All our times have come,

Here but now they're gone,

Seasons don't fear the reaper,

Nor the wind, the sun or the rain, we can all be like they are

-Don't Fear the Reaper; by Blue Öyster Cult

Elizabeth carefully read the book in front of her. Her brown eyes were moving slowly, deliberately, over every illustration, over every letter and symbol. She wanted to take in as much as she could, not wanting to miss even the littlest detail. For Elizabeth, reading was very important to her. A lot of what she knew as an adult she got from books. Some of her companions — old and new — found her fondness for written text to be "old school," at best, but she found it to be valuable. Some of the best information can be found in books, scrolls, and tablets. All anyone had to do was read.

In fact, Elizabeth had been so engrossed in her reading, she didn't even notice the figure in the doorway. "Nice to see you're comfortable."

Peering up, a small smile came across Elizabeth's face. She recognized the figure; someone important from her childhood. Back in the days of her intensive studies and in the beginning days of her field work.

"My favorite books are here," she responded. "Of course I'll be comfortable."

With a deep chuckle, the figure stepped forward. From the doorway came an older man, standing over six feet tall with brown hair peppered with gray. His blue eyes glittered warmly while a hint of a smile graced his lips. Alexander Beaumont, Elizabeth's old mentor and closest friend. In honor of everything he'd done for her, she even took on his last name. Besides, he'd practically raised her; it only seemed acceptable to do so.

"How have you been, Elizabeth?" Alexander asked. A soft German accent laced his words. His crow's feet crinkled up just a little as his smile widened.

"I've been okay," she said softly. Closing the book, she placed it back on the bookshelf. "There have been a number of deaths lately."

"I've noticed. It's quite unfortunate."

Turning to look at Alexander, the young woman frowned a little. "You're not concerned?" she asked. "Not even a little?"

"It's not my job to be concerned," Alexander responded. "And it shouldn't be yours, either. Our duties are simple: Help humans through the dying process; escort their souls to Heaven or Hell. We don't worry about other affairs."

"We may be Reapers, but what's going on isn't natural," Elizabeth stated. "The humans I've visited. . .their souls suffered greatly before their time. I feel so much pain coming from them, and I can't bear it."

With a sigh, the older man pinched the bridge of his nose. Elizabeth had always been very in-tune with her emotions. She cared deeply for the humans she helped, and only wanted what was best for them. But, in some ways, her emotions got her into some problems with the Big Boss. Getting emotionally attached to the recently deceased — especially when it came to handling their souls — could lead to a world of problems. Elizabeth had to learn that in order to be a capable Reaper, she had to control herself. But it seemed she just couldn't.

"The circumstances surrounding one's death is always unfortunate," Alexander said, his tone calm and firm, "but our duties are to bring the souls to their respective afterlife. We have no other obligation than that. It's because of us that the Natural Order remains balanced."

Rolling her eyes, the young Reaper crossed her arms over her chest. "I get that," she exclaimed. "But we should at least be looking into it. . ."

"No. We are to remain neutral in all affairs. There is no reason for us to involve ourselves in things that don't concern us."

Scowling slightly, Elizabeth couldn't help but glare at Alexander. He did have a point, though. Reapers remained neutral to all affairs, no matter what. It didn't matter if those affairs involved Heaven or Hell, under no circumstances should Death's little helpers get involved.

"I didn't call you here to discuss matters like this," Alexander said.

"Then what did you want?" Elizabeth said, her tone sharp.

"He's here. He wants to see you."

A sense of dread washed over the young Reaper. She could only imagine what he wanted to see her for.

(A/N):

I know this chapter is short, and I'm sorry. Honestly, this was the best I could come up with. If you've got ideas on how I can improve this chapter, don't hesitate to let me know, okay? That'd be awesome.

Do I own anything in the SPN fandom? No. No I don't. All I own are my OCs, my subplots, and the exhaustion I'm currently feeling. If you've got ideas for OCs or subplots, be sure to PM me or leave a review. I'll add them in as soon as possible.

So yeah, give constructive criticism where you think it's needed. Feedback is always welcome here. It'll help me improve as a writer.

Side Note: "So, there have been some rumors going around that the Avengers 4 trailer was supposed to drop today. It didn't. Marvel's holding out for as long as they possibly can, despite fans' impatience. Some people thought that, since the Infinity War trailer was released around the same time last year, it would only make sense the A4 trailer dropped either today or tomorrow. I don't know. Marvel said the trailer will come before 2019, but with December being so close, it seems a little hard to believe. What do you guys think?

Also, so many people are throwing out theories on what A4's title will be and which characters are going to die. Some people think Tony Stark will die, others think Cap. And some of the title suggestions are Annihilation, End Game, Infinity Gauntlet, and Disassembled. Honestly, I'm just as curious about the title as I am for the trailer. What are your thoughts? What do you think the title for A4 is? When do you think the trailer will drop?"

Leave random thoughts in the review section. It can be on something new or old.

Thank you all so much, my friends.

Daisy J