Mandy watched as Jonesy threw his backpack on the chair. He was wearing his usual purple t-shirt, which showed off the shape of his chest muscles as he stretched out his arm. He had Latin features, a thin physique and spiky hair. He was not too bright having been fired from hundreds of jobs, but has the confidence and street smarts to go out and get another one.

He reached out to her and took her in his arms. They kissed.

Feeling he was rushing things, she pulled away and asked, "What's going on?" as she took off her suit jacket.

"Oh, nothing." He pulled her back.

She let him kiss her again. They spun around together and she pushed him towards the bed, where he landed with a bounce. He stared at the ceiling, waiting a moment for her. Impatiently he looked at her to see she was holding his backpack. He sat up suddenly, finding himself unable to breath, and therefore unable to talk.

Mandy moved her hand over the outside of the backpack. Her expression suggested not anger, but curiosity. She said, "A silencer, interesting choice. While it can help you avoid getting caught, getting caught doesn't matter if you are dead. The silencer limits bullet velocity, which makes a quick, clean kill less likely, a serious problem against a skilled adversary."

He was at a loss for words.

Mandy opened the backpack and carefully pulled out the gun, holding it by the barrel. "You do consider me a skilled adversary?" she asked.

"No... I mean yes. You're skilled but you're not my adversary," he stammered.

Mandy unscrewed the silencer and placed it on the side table. "So you weren't planning on killing me?"

"Yes... yes I was. They gave me the gun." He covered his eyes with his hands. "I haven't gotten any good severance payments lately and I'm in a lot of debt and they offered to give me a few hundred grand if," he looked up at her, "I killed you. They said I'd have to get close to you first, and then I could kill you in your sleep."

"You've had chances."

"I know," he looked down, "but I couldn't. I wouldn't. I was just going to take the little money they had given me and run." He looked up at her and tried to smile. "It's what I do. I get jobs and then I get fired. I never even brought the gun with me." He gulped. "But they where getting impatient. They pulled me into an alley on my way over here. They put the gun in my backpack." He stood up. "I was never going to use it." He walked over to Mandy and fell to his knees in front of her. "I love you, Mandy. I'd rather they kill me then see you get hurt."

Mandy looked down at him with distain.

He felt her stare weigh down on him like a boulder. "I didn't realize it until today, but I love you. I love your intelligence, your cynicism. I love your dark eyes, how your headband looks against your hair," he glanced downward, "I love your body. I love your anger and impatience. I even love your frown."

Mandy looked away in disgust and stepped passed him saying, "Useless."

Tears began forming in his eyes as he watched her walk by. "You don't believe me?" he asked.

She turned to face him, "Of course I believe you. It is a perfectly normal response, but it means nothing and is of no use. Useless."

"No use?" Aghast, he struggled for words. "You don't believe in love?"

Mandy scoffed. "Love clearly exists. It is neurophysiologial drive to pair up into couples which evolved to ensure humans stay together for the long period of time required to raise their offspring." Mandy put hands on her hips, "It is just a simple response to stimulus." She started walking towards him, exaggerating her hips movement. "Once you become aware its true nature, you can control it so it doesn't control you."

He stood up. "You believe that is all that is all there is? I love you more then life itself. You insult me and belittle me, yet it is nothing compared to the pain of being apart from you. You think those feelings are nothing more then elaborate chemical reactions?"

"Those longings are no more real then the delusions of a schizophrenic. The product of a mind abandoning rationality"

He began raising his voice. "So when you experience it you can always just shut it out?"

She paused, staring off into space. Quietly she said, "Always."

"What a sad little life you must have. For the power you have, you reject the one thing that might make you happy."

Mandy sat on the bed, looking down.

Jonesy began ranting through his tears. "I suppose if you think that we are nothing more then our simple bodies, when you die there will be nothing left of you. Your power will be lost and you will have no legacy except fear and suffering. It will be you that will be useless. Do you really believe we have no eternal soul?"

Mandy fingered the gun that she was still holding. "I don't have to believe it," she looked up at him, "because I know that we do. I've seen the afterlife."

Taken aback by her sudden reversal he raised his eye brows.

"Do you want to know the truth?" she asked.

He nodded.

"When I was eight years old the Grim Reaper come for my friend Billy's hamster. I was able to trick him into becoming my best friend forever. With him I was able to see the true nature of existence in this life and the next. I know what I do in this life is insignificant. I only practicing, preparing and biding my time until he comes for me."

He became frightened again. I deeper fear. Fear of a very distant but very great danger. "Who comes?" Mandy stared past him. He was looking so intently at her eyes he hadn't noticed that she brought the gun to her head. Seeing what she was about to do he yelled, "Mandy!"

The sound of the gun echoed through the room. He was reaching towards her, but froze when he heard the sound. Her headband fell down on to her shoulder and her yellow hair fell in front of her face.

Mandy looked at him and said, "Only he can choose when my longing will end."

"You l..."

Mandy glanced upward for a moment as she pointed the gun at Jonesy head and fired. She heard the thump as he hit the ground, but did not look at him as she the walked towards the door.

She was about to step out of the door when she heard a cheerful Jamaican voice, "Hey, Mandy."

She leaned against the door frame, but didn't look back into the room. "Hey, Grim."

"I, ah..."

"Take care of him, will you Grim. I've got things to do."

"Right."

As Mandy stepped into the hallway, out of the corner of her eye, through her loosened hair, she saw Grim robe flutter as he turned towards the body.

The End

Unfortunately, I cut the scene with Charlie from What It's like Being Alone.

Written of a Palm Tungsten W and edited on a Palm Tungsten T.

Grim Tales of Mandy Alone will probably return with "The Grim Candidate"