11 They Take Great Care of Us Here

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Not much more than hour on the road and John and George were approaching a landmark site in their former relationship. John turned to her and said, "We're getting close to Lebanon."

Grace detected there was some extra meaning in that sentence and checked the map. "What's so special about Lebanon?"

"George did a reap there last year - when we were heading down to LA." He paused and added, "They have a great little motel there we could stay at." He smiled towards George. "And wasn't there a fantastic Mexican place for breakfast?"

George glanced his way, but didn't say anything, nor did she returned his smile. She just resumed watching the landscape roll by.

Reggie jumped in. "We got a late start. How far do you think we'll get?"

John said, "That depends." And he let that hang.

Grace finally picked it up. "On?"

And John added, "Powers beyond our control."

George turned and broke into their little back and forth. "New rule. Do not speculate on how far we are getting. I just got a reap key fed to me. You're just asking for it." Reapers do not believe in coincidence what with their everyday exposure to Fate engineering odd and fatal outcomes. She opened the map, did a quick check, then pulled her phone out and waited.

John checked the rear view mirror. Grace and Reggie looked at each other. They were new to this traveling reap roulette. The phone tone sounded. George had it on speaker and they all heard Rube's voice. "Hi, Peanut." She flipped the speaker off and put the phone to her ear.

"Hi, Rube. Yeah, we're all having a wonderful time…Yeah bonding real good. And Yeah everybody is happy. Even I'm happy, not that you asked Rube. I got it. Little off the road, but we'll make it, no problem. We're just north of Lebanon. Yes, I remember it well." She listened a bit more, put the phone on speaker, and held it up and between their seats.

Rube asked, "Joy, how are you doing? Everything OK?"

Joy scowled. She paused for a long few moments as they all waited to hear her response, whether she would even talk to Rube, who was after all one of the minions. "Yes, Mr. Sofer, I'm just fine."

"Peanut, have you been reading that book I gave you? You know if you don't read up and get out on the trails you will be in a world of pain."

He looked over and caught her rolling her eyes. "Rube, I am dead. What do you think is going to happen to me?"

"Well, Peanut, you're going to be out and about in the great outdoors for more than a week, two weeks…among the living, who won't know you're undead. You will hurt just as much as any one of them…"

That was one too many peanuts and it set her off. "Rube, don't call me that, OK? And how about you running some interference so we don't get sidetracked like, for example, this reap we have to leave the highway for? And then maybe Grace and I can go commune with Nature and get in touch with our inner selves, or whatever…take up fucking transcendental meditation…under a tree…next to a babbling brook. Christ."

"Peanut…I'm just trying to look out for you."

"Rube…no reaps and we could be in San Francisco tomorrow. Take care of dear comrade Conrad and be back home in another couple of days. On the other hand, we could do a rerun of last year and crisscross these two states aaannnnd along the way…" She let the thought hang.

"Well, be careful and don't ghost anyone else. You ghost 'em you gotta take care of 'em."

"Rube, thank you so much. I'm so glad we can share these little gems of wisdom." She disconnected and gave John exit and road instructions. It would take 20 minutes to get close to the reap, but they had plenty of time. It was going to use up their afternoon taking them right up close to dinner time.

George checked the map again and said, "John, why don't you drive on into Corvallis and check into a hotel? I can ghost from here, take care of the reap, and be there before dinner."

"You'll be able to find us?"

"No problem. When I'm ghosting your souls stand out like a lighthouse on a dark night."

He heard no objections. "Sounds great." He did not want to drive anywhere close to this reap with Joy. There could be a hidden benefit to having her along.

Joy waited until they were done with the basic navigation and asked, "Why does Mr. Sofer keep calling her Peanut?"

He noticed that Joy refrained from addressing George by any name or even directly but again in the third person. He looked toward George. She nodded so he stepped in. "It's the nickname Rube used to call my great grandmother, Rosie. He died when she was about 6 years old."

Reggie leaned forward. "OK. So what's the connection?"

He actually wasn't sure himself. Reggie asked so now George could answer. "He's been calling me that since I died 11 years ago. You should ask him, and while you're at it tell him my name is George." She paused and he felt her relax a bit. "You'd think that after more than 80 years…" She trailed off with some more muttering he couldn't quite make out. She looked back towards Grace. "Rosie died 10 years ago of natural causes and the reap key dropped to Penny. She gave him a heads up and Rube was there, at her nursing home, when she died. He hadn't seen her since she was about 6 years old. Penny told me it was like Rosie was waiting for him. She knew he would show up…and she knew him when he showed himself to her…just before she passed."

