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Thanks again for the reviews, and sorry to make you afraid to go to chemistry class but, let's just say, I have a lot of free time and my classes and I've seen these movies way too much and so, everything becomes a potential death. To make it original is the tough part. But, enough of that, on with the story!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Seventeen
Reaper
It was only as Kimberly sat beside Thomas in the front seat of his SUV, silently lost amongst her thoughts, that she realized that today was the one year anniversary of the day when they had believed that they had actually defeated the Design. The day that Kat, Rory and Eugene were killed, the day Clear was killed and the day that she had driven the ambulance into the lake before the hospital and had died herself. One year ago she thought that she was safe, that her life was guiding itself back to normal. How wrong she was.
Altessa was seated on the curb in front of the school, dutifully waiting and crying silently, her black hair partially hiding her pale face. She looked up when she noticed the car pulling into the spacious parking lot, the only thing moving during the school day. The SUV squeaked to stop against the curb a few feet behind where the teenager sat and when it stopped, Altessa stood, shifting her backpack. She wasn't quite sure why she had brought it with her, she knew that she wasn't going to be needing it for a while.
Kimberly slipped out of the passenger side of the car and walked over to where Altessa stood, leaving Thomas behind the wheel. For a moment, the two women simply stared at each other, silently locking eyes. Altessa finally buckled, her tears and pain returning once again, seeing her friend's broken body whenever she closed her eyes. She attempted to keep her sobs in check but couldn't, bowing her head once again, dark hair falling across her cheeks.
It was Kimberly who closed the short gap between them, embracing the teenager; she had been through this as well and had promised herself that she would never let anything like this happen to anyone else, no one deserved this pain and fear. Altessa returned the embrace, sobbing without words, simply letting herself be comforted by the woman that had quickly become so important to her.
"It's okay, Altessa, I know how you're feeling, I watched my friends die too." Kimberly whispered, feeling tears prick her eyes, wondering if her words offered any comfort at all. She remembered the sound of the twisted metal and the panicked screams of her best friend; she constantly felt guilty, feeling as though there was something that she could have done to make sure that her friends had survived. "We won't let anyone else die."
At those words, Altessa pulled away, sniffing. "Right." She mumbled, but she didn't sound as sure as she wanted to feel. "Where are we going?" She sounded confused, yet interested, but still lost in her grief.
Kimberly slightly raised an eyebrow. "To see an old friend."
* * *
Altessa was silent the entire ride, speaking only to explain the events of the morning. No one felt much like talking, all lost in their own private thoughts; Kimberly gazed out the window through most of the ride, watching the scenery past by without thought, looking over at Altessa and Thomas once or twice.
As they neared the funeral home that Kimberly and Thomas had visited a year ago, Kimberly felt a deep pang of sadness as she thought of Clear, her guilt returning once again. She attempted to push those feelings away but couldn't, feeling as though Clear's death was her fault. If Clear hadn't left Stonybrook to help her then she wouldn't have died; but Clear had, in a way, saved her life. And now she was going to help Altessa, with hopefully different results.
"Where are we going?" Altessa asked once again, speaking for the first time in nearly forty minutes and startling the other passengers. The answer that Kimberly had given her earlier no longer satisfied. "Who could possibly help us?"
Kimberly shifted to face the teenager. "Trust me, he can help us a lot more then you'd think; he's a mortician, death is his job." She explained, raising an eyebrow once again.
Altessa nodded, pursing her lips. "Let's hope he can help." She muttered, casting her eyes down to the floor. She continued to play the morning's events over in her mind, beginning with the Death of Kristen McAnderson and ending with Morgan's. Even if Kimberly's friend could help, Altessa knew that it would be bittersweet; she had failed to save her best friend and her family.
"Don't worry, Altessa, we're going to beat this once and for all." Thomas said, attempting not only to assure the teenager but himself as well.
With those words everyone was silent once again; not a word was said even as Thomas guided the SUV across the gravel path that snaked through the unkempt graveyard that was their destination. He parked in a grassy patch a few yards away from a nearly hidden door, shutting the car off.
