"Hey, what's this?" Emmett called me over and pointed to my Xbox.
"Oh that? That's a video game console."
"What does it do?"
I walked over to Emmett, and handed him a wireless controller. "Hold onto that like this." I demonstrated to him with a spare.
While I inserted the game disk and started the Xbox, Emmett tried to hold it - half expecting it to blow up.
"We'll play GTAIV for now. It's easy, just drive around. You hold down this button to drive, and move the joystick to turn."
He looked at the controller, and then at the TV screen.
"Erm.."
"Do you get it?"
He sat silent.
"I'll take that as a yes."
I sat on the floor near him and ate my Mac-n-cheese with a Mtn. Dew.
"Makenna, this is really hard, I don't see how you humans do this for fun." He darted the controller here and there, trying to physically turn it to get it to move the car on the screen, failing, only causing it to sit idle on the street.
"Oh, God. Just wait until I teach you how to play Rock Band."
"Rock..Band?" The words obviously weren't part of his vocabulary.
After I finished eating, I ran my bowl and empty glass to the kitchen. Aunt Marissa was watching another chick-flick thing on her little DVD player.
"Do you need anything?"
"No, just dropping off my bowl."
"Oh, alright...if you insist. I made you cherry pie, would you like to split some with me?"
I looked at her, she really seemed grateful that I was alive and home safe. I figured I could spare an hour and a half eating cherry pie and watching a chick-flick with my Aunt.
"Sure." I smiled.
"Why don't you pick out a different movie, this one's boring me to death." she clanked around in the silverware drawer, pulling out a pair of clean forks.
"Alright, what did you have in mind?"
"Mmm... something that'll make you laugh."
I looked through our familiar library of movies in the living room bookshelf. I analyzed each one, remembering my favorite parts from each.
"Hey, Makenna, you didn't come back, so I left the game on and-" A death God's familiar voice came from behind me.
"Yeah, sorry, I'm going to watch a movie. You can do what you want."
"Makenna? You're talking to yourself again. Is it the pills, or are you schizophrenic now?"
"Sorry, just thinking out loud."
This was going to be tough to get used to; I literally have to shut off the part of my mind that talks to Emmett when I'm around other people. If I don't learn to control myself, my Aunt might actually think I've got Schizophrenia. That's the last thing I need – another trip to the hospital with unanswerable questions.
I looked away from the movie shelf, and back at my 'imaginary friend'. Emmett was looking up at the sky out our back door.
In a pondering voice, Emmett commented on the night sky. I didn't make an effort to understand.
"That's very interesting..." he'd say.
...
"Makenna. We have to leave. Now." Emmett poked me on the cheek as I lay sprawled on the couch. It's 11:00 am. The awake portion of my brain laughed about being poked by an invisible, untouchable entity as a wake-up call. I must have fallen asleep during the movie last night.
"Why?" I groan.
"There's a meeting. We have to go. This is important."
"Ok... lemmie shower." I fumbled off the couch and up to my room, into the shower. 15 minutes later a more awake and clean version of myself stepped out into the bathroom...without a towel.
I frantically start looking around, praying I might find one. Nothing.
ACK.
I had no choice.
"Hey, Emmett?"
"What? Are you done? We need to go."
"C-can you get me a towel?" I clenched my teeth at the thought of having to walk out there- in the NUDE.
"...What's a tow-eell?"
I knew this would happen. "It's... like a blanket, but its fuzzier."
"...What's a blanket?"
"Just- do your best. OK? I believe in you."
moments later, a teddy bear appeared in the crack of my door. "Is this.. a tow-eell?"
"No..."
A pillow made its way into the door way, "How about this?"
"No, but you're getting close." I think. "It's a big rectangular piece of cloth." I could tell he was getting more confused by the second.
"Makenna, just come out. Whatever you need this tow-eell for isn't' that important right now."
He had no idea. I let out an agitated sigh. "Please don't look- ok?"
"I don't get you. Look at what? Humans are so picky. You play stupid games, and need stupid things at stupid times, and-"
I bolted out of the bathroom and to my bed to grab a blanket as soon as I could- I WOULD have gotten there, if only I hadn't run straight into Emmett. Who happened to be on the other side of the bathroom door the entire time.
needless to say, I screamed, he stood gawking down at me.
"EMMETT! STOP LOOKING AT ME."
"Why?"
"You really are clueless aren't you?"
"I guess."
"Humans don't like to be looked at when they don't have clothes on. It makes us feel embarrassed."
"I don't know what that means."
Darting around him timidly, I wrapped myself in a blanket, then a towel from my closet. Emmett was no longer paying attention to me, he was instead flipping through radio channels on my stereo.
It sounds strange if I say "my Shinigami" because... it's like he's a pet. A death-controlling manifestation from another world who got bored one day and decided to share his diary with a human, which, sounds pretty pathetic if you ask me.
I nearly fell down the stairs this morning on my way to the kitchen. Just as I was opening the fridge to get a class of apple juice, Emmett started to yell at me again.
"Makenna, If we don't leave now we'll miss it."
"Ok, jeez."
"You know you still haven't used the death note since you got it."
"Yeah I know."
"Don't you want it? If you don't I can take it from you. But I'd have to erase your memory and stuff.."
"No. Don't take it."
I grabbed my purse, filled my wallet with some cash for McDonalds breakfast, my cell phone, a pen or two, and a hand held game for Emmett. Before leaving, I left a note for Marissa, saying I went out for a drive and to get coffee, mostly because I didn't actually know where I was going, or how long we would be gone.