Grace said, "Rosie told me when I was little…" She stopped and looked over at Reggie. "That a reaper called Ice had her make me promise to show up at dawn on the Day of the Dead at her grave. She said I would find Rube. I did. He was there. Eerie."

Joy said, "Ice. There's a reaper called Ice? I know I'm going to regret this, but…OK…why is she called Ice?"

John again checked with George. She nodded. He said, "She's somewhere around 10,000 years old and mostly Neanderthal DNA. Her hair is snow white and her eyes, the irises, too. And as for the name Ice. I suspect in part it's because she scares the crap out of reapers."

"Ahh, I've seen pictures of Neanderthals and they have black hair…and I believe they lurked around the glaciers in Europe."

He said, "She's the real thing…she lived and died somewhere in North America."

"Mmh. Does she wear furs?"

Reggie said, "Mom."

Joy looked away. Was that a smile he could see? "And why does she scare the crap out of reapers?"

John figured she would bite on that one. He said, "When she showed up last in Seattle she terminated two reapers…"

George made a cutting motion down low which only he could see. He followed up with. "To you three she would look everyday normal with black hair and brown eyes."

Joy asked, "And why would that be?"

He looked over at George who seemed indifferent to this more benign line of questioning. "Joy, to you George has blue eyes and doesn't look like Georgia Lass, but to me she has brown eyes and looks exactly as when she was…well…before she transitioned."

"You mean before she died and was drafted into…"

Reggie again looking for boundaries said, "Mom."

George rolled her eyes and said, "John, I'll see you all at a hotel in Corvallis." She disappeared.

Reggie said, "God damn it, Mom."

"Why are you angry with me? She is dead right? What did I say?"

"She's my sister, your daughter, and she has feelings."

"She admits herself she's a grim reaper working for Death. But I'm glad through all that she still has feelings even as she's killing some innocent…"

He could detect anger in Reggie's voice. "Are you insane?"

"Me insane? Who's wanting to cavort around with one of Satan's little agents?"

John, against his better judgement, asked, "Joy. Do you really believe that George is working for Satan?"

"Well, John, you were there in that warehouse. I heard later that in your little conversation with those ghosts from Iraq…what was it? Yes. What was it they said, something about Lucifer was their grim reaper? I mean isn't that what they told you, and isn't that what you said yourself?"

Shit. She must have talked to Trip or Charlotte, or overheard the two talking. "Really, Joy, come on. Just because… OK…let's say that the Biblical Old Testament Lucifer was in fact a reaper. That does not mean…well it might mean that Jesus was one…"

Joy chuckled, "Oh, you're going straight to Hell."

"Joy, come on. George is not evil. Period. She died and got drafted, or called to do this job. She had no choice. None of them do. And if I were you I would be careful."

She was still smiling broadly he could see in the rearview mirror. "Oh, why is that?"

He was having one of those moments - he knew he should let it go, but…"Because as you've heard this…higher power…whatever it is…in my opinion has a real droll sense of humor and an inhuman patience in setting up its jokes."

She stopped smiling. "So?"

"Well, Joy, when you die, and I hope that's in the far future, you may wake up on the other side and find you've been drafted to reap souls for a hundred or two hundred years before you're allowed to move on."

Now he could see anger flaring in her eyes - even diluted by the mirror. "John, I think you and she got real warm and cozy all those nights together on your last trip down to LA, and that's why you're so sympathetic."

Reggie said, "Let's call this even on points and drop it." She reached forward and picked up the map. "Let's find a nice hotel downtown and check in while we wait for George."

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George hovered on a hill where she could see down into a postcard perfect little farm house and several long buildings with lots of birds crowded together on the surrounding acres. She looked closer. Matter of fact she could see thousands of birds, all white, chickens maybe, that were in several large fenced enclosures spread around a few long narrow buildings. She could feel her reap down there in the house or maybe it was the biggest utility building. She ghosted down closer and behind one of the smaller shed like structures. She came out into… Holy shit. The smell was horrible. She closed her eyes and tried breathing through her mouth. Horrific. Let's get this one over with.

