TITLE: A Day in the Life of a Grim Reaper; Behind the Cloak and Sickle (Part22of30)
AUTHOR: trista
DISCLAIMER: George and the concept is not mine, it belongs to MGM, showcase, Ellen Muth, and the creator of the series, the new characters are mine, but I don't think anyone will be borrowing them.
RATING: PG-13 (for language, but the kids these days…)
CONTENT: Reggie/Millie friendship, Mason/George romance
SUMMARY: Reggie is in town for a funeral and George cannot talk to her, and it's the five year anniversary of Mason's leaving too! Ontop of that Anika has just learned of a disaster striking on Colvin's last day. How will everyone cope??
AUTHORS NOTES: This one's one of the longer parts I've written, I really hope u enjoy it. I've skipped ahead another five years just cause there are some things I wanna do b4 the final time jump. The song featured in this fic is "lucky" by bif naked, off of I bificus which I highly recommend. I'm really thinking about doing a cd or something for those who want to hear the songs when I'm done the series cause there are a couple more songs I wanna use. I heard lucky on the radio the other day and kicked myself for not using it sooner I hope it works. Maybe I'll do a poll or something about the CD or email me at rockchicktristasympatico.ca if ur interested. FYI Colt and George are NOT getting together they are just really good friends.
It had been years since I had been to the park, and someone had replaced the swings, but not added anything at all to the place. I guess I wasn't the only one that liked it just the way it was. I needed time to think, and my house was slowly becoming the reaper central. I hadn't minded so much when Anika started having everyone meet there at first, but soon it became a regular thing, and my sanctuary was gone, and I had to find somewhere else. The other reason I wanted to go there was that I wanted to turn back time, although I should know by now that that is impossible.
The first reason I wanted to go back to the way things were that it was the fifth anniversary of the day that Mason moved on. That day had always been tough on me, and until recently I just spent it my bed. We had more then just good sex on that bed, and it made me feel better, but that was no longer an option, no one would leave me alone long enough for me to feel even a little better.
The second thing happened when I opened the paper that morning and discovered that my mother had died. I was devastated, and discovered the her funeral was that day. I hated internment ceremonies, but decided that since she was my mother, that I should probably go, even if nobody knew who I was anymore, and I had to hide behind a tree.
When I got there I was able to see Jenna and McKenna at long last, they were seven and nice, but they looked exactly like Reggie and I did when we were little. I could hardly believe that the woman standing with the two kids was my little sister. She turned around at one point when I got closer to group, and looked like she recognized me, so I went and hid again.
I had put my hair up in pig tails, and didn't wear any make up, to try and make me look younger, so that she couldn't think that it could possibly be me. But her not recognizing me hurt at the same time, as it was the first time in forty years that we were in the same country, and I couldn't even speak to her. I should have looked like I was almost sixty, but instead I still looked like a teenager, I was still ID'ed and there was no way for me to talk face to face with my sister, so it was as if I had lost her again on that day.
It was odd that I was mourning for someone I had mourned for forty years ago, I didn't think that I was able to mourn for my mother again, but apparently I could. I sat on the swing, staring at my hands, wishing that I could see my mother one last time, and tell her that I loved her. Wishing that she knew who I was when I told her.
The part of the funeral I saw for my mother was beautiful, and my father new did show up. There had been whispers that he would show up, and try to make immense with Reggie, and I was glad that he didn't try it. It would not have been an appropriate setting. Of course there were also whispers that he was dead, married, divorced, bringing a young girl friend who was about 18, so I didn't really believe any of the stories that were floating around various ex family members.
I was just glad that everything went well. It must have been my family that fate liked to fuck with, because fate made mother stick around an awful long time after her life turned to shit. I'm surprised that she didn't kill herself. I watched Reggie with her kids, and they looked they were just normal kids, and behaved really well. Max looked amazing, and I was glad to see that he looked just as in love with her as he did the day the married. I still wondered what processed those two to have kids.
