by Nicky Graves
After having stood before the Elder Council already, I knew I didn’t want to have that experience again.
“How many reapers are there?” I asked.
“Thousands, I suppose. Maybe more.”
“You don’t know?”
He shrugged and then stopped to ogle a pretty brunette who had way more cleavage than I did. That made me wonder: Was I going to be stuck in this same body forever? I was hoping I would be a late bloomer, because I certainly wasn’t an early one. What if I didn’t get the chance?
I mean, I definitely looked like a girl, but that was about it.
Boomer stopped and glanced out at the water. I tried to see what he was looking at, but all I could see were waves. And then I saw arms and the top of a man’s head. He was drowning.
I scanned the area, searching for a lifeguard. But there were none.
Rushing into the water, I swam as hard as I could, trying to push myself through the waves. My pajamas dragged me down, and I had to fight harder to get to the man. By the time I reached the area, he was gone.
Diving under the water, I attempted to find him, but the surf was turbulent, and my eyes stung from the saltwater.
After several minutes of attempts, I realized I couldn’t save him.
Letting the waves push me back to shore, I trudged onto the beach with my water-logged pajamas.
“Dude,” Boomer said with a shake of his head when I neared him. There was a man standing next to him. I assumed he was the life essence of the victim. “You could have just waited.”
“He was drowning. I wanted to save him.”
The ghost looked at me and then out to the water where his body was now lost. He seemed as if he wasn’t really sure this was real.
“We don’t save people,” Boomer said. “We transition them.”
“If I can save a life, then I’m going to do it.”
He shook his head. “That’s a rookie mistake.”
“Let’s just get this over with.”
“Hang on,” Boomer said. He grabbed the man’s arm and disappeared in a swirl of air.
I sat down on the beach, knowing I’d probably have to wait until Lawson came to rescue me. But to my surprise, Boomer returned before I dug my feet into the sand.
He grabbed my hand and transported me back into my bedroom, where it was still dark and where I could imagine the guy I tried to save was still alive.
Larue insisted I shop with her for a dress. It was my fault since I’d supposedly said I would go to the dance.
Alone.
Party of one.
“You should buy this one,” Larue said, pointing to a red dress that required a bit more body than I had. “Red would suit you.”
“Find something I can actually wear.”
“How about this?” Boomer asked.
I looked behind me to find him in the little girls’ section. He was pointing to a sparkly pink monstrosity. And he was probably right. It would fit me better than the red dress.
I casually walked over and whispered, “Why are you here?”
“Dead person alert.”
“Seriously? I’m here with Larue. Go and do it without me. It’s not like I can do anything anyway. I can’t travel. I can’t transition. And apparently I can’t save anyone either.”
“I know. But Lawson says I have to train you. Training takes time.”
“Exactly. Time you had when you were training because you’d died. I haven’t died. I still have to live. Explaining random disappearances isn’t easy. My mom and best friend already have enough reason to think I’m crazy. I’m not giving them more. If you have to, tell Lawson I refuse.”
He raised a brow. “I’m not telling him that.”
“Then call him here and I’ll tell him.”
“I’d rather not. We have to go anyway.”
“I’m not going.”
He touched my arm as if attempting to transport me, but I dodged. He tried again. I dodged again.
He glowered at me. “I’ll be back.”
Boomer disappeared just as Larue squealed over a dress. “Riley, you have to come and see this.”
I walked over to find her holding a silver and black dress.
“You know this isn’t prom, right?” I asked. “It’s just a dance. Most people will show up in jeans.”
Larue frowned. “But it’s my first date with Finn. I want to look pretty.”
“You are pretty,” I said.
“I’m okay.”
“He obviously saw something in you to ask you out.”
She frowned again. “What if it’s just because I’m his lab partner?”
Larue looked as though she was waiting for me to agree with her and squash her hope that Finn liked her for herself and not just a grade. I couldn’t hurt her.
“Then he sees that you’re smart too. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that would go out with just anyone. So, even if he does want to be your lab partner for a good grade, there’s something else that he likes about you.”
Larue’s frown slowly flipped into a smile. “I guess you’re right.” She put the dress back on the rack. “Maybe just a pretty top and a skirt would do.”
When she began perusing the clothes once again, Lawson materialized beside me. His arms were crossed, making his ample biceps bulge. His gaze was unflinchingly direct.
“Boomer said you don’t want to train.”
I grabbed his arm and tugged him down the aisles, farther away from Larue.
“Train? Is that what I’ve been doing? I can’t teleport or whatever you call it. I can’t transition or even go to the place to transition. I’m not learning. I can’t save anyone. I can’t even get in touch with you or Boomer unless one of you feels like dropping by. And in the middle of the night is not an option.”