Altessa peered out the window, frowning at the landscape. "How did you find this place?" She asked, glancing over at Kimberly and Thomas, who were undoing their seatbelts.
"A friend, Clear Rivers, she brought us here a year ago and it seemed only fitting to come here again." Kimberly told her, opening her car door and preparing to slid out. The door, however, slammed shut suddenly, as though pushed by an invisible hand and Kimberly jumped back to avoid getting her leg shut in as well. As soon as the door clicked shut, there was a large cracking sound and a spidery branch from the tree above the car dropped and impaled in the ground where Kimberly would have been standing if she had gotten out of the car.
Silence took over again as everyone looked at the branch and then over at Kimberly, who was looked startled but slightly sedate, the look of someone who had seen it all before. "Are you all right?" Thomas questioned, looking at the brunette with a worried expression on his face.
Kimberly nodded once, sighing deeply. "Okay, this is getting ridiculous," She grumbled, feeling more frightened then she let on, "let's figure out how to beat this son of a bitch once and for all."
Thomas and Altessa had no words of argument and both slipped out of the car, glancing around nervously; Kimberly climbed out through Thomas' side, having no desire to mess with the branch just yet. They let Kimberly led the way, as she seemed to be their natural leader.
The trio entered the basement level, walking silently, as though they were afraid to breathe. Fires burned in the cremating knell and three stiff, pale bodies rested on separate metal slabs, waiting to became ashes. Aside from the corpses, the room was deserted.
Kimberly frowned, pursing her lips. "He was here last time." She mumbled, more to herself, glancing around the dreary room.
Altessa stepped away from her friends, glancing around as well, avoiding the fires and bodies. She paused, turning back to face Thomas and Kimberly. "Maybe he's upstairs." She remarked, motioning to the stairwell behind her.
The stairs led to an upper level, more of a reception area, with oaken coffins spread around on pedestals and a cherry wood desk to the right. Once again, the three split up, looking for the mortician that would hopefully answer their questions. Kimberly walked toward the desk, running her fingers along the slick wood.
Just as she was about to let her hand drop, she felt cold fingers close around her wrist, causing her to shriek in surprise. Altessa and Thomas whirled around to see what had caused Kimberly to scream and saw the brunette pulling her wrist out of the grasp of the smiling mortician.
"Hello Kimberly, Thomas, it's been a while. And I see you brought a friend." Bludworth stepped out from behind the desk, still smiling at the brunette, who was unnerved. She had yet to get over the way that the man seemed to know everything about her and the situation.
The brunette rejoined Thomas and Altessa, staring at the mortician. "Not long enough." She mumbled, unable to help glaring at the man. "I hate to say it, but, we need your help."
Bludworth never stopped smiling, shaking his head slightly. "The 'advice' didn't play out the way I'd...hoped but I wasn't exactly counting on your friend." He said, his gaze dropping to Altessa, who was studying him warily.
At his words, Altessa frowned, as did Kimberly. "Me? what are you talking about?" The teenager questioned, the hairs on the back of her neck sticking up. There was something in the man's eyes that she didn't trust, something that told her that he knew all of her carefully guarded secrets.
Bludworth frowned slightly for the first time, looking exasperated. "Altessa, you of all people should know what I'm talking about. Surely Kimberly told you about cheating Death and breaking the Design." He said, raising an eyebrow.
Altessa glanced over at Kimberly, confused and slightly unnerved; the brunette looked equally confused, yet not surprised. "How do you know my name? I don't even know you." The teenager remarked, trying not to show how much the man frightened her.
"I know a lot more then you think." Bludworth assured her and she didn't doubt it for a second. His attention shifted to the brunette and he said, "You see, Kimberly, Death has a delicate pattern, a balance-"
"I know that, last time we came to you for help you said that New Life would defeat Death but it didn't. I died when I drove that van into the lake and being revived should have been a new life. But now Thomas and I are back on Death's list to obviously your advice fell short. So why don't you tell us how we can actually beat this thing!" Kimberly commanded, wanting to do more then just yell at the man. She wanted to throttle him, punish him for giving her false hopes and wanted to take out all her guilt and fear on him. But she did none of those things, simply stood her ground and glared, waiting for an answer.