The more I watched her, the more I missed Mason, and the more I wanted to go somewhere quiet. The only place that I could think of that was quiet was the park right by the house. As soon as I sat down I wondered why I had stopped coming, then I remembered that I was technically 58, even if I would never look and my body didn't feel that old, mentally I felt much older, and it depressed me. The sandbox was still there, but I was afraid to touch the sand like object that grew from it. I laid down in the freshly mowed grass and I began to sob. Just as I was about to regain my composure I saw Reggie walk up with her two kids. I scurried behind a hill and she didn't seem to notice.
"You know Millie, who I always talk about?" she asked them.
"Yeah!" they both chorused.
"This is the park I told you that we used to meet at. I still think that she was somehow my sister. You remember me telling you about your Aunt George?"
"Yeah," said McKenna. "I wish we could have known her, and then maybe we'd have cousins!"
Reggie tried to laughed, but I could tell by the tone of her voice, that she was about to cry. "I was hoping that maybe she'd come here if she had seen the obituary."
I wanted to run out and tell her that I had seen the obituary, and that I was there, and that I had been at the services, but there was no way I could explain my look, so I had to just keep hiding behind a little hill, hoping that no one would find me. The kids didn't even ask to swing and soon I was, again, alone in the park, with my memories, and thoughts. I decided to go home before someone had me committed.
I hated fate letting me loose two of the most important people in my life, even if it was five years apart. Mason's death day was already hard enough on me, I didn't need to think about my mother too.
I had a routine down when it came to dealing with Mason's death, though it got thrown off when I found out that my mother had died.
Usually I'd ask for that day to be my one day I could take off a year, because I could not concentrate on anything for very long, and then I'd listen to a couple of songs that reminded me of Mason, and mostly just wallowed. That year everything got messed up with my house becoming reaper central, and finding out that I had funeral services to attend to. I was glad to discover when I got home that no one else was there. I went to my room, and I began to play a song that always made me think of my relationship with Mason. It made me cry, but by the end I always felt slightly better.
It was a Monday, when my lover told me,
"never pay the reaper with love only. "
What could i say to you, except, "i love you. "
And "i'd give my life for yours. "
I know we are: we are the lucky ones.
I know we are: we are the lucky ones.
I know we are: we are the lucky ones, dear.
The first time we made love, i: i wasn't sober.
(and you told me you loved me over and over!)
How could i ever love another, when i miss you every day:
Remember the time we made love in the roses?
(and you took my picture in all sorts of poses!)
How could i ever get over you, when i'd give my life for yours.
I know we are... we are the lucky ones.
I know we are... we are the lucky ones.
I know we are... we are the lucky ones.
I know we are: we are the lucky ones, dear.
My dear, It's time to say i thank god for you.
I thank god for you in each and every single way.
And, i know... i know... i know... i know...
It's time to let you know. time to let you know.
Time to let you know. time to sit here and say:
I know we are... we are the lucky ones.
I know we are... we are the lucky ones.
I know we are... we are the lucky ones.
I know we are: we are the lucky ones, dear.
We are the lucky ones, dear...
I listened to it a few times, realizing just how true it was for us. It had the word "reaper" in it which was pretty appropriate, but when he was alive I did feel very lucky to be able to be with him. After all had I not become a reaper I would never have fallen in love before I died. I missed him still though, and it was a beautiful song.
Sometimes when I listened to it I could close my eyes and it was as if Mason was holding me while I listened. I wished that somehow he could just come back to me for one more day. I guess I was lucky most people didn't have a chance to say goodbye to the people they loved, and I was able to spend a whole day with him knowing it would be our last one together. I never got that with the family I lost when I died. Just then there was a knock at the door, and was actually kind of glad to see Colt standing, waiting to see if I'd let him in.
"Come on in," I said to him.
"I know that you usually want to be alone today, but I heard the song you've been playing and I was drawn to it," he explained.
"It's pretty isn't it?" I asked him, laying down on my bed.
"Yeah, it is, I thought you may want to talk today, I saw the obituary for your mother." I nodded. "Yeah, I went over to service."
"And?"
"It was nice, but I couldn't talk to Reggie and that was really hard."
