by Amy Barrett
“A murderer?”
“No!” He shouted and balled his hands into fists.
“Then you have nothing to lose mate,” Ivan said, facing the angel again.
“Except my place in heaven, my respect if any of them find out about me and my wings if I fall for it.” The angel huffed and threw his hands up into the air. Ivan walked to him and leaned by his side.
“Mate you wouldn’t be asking me about it if you weren’t already planning on doing something reckless.” The two of them looked at each other for a while and then the angel finally gave in.
“You’re right. I want to go and spend even just one week with him. That’s not a sin, is it?”
Ivan frowned. “Not like I would know. I’m sure I sin all the time.” Ivan drew in a breath and then went for it. “If you are going on vacation, maybe I could come too.” His voice trembled and he wrung his hands together. If this worked he might finally get to do something other than collecting the dead.
Zerachiel glanced to the side and sucked on his lower lip. “That could have massive consequences.”
“Yea I know and it’s your call mate, you run our double act. But think of it, just a week and then I would catch up on work.” He stood straighter and paced. “One week to experience life and all that shit.” He focused on Zerachiel again. “Come on. If you’re going, I want to come too.”
Zerachiel shook his head. “I don’t need to add more rules to the list of ones I am breaking here.”
“You and I break the rules all the time just by talking.” Ivan did his best to keep the desperate edge out of his voice. “I promise when you say its time to go back to work I won’t even sigh. Well, I will try not to.”
Zerachiel rubbed the back of his neck and opened his mouth to speak. Ivan could sense he was going to say no so he interrupted him before he could.
“Please mate. You know I really want this. Plus given the fact that I have been your living secret diary for over 100 years I think you owe me some kind of vacation.”
Zerachiel flattened his eyebrows and clenched his jaw so Ivan added a very sweet. “PLEASE!!!”
Massaging the bridge of his nose, Zerachiel conceded. “Fine but we only get a week”.
Ivan resisted the urge to squeal.
Zerachiel sighed. “I just have to sort out some business in heaven to be sure I won’t be missed and then I will come and get you.”
Ivan clapped his hands and Zerachiel pinned him with a serious look. “I am doing this on the condition that when I say that its time to go you don’t make a fuss. I can’t have any of the other angels finding out about this.”
Ivan put his hands over his heart. “I’m a reaper of my word.”
Chapter 2
There weren’t many things which Nick was afraid of. Abyzou was no longer one of them. So, when he woke from death for perhaps the sixth time that day, he didn’t care if she was there or not. She wasn’t. The smell of burning flesh tore at his senses and it took a moment for him to be able to concentrate.
“You okay man?” The voice was a whisper a few bodies down to his left. He couldn’t see the speaker, but he knew him right away.
“I’m fine. You?”
Dan chuckled and choked on the air. “Oh, you know me I love a good day’s torture.”
They both laughed and Nick felt a small amount of the weight in his chest disipate. Dan’s chains clattered against the stone as he moved. “Ahh,” He roared “Damn I’m never gonna see that handsome face of yours ever again, am I?”
Nick smiled. “Don’t get your hopes up.”
“Why do you have some plan to escape?”
Nick chewed on his lip.
Dan laughed. “Hey man it’s not that I’m doubting your mad skills but even you have to admit as far as prison goes this is secure. Even for a chosen one like you.” Dan’s tone was mocking, and Nick barked a small laugh although hearing the word chosen brought that bundle of shame back into his chest. He hadn’t saved anyone and because of his failure they were trapped in hell.
Pushing away his thoughts, Nick considered the smooth black abyss which stretched beyond where he could see and the jagged teeth of the rocks that he lay against. Dan was right, there wasn’t a door or anything. Nick pulled on the chains until his bones hurt and his feet weighed a million tonnes. There had to be a way out and if only he could break loose of his chains he would have the chance to look for it.
A raspy laugh sounded again. “Aw man, you try that every day and every day I gotta listen to your bones break.”