Bludworth chucked, not phased by the outburst. "Such fire, just like your friend Clear." He remarked and Kimberly involuntarily took a step backward, pursing her lips until they were nothing by a pale line.
Thomas placed a reassuring hand on the brunette's shoulder and turned his attention to the mortician. "Cut the crap and answer our questions. What does Altessa have to do with any of this?" He questioned, glancing over at the teenager, who was already staring at him.
"Like I was saying, there is a pattern to everything, a quilt if you will; if a patch is added, the quilt is uneven and is forced to start a new. Same goes if one patch is taken away, the quilt would have to be redone." Bludworth paused, looking at the three survivors, who were watching him silently.
"Look," Altessa snapped, having had enough of the whole ordeal, "we're here for advice on how to stop Death, not for a quilting lesson. How is this relevant?"
Once again, Bludworth shook his head, amused by her antics. "But if one patch is taken away and one put in its place at the same instance, then the balance is not broken. The quilt simply stays the same; such is way of the Design, to truly beat Death is to make sure that the 'patch' that was supposed to stay out does." Bludworth paused and his gaze settled on Kimberly once again. "You would have beaten the Design if not for Altessa."
The teenager suddenly shut her eyes tightly and bowed her head, as though she was unable to hear anymore, hated memories returning with a sudden fury: the pain, the blackness and the sudden blinding explosion. "Altessa, are you all right?" Kimberly's words caused her to open her eyes once again, looking over at the brunette.
"I've cheated Death before...last year, last year today." Altessa whispered, the words sounding foreign to her. She had never spoken to anyone before about the 'accident' that had befallen her and changed her life.
Kimberly frowned, placing her arms around the girl's shoulder in a half embrace. "It's all right Altessa," She whispered comfortingly, tucking the teenager's long hair behind her shoulders. "But you have to tell us what happened."
Altessa sighed, partially leaning against the brunette. "A year ago, I was at home by myself because my parents and Michael had gone out for the afternoon. I was in the living room, watching the news; there was this report about some accident in a field and while I was watching it, I heard a window shatter in the kitchen.
"I got up to see what it was and there was a man, he had crawled through the window, there was still glass in his hair. He had a gun in one hand and he hadn't even bothered to hide his face; when he looked at me, he looked surprised and a little scared. I didn't know what to do so I just stood there, staring at him for the longest time. When I moved to run from the kitchen, I guess he shot me...all I remember is hearing the crack of the gun and feeling pain in my stomach.
"Later, the doctors told me that he shot me three times in all." Altessa paused, closing her eyes and reflexively touching her concealed stomach. Every time she looked at her scarred stomach, she afraid, no matter how hard she attempted to forget. "But, I guess one of the neighbors found me, I don't really remember. I just remember everything was dark and painful, I could hear voices but I couldn't open my eyes. Then everything went away completely, the pain, everything was dark.
"Then there was a blinding explosion of light and everything came back, the pain the voices. The doctors said that I was dead but an explosion in an adjoining hospital wing had exploded and sent a surge of electricity through the ECG machine." Altessa frowned, closing her eyes again and wishing she had never spoken. She had never spoken about the events of that afternoon because it changed everything; everyone was touchy around her, afraid to say the wrong thing. There were also the false looks of pity in everyone's eyes that nearly drove her insane, for those people truly didn't care one way or another.
Kimberly's heart went out to the teenager but she remained silent, knowing that now wasn't the place for the comfort wanted to offer her. She knew, in a way, what Altessa was feeling, what she had gone through; her mother had been shot and killed but she hadn't been as 'lucky' as the teenager. She continued to hold the teenager in a half embrace, her mind racing; Altessa was supposed to die and would have if not for Clear's death. By getting off of Flight 180, Clear had changed someone else's life; if she had never left Stonybrook then she wouldn't have died in the hospital explosion, if there would have been one at all. Altessa was alive because Clear was dead, the replacing patch in 'quilt.'
"So, if Clear hadn't died in the hospital, Altessa would be dead." Thomas remarked, voice gentle, feeling genuine pity for the teenager.
