A Tale Of Two Reapers

by Jack Wallen

  One. Two. Three. Four.

  The numbers drifted, grew steadily apart and random.

  Seventy. Twenty-nine. Ninety-six.

  I could feel the dreamscape pulling me into that wonderland reality that always promised to test my will and resolve. There was never any choice in the matter. When it beckoned, I came.

  Surrounding me was sand. Miles and miles of khaki-brown, scorching sand. Dunes of the ancient stuff rose and fell in mountainous mockery of me and my station.

  A gust of wind whipped through the area. The nearest mound began to slowly drift and disintegrate under the gale force of the wind. As the sand vanished, a face appeared from the pile.

  “X,” I said aloud in the echo chamber of the dream world.

  The only sound to greet me was the blowing wind and the hiss of flying desert dust.

  “Christine,” I shouted the full name. Hearing the word, X’s dreamy brown eyes opened. The contrast between her irises and the wash of sand was much starker than I’d expected.

  She remained silent…but continued blinking. The sand, however, shifted from its harmless, neutral brown to a menacing black. The dark clouds rushed off X and swirled and thrashed around me, black sand inflicting a million tiny cuts into my flesh.

  “Grim.” X finally spoke…only the voice was not hers. In place of the lovely tones produced by X’s wondrous mouth, was the sound of Jons’ high-pitched, slimy voice. “You and I have never truly met beneath the flesh.”

  X’s face shifted, faded from existence to be replaced by the shiny, pink-lipped visage of Jons.

  “There are things you have yet to comprehend, Reaper. It is my sworn duty to educate you in the ways of darkness.”

  The false Jons stood up straight to unleash a waterfall of sand from his scrawny, bone-twisted body. He posed naked before me, his miniscule manhood on full display. “I am stripped of all pretense, Reaper. I stand before you, vulnerable to your discord, to invite you into my realm…a world unlike anything you have ever beheld. Within the universe of my mind, you are a welcome stranger in the strangest of lands.”

  “Fuck off, Jons,” I snarled.

  “The voracity of your venom is such an arousing balm.” Jons’ face morphed slightly, X’s lips breaking free of the mask. “I could consume your rage, feast on your sorrow, copulate with your hate.”

  “Grim!” X’s voice broke through the vitriolic blather, the sound a distant dream. The lips returned to the previous wormy flesh ropes, but the voice remained the same. “Grim!”

  My body shook under the force of another blast of desert wind. The startling blow shook me from the nightmare to find X sitting up, shaking me awake.

  “Wh-what’s going on? Are you okay?” I asked, the heartbreak beat within my chest flirting ever-closer to danger.

  X looked down at me, her eyes wide with fear and the flesh of her face paling toward death. “I know where he is, Grim.”

  “Who?” I asked, still under the sway of sleep.

  “Jons,” X whispered. “I know where Jons is hiding.”

  “Scythes don’t hide, X. The only thing they have to fear is me—us. Because of our failed attempts at reaping the bastard, he’s going to know—”

  X silenced me with a finger to my lips. “He knows about me, not you, Grim.”

  I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. “How can you possibly know that? We both reaped his soul.”

  “He came to me in my dream,” X said with a finality I couldn’t abide.

  “Yeah, and he came to me in my dream…through you…”

  In that exact moment, I realized X was right. For whatever reason, Jons was only aware of me by association with X. His first connection was the only one he would—could—know. That would be our saving grace.

  “What does that mean, Grim?”

  I got out of bed and slipped back into my pants. “It means, X, that he won’t know I’m coming. Since you now have a lock on where he is, I can get the jump on him.”

  “And reap him alone? No fucking way, Grim. Once you reap him, you’ll be out. Remember what happened to me? When you wind up with Scythe-induced locked-in syndrome, how in the hell will you manage to contain his body and do whatever it is you have to do in order for Fate to teleport you both to the NetherRealm?”

  “I’ll take Darth and Ammy with me. Once I reap Jons, they’ll be responsible for taking down his physical body and holding it until Fate does its thing.”

  “And what if you can’t reap him alone?” X dared to ask.