He gave me a sympathetic look. "I don't know how I'd be able to deal with that. I'd want to go up and tell her the truth."
"I want to but I don't want to know what the consequences would be. All this means is that I have to make an excuse as to why I didn't go to the service, and why I'm busy."
"That makes sense, got anything?"
"Yeah, I didn't know her mother very well, and I can't get out of work this time of year. She doesn't know what I do and doesn't ask."
He nodded. "Too bad you can't just go see her."
"I would if I thought that I looked any older then the last time I saw her."
"Well the hair due doesn't help."
"I was trying to look younger so she really wouldn't think it's me."
We fell quiet for a moment, Colt and I did that all the time, right in the middle of a conversation, we'd just go quiet, and soon we'd start talking.
"You know what I never have understood if you and Mason were so meant for each other why did you never get married or have kids?"
I shrugged. "We didn't have kids because reapers can't have kids together, simple as that. We didn't get married because neither of us have family, and we have few friends, what was the point of having the ceremony for the sake of having it?"
He nodded. "Well that makes perfect sense then."
"We thought so."
"I kind of wish I would have known him."
"If you knew him then it would have been hard for you to become a reaper."
"And then I wouldn't have been able to meet you."
I smiled. "It's a shame Mason stole my heart a long time ago."
He shrugged. "Such is life. I'm glad to have you as a friend."
I hugged him. "As much as I miss Mason I wouldn't have things any other way."
He smiled. "I'm glad to hear it."
We talked a little longer before someone came barging into the house, unfortunately it was Colvin, I was not impressed. He came into the room, and proceeded to plot himself down on my bed.
"Have you ever heard of knocking?" I asked him, annoyed.
"I have, but I wanted to surprise you, Peanut," he told me.
"Don't call me that ass wipe!"
"Touchy, aren't we. Anyway you'll be glad to know that I'm going to be taking my last soul tomorrow."
"Good!"
"You're not even going to miss me a little?"
"Probably not."
He left looking dejected, and I didn't really care, the guy was a thorn in my side since he joined the group, and I was glad to see him gone. I just hoped that fate wouldn't decided to totally fuck with me and replace him with someone even more annoying. Colt left shortly after Colvin as he had an appointment, leaving me alone with my thoughts again. I went to the computer to see if Reggie had emailed me before she had left England. Sure enough there was new message in my inbox.Hey Millie,
I guess I should have told you before the services that my mother had died, just in case for any reason you wanted to be there. I would love to meet with you at the park after the service today though, if you get this message in time. I want you to meet my kids, and just to talk a little bit. It's been too long since we've seen each other. I won't be too mad if you don't come today because I know that you're dealing with the Mason thing today, it's hard to believe it's been five years. You would think that by now someone would know SOMETHING. I should go though, internet cafes at airports are not cheap. Stupid plane delays!
-Reggie
I replied to the email responding that I didn't find out until after she emailed me about her mother dying, and that I would have loved to have been there if it had been possible. I felt a little guilty about lying to her though, but I had no other choice. As much as it pained me I had to come to terms with the fact that I could not go see my sister while we were in the same country.
I climbed into my bed, surprised to find a teddy bear that Mason had bought me for our one month anniversary all those years ago. It was light blue, and very soft. I had thought I lost it, and was certainly not expecting to find it on Mason's side of the bed five years after he stopped being a reaper. I began to cry and must have fallen asleep as I had a dream about him.
"Hey Georgie," he told me in the dream. "It's just not the same without you."
"Mason!" I exclaimed running toward him to hug him. When I did it was so real. "I miss you so much."
"I miss you too, I'm sorry about your mother."
"It was her time I guess."
He nodded. "Even with all the girls around here I only want you."
"And here I thought you couldn't change a player."
"You could change anyone George."
"George!!" I heard a female voice screaming, waking me up from my amazing dream.
"I'm upstairs Anika!" I snapped. "What do you want?"