Bludworth nodded slowly, a slight smile upon his face. "Everyone cheats Death, however mundane; ever why, Kimberly, everyone in the pileup was supposed to have died at an earlier time? Certain people seem to draw Death to them, a human 'reaper' if you will; some people have more 'control' then others, a second sight. Humans were never intended to see the inner-workings of the Design, therefore, Fate puts those people with others destined to die. Killing two birds with one stone." The man finished, turning away from the group at last.
Altessa, however, had yet to be satisfied, her desire for answers growing. "That doesn't help us!" She cried, pulling away from Kimberly and approaching the mortician. "What makes us so special? How come we can see what no one else can?"
Bludworth turned around, pursing his lips. "There are things that people aren't meant to know, Altessa, but you, of all people, should know that Death changes a person. Those who die and are revived gain a second sight much more powerful then those who cheat Death by chance. What the Signs, Altessa." Bludworth advised, winking slightly. "It's a verbal irony that your name means what it does."
Altessa frowned, narrowing her eyes and retreating back to her friends, watching the mortician disappear down the stairs, whistling softly to himself. Kimberly turned her glance to the teenager, feeling a sisterly sort of protection come over her. Though Kimberly wanted to, it was Thomas who asked, "Altessa, what does your name mean?"
The raven-haired girl frowned, a crooked sort of expression. "It means Reaper." She answered without hesitation.
Kimberly couldn't help but scoff, snickering at the irony of the whole thing. "Don't fear the reaper." She muttered, so quiet that Thomas didn't hear her, though Altessa did.
Altessa wrinkled her nose slightly, not finding the situation amusing. "Funny."
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Okay, so, I always like it in the movies when they go visit Bludworth, he's kinda cool. And yes, the name Altessa really does mean reaper, I picked it just for that moment. I know that Bludworth's advice wasn't as great in this chapter but it works, I guess. And there's the final piece of Altessa's past, for those of you who have waited patiently. And the part about the quilting lesson and such belongs to ScribbleDribble and I thought it would fit with this. Please review!
Thanks again for the reviews, and sorry to make you afraid to go to chemistry class but, let's just say, I have a lot of free time and my classes and I've seen these movies way too much and so, everything becomes a potential death. To make it original is the tough part. But, enough of that, on with the story!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Seventeen
Reaper
It was only as Kimberly sat beside Thomas in the front seat of his SUV, silently lost amongst her thoughts, that she realized that today was the one year anniversary of the day when they had believed that they had actually defeated the Design. The day that Kat, Rory and Eugene were killed, the day Clear was killed and the day that she had driven the ambulance into the lake before the hospital and had died herself. One year ago she thought that she was safe, that her life was guiding itself back to normal. How wrong she was.
Altessa was seated on the curb in front of the school, dutifully waiting and crying silently, her black hair partially hiding her pale face. She looked up when she noticed the car pulling into the spacious parking lot, the only thing moving during the school day. The SUV squeaked to stop against the curb a few feet behind where the teenager sat and when it stopped, Altessa stood, shifting her backpack. She wasn't quite sure why she had brought it with her, she knew that she wasn't going to be needing it for a while.
Kimberly slipped out of the passenger side of the car and walked over to where Altessa stood, leaving Thomas behind the wheel. For a moment, the two women simply stared at each other, silently locking eyes. Altessa finally buckled, her tears and pain returning once again, seeing her friend's broken body whenever she closed her eyes. She attempted to keep her sobs in check but couldn't, bowing her head once again, dark hair falling across her cheeks.
It was Kimberly who closed the short gap between them, embracing the teenager; she had been through this as well and had promised herself that she would never let anything like this happen to anyone else, no one deserved this pain and fear. Altessa returned the embrace, sobbing without words, simply letting herself be comforted by the woman that had quickly become so important to her.
"It's okay, Altessa, I know how you're feeling, I watched my friends die too." Kimberly whispered, feeling tears prick her eyes, wondering if her words offered any comfort at all. She remembered the sound of the twisted metal and the panicked screams of her best friend; she constantly felt guilty, feeling as though there was something that she could have done to make sure that her friends had survived. "We won't let anyone else die."
