one person who could tell her, she would have to keep going with the information she had.

  She nibbled on her bottom lip, looking at Jasper. His dark hair matted to his head. Bandages were wrapped around his forehead and assorted scrapes and wounds had been attended to – some left uncovered, forcing her to see years of damage he'd done. What will his final judgment be?

  Attempting suicide more than once proved something had gone wrong. Everyone always had their reasons for what they did. She wondered what his were. Were they enough that he would be permitted straight through or would he have to visit the spirit panel to learn his fate?

  The guides, she knew, would talk to him about the choices he’d made and the reasons he'd made them, trying to get him to make better ones in the next life, if he were granted one. Tha
t wouldn't be easy. Most people didn’t remember the lives they’d led before. She had to wonder if the same would have been true for her if she'd been granted another chance to walk the Earth. Would she make the same mistakes again? Or, would she spend eternity trapped in the soul of an ungrateful, angry girl who realized too late how wonderful life had been for her.

  Lucius warned Evangeline that another chance at life wouldn't be better than the afterlife. The few granted another opportunity found more trouble than they ever imagined. Spending their new lives making up for all they thought they'd lost only to be faced with the harsh reality that there are no real second chances.

  Realizing that her hands were caressing unscathed parts of Jasper's muscled body, Evangeline jumped back. What am I doing? What's wrong with me? Needing a distraction, she chose to snoop around the hospital. She came across Jasper’s doctor talking to two police officers. It wasn’t a surprise that the police were there. Evangeline had caused her share of problems in the past and knew the police always managed to discover when you'd done something wrong. They want to lock him up. Taking the opportunity to be a fly on the wall, Evangeline listened to their discussion.

  “We’re going to have to arrest him.” The first officer shook his head, his face devoid of emotion, so she had no idea what he'd been thinking and she stayed to find out more. “This is the third time he’s been caught drinking and driving in the last 6 months. First time, he was so far over, he blew off the charts when we got him back to the station. This time, he could have killed someone. He’s getting worse. I'm sick of having to deal with him and his bullshit.”

  The doctor nodded. “I know what you mean. Every time I see him, it pisses me off. I mean, granted, he's been through a lot, but it's starting to feel like a revolving door. We fix him. You lock him up for a little while. Then, he comes out and does it all over again. It's a never-ending cycle.”