She appeared at the top of the staircase. "I know you asked for today off, but something unexpected happened, and we need all the help we can get, especially with Colvin having to take his last soul tonight instead of tomorrow, they're going to send someone from another division down after Colvin's gone, but we're still going to have our work cut out for us." "What's going on?"
"I don't know, all I know is where it's happening and that there are almost too many people to keep track of."
I didn't even have time to change out of my frumpy funeral clothes before Anika was dragging me out of the house, everyone else was already waiting. We piled into the car and drove where Anika told me to. I was very confused when we got there. Moments after we arrived another person showed up, to stand in front of the large office building.
"Are any of you Anika?" asked the stranger.
"Yeah, me, you must be Luc!" Anika exclaimed, she looked as if she wanted to hug him.
"So how are we going to do this?"
"Anyone going into this building gets their soul taken, all I know is that there will be no survivors, no one has any specific souls to grab, it's pretty much a free for all," Anika explained.
"I don't like the sound of this."
People started to file in, and she was right it was in the thousands that they were coming. We simply grabbed all the souls we could, none of us even noticed that Colvin was gone. He had not moved on, but didn't have the ability to take any souls. Luc told me later that he had seen Colvin trying to take souls with no luck, and walked away. A few moments after we collected all the souls we all walked away, not knowing what might happen to it. All of a sudden there was aloud sound of something breaking, and the whole building just collapsed.
It turned out the building was very old, and some construction workers had taken out the wrong beams when they tried to add more office space in the basement. No one in the building knew what happened, and didn't have time to get out.
I remembered Mason warning me about how terrible situations like that were, but I never really understood until I saw all the death just how terrible it was. Most of the souls moved along pretty quickly, and since I was supposed to off Anika told me after I popped all the souls I needed to that I could go home. I was very glad that we had warning about what was going to happen, kind of, because I could hardly imagine who terrible it would have to be to go through the destruction to get out all the souls.
I was awake when Colt got home, and he looked exhausted and run ragged. Luc was in toe, and I was a little surprised.
"Look, I know it's not really my house, but Luc really helped us out today and he needed a place to stay," Colt explained to me.
"That's fine, it's not like he's going to be in town for very long, after all tomorrow whoever Colvin popped today will be the new reaper, and Luc here can go back to whatever division he's from."
"Plague division," he explained.
"That's why you didn't seem to fazed by what you saw today," Colt said shaking his head.
"You get used to mass deaths after a while I guess," Luc explained.
"Worst I dealt with before today was a cult," I informed them. "I was warned on that trip that collapsed and exploded buildings are much worse."
"As I said you really do get used to it."
Colt and I nodded. I went and got Luc some blankets, and Colt and I went upstairs to talk a little bit more. We sat down on my bed, and he looked as if he was going to cry.
"What's wrong Colt?" I asked him.
"Death on a small scale I can deal with, this much death is just too much, people shouldn't die like that. If we hadn't taken the souls before hand some of those people would have suffered up to half an hour, completely aware of what was going on as they died!"
"Death is a part of life."
"I know! I know! But I don't want to see any more of it. I've only been doing this five years and I've seen so much death I want to personally have a talk with God to see what we can do to stop it!"
"Sometimes it's people's times!"
"Not the people who's souls we take, George, they have life left in them, and someone decides it should be taken away. Today was unnecessary, it's like whatever is in control of the universe doesn't seem to want anyone to be happy and safe. An office building came tumbling down today, and no one had enough warning to get out alive, no one, not a single solitary survivor."
"Life is short, and brutal."
Tears began to roll down his eyes. "How do you do it George?"
"Do what?"
"Continue being a reaper?"
I shrugged. "Because I have to."
"Why are we forced to do something we don't want to do!?"
"I don't know Colt, it's just the way the world works I guess. None of us wants to be a reaper, but it's what has been decided for us, and we can't do anything about it, the consequences are simply to uncertain."
He ended up falling asleep in my bed, and I didn't even care, I turned opposite to him, and I fell asleep shortly after, it felt nice to have someone else in my bed with me, not just the cat.
End
End notes hope you like my little xmas present to 'ya hehe…. Up next what happened to the guy that replaced Colvin, and how long is Luc going to be around for?