Nick gasped in a breath and tried again. “Better that than a scream.”
He pulled against the chains and his left wrist complained under the pressure. Gritting his teeth against the pain Nick took a minute to prepare himself. He gathered all his energy as he inhaled, drawing in his desperation and the memories of the years spent trapped in hell. He had suffered day after day and listened to the people he was supposed to protect suffering. He could feel hatred bubbling within him along with so much rage that he felt like he was going to burst. Focusing on these feelings he pulled himself up using his abs and with a final burst of effort threw his body down again. As the chains stopped his desent there was a pop and then a snapping. For a wild minute Nick thought he had done it, until he noticed the searing pain in his left wrist. He cursed when his eyes stung with tears and he tried to think of anything besides his broken wrist supporting his weight.
He heard the chime of Dan’s chains. “If I could change, I would snap these no problem,” Dan groaned.
“I know me too.” Nick hated that he missed the monster inside him so much, but it made him want to weep when he thought about how easily it would free them all.
“Man, if you could turn you would slaughter the lot of these freaks, with my help of course.”
“Of course.” Nick fell quiet when he heard some demons walking by. He only allowed himself to breathe again when they were gone.
“Hey man?” Dan broke the silence.
“Yea.”
“If we don’t leave this place, like ever, do you think we will die?”
Nick didn’t want to speak. In that moment, he knew he had to give bad news and that wasn’t what chosen saviours did or what his friend needed. “I don’t know,” he lied. It was a struggle to prevent his voice from breaking as that familiar shameful feeling clogged up his throat.
Dan let out a heavy sigh. “Thanks man.”
“What for?”
He coughed and spat. “Being a lying prick.”
They laughed again. It was a strange sound coupled with the distant screams.
Abyzou and another demon entered the room. Nick could only see Abyzou but heard her friends’ footsteps beyond the stone.
“Here we go again,” Dan said in a shaky voice.
“Ready to scream for us?” Abyzou stalked over to the knife table.
“Oh sure,” Dan said, “if I can scream sure, then I’m still breathing.”
Hell started again.
***
Ivan should have been patient. He had had a lot of practice at waiting for things. Granted that was usually for death but it was still waiting. At this moment, he was perched on a wall while people zoomed around on skateboards. He swung his legs and let his feet bounce against the wall. They didn’t make a sound on impact and he felt nothing. He huffed.
“Come on Zerachiel.” He looked about as if the angel may just appear on command.
Something across the road caught his eye and he slid off the wall. It was her, Hannah. Wrapped up in her coat of autumn colours and putting the dull light of the day to shame with her radiant face. Ivan had already decided that when he was visible, he was going to go out with her.
He heard the clunk as the boy he was here for fell off the board. People chattered around him and asked if he was okay.
“I’ll get it in a minute.” Ivan waved his hand in their direction and made his way to the other side of the street. Cars drove through him and he passed like mist through pe
ople.
She bought a coffee and sat in the booth she always sat in. Second from the back, always on the side which faces the salad counter. Grasping the coffee, she blew lightly on it and a stream of steam ran away. Ivan sat across from her. He envied everything she touched. He envied her for touching them.
“Hey so I see you here a lot. What are you drinking?” She stared back without hearing him. He leaned in and pretended she had replied. “Yea I love those too. This place is great. So, what do you do then?”
She lifted her phone, breaking the spell. It was hard to pretend someone was talking to you if they weren’t even looking. When she raised her head again, she straightened up and looked about, like a merecat out of a hole.
Ivan raised an eyebrow. “Waiting for someone, are you? Boyfriend?”
“No.” She smiled. Ivan jumped in the seat.
“What?” he croaked.
“Oh, come on. You know you need a Christmas jumper.” A girl emerged holding two green jumpers with reindeer on them.
Ivan settled again. “Well I don’t blame you for saying no. They are awful.”
The other girl slipped in and sat where Ivan thought he was. He had forgotten he was never really anywhere.
