“I decided to do some investigating of my own and went back to your place. But, as I was driving on my way over I noticed a trail of blood on the road just near the cliff and some burn out marks on the concrete. Of course I got out to just have a closer look, following the trail into a section of woods were it lead me to this-”
She stood up, walked over to a drawer in the other room and returned with a wallet. My wallet no less. It had been saturated in the rain that the black material crinkled with water damage. She handed it over as I flipped the wallet open but all my cards and personal I.D had been removed from their pockets.
“I know it’s yours.” She told me before taking her seat back. “I didn’t know what to do Jordon; I searched the woods for you in case they had left you there unconscious when I got a phone call from Mark. He had said that Evan had called him up, told him that you had rocked up home with a bang on your head. I didn’t know what to think... the evidence, the amount of blood, it just didn’t make sense that you could just dust yourself off and walk home. Unless it wasn’t your blood...”
“Why didn’t you say something earlier?”
“Because I wasn’t sure...I... I didn’t want-”
The way her eyes slipped downwards, ashamed, guilty of something that sat on the tip of her tongue. I inhale softly, suddenly understanding her hesitation. “You were protecting Luke.” She’s in love with him.
Her lips parted to refuse but the truth wouldn’t let her lie about something like that. Large eyes shone with lingering tears, her fingers wringing the table cloth with an uneasy twitch. “I only said those things to make him jealous... I really didn’t mean... I’m sorry.”
“I gotta go-” The chair groaned as I stood up, “Thank you for lunch.”
Anita leapt up from her chair and called to me in a voice that felt small, “It wasn’t your blood… right Jordon? I mean, you’re fine; it must’ve been a wild animal that was struck by a car. Right? Luke he wouldn’t have…”
I held my hand up to silence her, every little word that slipped from her lips were like thorns to my heart, “Just… stop.”
I had never raised my voice at her, not once during our entire childhood friendship. And the way she fell back, stunned by the abrupt change in me it was obvious she wasn’t sure how to respond. How do I tell her that the boy she loves murdered me that night, when I’m here walking around as fresh as I was before the incident? I can’t – it’s impossible. And it makes me so mad now – that because I got back up from the grave and walked home, Luke got away with killing me.
I’m not alive, not for much longer as the Reapers are going to take me away from everything I hold dear. And Luke will never be held responsible… because I got back up. I did not stay dead when he murdered me.
I’m just going to vanish…
She didn’t call out to me to stop, a small part of me didn’t expect her too but a larger part really hoped that she would chase after me.
***
The further I walked the more the rage started to consume me. The tension wrapped around my stomach, tightening my muscles and making my insides feel heavy with resentment. All I wanted was to find him. Just one more look into his stubborn brown eyes, and have him squirm under my shadow. He will know what he did and he’ll be so scared that he may even wet himself.
I stormed to his house with the sole mission of causing him harm. I wanted to punch him right in the jaw. I want to make his teeth fly out of his mouth with a spit of blood. But as I raised my hand to knock against his front door a dark silhouette appeared around the corner of his house. The person caught sight of me, panicked and bolted in the other direction.
“You sneaky bastard!”
It had been Luke all this time, sneaking to school and spying on me. He had the guts to watch me from afar, cowering in his own pants too scared to face the consequences. This time he wasn’t going to run away from me. This time, now that I’m able to see him in the day light, he isn’t going to be able to punch me into unconsciousness.
I chased after him, shouting his name as we rounded the corner. Luke climbed the fence with ease and took refuge in his backyard, but no metal barricade was going to stop me from serving justice. I leapt over the fence and followed him as he continued to bolt, climbing the back fence and into his neighbours garden. I chased him for what felt like ages, leaping over fences, squeezing through grass ledges and sprinting through parks.
Till eventually I caught a hold of his collar. I was able to feel the warmth of his exhaustion soak through his thick clothes, the hood of his jumper still concealing his guilty face till I pulled him to a stop then he just… vanished within my grip.