AUTHOR: trista
DISCLAIMER: George and the concept is not mine, it belongs to MGM, showcase, Ellen Muth, and the creator of the series, the new characters are mine, but I don't think anyone will be borrowing them.
RATING: PG-13 (for language, but the kids these days…)
CONTENT: Reggie/Millie friendship, Mason/George romance
SUMMARY: Reggie is in town for a funeral and George cannot talk to her, and it's the five year anniversary of Mason's leaving too! Ontop of that Anika has just learned of a disaster striking on Colvin's last day. How will everyone cope??
AUTHORS NOTES: This one's one of the longer parts I've written, I really hope u enjoy it. I've skipped ahead another five years just cause there are some things I wanna do b4 the final time jump. The song featured in this fic is "lucky" by bif naked, off of I bificus which I highly recommend. I'm really thinking about doing a cd or something for those who want to hear the songs when I'm done the series cause there are a couple more songs I wanna use. I heard lucky on the radio the other day and kicked myself for not using it sooner I hope it works. Maybe I'll do a poll or something about the CD or email me at rockchicktristasympatico.ca if ur interested. FYI Colt and George are NOT getting together they are just really good friends.
It had been years since I had been to the park, and someone had replaced the swings, but not added anything at all to the place. I guess I wasn't the only one that liked it just the way it was. I needed time to think, and my house was slowly becoming the reaper central. I hadn't minded so much when Anika started having everyone meet there at first, but soon it became a regular thing, and my sanctuary was gone, and I had to find somewhere else. The other reason I wanted to go there was that I wanted to turn back time, although I should know by now that that is impossible.
The first reason I wanted to go back to the way things were that it was the fifth anniversary of the day that Mason moved on. That day had always been tough on me, and until recently I just spent it my bed. We had more then just good sex on that bed, and it made me feel better, but that was no longer an option, no one would leave me alone long enough for me to feel even a little better.
The second thing happened when I opened the paper that morning and discovered that my mother had died. I was devastated, and discovered the her funeral was that day. I hated internment ceremonies, but decided that since she was my mother, that I should probably go, even if nobody knew who I was anymore, and I had to hide behind a tree.
When I got there I was able to see Jenna and McKenna at long last, they were seven and nice, but they looked exactly like Reggie and I did when we were little. I could hardly believe that the woman standing with the two kids was my little sister. She turned around at one point when I got closer to group, and looked like she recognized me, so I went and hid again.
I had put my hair up in pig tails, and didn't wear any make up, to try and make me look younger, so that she couldn't think that it could possibly be me. But her not recognizing me hurt at the same time, as it was the first time in forty years that we were in the same country, and I couldn't even speak to her. I should have looked like I was almost sixty, but instead I still looked like a teenager, I was still ID'ed and there was no way for me to talk face to face with my sister, so it was as if I had lost her again on that day.
It was odd that I was mourning for someone I had mourned for forty years ago, I didn't think that I was able to mourn for my mother again, but apparently I could. I sat on the swing, staring at my hands, wishing that I could see my mother one last time, and tell her that I loved her. Wishing that she knew who I was when I told her.
The part of the funeral I saw for my mother was beautiful, and my father new did show up. There had been whispers that he would show up, and try to make immense with Reggie, and I was glad that he didn't try it. It would not have been an appropriate setting. Of course there were also whispers that he was dead, married, divorced, bringing a young girl friend who was about 18, so I didn't really believe any of the stories that were floating around various ex family members.
I was just glad that everything went well. It must have been my family that fate liked to fuck with, because fate made mother stick around an awful long time after her life turned to shit. I'm surprised that she didn't kill herself. I watched Reggie with her kids, and they looked they were just normal kids, and behaved really well. Max looked amazing, and I was glad to see that he looked just as in love with her as he did the day the married. I still wondered what processed those two to have kids.