At those words, Altessa pulled away, sniffing. "Right." She mumbled, but she didn't sound as sure as she wanted to feel. "Where are we going?" She sounded confused, yet interested, but still lost in her grief.
Kimberly slightly raised an eyebrow. "To see an old friend."
* * *
Altessa was silent the entire ride, speaking only to explain the events of the morning. No one felt much like talking, all lost in their own private thoughts; Kimberly gazed out the window through most of the ride, watching the scenery past by without thought, looking over at Altessa and Thomas once or twice.
As they neared the funeral home that Kimberly and Thomas had visited a year ago, Kimberly felt a deep pang of sadness as she thought of Clear, her guilt returning once again. She attempted to push those feelings away but couldn't, feeling as though Clear's death was her fault. If Clear hadn't left Stonybrook to help her then she wouldn't have died; but Clear had, in a way, saved her life. And now she was going to help Altessa, with hopefully different results.
"Where are we going?" Altessa asked once again, speaking for the first time in nearly forty minutes and startling the other passengers. The answer that Kimberly had given her earlier no longer satisfied. "Who could possibly help us?"
Kimberly shifted to face the teenager. "Trust me, he can help us a lot more then you'd think; he's a mortician, death is his job." She explained, raising an eyebrow once again.
Altessa nodded, pursing her lips. "Let's hope he can help." She muttered, casting her eyes down to the floor. She continued to play the morning's events over in her mind, beginning with the Death of Kristen McAnderson and ending with Morgan's. Even if Kimberly's friend could help, Altessa knew that it would be bittersweet; she had failed to save her best friend and her family.
"Don't worry, Altessa, we're going to beat this once and for all." Thomas said, attempting not only to assure the teenager but himself as well.
With those words everyone was silent once again; not a word was said even as Thomas guided the SUV across the gravel path that snaked through the unkempt graveyard that was their destination. He parked in a grassy patch a few yards away from a nearly hidden door, shutting the car off.
Altessa peered out the window, frowning at the landscape. "How did you find this place?" She asked, glancing over at Kimberly and Thomas, who were undoing their seatbelts.
"A friend, Clear Rivers, she brought us here a year ago and it seemed only fitting to come here again." Kimberly told her, opening her car door and preparing to slid out. The door, however, slammed shut suddenly, as though pushed by an invisible hand and Kimberly jumped back to avoid getting her leg shut in as well. As soon as the door clicked shut, there was a large cracking sound and a spidery branch from the tree above the car dropped and impaled in the ground where Kimberly would have been standing if she had gotten out of the car.
Silence took over again as everyone looked at the branch and then over at Kimberly, who was looked startled but slightly sedate, the look of someone who had seen it all before. "Are you all right?" Thomas questioned, looking at the brunette with a worried expression on his face.
Kimberly nodded once, sighing deeply. "Okay, this is getting ridiculous," She grumbled, feeling more frightened then she let on, "let's figure out how to beat this son of a bitch once and for all."
Thomas and Altessa had no words of argument and both slipped out of the car, glancing around nervously; Kimberly climbed out through Thomas' side, having no desire to mess with the branch just yet. They let Kimberly led the way, as she seemed to be their natural leader.
The trio entered the basement level, walking silently, as though they were afraid to breathe. Fires burned in the cremating knell and three stiff, pale bodies rested on separate metal slabs, waiting to became ashes. Aside from the corpses, the room was deserted.
Kimberly frowned, pursing her lips. "He was here last time." She mumbled, more to herself, glancing around the dreary room.
Altessa stepped away from her friends, glancing around as well, avoiding the fires and bodies. She paused, turning back to face Thomas and Kimberly. "Maybe he's upstairs." She remarked, motioning to the stairwell behind her.
The stairs led to an upper level, more of a reception area, with oaken coffins spread around on pedestals and a cherry wood desk to the right. Once again, the three split up, looking for the mortician that would hopefully answer their questions. Kimberly walked toward the desk, running her fingers along the slick wood.