“What?” I spun on my heel but he wasn’t anywhere to be seen. There were just trees and shrubs, nothing more. Was I just chasing a shadow this whole time? Then out of the still air appeared another figure reaching out for me and taking me by the neck. He glided on the back of the wind, soundless and impossibly fast. His fingers ringed around my throat and picked me up, holding me inches above the ground.
He looked up me through bangs of ash blonde hair, eyes piercing with crystal blue except for his right eye that was tattooed with a black leaf. Like vines, the tattoo started from his eyebrow, went through his eye and down his jaw line, finishing at the base of his neck. His right eye had strange moving letters in his iris that changed under ever blink.
“Stop!” He barked but didn’t loosen his steel grip to allow me a chance to breath. He was one of them, a Reaper. Behind him followed his Goon, a dark large creature that looked like a hyena. It had shackles on its back that stood on end, its fur coated with black and yellow spots. It prowled behind us as I felt its eyes glow with ice blue against my cheeks. Watching as my face bloomed he eventually dropped me.
Stumbling to a stand, I soothed my sore throat, “You’ve been following me. What do you want?” That probably explains as well why I was the only one who could remember him.
“I am Elliot, a Reaper like you. You cannot force death onto Luke Thompson, it is not his time.” Elliot stepped backwards and soothed the neck of his Goon, “This is First. Where is your Goon?”
“My what? - Oh” I glanced about myself, “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?” He snarled.
“He’s not here, I don’t know.”
Elliot clenched his teeth, his lips curling in a mimicking scowl of his feral pet. “You will get us all in trouble if you don’t do as you’re commanded. Follow me,” Elliot motioned for me to follow, and feeling like I had nowhere else to go, I did.
I followed him into the day’s bright light where he took to the streets without falter. His pet melted into the footpath, sinking into the floor and stretching behind his body like a shadow. Only I seemed to be able to see the form of a beast walking behind the boy, and even as he passed, people did not glance at his strange markings. It was like he was just a faceless stranger. Someone who you pass every day but don’t bother to notice. He took me back home but did not stop at my house; instead he motioned to my neighbour’s footpath with a tilt of his head.
“Go and do your job. You have 48 hours.” He ordered and I hesitated. The woman whose house it belonged it had lived beside us for as long as I could remember, even before we moved here not ten years ago. She was really sweet but kind of a loner. Evan liked her though, whatever stories she used to tell him he’ll soak it up like a sponge. Her cat was just a pest, always leaving dead rodents all over the place, digging up Ange’s garden and snoozing on the top of dad’s car.
Despite my hesitation, there was a deep pull driving me forward from the base of my spine. It was so primitive, like this sensation had been buried deep within my DNA. Almost like when we face a threat, the instinct to run or fight kicked our bodies into auto mode, taking the control away from us. Whatever this sensation was, I could feel it pricking at my nerves and trying to twist my limbs to oblige.
“No-” I stopped myself from stepping forward, turning arou
nd abruptly to address Elliot. “Tell me what you want-” But the boy was gone.
Chapter Five:
Ange had put up the Christmas decoration, but it did very little to lighten up the house. Despite her constant cleaning, constant worrying and trying to be perfect, the halls were as cold and empty as an attic. I woke again in a panicked state each morning, clutching my heart, feeling the chill of fear sweat out of my pores.
As I helped myself to some orange juice I watched as dad made his way out to the front yard. Through the window I could see one of the business cars waiting, the engine still running and letting out smoke against the cold winter’s breath.
“Where are you going this time?” I asked him, trying to hide my tone of spite. It was known, but not spoken of about dad’s affair. He was caught once a couple of months ago, but the argument didn’t end when they went to bed. You could feel the sadness in every breath Ange exhaled, like she was drowning in it. Evan wasn’t dealing with it too well either, like he was confused by his anger behind dad’s betrayal. Dad fixed his collar, glancing over like he barely heard me at all.