  “I’ve reaped stronger Scythes than this, Christine. You’ll have to trust me.” I sat back on the bed and wrapped my fingers around X’s hand.

  “That’s easier said than done, Grim. You don’t know Jons like I do. You’re not ready for—”

  “I know him well enough, X.” I scowled. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  X pouted. “I didn’t mean it like that, and you know it.”

  “Do I?” I said doubtfully.

  “Come on, Grim,” X huffed. “You have no idea how strong the Scythe is at this point. I do trust you, implicitly…but I don’t trust Jons. There’s something about him. When he came to me in my dream…he seemed…different.”

  I leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on X’s lips. Her warmth instantly spread from my mouth and down my neck. “I promise you, X, everything will be fine.”

  “Famous last words,” X whispered.

  I cupped her chin in my hand and tilted her head so I could gaze deep into the wells of her eyes. “Tell me where he is.”

  “Liberty Island,” X said under her breath…desperate to keep the secret from my prying ears.

  After another, quicker kiss, I hopped from the bed and made an expedient exit from the bedroom. “Darthaniel! Amnesia!” My voice was a shock to the system of the sleepy house. It took two more calls to rouse the wonder twins. They each entered the living room, in varying states of disarray, and stood in a sleepy protest.

  “What the hell, Grim?” Ammy asked first.

  “This better damn well be good,” Darth added.

  “We know where Jons is.” An overwhelming excitement shot my voice up an octave.

  Ammy shook her head. “Please don’t tell me you want to—”

  “Get him now,” I completed her thought.

  “Oh, fuck no,” Darthaniel groaned. “If I don’t get my eight hours of sleep, I will punch your throat right out from under your head.”

  “We don’t have a choice in this matter,” I complained. “We know where Jons is, therefore we have to get to him before he moves. This is the only way we can even come close to catching this greasy prick and sending him to Fate.”

  Both Amnesia and Darthaniel sighed, their heads simultaneously bobbing downward. When Darth looked up, there was a puckish grin spread wide across his mouth.

  “I’m in.” Darth said with a wicked sense of pride.

  “Son of a bitch,” Amnesia huffed. “Fine. What good will the two of you be without me?”

  “Keep telling yourself that, sister,” Darth teased. “Where is he?”

  “Liberty Island,” I said with a single nod of the head.

  “Son of a bitch.” Amnesia spun on her heels and slapped palms to thighs.

  Confusion got the best of me. “What?”

  Darth unleashed a low growl of a huff. “You can’t get to the Liberty Island this late. The last ferry departs from the island at five, and the service doesn’t start again until eight in the morning. We’re just going to have to wait it out until tomorrow.”

  “In other words…” Amnesia grumbled, “you could have let us sleep.”

  I raced to stop Ammy from retreating to her bedroom. “No, no, no, no, no. We have to get there tonight. We can’t afford to lose that much time to complacency.”

  Amnesia jerked from my grasp. “This isn’t about being complacent. This is about not breaking the law and winding up in jail. We can’t just swim to shore or rent a boat.”

  “She’s r
ight,” X’s voice rose from behind. “You can’t get to it tonight. That doesn’t mean we can’t draw it to us.”

  I turned with a sigh, knowing exactly what X had intended. “No.”

  “It’s not your—”

  “Call? Yes, X, it is. I will not put you in harm’s way again.”

  A blanket of tense silence fell over the room. I had to stand firm…even though I knew, deep in the folds of my brain, that X was right. There was no way we could reach the Scythe until morning. If I had any hope of pulling off the plan before time ran out, we had to use X to draw it to us. The very idea of X once again falling prey to that bastard knotted my gut into a rock-hard ball of nerves. But there it was…logic of this magnitude could not be denied.

  “Fine,” I broke the silence. “We’ll use X to draw the Scythe away from Liberty Island. We need to find a location that’s isolated, so to avoid collateral damage. Any ideas?”

  “Doesn’t this shit always go down in an abandoned warehouse?” Darthaniel asked with a hint of mockery in his voice.

  Amnesia hip-checked Darth. “Cliché much?”