Just as she was about to let her hand drop, she felt cold fingers close around her wrist, causing her to shriek in surprise. Altessa and Thomas whirled around to see what had caused Kimberly to scream and saw the brunette pulling her wrist out of the grasp of the smiling mortician.
"Hello Kimberly, Thomas, it's been a while. And I see you brought a friend." Bludworth stepped out from behind the desk, still smiling at the brunette, who was unnerved. She had yet to get over the way that the man seemed to know everything about her and the situation.
The brunette rejoined Thomas and Altessa, staring at the mortician. "Not long enough." She mumbled, unable to help glaring at the man. "I hate to say it, but, we need your help."
Bludworth never stopped smiling, shaking his head slightly. "The 'advice' didn't play out the way I'd...hoped but I wasn't exactly counting on your friend." He said, his gaze dropping to Altessa, who was studying him warily.
At his words, Altessa frowned, as did Kimberly. "Me? what are you talking about?" The teenager questioned, the hairs on the back of her neck sticking up. There was something in the man's eyes that she didn't trust, something that told her that he knew all of her carefully guarded secrets.
Bludworth frowned slightly for the first time, looking exasperated. "Altessa, you of all people should know what I'm talking about. Surely Kimberly told you about cheating Death and breaking the Design." He said, raising an eyebrow.
Altessa glanced over at Kimberly, confused and slightly unnerved; the brunette looked equally confused, yet not surprised. "How do you know my name? I don't even know you." The teenager remarked, trying not to show how much the man frightened her.
"I know a lot more then you think." Bludworth assured her and she didn't doubt it for a second. His attention shifted to the brunette and he said, "You see, Kimberly, Death has a delicate pattern, a balance-"
"I know that, last time we came to you for help you said that New Life would defeat Death but it didn't. I died when I drove that van into the lake and being revived should have been a new life. But now Thomas and I are back on Death's list to obviously your advice fell short. So why don't you tell us how we can actually beat this thing!" Kimberly commanded, wanting to do more then just yell at the man. She wanted to throttle him, punish him for giving her false hopes and wanted to take out all her guilt and fear on him. But she did none of those things, simply stood her ground and glared, waiting for an answer.
Bludworth chucked, not phased by the outburst. "Such fire, just like your friend Clear." He remarked and Kimberly involuntarily took a step backward, pursing her lips until they were nothing by a pale line.
Thomas placed a reassuring hand on the brunette's shoulder and turned his attention to the mortician. "Cut the crap and answer our questions. What does Altessa have to do with any of this?" He questioned, glancing over at the teenager, who was already staring at him.
"Like I was saying, there is a pattern to everything, a quilt if you will; if a patch is added, the quilt is uneven and is forced to start a new. Same goes if one patch is taken away, the quilt would have to be redone." Bludworth paused, looking at the three survivors, who were watching him silently.
"Look," Altessa snapped, having had enough of the whole ordeal, "we're here for advice on how to stop Death, not for a quilting lesson. How is this relevant?"
Once again, Bludworth shook his head, amused by her antics. "But if one patch is taken away and one put in its place at the same instance, then the balance is not broken. The quilt simply stays the same; such is way of the Design, to truly beat Death is to make sure that the 'patch' that was supposed to stay out does." Bludworth paused and his gaze settled on Kimberly once again. "You would have beaten the Design if not for Altessa."
The teenager suddenly shut her eyes tightly and bowed her head, as though she was unable to hear anymore, hated memories returning with a sudden fury: the pain, the blackness and the sudden blinding explosion. "Altessa, are you all right?" Kimberly's words caused her to open her eyes once again, looking over at the brunette.
"I've cheated Death before...last year, last year today." Altessa whispered, the words sounding foreign to her. She had never spoken to anyone before about the 'accident' that had befallen her and changed her life.
Kimberly frowned, placing her arms around the girl's shoulder in a half embrace. "It's all right Altessa," She whispered comfortingly, tucking the teenager's long hair behind her shoulders. "But you have to tell us what happened."
Altessa sighed, partially leaning against the brunette. "A year ago, I was at home by myself because my parents and Michael had gone out for the afternoon. I was in the living room, watching the news; there was this report about some accident in a field and while I was watching it, I heard a window shatter in the kitchen.
