Chapter 1: Living Dead Girl

"How could you do this to me? I…I don't understand why this is coming up now? I've never been so happy before in my life," I took Thomas's hands into mine, but with a heavy sigh he pulled back and my arms fell to my sides.

"Your parents don't like the idea of us together. And you know the University wouldn't be happy if they found out about our relationship. I can't put my career on the line like this Sierra."

I closed my eyes and was about to respond back when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it."

My hand went up to stop him before I turned and opened the front door. A blonde haired woman with a sad face greeted me. "Can I help you?"

"I sure hope you can…Sierra. You see I live in the area and my little poodle is missing. Have you by any chance seen her?"

I noticed her eyes looked to the badge on my chest, which had my name clearly written on it. I had forgotten that was still wearing it. It had been two hours since my shift ended at the local grocery store.

My thoughts quickly went back to her question, "No, I'm sorry…I haven't seen your dog. But is there maybe a number or something you can give me in case I do?"

The woman took a piece of paper from her purse and scribbled down a number, "here you go. Thanks for your time." She managed to give a bright smile and touch my hand before turning around to leave.

I closed the door and set the number down on the table. Thomas had his arms folded across his chest and waited for me to continue the argument.

"So you're saying you love your job more than me, is that it?"

Thomas Warren shifted his weight not liking the question that proved to be more challenging to answer than he anticipated.

I looked into the eyes of my professor and could see him pondering our conflict. We both knew that if our relationship was exposed he'd lose his job and I'd be thrown out of the university. Sadly my parents didn't agree with the relationship either since they were always strict and professional people. They thought Thomas was a sick man for taking such an interest in me. Or it could have been that ten years separated us in age, Thomas being thirty-two and I being twenty-two.

"I don't know what to do, but I'm tired hiding this," he rubbed his head and he paced around.

"Let's leave Seattle; we could move California and then we could do things different you know? I could transfer schools and you could teach somewhere else. There are so many options for us."

He looked around in thought, "I don't know Sierra. I just can't make that kind of a decision at this moment."

My eyes were tearing up, "do you love me? Or am I just some student fantasy you've dreamed up?" the words of my mother were coming out of my mouth under the pressure.

That's when I heard a pop and a shattering noise. I took it as a car backfiring as it went down the street, but the window behind me had shattered. When I turned around there was glass on the floor…then I could feel a strange warmth on my stomach.

Thomas ran over to me and helped me to the floor. He noticed that I was shot before I had even figured out what happened. It was all so quick that the pain seemed delayed. "Call 911," I told him replacing my hand with his on the wound.

He ran to get the phone and came back with a rag to place on the wound in hopes of stopping the bleeding. The blood was everywhere as the bullet had gone through my lower back and exited my abdomen, leaving two holes for the blood to escape. I could hear the sirens coming closer as my eyes started to close.

"Hey...stay with me baby. I do love you…don't leave me okay?"

Now I fought hard to keep my eyes focused on his face. His brown eyes were red with tears and his lip seemed to quiver in fear. I squeezed his hand as hard as I could- literally trying to hold onto him as my mind pulled away. Part of me couldn't believe this was happening…out of all things I never expected this.

The paramedics came to the door and immediately started treating me. I could hear them as if we were in a tunnel and they were on the opposite end calling out to me. My eyes were still focused on Thomas who was standing behind them. His face looked even more scared and worried from what the paramedics were telling him.

They told me that I needed to go to the hospital and placed me on the stretcher and took me outside. There was a crowd of nosey people waiting to get a glimpse of what happened. When they loaded me into the ambulance I started to feel really weak and my eyes relaxed. I remember a strange free feeling and then I was suddenly standing on the ground. I watched the ambulance driver shut the doors and quickly take off down the street. The crowd behind me started to disperse.

"What the hell is going on?"

Looking around I saw Thomas run back outside with his keys in hand to drive to the hospital. I ran over to him to stop him but he went right through me and got into the car. Thomas honked his horn to get the people to move out of his way, but he didn't seem to notice me.

"He can't see you. You're dead Sierra, but uhh…welcome to the club. I'm George by the way."

I looked at her oddly, "You know my name? But wait...if I'm dead then I'm some kind of ghost?"

She slowly nodded, "yeah I guess you could think of it that way. Do you by any chance remember a blonde haired chick right before you died?"

I nodded thinking back to the one with the lost dog.

"That was Daisy. She was like us, a grim reaper. Daisy took your soul before you died. And now she's gone...which leaves you to fill her spot."

"A what? You mean the scythe and black hooded robe grim reaper? No way...You got the wrong girl. Aren't I supposed to have some kind of judgment day and I go to Heaven or Hell?" I started to follow as George walked down the street; she was after all the only one that could see me.

George kept her eyes on the ground, "yeah way. I'm sorry Sierra but I don't make the rules around here. I just follow orders. But I was like you once: June 27, 2003 a toilet seat fell from space and killed me at only eighteen. So yeah…you do the math. In order to do our job without being recognized our appearances are different to the living. It's just they see a different person, you'll get a physical body soon…but not till the whole funeral thing, then you'll officially be undead."

I started to wonder how different I'd look, "This is totally strange...why was I chosen? Have I done something wrong? Am I being punished," I frowned starting to realize the pain my family would go through…and Thomas. Also I was so close to finishing school, and now I would never become novelist.

"I really don't know anything about you Sierra, but from my experience with other grim reapers it seems we all lacked something or wronged someone in our life before we died. I guess you could see it as punishment. But it's not all that bad."

It still wasn't cheering me up as we kept walking down the street. At the moment I was angry that I opened the door. If I didn't would I still be dead and a grim reaper?

"So I can't see my parents and my friends? Or even Thomas?"

George started to walk to the driver door of a red mustang, which I figured was her's.

"Well I guess you could now, but once you get a physical body it's really not a good idea. Trust me. I've tried it and it didn't go very well. It's just not worth it and would only make them hurt more. Now get in."

I got in the car and George said I could stay a few nights in her apartment.

"Once you're officially dead you have to say with someone else, or get a new job and rent your own place."

"There are others?" I asked and hanged on tight as George drove fast through the neighborhood.

"Lots others, but in our little gang there are five now including me and you. There's Mason, Roxy, and Daniel. We handle deaths like accidents and suicides. They have a name for it but I can't remember. Anyways, I'm the one in charge now, since I get the orders from upper management."

I raised a brow, "Oh? That's neat. So, you're going to have to tell me what exactly it is that we do? How do you know whose soul to take?"

George pulled into a parking spot and led me up to her apartment, "I get a list of names along with their location and time of death. Then I put them on a post –it. Each reaper is given their own assignments that can only be completed by them. It's our job to go there and take their soul before they die and to help them move on. Usually they see some light and stuff and they disappear."

George opened the door for me and I walked inside looking around. "I never really thought about souls and death before, you know? I had no idea it would be like this." I sat down on the couch.

"Well tomorrow is another day and I'm exhausted. At the meeting tomorrow you'll see everyone and we'll go from there okay?"

I agreed and decided to sleep on the couch, even though sleep wasn't going to come. I couldn't stop thinking about things: 'Where was my body?' 'Did my parents know yet?' 'Was this all a dream or a mix up?' 'What was I lacking in my life? Did I wrong someone? What did I do wrong?'