“Business” He muttered, “I’ll be back by dinner tonight. Tell Ange.”
“Shouldn’t you tell her?” I asked defiantly.
Like usual, dad didn’t want to face the harsh reality of what he was doing to us, and instead blocked us out of his new budding life. The door closed loudly behind him and I didn’t bother to watch the car roll away. The moment things became too hard, when I stopped being the perfect son dad found contentment in other women. A small part of me felt like I had caused the drift in their marriage, that if I remained obedient and perfect dad would have been happy enough not to stray. I grew out of that thought quickly, there was no way I was taking blame for him anymore.
Evan came bouncing through the hallways, which was a welcoming change of tempo from dad’s ongoing abandonment.
“Where are you doing?” I asked whilst pouring myself a glass of orange juice, taking out an extra glass in case he felt like a drink. Evan fixed his scarf and smiled a heart-warming smile at me, like he was carrying joy in his pockets.
“Shopping…”
“Don’t forget your money then-” I motioned towards the roll of notes left on the counter. Christmas for most families was getting presents from Santa under a tree; Christmas for us was getting a roll of money from dad and buying our own gifts. Evan shook his head vigorously as if amused, biting into his smile again.
“I’m using my own, going to buy mum and dad something-”
“Oh?” I stopped mid-pouring and felt my eyebrows rise. Evan had to work vigorously to earn even a cent, he would have to spend hours ranking leaves and doing tedious housework. No one in a real industry would hire him, being so young and all so he earned pocket money doing the jobs no one wanted to do at bare minimal profit. Nathan walked in from behind me, munching his way through a packet of chips. His eyes were large and lips moist, like he had heard something worth laughing at.
“Why you doin that?” He spoke between each bite.
“What’s it to you? I’m not getting you anything.” Evan spat back by which Nathan lunged forward with his fist curled. Knowing the short temper Nathan had, I stepped forward and held up an arm bar to hold him back.
“Oi, cut it out Nathan, I reckon it’s really thoughtful of Evan to buy something for mum and dad.” Nathan scrunched his face up at their mention before he walked off, aiming to knock Evan’s shoulder but missing as Evan leaned back to avoid contact. With that said, Evan took off out into the cold. Watching after him, it made me think if I would even make it to Christmas.
***
The hardest part of all was leaving my family behind. Especially Evan, who had little to no one left to talk to. Nathan made life hell for him; dad always treated him like he was a part of the wall paper. Ange was over protective, but even she would snap. I had lost count of all the nights I had rocked up home and found Evan without supervision, struggling to make himself dinner. Guilt and worry turned my feet to lead. I couldn’t do it… I would have to watch over him, even as a Reaper…
I went out with the intention of buying Evan an amazing Christmas gift, pouring all of my money into it when I felt the familiar pull from yesterday. It was trying to draw me back towards our neighbour’s house, down the dirt path that was over growing with thorns and weeds. I resisted the urge, feeling that if I went down there I would only have to face becoming a Reaper sooner – when I suddenly heard her screaming.
It was a long, stretched scream that suddenly fell short like she was forcibly silenced. I ran down her driveway and knocked hastily on her front door, pulling the handle and shouting into the wood. Startled Mrs Flitch opened the door clutching her petticoat close.
“What? What? What?” She looked around herself, panicked and confused. She was …fine?
I studied her face closely and looked behind her shoulder searching for her attacker but everything seemed settled. She had even boiled herself a fresh pot of tea, the herds hitting my nose with their pleasant aroma.
“I’m... sorry to disturb you. But I thought I heard you screaming?” I scratched my forehead feeling embarrassed.
“Screaming? No, not from me. Oh I know you… you’re Evan’s older brother. Jordon right?” She looked up at me through her thick rimmed glasses and I smiled softly.