The more I watched her, the more I missed Mason, and the more I wanted to go somewhere quiet. The only place that I could think of that was quiet was the park right by the house. As soon as I sat down I wondered why I had stopped coming, then I remembered that I was technically 58, even if I would never look and my body didn't feel that old, mentally I felt much older, and it depressed me. The sandbox was still there, but I was afraid to touch the sand like object that grew from it. I laid down in the freshly mowed grass and I began to sob. Just as I was about to regain my composure I saw Reggie walk up with her two kids. I scurried behind a hill and she didn't seem to notice.
"You know Millie, who I always talk about?" she asked them.
"Yeah!" they both chorused.
"This is the park I told you that we used to meet at. I still think that she was somehow my sister. You remember me telling you about your Aunt George?"
"Yeah," said McKenna. "I wish we could have known her, and then maybe we'd have cousins!"
Reggie tried to laughed, but I could tell by the tone of her voice, that she was about to cry. "I was hoping that maybe she'd come here if she had seen the obituary."
I wanted to run out and tell her that I had seen the obituary, and that I was there, and that I had been at the services, but there was no way I could explain my look, so I had to just keep hiding behind a little hill, hoping that no one would find me. The kids didn't even ask to swing and soon I was, again, alone in the park, with my memories, and thoughts. I decided to go home before someone had me committed.
I hated fate letting me loose two of the most important people in my life, even if it was five years apart. Mason's death day was already hard enough on me, I didn't need to think about my mother too.
I had a routine down when it came to dealing with Mason's death, though it got thrown off when I found out that my mother had died.
Usually I'd ask for that day to be my one day I could take off a year, because I could not concentrate on anything for very long, and then I'd listen to a couple of songs that reminded me of Mason, and mostly just wallowed. That year everything got messed up with my house becoming reaper central, and finding out that I had funeral services to attend to. I was glad to discover when I got home that no one else was there. I went to my room, and I began to play a song that always made me think of my relationship with Mason. It made me cry, but by the end I always felt slightly better.
It was a Monday, when my lover told me,
"never pay the reaper with love only. "
What could i say to you, except, "i love you. "
And "i'd give my life for yours. "
I know we are: we are the lucky ones.
I know we are: we are the lucky ones.
I know we are: we are the lucky ones, dear.
The first time we made love, i: i wasn't sober.
(and you told me you loved me over and over!)
How could i ever love another, when i miss you every day:
Remember the time we made love in the roses?
(and you took my picture in all sorts of poses!)
How could i ever get over you, when i'd give my life for yours.
I know we are... we are the lucky ones.
I know we are... we are the lucky ones.
I know we are... we are the lucky ones.
I know we are: we are the lucky ones, dear.
My dear, It's time to say i thank god for you.
I thank god for you in each and every single way.
And, i know... i know... i know... i know...
It's time to let you know. time to let you know.
Time to let you know. time to sit here and say:
I know we are... we are the lucky ones.
I know we are... we are the lucky ones.
I know we are... we are the lucky ones.
I know we are: we are the lucky ones, dear.
We are the lucky ones, dear...
I listened to it a few times, realizing just how true it was for us. It had the word "reaper" in it which was pretty appropriate, but when he was alive I did feel very lucky to be able to be with him. After all had I not become a reaper I would never have fallen in love before I died. I missed him still though, and it was a beautiful song.
Sometimes when I listened to it I could close my eyes and it was as if Mason was holding me while I listened. I wished that somehow he could just come back to me for one more day. I guess I was lucky most people didn't have a chance to say goodbye to the people they loved, and I was able to spend a whole day with him knowing it would be our last one together. I never got that with the family I lost when I died. Just then there was a knock at the door, and was actually kind of glad to see Colt standing, waiting to see if I'd let him in.
"Come on in," I said to him.
"I know that you usually want to be alone today, but I heard the song you've been playing and I was drawn to it," he explained.
"It's pretty isn't it?" I asked him, laying down on my bed.
"Yeah, it is, I thought you may want to talk today, I saw the obituary for your mother." I nodded. "Yeah, I went over to service."
"And?"
"It was nice, but I couldn't talk to Reggie and that was really hard."