“This is so rude,” he groaned, waving a hand in front of her face.
The girl shivered. “Did you feel that?”
Ivan sprung up from the seat entirely. He narrowed his eyes at the new arrival and dusted himself off. “Weirdo. I’m not here.”
Hannah looked at the new arrival and sighed. “This is your sixth sense again?”
The new one rubbed her shoulders. “I don’t know, it just felt cold for a minute there. Like the grave.”
Ivan barked a laugh. “You have no idea.”
Hannah rolled her eyes and mumbled something about why she couldn’t take her anywhere.
He felt the familiar burning in his body which said the spirit of that boy outside was going to get away. He searched through the window and saw him there with an ambulance pulled up.
He clasped his hands together and turned to the girls. While they talked, he imagined they were listening.
“Sorry ladies gotta go. If I don’t get him now, then I’ll have to chase down that ambulance.” He even pointed for their benefit. He jogged out into the street and saw the boy. Above him a silver light was glowing. It was vaguely in the shape of a man and spun its head to face the advancing reaper.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Ivan reached the boy just as his spirit detached from his body. He stood up on one foot and caught it by the ankle. It rushed through him. It felt like icy water all over his skin.
Ivan shook himself. “Ugh. Hate that.”
He tilted his head back to the sky as it started to rain. The water fell through him like it would fog.
“Rain on me God!!!” He spread his arms. He remained dry as a bone. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine what it would feel like.
But how could he. He had never felt it.
“Come on Zerachiel”. The skies opened, and people fled out of the downpour.
***
Nick didn’t want to see Abyzou. Every time she turned up she tortured him until he broke and screamed loud enough to make his own head hurt. So, it was ironic that he looked forward to her arrival if only so that he didn’t have the time to think about how he had failed, and he would have someone to fight against. He needed an enemy to blame. He thought this as he hung and tried to sleep.
When he finally fell into the darkness he dreamt about life before the battle. His home on earth, and all that came with it. In the dream he was sitting in the living room. He was playing Assassins Creed on the xbox 360 with Muffin on his lap. He could see him so clearly in his head. Those big floppy ears and white tipped tail. He could smell that distinct dog smell that had clung to the small animal. All his friends had called the beagle a tiny wolf and Muffin had run with them every morning. At that moment, the dog had timidly licked his fingers until he paused the game and stroked his face. Muffin’s tail wagged in a blur.
“Hey boy calm down.” Then Nick’s sister came in. She told him that mum would be furious if she saw Muffin on the chair and came over to remove him. Nick grabbed her and pulled her on to the chair then kicked her onto the floor. Her legs kicked out and her hands pushed at his as he held her down and put his feet on her as if she was a stool.
“Ok I give up you jerk”. He let her go and she ran from the room. After a few seconds, she came back and leaned in the doorway.
“You are just too slow, too old to catch me.” Her pink lips pulled back from her teeth as she smiled. She pushed her fringe from her face while she edged out of the door a bit, preparing to be chased.
“Oh really? Old?” Nick got up and ran to the door. His socks made him spin out wildly as he rounded the frame and he roared after her. Catching her he threw her on the floor again and cheered at his victory. Mia laughed as she tried to catch her breath.
“You’re such a mean big brother. You’re meant to help me with stuff and protect me from creeps.”
Nick sat down on the floor beside her. “I have to put you in your place.”
She laughed and shoved him. “You’re so stupid. My place is obviously as leader of the pack.” Muffin barked and ran towards them. His ears folded against his head and he fell when he reached them. Muffin licked Nick’s face. Mia hugged the dog. She waited a few seconds before licking her finger and sticking the slimy thing in Nick’s ear.
Pain.
Searing heat.
Nick opened his eyes to Abyzou. She shoved the flame in her hand against his neck and grinned. Her eyes flashed in the hell light. Nick saw his own battered face reflected in those chestnut orbs.
“Pleasant dreams?”