“Yeah, I am -”
A pain hit me hard, deep in my right temple as it sent me crushing into the ground abruptly. For a while I was completely consumed by the throbbing explosion inside my skull, the ache like a blade being pressed against a nerve. Eventually I could feel my arms around me, cradling my forehead and how my body curled in on itself rocking back and forth. After a few minutes of clenching my teeth I reached out and took a hold of the door frame, the explosive impact numbing down to a burning sting. I could feel the touch of Mrs Flitch guide me into her house, but I couldn’t open my eyes against the aching, the darkness seemingly to help confine the pain from throwing me over again. She put me on the couch and quickly ran to the kitchen, perhaps getting out the phone when I could finally peek upwards. She was looking over at me, worried and covering her mouth when there was a deep chill that shook my bones.
The pain had completely left my body like I had sneezed it out and I sat up, still holding my forehead a bit dazed.
“I think I’m alright-” I called out to her when I heard the phone fall and hit the ground.
A dark shadow was moving across the room, starting from behind me and consuming all of her wall behind the bulk of its weight. I slowly followed the shapeless form till Raix stepped out of the blackness, his lips curled back and his ears pinned. I inhaled a sharp breath as my eyes flew open.
Mrs Flitch was just a stunned, watching as Raix crept towards her but before any of us could utter a word Mrs Flitch collapsed. I leapt up just in time to catch a trail of smoke being vacuumed from her body before a spirit essence of Mrs Flitch stepped out of her lifeless form. Eyelids were half lidded, her lips soft in their trout like part and her shoulders were hunched, like she had no idea what was happening around her.
Raix opened his large wolf jaws and inhaled her disappearing body, Mrs Flitch’s form dispersing into tiny grains that glowed of electric blue. I remembered her eyes, looking directly at me as her body broke apart, disappearing into the mouth of the Goon.
“No... No Raix, stop!” I ran at him and tried to pry his jaws back open, to release her from him but I couldn’t. The creature’s skin was hot like coal that my skin burned when I touched him. Raix whipped around and shoved me over, angered by something that I stumbled backwards and knocked Mrs Flitch’s stand mirror to the floor. It shattered into pieces that fanned out across the room.
I couldn’t catch myself and ended up landing on my rear, just missing my hand from impaling on one of the sharpened pieces when I caught sight of something. My fingers were shaking as I picked up the glass piece, the tiny shard just long enough to reflect back to me a pair of silver eyes.
Silver like a glowing moon, except for my right eye that was gradually changing. It started as silver, just like the other one, but as I continued to blink a collection of dark words and strange markings printed themselves along my iris. The shard shattered as it slipped from my fingertips, but the noise barely rose above the thumping of my heart. I kicked backwards against the carpet and went into the bathroom where I nearly bolted from my own reflection.
The boy looking back at me… wasn’t me.
I grabbed at the frame of the mirror, hoping it was a window that led into a different room, to someone else. Along with the change of my eyes that were now both shining grey was a thick tattoo that bubbled up from under my skin. It pressed against me like a bruise, a single line of foreign letters painted down my face and along my neck. It was as if my skin was used as calligraphy paper for someone trying to practise their kanji characters.
I gripped at the roots of my hair, unable to believe that it had really changed colour to an ash blonde. It must be a trick of the lighting – I must be dreaming all of this.
“There you are-” Elliot was standing by the corner of the bathroom, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. “Why is Raix not with you?” He was always snarling, like I was some consistent stench that he couldn’t stand.
“Elliot -” I pressed myself against the sink, leaning away. “What have you done to me?”
“Nothing. This is what you are now.”
“What happened to Mrs Flitch?”
“Heart attack.” Elliot spoke without pause as I struggled to swallow.
“No – you’re lying. She was perfectly fine beforehand. You must have done something.”
“Me? I wasn’t even here. We don’t kill people; it was just her time to go. Come,” Elliot stepped up to me and covered my mouth with his warm palm as I started to sink into a heavy sleep. Like when Christophe sedated me under his grip, I could sense my body fade into numbness before I tipped backwards into a weightless descend.
My Demonic Ghost Book two (The Reapers 2) Page 5