She glanced squinting at the nearest enclosure. A white carpet of teeming bird biomass caught her attention. These were ducks, thousands of ducks. Who needed this many ducks? She pushed her noticeability down and walked out heading towards that biggest of the buildings. She slipped and almost fell. Way too slippery. She walked carefully. She stopped and looked back. She was leaving tracks. Whatever happened to this guy, however it happened, it was better not to leave any trace. Fuck it. She stepped into an enclosure and walked among the ducks. They could sense her and collectively moved clearing a path for her to walk. They would remove all traces of her footsteps, but God. She looked down. She was walking through gobs of duck shit. She shuddered. She headed towards the biggest building and ghosted through the wall. She should have stayed ghosted. Better late…

Inside she found her reap, an older man, who was looking over a huge yellow carpet of little ducklings. She had plenty of time before he was to die. She looked around. Not at all obvious how this one was coming about. She watched him studying his charges. He walked over and checked some sort of machine - probably controls for the room climate. He noticed something in one of the enclosures and pulled a long pole device from the wall. He reached out slowly and put the end, a clamp, down among the little ducklings. She was curious and looked over his shoulder out into the mass of little ducks trying to see what he might be detecting and reaching for. Thank God she couldn't smell while ghosting. He plucked a little duck up and out. He looked the yellow ball of feathers over, removed it from his gripper, and tossed it into a trash barrel. Defective? It was still alive. Oh well. She moved closer and reaped him. She moved away, paused at the wall, and then moved through. She would wait outside up wind and well away and let his ghost come to her.

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George ghosted towards Corvallis and detected her companion souls. She got close and could see John and Reggie in one room and Grace and her mother in an adjacent room. She considered appearing outside and knocking but that risked some security camera picking her up. She appeared inside the room.

Grace looked at her and sat up. Joy exited the bathroom and turned her way. They took her sudden appearance well. But the next moment, Grace, the closer of the two said, "Oh my God. Where have you been?"

Joy added, "Ugh. You reek of bird crap."

She took a deep whiff and yep she brought back more than just the memory of walking through a duck farm. She ghosted but let them see her. John and Reggie came through the connecting door.

Reggie asked, "What happened?"

Joy said, "She smells like… Ugh."

George walked over to her bag and pulled out a fresh set of clothes. She went into the bathroom through the wall and removed the tainted clothes, took a shower, and changed. She left her clothes ghosted for now and exited. Grace was there.

She asked, "What happened?"

"Duck farm reap."

She called down and arranged to get them cleaned overnight. It would be expensive but…priorities. "Let's go eat."

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After dinner they settled down into beds. The room had two king size beds. The question wasn't raised, but by some unspoken decision Grace and Joy shared one and they left her to the other. She liked the clean feel of the sheets and had forgotten her dear Mother was there. She fell off into a deep sleep…which was disrupted by a three reap keys entering her brain and waking her up. Like Nature's call you just couldn't ignore Death when a soul, or in this case, three souls needed to be collected…over the next few hours. She got up and grabbed her phone to turn off the tone. She put on her clothes quietly so as to not disturb the others. She looked over. She could see Grace facing her in the dark fast asleep. Her mother was facing away, probably asleep. Her black hoodie was getting washed so she would have to go without. It was a little over the top but she had grown fond of it and it was practical. Rube would be calling shortly. She pocketed her phone and left through the door.

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Joy heard something rustle in the room. Grace was asleep. She was facing away so she couldn't see, but it was Satan's little helper getting up for something. She could hear some muttering, and it putting on some clothes. Joy faked being asleep. Satan's minion left the room the normal way…through the door…probably going out to do his bidding.

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George awoke to someone throwing open the curtains letting in ungodly amounts of light. Jesus Christ. She looked up. Dear Mom was making sure she got the full sunlight treatment. This felt familiar. The last time she did this George was alive. She died that day. Was she doing this on purpose? That day, if her dear Mom had let her sleep in, pretending to be sick, following her usual inclinations, she would still be alive. She pulled the blankets up over her head. She would shower last. Sleep a little more.

"It's late. It's your turn in the shower."

Fuck. "What time is it?"

"It's mid morning."

There was a knock at the connecting door. Grace opened it up and John with Reggie entered. She looked up at him. Christ. Everybody was up and dressed and in her room and she could feel the combination of no sleep and annoyances reaching past her tolerance level.

John asked, "George. How many last night?"

She took a deep breath. He understood. Maybe that was why he was along - to keep her from doing serious harm to these annoying creatures in her room keeping her from sleep. "Three."

He said firmly, "Let's let her get some more sleep. We've got the time."

Joy asked, "Three what?"

"Come on. Let's go." He went over to the curtains and pulled them closed. Gotta love that guy. He said, "Let's get out."

Oh shit she felt one coming through. "Shit."

Joy hadn't exited yet. "She's prone to bad language. I did not teach her that. That's Clancy's influence."

John said, "She's got another one."

"Another what?"

"A reap. She did three last night and is getting one now. Let's get out and away." He pushed them out and closed the door behind them.

She got up and grabbed her phone as it lit up with Rube's call. John waited behind. She finished the call and said, "You go keep them occupied. This is an accident a few blocks from here. I will get it and find you at breakfast." He nodded and left. She got dressed and ghosted off to collect another soul.