“We don’t get options. When we’re called, we have to go.”
“But I’m not a reaper. I’m a senior in high school who is still alive and has to go to school. I don’t have a choice either.”
He stared at me for a moment as if trying to figure out the right argument. But then he took a breath. “Listen, the Supreme Elder has dictated Boomer should train you. We can’t go against his wishes. And if that means hanging out with Boomer until you die and officially become a reaper, then that’s what needs to happen.”
While I understood his argument, he also needed to understand my side.
“I want to train. I want to understand your world, but until I’m a reaper, I still have to go to school and pretend I’m normal.”
He gave a slight nod. “When are you normally free?”
“After school during the week. Sometimes on weekends.”
“When does school get out?”
“Three.”
“I’ll make sure Boomer comes after school to train,” he said.
“I know it’s not tradition, but can I get someone else to train me?”
“Why not Boomer?” he questioned.
“He already abandoned me once.”
“Here’s your first lesson from me. Over a hundred and fifty thousand people die every day. We don’t have extra reapers to train you. We’re strapped as it is. The longer I stand here and talk to you, the more work others have to do.”
“Then why not get more reapers?”
“Second lesson. It doesn’t work that way. Every one hundred years, a new reaper is chosen. Well, you’re the anomaly since it’s only been seventy-five years. But either way, the human population is growing and dying at a speed we can’t keep up with.”
“What happens if we can’t keep up?”
“It won’t be pretty. If we don’t transition people when they die, their life energy stays on Earth. They can turn into ghosts or worse.”
“Worse?”
“Worse. Be ready tomorrow after school. Boomer will come and get you.”
And then Lawson was gone, leaving me with more questions. The amount of people who die every day was enormous and overwhelming. Would I eve
n be able to keep up?
“Were you just talking to yourself?”
I turned around to find Chloe coming out of a dressing room. Her gaze pinned me.
“I was on the phone,” I said.
She looked at my hands, which didn’t have a phone in them. “Liar.”
I had no response, which only made her caustically laugh and walk away.
Great. More ammunition for her.
Larue squealed, and my attention was diverted to saving her from a sequined eyesore.
7
The next day I thought Boomer might make another appearance at school. But it wasn’t until I arrived home that he decided to pop into my bedroom.
“What happens to people when they are transitioned?” I asked before he had a chance to say hello.
He groaned. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“To a place that has answers to all of your questions. I hope.”
“Didn’t you have questions when you became a reaper?”
“Only one.”
“What was that?” I asked.
“Well, we’re supposed to be immortal. But if you look at other immortal beings, there’s always a way to kill them.”
“Like a stake in a vampire’s heart,” I said.
“Yeah. Like that.”
“So you were serious about vampires being real?”
He sighed. “Yes.”
I doubted he would answer any more questions about vampires, so I asked, “Did you get your answer about how to kill a reaper?”
“Yes. And I wish I hadn’t.”
“Why? Is it bad? Worse than a stake through the heart?”
He shuddered. “Let’s just go.” He touched my arm.
I felt the pull of gravity, and a moment later we stood on dry, gray land in the dead zone.
“Stick close,” Boomer said. “Lawson made me promise I’d look out for you. But if you run off, you’re on your own.”
“Where do you live?” I asked, looking at the rows of identical metal pods.
“Near the other reapers.”
“Isn’t that here?”
“Not this section.”
“What section are we in?”
He sighed. “Just stick close.”
We passed a few doors that stood sentry without a building or structure to hold them upright. The dead zone reminded me of an abandoned town. Where were the people . . . or demons . . . or vampires? Were vampires here?
About ten rows down, Boomer stopped at a pod that looked exactly like the others. He placed his hand flat along the side of the pod. He stood there for a moment, and eventually the side of the pod rippled as though someone had tossed a pebble into a vertical pond. Boomer walked through and pulled me in after him.
It was a library of some sort, but not one that was organized and clean. This one didn’t have shelves. Just piles and piles of aging leather-bound books that looked as though they could topple at any moment.
“Here are your answers,” Boomer said.
“What?”
“You wanted answers. Here they are.”
“I have to read these?” I asked. It wasn’t that I had an aversion to reading, but this was ridiculous. I couldn’t even see the end of the room. It was just miles of haphazardly stacked books and loose parchment. “My questions are things you should know.”
“Some I do, and some I don’t. Girls aren’t supposed to be reapers. I don’t have the answer as to why you’re here, yet still alive.”
“Because only the dead can enter the realm?”
“A human’s body breaks apart when we travel from one realm to another. You can’t survive that if you’re mortal. That blackness we go through to come here is when you break apart.”
“Gross.” It was my first reaction. Irritation followed. “Are you saying Lawson brought me over knowing I might not live through it?”
