Death sighed as he made his way to the next person on his list. A young woman, barely a woman. From his records, it was her eighteenth birthday today. He always hated taking the souls of humans who had not yet had a chance to truly live and to make it worse, this time it was on the woman's birthday but it was his job and no exceptions could be made. The balance had to be kept.
Every soul had a string that only he could see, it would always lead him straight to the person he was searching for. Confusion however lit up his face as this string which was a beautiful and yet unusual blue-green color led him deeper and deeper into the woods that was covered thickly in snow from the latest storm.
What would this woman be doing so deep in the Canadian forests during a snowstorm?
Though it was rare that a storm hit here this early in the year, perhaps she had just been a victim of an unusual circumstance. Had she frozen to death?
He sighed again wondering why he was so curious anyways and continued to trek through the snow. Thankfully since he was Death, his steps were light so his feet didn't sink into the ground as he walked. He still hated having to walk through a storm though, even if the snow didn't cling to him. It was hard to see, he was lucky the string attached to this woman was so bright. It stood out vibrantly against the snow with an almost turquoise glow. The glow meant she was fighting to stay alive, something he was glad to see however it was useless he knew. Once your name showed on his list, that was the end. No amount of fighting would stop it from happening.
It was still several more minutes before he came across a trail of footprints, spots of blood in the snow.
"This isn't a simple freeze to death…"
Not only did the blood throw out his earlier theory but the footprints lead away from where the string was leading him.
Dread filled him and he growled under his breath.
"Damn it."
Finding the woman was his goal though, not solving the mystery.
He spews out a few more profanities as he turned right and continued to follow the string.
Off in the distance through the falling snow, he could see what appeared to be a cave.
Entering into the darkness he was greeted by a gruesome picture. The woman he was looking for laid against the stone wall caked thickly in dirt and blood. Both dried and fresh. A metal collar around her neck like a damn animal. The sight made him grip his cane tightly in anger.
He kneeled down and waved his hand in front of her face using his powers to unlock the collar from her. It dropped to the ground with a loud thump.
Using the end of his cane he moved some of her hair from her face to get a better look at her. She was beautiful, very beautiful. Death found it a tragedy that the world would lose such a lovely thing. Her face had remained untouched but her body had clearly been through much.
His mouth pulled into a thin line with a frown, bite marks littered her entire body. He knew well what left those kinds of marks.
The only thing he could offer her now was peace. He sighed and placed the palm of his hand flat against her cheek, wiping away some of the dirt. All it took was a touch of his hand and their suffering ended.
"Time to die my dear. I'm sorry."
A hand darted out and gripped his wrist tightly, the woman's head whipping around and foggy unclear eyes glared into his own.
Her voice was cracked and hoarse, "I will NOT die like this." She growled before her eyes rolled back in her head. Her body going limp. Breaths coming out in quick pants.
Death's eyes were wide as saucers. "Impossible." He whispered.
No one was immune to his touch. When her hand let go of him and fell to her side, Death slid his fingers lightly down to her neck and felt for a pulse.
He gasped when he felt it. This had never happened. Since the dawn of time when he came into being, there had never been anyone immune to his touch.
Death couldn't leave her but he also needed to know what was going on. Not only that but if she stayed alive in this place her torturer would come back for more. He may be the grim reaper but not even he was cruel enough to allow the woman to suffer more.
With that conclusion in his mind, Death slide his arms under her knees and shoulders, lifting her gently into his arms and carried her out of the cave.
"Where should I take you?" He asked himself. The girl was determined to live and without his touch working to end her pain immediately then she would only continue to suffer until she either gave up or her organs did.
He needed to tend to her someplace safe and warm.
Death hummed in thought, perhaps her home would still work.
Only one way to find out he thought.
Gray mist wrapped around his feet and moved upwards covering both him and the woman, when it dispersed he stood inside a home.
Listening closely, he found no sounds or signs of life. Perhaps this would work.
Death placed her gently on the couch then moved about looking for anything useful.
Returning with several blankets to cover her in and a medical kit, he began to examine her more closely in the light of the home.
She was extremely malnourished. Whoever had harmed her was very careful in their torture obviously wanting it to last as long as possible. Most of her wounds had healed. It seemed they would bring the girl close to death than heal her so they could do it all over again.
Luckily this meant he could probably save her. The largest problem contributing to demise was in fact the cold. Still, she had a few fresh wounds that were shallow thankfully. He tended to them and bandaged her. A small fireplace sat not far from them which he ignited for further warmth. Already she was slowly growing warmer. The bleeding had stopped.
She would need something warm and easy to eat when she awoke if she was going to keep fighting. Death moved to the kitchen digging through the cabinets but everything was expired or empty.
He went through the drawers next, finding some take-out menus, and pleased to see the phone in the house still worked he called and ordered them both food.
Death leaned against the wall staring at the woman. She never moved but he could clearly see the rise and fall of her chest. Her breathing was a little stronger.
Questions swirled in his mind about what any of this meant. The only thing stopping him from drowning in questions was a knock on the front door.
Death strode to the door and opened it to find a young man carrying a bag of food.
Death grabbed the bag and placed it on the floor.
"Uhh, are you Bella's uncle or something? Is she okay? Nobody has seen her in a while."
"Mm." Death ignored the questions, pulling out money he dropped it in the man's hand.
"Yea thanks. If you see her tell her Mike misses her." The stranger smiled awkwardly turning to leave.
A thought came to his mind suddenly and he called out the man.
"Wait. Mike." Death smiled
Mike turned back around and stopped in front of the door. "Yea?"
Death quickly extended her arm and brushed the man's neck. Tilting his head and watching as Mike shook than fell to the ground dead.
"Huh." Death looked at his hands. "Still works." His eyes darting down to the body. "Just checking." He shrugged before waving his hands and making the body disappear.
He grabbed the food, closed the door and walked back inside the house.