  “Got a better idea?”

  “As a matter of fact…I don’t.” Ammy deflated.

  “South Street Seaport,” X chimed in. “Around this time of night, it’ll be mostly empty. As long as we don’t draw it near the shipyard, we’ll be fine.”

  “I like that idea. There’s a boardwalk that’s fairly isolated; it’ll work perfectly.” I wasted no time in grabbing keys. “Let’s go.”

  My call to action caught X off guard. “Now? As in, right this minute?”

  “Yes, now. Pajamas and all. Come on.” I pulled the door open and gestured for all to follow.

  “Don’t we need to form a plan or something?” Darth asked, standing his ground.

  “We’ll devise a strategy on the road.” I waved everyone toward me. “Now!”

  X slipped into a pair of Mary Jane slippers that, to no one’s surprise, perfectly complimented her Victorian sleeping gown. She was the only woman I’d ever met who could make antiquated sexy.

  As a group, we rushed to the car. The grogginess of not enough sleep had given way to a much-needed focus.

  Darth fired up the vehicle and peeked into the rear view. “Can we at least stop for coffee?”

  I shook my head.

  “That’s cold, Grim…damn cold.”

  “Sorry, Darth,” I replied. “There’s no time for caffeine.”

  “Blasphemy,” Ammy barked. “There’s always time for C8H10N402.”

  “What?” Darth, X, and myself said in unison.

  “The caffeine molecule…dur. What, did you all fail chemistry?”

  “When last I was in school—”

  “We know, Grim, you rode a dinosaur, in the winter, wearing nothing but animal pelts,” Darth snarked.

  “You’re funny, Darthaniel. If I weren’t so concerned about reaping Jons, I’d take you down for that crack.”

  “To the downtown?” Darth winked in the mirror.

  “Something like that,” I answered.

  “I hate to be that girl,” X said, “but what’s the plan?”

  This was it. The idea had to be simple…foolproof. Even in the thinking of the word, I nearly shriveled into a ball of hopelessness…knowing every best-laid plan turned to bunny rabbits crushed under the might of a giant. I knew I was mixing my metaphors; I didn’t care. From fact to fiction and back again. Thankfully, at the moment, I was the only one in my head…so it didn’t matter.

  “The plan is this…” I took in a deep breath before continuing on. The act was always a comfort to me—as it helped to recall the good old times of everyday living. Breathing in the sweet, clean air of the Spanish countryside—a time and place long lost to the progression of time and commerce. “We’ll plant ourselves on the boardwalk and wait for the Scythe to pick up on X…which he will do. Once we spot him, Ammy will sequester X inside the car, while I reap the bastard. As soon as I escape the murderous prick, Darth will secure his body.”

  That was it…my master plan. I felt every ounce of confidence seep away in the telling.

  “We can work with that.” X’s voice was soft, but certain. “The only variable is Fate. How long before it will draw us to the NetherRealm to take Jons off our hands? If it doesn’t act with any sense of urgency, will you have to expel the aura? Is Fate punctual?”

  How could I possibly answer that question without risking life, limb, and logic?

  “Why haven’t you built some sort of containment unit, Grim?” Darth asked, glancing back into the mirror.

  “Perfect. Then we can deck your car out with a nice logo and hope Ray Parker, Jr. will perform our theme tune,” Ammy answered for me…punctuating her statement by slugging the driver in the arm.

  “Fate won’t let us down. I’ve known the thing long enough to understand how it works. We’re being watched…every step of the way. The second I have Jons’ soul inside of me, Fate will act.”

  “And if he doesn’t?” X asked grimly.

  My heart somersaulted within my chest. “We improvise,” I mumbled.

  “Oh, hell no,” Darth cried out. “There’ll be no improvising when it comes to fucking around with Jons. We need a backup plan in case your boy Fate—”

  “It’s not a boy,” I corrected Darth.

  “Whatever. In case the cavalry doesn’t arrive at an appropriate time, we need to have a plan B.”