“Yes, but you’re going to be a reaper. If you had died, you would have been given life again.”
“That still doesn’t make it okay!”
“Yell at him, not me.”
I wished he was here to yell at. But I would yell the next time I saw him. For now, I had to focus.
“When you die, how do you get your life back?” I asked.
“You die and then you wake up again.”
“That’s it? Do you feel anything? Pain?”
He groaned and walked through the piles of books until we arrived at a place somewhere in the middle. The space opened to a sitting area with a large, dusty table. He sat down in one of the chairs and then gestured for me to do the same.
He placed his hand on the table and asked, “How does a person become a reaper?”
“Why are you asking me?”
“Not you. Shush.”
“One person is chosen every one hundred years,” a male voice said.
I looked around to find the source of the voice. I couldn’t. It didn’t sound like the words came from a speaker. It was everywhere at once.
“Who is that?” I asked.
“The librarian. Ask him something if you want.”
Suddenly, all of the questions I’d had vanished.
Boomer kicked his feet up on top of the table as if to get comfortable.
I pondered for a moment. The librarian said one person is chosen every one hundred years, but he really didn’t answer the question.
“Librarian, what happens when the reaper is chosen?” I asked.
“They are given life,” the librarian said.
“How?”
“Please wait.”
“He’s polite,” I said to Boomer, who was studying the peeling, rose-tinted ceiling.
“Reapers are given life,” the librarian said.
“But how are they given life?” I asked. “Is there a resurrection or ceremony?”
“No information is found,” he said.
“Fine,” I muttered, then I looked at Boomer. “Boomer, you were given life. How did it happen?”
“I don’t know. I was just dead and then alive.”
I guess that meant there was no ceremony or anything special.
“Librarian, if only one person is chosen every hundred years, why was I chosen when it’s not time yet?” I asked.
“No information is found,” the librarian said.
“If only men are chosen to become reapers, why have I been chosen?”
“No information is found.”
“What is transitioning?” I asked.
“It is the return of the life force to the universe.”
“What happens to the life force?”
“It is returned to the universe.”
“And then what?”
“It is returned to the universe.”
I dropped my head to the table in defeat.
“I was hoping for more detailed information,” I complained.
“Yeah, I thought the librarian would have more information,” Boomer said. “Do you want to try again or go home?”
“I want answers.”
“Listen, I didn’t have all the answers at first,” he said. “It took a long time, and I’m still learning.”
“Isn’t there a handbook?” I asked Boomer.
“Can you read Latin?” he asked.
“No.”
“Then no. Don’t really need a handbook anyway. Our job is straightforward. Find a dead person. Transition their spirit. Repeat.”
It sounded easy enough, but I wasn’t willing to leave the library yet.
“Librarian, where is the realm?” I asked.
“Please specify,” the librarian said.
“The realm that we are in now,” I asked.
“Please specify,” he said again.
“Oh, he’s linked to several realms,” Boomer said. “Try the dead zone. It’s not the real name, but everyone calls it the dead zone.”
“What’s the real name?”
Boomer shrugged. “Too complicated to pronounce.”
“Fine. Librarian, where is the dead zone?” I asked. “Is it on or near Earth?”
“Neither,” the librarian said.
Boomer shook his head. “Don’t go down that road. I’ve had several people try to explain it to me. There’s something about spatial dimensions and fabric. It’s confusing. Just know that it’s linked by portals.”
“Did we come through a portal?”
“Reapers don’t really need a portal,” Boomer said. “But other species do. There’s a portal for each realm.”
“Librarian, how many realms are there?” I asked.
“Four billion three thousand ninety-five,” the librarian said.
I sat back, flabbergasted at the enormity of it.
“And are there different species in each realm?” I asked.
“For the majority, yes,” the librarian said. “However, several were colonized over the years.”
“Librarian, how many humanoid species are there?” I asked.
“As of right now, there are over five million.”
“So far I’ve only met a few,” Boomer said. “Most don’t come to the dead zone.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Who would want to come here?” Boomer asked. “Not many can survive the dead zone.”
“Librarian, how many species can survive the dead zone?” I asked.
“Only twenty species can survive the dead zone,” the librarian said.
“What are they?” I asked.
“Reapers, demons, cambions, succubi, incubi, vampires—”
“Vampires are here?” I asked.
“Dude, don’t go all Twilight fangirl on me,” Boomer said with a sigh.
“I’m not.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’ve been in enough girl rooms to see every poster ever made of some sappy Hollywood version of a vampire. It’s not real.”
“Then what are they like?” I asked.
He frowned. “Creepy.”
“They’re creepy in books and movies too,” I said.
“No, it’s . . . I don’t know how to explain it. You’ll know one when you come across one.”