He gave me a sympathetic look. "I don't know how I'd be able to deal with that. I'd want to go up and tell her the truth."
"I want to but I don't want to know what the consequences would be. All this means is that I have to make an excuse as to why I didn't go to the service, and why I'm busy."
"That makes sense, got anything?"
"Yeah, I didn't know her mother very well, and I can't get out of work this time of year. She doesn't know what I do and doesn't ask."
He nodded. "Too bad you can't just go see her."
"I would if I thought that I looked any older then the last time I saw her."
"Well the hair due doesn't help."
"I was trying to look younger so she really wouldn't think it's me."
We fell quiet for a moment, Colt and I did that all the time, right in the middle of a conversation, we'd just go quiet, and soon we'd start talking.
"You know what I never have understood if you and Mason were so meant for each other why did you never get married or have kids?"
I shrugged. "We didn't have kids because reapers can't have kids together, simple as that. We didn't get married because neither of us have family, and we have few friends, what was the point of having the ceremony for the sake of having it?"
He nodded. "Well that makes perfect sense then."
"We thought so."
"I kind of wish I would have known him."
"If you knew him then it would have been hard for you to become a reaper."
"And then I wouldn't have been able to meet you."
I smiled. "It's a shame Mason stole my heart a long time ago."
He shrugged. "Such is life. I'm glad to have you as a friend."
I hugged him. "As much as I miss Mason I wouldn't have things any other way."
He smiled. "I'm glad to hear it."
We talked a little longer before someone came barging into the house, unfortunately it was Colvin, I was not impressed. He came into the room, and proceeded to plot himself down on my bed.
"Have you ever heard of knocking?" I asked him, annoyed.
"I have, but I wanted to surprise you, Peanut," he told me.
"Don't call me that ass wipe!"
"Touchy, aren't we. Anyway you'll be glad to know that I'm going to be taking my last soul tomorrow."
"Good!"
"You're not even going to miss me a little?"
"Probably not."
He left looking dejected, and I didn't really care, the guy was a thorn in my side since he joined the group, and I was glad to see him gone. I just hoped that fate wouldn't decided to totally fuck with me and replace him with someone even more annoying. Colt left shortly after Colvin as he had an appointment, leaving me alone with my thoughts again. I went to the computer to see if Reggie had emailed me before she had left England. Sure enough there was new message in my inbox.Hey Millie,
I guess I should have told you before the services that my mother had died, just in case for any reason you wanted to be there. I would love to meet with you at the park after the service today though, if you get this message in time. I want you to meet my kids, and just to talk a little bit. It's been too long since we've seen each other. I won't be too mad if you don't come today because I know that you're dealing with the Mason thing today, it's hard to believe it's been five years. You would think that by now someone would know SOMETHING. I should go though, internet cafes at airports are not cheap. Stupid plane delays!
-Reggie
I replied to the email responding that I didn't find out until after she emailed me about her mother dying, and that I would have loved to have been there if it had been possible. I felt a little guilty about lying to her though, but I had no other choice. As much as it pained me I had to come to terms with the fact that I could not go see my sister while we were in the same country.
I climbed into my bed, surprised to find a teddy bear that Mason had bought me for our one month anniversary all those years ago. It was light blue, and very soft. I had thought I lost it, and was certainly not expecting to find it on Mason's side of the bed five years after he stopped being a reaper. I began to cry and must have fallen asleep as I had a dream about him.
"Hey Georgie," he told me in the dream. "It's just not the same without you."
"Mason!" I exclaimed running toward him to hug him. When I did it was so real. "I miss you so much."
"I miss you too, I'm sorry about your mother."
"It was her time I guess."
He nodded. "Even with all the girls around here I only want you."
"And here I thought you couldn't change a player."
"You could change anyone George."
"George!!" I heard a female voice screaming, waking me up from my amazing dream.
"I'm upstairs Anika!" I snapped. "What do you want?"
She appeared at the top of the staircase. "I know you asked for today off, but something unexpected happened, and we need all the help we can get, especially with Colvin having to take his last soul tonight instead of tomorrow, they're going to send someone from another division down after Colvin's gone, but we're still going to have our work cut out for us." "What's going on?"
