A/N: Inspired by the film Constantine. And hearing about how good the TV show Reaper is from my lovely cousin. Why are reapers so fascinating?
Standard disclaimers apply.
030: Death
The Escort opens the leather-bound book he carries very much like a priest with his bible. It's small, and the dark leather is worn, but its ink designs are still intact. Opening to his latest assignment, The Escort realizes that he's forty-seven seconds early. Hm, he's not very pleased, but he walks through the brick wall of the hospital anyway.
The Assignment is in bed, his face sickly, and his breaths hollow in his chest. Yes, his body is giving out now.
But what surprises The Escort is that a young girl, no older than eighteen, occupies The Assignment's bedside and she's crying. Shedding tears for a man whose next destination is Hell? Perhaps she will eventually share The Assignment's fate.
Twenty-three seconds.
The Assignment's breaths are coming farther and fewer between, and The Girl is aware.
"Dad…daddy…are you…? Oh, God, I have to get a nurse…" The Girl says, distraught as she stumbles to her feet.
Good, run away. Although she could never see him, The Escort still feels like they can when he takes souls out of bodies. It makes his job more unpleasant.
But before she opens the door, she looks back, and he looks directly into her eyes, which are a pretty shade sapphire blue. She chokes on her breath, her eyes widening at what seems to be him.
That's odd, she's not supposed to see him. Does she somehow sense that these are her father's final moments on earth?
Time's up.
He walks to where The Girl was sitting before, looking into The Assignment's clouding eyes. Raising his white right hand, The Escort's about to place his palm on The Assignment's chest when he hears a small voice from the door.
"What're you doing?"
He pauses, looks over to find The Girl standing with her body slightly hunched over, fear radiating from her posture. She's biting her bottom lip with her orthodontist-perfected teeth.
"You can see me," he states rather than questions, which makes her visibly shudder.
"Are you…a reaper? Death personified?"
She fiddles with her fingers as she stares at him with curious eyes. He looks away from her gaze. "You could say that."
"Where are you taking him?"
Does this girl only know how to speak in questions? He's getting quite fed up with this mortal; why must she be the only one to see him?
"His life…he's had it hard. I really hope he can find peace now," she says, placing a stray piece of black hair behind her ear.
"…He does not deserve the peace you speak of." The Escort places his hand on The Assignment's chest and is about to mutter the incantation, which will send The Assignment to Hell when The Girl interrupts The Escort again.
"Wait…are you sending him to Hell?"
The Escort removes his hand from The Assignment and shoots a glare at her, knowing his glowing amber eyes will shut her up. "Yes. He has not been a decent person his entire life. He's had many chances to redeem himself, and yet he did not take them."
The Girl takes a bold step forward. "He's had a terrible life."
"He murdered his younger brother out of anger and jealousy. And he did many other terrible things to good people."
"People can regret murder, especially when it was committed in a drunken rage at sixteen-years-old."
"Fratricide is God's pet peeve."
She exhales loudly, her small nostrils flaring. "He regrets…regretted it. I know he did. And I know he never forgave himself for how he treated my mother…and me."
"Even though this vermin of a man has treated you poorly for your entire life…you still defend him and claim he is good? Or that he was capable of good?"
She shrugs. "Isn't that enough?"
"Everyone is capable of both good and evil; it only matters on actions, and clearly, your father had chosen to act on the evil inside him."
She looks around the room, as if she's trying to find something that could inspire her to help her defense. "Can't he at least be placed in purgatory? Doesn't that exist?"
The Escort gestures towards The Assignment. "This is purgatory, the soul kept inside the dead flesh, waiting. There is no waiting room for the soul."
Her bottom lip is trapped behind her straight teeth again. "The Devil likes making deals, right?" she inquires, looking at The Assignment's face.
The Escort raises an auburn eyebrow. "Yes, he does."
"Then…save my dad. Spare him. The Devil can have my soul," she says slowly, walking over so she can stand in between The Escort and The Assignment.
The Escort almost drops the leather book in surprise.
"You don't know what you speak of," he whispers.
"I've known peace in this life, he hasn't. He deserves peace in Heaven. He's known enough suffering."
The fluorescent lights in the room begin to flicker, and The Escort feels cold fear snaking up his spine, immobilizing him.
He's coming.
It doesn't take long. The light outside the window disappears; casting the room in darkness, save for the florescent lighting. The Girl's wide eyes flash with fear for a few moments, but she eventually holds her ground, and The Escort wonders who this remarkable human is.
The Devil needs no grand entrance; he's already here.
The Devil dons a black cloak, his face covered with a filmy black material, but The Escort never tries to distinguish the face behind it from the few times he's come face-to-face. The Girl isn't breathing, and The Escort is morbidly curious as to how this will end.
"You wish to take his spot in Hell," The Devil hisses, surprise laced with his words.
The Girl can only jerk her head down once as a nod.
The Devil's chuckle causes the room's temperature to drop a few degrees.
The Devil then proceeds to lower his black hood, revealing spiky silver hair. Next he removes the black filmy mask covering his face, which could belong to any young, handsome human. The only difference is that his turquoise eyes look as cold as ice, clearly not human.
The Escort had heard rumors that The Devil liked to change his form; this must be one of them.
The Devil reaches into his clothes and pulls out a pair of sunglasses to partially cover his eyes.
His large, demonic grin causes the hairs on the back of The Escort's neck to stand up.
"I would love to have you in Hell," The Devil drawls, taking a few steps closer toward The Girl, who's frozen in her place.
"Are you sure…that's what you really want?" The Devil whispers, his lips close to her ear. The Girl squeezes her eyes shut, tears rolling down her face.
No, The Escort thinks. Not her.
As The Devil is distracted with The Girl, The Escort goes to The Assignment's bedside, murmurs the appropriate words, quickly escorting The Assignment to Heaven.
The Devil whips his head around, hissing with displeasure. "That soul was mine."
"Leave The Girl. You shall have my soul instead. This is what you've wanted, isn't it?"
The Devil looks between The Assignment's flesh and The Escort. Then The Girl. After some internal debating, The Devil nods. "Done."
"No! Why would you do that?" The Girl exclaims, her eyes wide with fear.
The Escort smiles, and it brightens his entire face, but it doesn't quite erase the eternal sadness in his eyes. "You are baffled by such kindness, even when you give it so freely yourself?"
She looks down at her feet for a moment before she meets his gaze with hers. "What will happen to you?" She glances towards The Devil but quickly looks away.
The Escort also glances towards The Devil, but without fear. "I shall go to Hell. And you will continue to live your life happily, and you will one day go to Heaven, where you belong."
"You don't belong in Hell," she whispers, a tear falling down her face.
The Escort's smile softens. "You are a lovely example as to why God continues to have faith in mankind." He looks to The Devil, who seems to have been appeased since he now has a smile on his face.
The Escort follows The Devil into the darkness, which soon disappears, the room warming to its normal temperature, the sun shining through the windows again.
The Girl trembles, eventually collapsing to her knees. On the ground she sees a book by her father's bed. She reaches over the cold tile and picks up the leather-bound book. Flipping through the pages, she finds no writing, no lists of people or dates or times. Emptiness.
The Girl brings the book to her chest, holding it tightly.
A/N: I hope you were able to figure out all the characters, but in case you couldn't:
The Escort – Kenshin
The Assignment – Kaoru's father
The Girl – Kaoru
The Devil – Enishi
Please review!
MissGoalie