CHAPTER FOUR: REAPERS

Soon after Mom left me alone in the attic, I heard shouts, bangs and crashes coming from downstairs.

I didn't really know what Reapers were, but judging from the story about how Mom and Dad really met, they weren't very friendly towards Grimm

Sitting there, hidden underneath a table, surrounded by furniture, I felt the most scared and helpless I had ever felt in my life. I felt like I could do nothing to help my mother, and even if she hadn't told me to hide, I probably would've died anyway, because I had just found out.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, someone came into the attic. I held my breath. Was it one of those Reaper people, or was it Mom coming back for me?

It was neither. "Jackie?" it was my older brother Zack.

"Zack?" I whispered.

"You can come out now. Mom and Dad and me fought them off." I heard furniture scraping and I saw light again. And Zack. He smiled at me. "Hey little sis. Welcome to the family business of Grimming."

I laughed. "Are Mom and Dad OK?" I asked as he helped me up.

"I wouldn't say OK, but they're not dead. Mom's got a black eye and a broken nose and Dad looks like he got mugged."

"Oh. That's not OK.' I agreed. I noticed that Zack had a sword in his hand.

"Where did you get the sword?" I asked.

"From the weapons cabinet. There's a whole museum of medieval weapons in there." Zack replied.

He walked to the far right corner of the attic and opened a huge, dusty, armoire. Inside was a weapons collector's heaven. Swords, knives, whips, morning stars, crossbows, and tons of other weapons I didn't even know the names of were inside of the armoire, just waiting to be used on whatever Reapers unfortunate enough to wonder into the path of a Grimm.

"You're telling me that this has been up here my entire life, and no one bothered to tell me?!" I demanded.

"Yes." Zack said. He hung his sword up in the armoire and closed its doors. "Let's go downstairs. We have to have dinner and make up a cover story for why we have two dead guys in our house. And not necessarily in that order."

"That would be a good idea." I agreed.

Mom and Dad, who had just come home, called the police to report a breaking-and-entering and attempted murder. They explained that the Reapers had picked the lock and broken in. Mom ran downstairs, and they jumped at her with the scythes. Then she had to shoot them with the gun in her hand.

The police took asked Dad and her to come down to the station to do a report, leaving Zack and me home alone together. (Liam is a freshman in college and Marie is a senior in college)

"So, how long have known you were a Grimm?" I asked Zack.

"I found out last year. Mom did tell you that men find out later than women, right?"

"Yep. How many have you seen?"

"A couple dozen in real life. A lot more in the books."

"Really? That many?"

"Yeah."

"Can I ask a question?" I asked.

"Another one?" Zack sighed.

"Yes, another one. It's going to sound stupid, but what exactly are Reapers? Mom didn't get a chance to tell me."

"Reapers are a organization that is dedicated to wiping out Grimms. So if you feel like you're being watched, be careful. Reapers are dangerous, especially to a newbie like you."

Lovely. I thought. I have a bunch of scythe-carrying maniacs on my trail.