"I don't know, all I know is where it's happening and that there are almost too many people to keep track of."
I didn't even have time to change out of my frumpy funeral clothes before Anika was dragging me out of the house, everyone else was already waiting. We piled into the car and drove where Anika told me to. I was very confused when we got there. Moments after we arrived another person showed up, to stand in front of the large office building.
"Are any of you Anika?" asked the stranger.
"Yeah, me, you must be Luc!" Anika exclaimed, she looked as if she wanted to hug him.
"So how are we going to do this?"
"Anyone going into this building gets their soul taken, all I know is that there will be no survivors, no one has any specific souls to grab, it's pretty much a free for all," Anika explained.
"I don't like the sound of this."
People started to file in, and she was right it was in the thousands that they were coming. We simply grabbed all the souls we could, none of us even noticed that Colvin was gone. He had not moved on, but didn't have the ability to take any souls. Luc told me later that he had seen Colvin trying to take souls with no luck, and walked away. A few moments after we collected all the souls we all walked away, not knowing what might happen to it. All of a sudden there was aloud sound of something breaking, and the whole building just collapsed.
It turned out the building was very old, and some construction workers had taken out the wrong beams when they tried to add more office space in the basement. No one in the building knew what happened, and didn't have time to get out.
I remembered Mason warning me about how terrible situations like that were, but I never really understood until I saw all the death just how terrible it was. Most of the souls moved along pretty quickly, and since I was supposed to off Anika told me after I popped all the souls I needed to that I could go home. I was very glad that we had warning about what was going to happen, kind of, because I could hardly imagine who terrible it would have to be to go through the destruction to get out all the souls.
I was awake when Colt got home, and he looked exhausted and run ragged. Luc was in toe, and I was a little surprised.
"Look, I know it's not really my house, but Luc really helped us out today and he needed a place to stay," Colt explained to me.
"That's fine, it's not like he's going to be in town for very long, after all tomorrow whoever Colvin popped today will be the new reaper, and Luc here can go back to whatever division he's from."
"Plague division," he explained.
"That's why you didn't seem to fazed by what you saw today," Colt said shaking his head.
"You get used to mass deaths after a while I guess," Luc explained.
"Worst I dealt with before today was a cult," I informed them. "I was warned on that trip that collapsed and exploded buildings are much worse."
"As I said you really do get used to it."
Colt and I nodded. I went and got Luc some blankets, and Colt and I went upstairs to talk a little bit more. We sat down on my bed, and he looked as if he was going to cry.
"What's wrong Colt?" I asked him.
"Death on a small scale I can deal with, this much death is just too much, people shouldn't die like that. If we hadn't taken the souls before hand some of those people would have suffered up to half an hour, completely aware of what was going on as they died!"
"Death is a part of life."
"I know! I know! But I don't want to see any more of it. I've only been doing this five years and I've seen so much death I want to personally have a talk with God to see what we can do to stop it!"
"Sometimes it's people's times!"
"Not the people who's souls we take, George, they have life left in them, and someone decides it should be taken away. Today was unnecessary, it's like whatever is in control of the universe doesn't seem to want anyone to be happy and safe. An office building came tumbling down today, and no one had enough warning to get out alive, no one, not a single solitary survivor."
"Life is short, and brutal."
Tears began to roll down his eyes. "How do you do it George?"
"Do what?"
"Continue being a reaper?"
I shrugged. "Because I have to."
"Why are we forced to do something we don't want to do!?"
"I don't know Colt, it's just the way the world works I guess. None of us wants to be a reaper, but it's what has been decided for us, and we can't do anything about it, the consequences are simply to uncertain."
He ended up falling asleep in my bed, and I didn't even care, I turned opposite to him, and I fell asleep shortly after, it felt nice to have someone else in my bed with me, not just the cat.
End
End notes hope you like my little xmas present to 'ya hehe…. Up next what happened to the guy that replaced Colvin, and how long is Luc going to be around for?