“Piss off,” he spat. Her eyes narrowed, and she considered him. She lowered her hand momentarily and Nick almost hoped she was going to show him mercy. Shaking her head, she returned to ripping him apart. He must have imagined her hesitation.
***
Ivan had been waiting for two weeks. He had told this to all the people he had reaped. They hadn’t shown much sympathy. Now he stood in a church which was huge and empty enough so that the priests voice echoed off the roof. One of the stain glass windows was smashed and a small crowd of people sat in the pews, a mumbling blob of misguided morality. They gazed at the aging pulpit while the priest told everyone how much the angels were looking after them.
Ivan laughed at this. “Oh, yea pretend they are looking out for each and every one of these people.”
The priest continued oblivious to the slagging. He was raving about the evil people who had dared to break into God’s house the night before. Within five minutes the priest started to gasp. He held his chest and fell to the floor. People started screaming about calling an ambulance. Ivan should have reaped him right then. But he stood watching the death, seeing another.
He could see the face of that man. Hear the bells of the tune. Across the room, the little girl appeared again. “Daddy?” she asked.
Ivan shook himself and the spectre vanished. He was just another corpse. But you always remember your first, his mind told him. It took another shake before he moved. Ivan slid over to the priest who watched him.
“Stop staring.” Ivan broke eye contact with the preacher.
“Who are you?” The elderly man reached for Ivan. Ivan raised his eyebrows. This was different, someone reaching for him.
Ivan smiled sweetly at the priest. “I’m God and I love gays.”
A strange look crossed the man’s face and he stuttered about the lord’s word in the bible.
Ivan shrugged. “It’s just a book mate.” He brought his hand to the man’s face. “Guess this means you’re going to hell.”
The priest’s soul was sucked through Ivan and he expired with one final huff. Ivan shivered when the electric pulse spread from his fingertips to his toes.
Once the preacher was gone Ivan leant on the altar and waited. He didn’t feel the
pull of another death and he was just about to ask himself what was going on when Zerachiel appeared.
“So, it’s your fault that I am stuck in a church.” He strolled over to him. “What? Are you trying to convert me?”
“Don’t be so childish.” Zerachiel sighed. He caught sight of the dead priest and leveled an exasperated look Ivan’s way. “Why do you always seem to get the ones you can easily torment before they die?”
“You don’t know that I tormented him.” Ivan smirked.
“Ivan no one needs a reaper on a one-man crusade to end human immorality.”
“They aren’t going to be able to spread my message anyway. They are dead, let me play with them.”
Zerachiel pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a breath. “Lets just not talk about this.”
“Do you have somewhere more important to be?”
Zerachiel started towards the doors of the church and stopped. “You don’t want to come with me then?”
Ivan squealed. This must be it, his chance to live. His heartbeat doubled in speed. He paced back and forth. Then he ran down the aisle of the church and jumped to a stop beside Zerachiel.
He hopped from foot to foot. “Okay. Okay. What now? Do we go somewhere alone? Am I dressed okay? What about my hair? Aw I can’t change any of it anyway.”
Zerachiel watched him and deflated. They walked outside, so no one would see them randomly appear out of thin air.
“Look none of that matters. All you have to do is stay still and don’t make a fuss.”
“Right. No fuss. Good. Great.” Ivan’s hands shook and he tapped his foot.
Zerachiel tried to ignore him and held him still. He placed a hand on Ivan’s chest and concentrated.
Ivan shuffled. “Hey, you’re not making a move on me, are you mate?”
Zerachiel rolled his eyes. “No. I am breaking your link with the death dimension.”
“Oh cool. I know what that means.” Ivan felt a burning in his blood. He howled. Stifling the sound, he ground his teeth. Zerachiel held him upright. Ivan’s body was on fire from the inside out. He felt every nerve as if they were alive for the first time and beside the sun. He was blinded by any light he saw and closed his eyes tightly. His mouth was dry, and his knees were weak but in a strange way, he loved it.