  I placed a hand on Darth’s shoulder as he drove. “As soon as you have Jons’ physical body, lock it in the trunk of the car and drive back to the house. X and I will remain at the seaport and wait for Fate to do its thing. If we can keep the body and soul apart long enough, I think we’ll be okay.”

  “Think,” X complained. “Wouldn’t it be wise, given the circumstances, to be a bit more sure than think?”

  She was right—while at the same time delusional to believe we honestly had a modicum of control over this situation. These were desperate times, and the only measures I had were equally desperate. Even so, there was too much riding on this fantastical situation to allow doubt to creep into the minds of those around me. I had to instill enough confidence to prevent an absolute meltdown of faith.

  That word. Faith. It had been so long since I’d even toyed with the idea. Faith. Good and evil. Dark and light. Piety had once been the driving force of my existence. When I finally glimpsed behind the holy curtain, it was all over. I bore witness to the corruption, saw the machination of greed grind the Holy Spirit to a pulp until there was nothing left but cold, unfeeling mechanics.

  “Grim!”

  X’s shout jerked me from my reverie, my heart shocked into a brief pause. “We’ll be okay,” I said with every ounce of confidence I could muster. “This will work.”

  It had to.

  Lady Liberty appeared before us, the silhouette a glorious reminder of freedom’s majesty. It never ceased to amaze me how I could see the sight of her torch and always choke up. Of course, it didn’t hurt that I was here when she arrived.

  Darth pulled the car to the curb and brought us to a stop. “Here we are, kids. Ready to rock?”

  I intertwined my fingers with X’s. “You sure you’re up to this?”

  X kissed my cheek, her lips lingering long enough for me to catch the sweet scent of her hair. I wanted to pull her into me for so much more, but time was a ticking bitch that slowed for no one.

  When X leaned away, she smiled. “It’s the only way, and you know it, Grim. Let’s take care of this so we can get our asses back to bed and—”

  Darth cleared his throat. “Get a room?”

  Ammy shook her head. “You’re sad, Darth. Have you ever kissed a girl?”

  “Can we get back to the crisis at hand?” I insisted.

  We exited the car and silently made our way to the boardwalk. The sound of water lapping at the dock offered a soothing rhythm to help ease away the infinite void of tension.

  X nudged me with an elbow. “Breat
he, Grim.”

  The Statue of Liberty glowed like a beacon. I half expected to see a dark smudge of a shadow paint the sky around her. Instead, nothing was out of the ordinary. A fragment of doubt wormed its way into my mind. Maybe I was wrong and the Scythe had vanished. Could it be that Fate had already taken care of the malicious spirit? The very idea that Fate would do something to make my existence easier nearly dropped me to my knees with laughter.

  “What’s so damn funny, Grim?” Amnesia asked.

  “Memories, that’s all.”

  X stepped out onto the pier and faced Liberty Island. She held her hands out in an homage to the crucifix. A wind kicked up, flapping her sleeping gown like a flag of wonder. The image was at the same time innocent and sexy. “I don’t feel anything,” X called out. “Shouldn’t I feel something?”

  We waited on the boardwalk, taking in the sight of X as if she were about to levitate from the ground and spin in the air. When that didn’t happen, we found a bench and sat. Off in the distance, a ship’s horn sounded a baleful song.

  “New York cow,” Darth mumbled.

  “What?” Amnesia asked with a shake of the head.

  “I spent a while on a farm up north. They had chickens, pigs, cows…the whole lot. Every time I hear one of those horns, it reminds me of the lowing song of cows. Hence…New York cow.”

  “You’re out of your mind, Darthaniel,” Ammy leaned her head on the young man’s shoulder. It was the first time I’d witnessed the girl show any affection toward the guy. “I still love ya, though.”

  “Like a big brother, right?” Darth added in question.

  “Is there any other way?”

  Before he could answer, X shouted, “I feel something.”

  The simple proclamation brought me to my feet. I started to reply, but realized I had to stay as out of the way as possible. I turned my attention back to the statue.

  “Shit,” I whispered when my eyes spied a smear of black hovering in the air between the great copper lady and us.

  “What is it?” Ammy stood to my side and asked softly.

  I pointed. “There he is.”