"I got up to see what it was and there was a man, he had crawled through the window, there was still glass in his hair. He had a gun in one hand and he hadn't even bothered to hide his face; when he looked at me, he looked surprised and a little scared. I didn't know what to do so I just stood there, staring at him for the longest time. When I moved to run from the kitchen, I guess he shot me...all I remember is hearing the crack of the gun and feeling pain in my stomach.
"Later, the doctors told me that he shot me three times in all." Altessa paused, closing her eyes and reflexively touching her concealed stomach. Every time she looked at her scarred stomach, she afraid, no matter how hard she attempted to forget. "But, I guess one of the neighbors found me, I don't really remember. I just remember everything was dark and painful, I could hear voices but I couldn't open my eyes. Then everything went away completely, the pain, everything was dark.
"Then there was a blinding explosion of light and everything came back, the pain the voices. The doctors said that I was dead but an explosion in an adjoining hospital wing had exploded and sent a surge of electricity through the ECG machine." Altessa frowned, closing her eyes again and wishing she had never spoken. She had never spoken about the events of that afternoon because it changed everything; everyone was touchy around her, afraid to say the wrong thing. There were also the false looks of pity in everyone's eyes that nearly drove her insane, for those people truly didn't care one way or another.
Kimberly's heart went out to the teenager but she remained silent, knowing that now wasn't the place for the comfort wanted to offer her. She knew, in a way, what Altessa was feeling, what she had gone through; her mother had been shot and killed but she hadn't been as 'lucky' as the teenager. She continued to hold the teenager in a half embrace, her mind racing; Altessa was supposed to die and would have if not for Clear's death. By getting off of Flight 180, Clear had changed someone else's life; if she had never left Stonybrook then she wouldn't have died in the hospital explosion, if there would have been one at all. Altessa was alive because Clear was dead, the replacing patch in 'quilt.'
"So, if Clear hadn't died in the hospital, Altessa would be dead." Thomas remarked, voice gentle, feeling genuine pity for the teenager.
Bludworth nodded slowly, a slight smile upon his face. "Everyone cheats Death, however mundane; ever why, Kimberly, everyone in the pileup was supposed to have died at an earlier time? Certain people seem to draw Death to them, a human 'reaper' if you will; some people have more 'control' then others, a second sight. Humans were never intended to see the inner-workings of the Design, therefore, Fate puts those people with others destined to die. Killing two birds with one stone." The man finished, turning away from the group at last.
Altessa, however, had yet to be satisfied, her desire for answers growing. "That doesn't help us!" She cried, pulling away from Kimberly and approaching the mortician. "What makes us so special? How come we can see what no one else can?"
Bludworth turned around, pursing his lips. "There are things that people aren't meant to know, Altessa, but you, of all people, should know that Death changes a person. Those who die and are revived gain a second sight much more powerful then those who cheat Death by chance. What the Signs, Altessa." Bludworth advised, winking slightly. "It's a verbal irony that your name means what it does."
Altessa frowned, narrowing her eyes and retreating back to her friends, watching the mortician disappear down the stairs, whistling softly to himself. Kimberly turned her glance to the teenager, feeling a sisterly sort of protection come over her. Though Kimberly wanted to, it was Thomas who asked, "Altessa, what does your name mean?"
The raven-haired girl frowned, a crooked sort of expression. "It means Reaper." She answered without hesitation.
Kimberly couldn't help but scoff, snickering at the irony of the whole thing. "Don't fear the reaper." She muttered, so quiet that Thomas didn't hear her, though Altessa did.
Altessa wrinkled her nose slightly, not finding the situation amusing. "Funny."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, so, I always like it in the movies when they go visit Bludworth, he's kinda cool. And yes, the name Altessa really does mean reaper, I picked it just for that moment. I know that Bludworth's advice wasn't as great in this chapter but it works, I guess. And there's the final piece of Altessa's past, for those of you who have waited patiently. And the part about the quilting lesson and such belongs to ScribbleDribble and I thought it would fit with this. Please review!