"Where are we going anyways?"
"New.. York."
"We're in New York, smart one." I rolled my eyes at Emmett.
"The W Times Square Hotel." He spoke the name as if he had rehearsed it a million times, but never actually knew what he was saying. Kind of like those comments you have to make in class about a book you never actually read.
"Awesome! I'll need to grab more stuff."
"Huh? No- we need to go now."
"It's a hotel! And a Super nice one at that- I need to put something nice on, and pack some clothes. I'll just have to tell Aunt Marissa that I'm staying at a friend's house tonight." I head back upstairs and yank the familiar pink bag from the bottom of my closet. Good enough.
"You would lie to your aunt?"
"Dude, I am lying as it is. Because nobody but me and you really knows what's going on."
"I see your point."
I made a quick adjustment to the note I left in the kitchen for Marissa and Bill before heading out to my yellow Subaru in the garage. Emmett ended up lying down in the back seat because the front didn't give him enough room for his long-ass legs.
"Why are we going to this meeting? Who's going to be there?"
"I am not authorized to tell you that." He mono-toned at me.
I took a peek in my overhead mirror to see him- he found the hand held game I had stashed in my bag. At least he was occupied. I backed out of the short driveway a little awkwardly, my focus was thoughts, which were nothing but jumbled questions.
"How come? Is it a Shinigami thing only?"
"Nope."
"Then can you tell me?"
"Nope."
"Why?" I was getting a little irritated. Trying my best to focus on the road and maintain my speed.
"I could. But I don't feel like it. I'm on the last..part..of the..."
I waited for him to finish- but he never did. Buttons clicked continuously from the gaming unit.
I pulled over to the side of the street near a Walgreen's on the edge of town. I looked back- half angry, half humored.
"Hey."
No response.
"EMMETT."
I had no choice but to snatch the electronic device from his grasp.
He stopped- hands reaching out for it, but I was too quick.
"C-can I have it again, please?" his voice nearly cracked like a small adolescent boy.
"Not until you give me the information I need. And then not only will I throw this idiotic thing out the window, but I will drive back home without going to your precious meeting."
Still awkward silence sat between us only for a moment or two. Emmett sadly glanced back at the game in my hand, which was away from him. His silence indicated the temptation to give in to my demands.
"I'm part of a secret organization of Shinigami- one of six to be exact- who have joined together to make a difference in the human world for the better. The humans who possess Death Notes were not chosen, but fated to be the leaders of your new society."
I think my brain just had a train wreck inside. My jaw was practically unhinged from its normal place on my face.
Uhm? Wow. I thought I was just some lucky person who had this nifty book that can kill people. Damn. I guess it is kind of important that I be on time with this meeting.
"ALRIGHT. Thanks for the tip." I handed my Gameboy back to Emmett, who gladly scooped it up as if it were made of gold.
Knowing that I'm part of a plan- and not in my own little world made me think. Never did it occur to me that something like this would happen. Especially since I nearly died a few days ago. I seriously considered if my near-death experience had anything to do with my possession of a Death Note. Wait- Emmett said it was a random thing. Maybe I'm over-thinking it. However, I think it's safe to say that things are not going to be the same way again.
Shaking the overpowering thoughts out of my mind, I again- started my Subaru, and continued to New York City.
Again, I failed to hide my attention to my imaginary friend to the public as I, Entering the W Times Square Hotel, held the door open for him like I would for any ordinary person on the street, until I realized that he could walk through the door without it being opened, and there was no person behind me for the door to be held for. I continued to the lobby desk, and tried to pretend that I was alone. The hotel lobby was empty. Very empty.
As I approach the desk, a man wearing a grey suit eyed me peculiarly. Before I could say anything he opened his mouth, "Are you here for the AIG meeting by any chance?"
AIG? As in American International Group? Was that the cover-up? Emmett nudges my arm, "say yes."
"Yes, Sir."
"They are on the top floor, but you'll need this card to access it when you get in the elevator." The man behind the desk pulled a white card with a red "W" out from a drawer and slid it on the granite counter in front of me.
"Thank you." I lift the card, and choose one of three elevators at the other end of the lobby.
Emmett almost didn't fit in the elevator- but I don't think it mattered. "AIG?"
The Shinigami looked at me, "Yes. Do you know it?"
"I know that they were a huge insurance company until 2014 when they joined Berkshire Hathaway. Berkshire had adopted GEICO by then, too. So the AIG are pretty damn powerful."
"Yes."
The elevator came to a halt, and then an automated voice asked, "Please insert card."
There was a little slot near the dash of buttons. I slipped the card in- the slot absorbed the card, scanned it, and then spit it back out. A little green light came on next to it. Cool. Stepping out of the elevator, I took a look around. A furnished room opened up. A young boy (maybe 13) sat reading a novel on one of the armchairs. Then a tough-looking Italian-American girl with short spiky black hair stormed over to me. A group of burly men watched from the far end of the room.
"HEY. CHICK."
"Eh...? Me?" Not gonna lie, I don't get called 'chick' often, let alone by another...chick.
"Yeah you. Who else do ya think I'm talking about?" She got all up-in-my-face. "Are you supposed to be here?" a wad of gum bounced around in her mouth as she spoke.
"Yes."
"REALLY?" She laughed. She was quite loud. "Show me ya book." A sassy hand was thrown in front of me.
My...book? AH my Death Note! Boy, am I glad I brought it.
"S-sure." I flipped it out of my shoulder bag, and the girl took it from me.
"Daamn aint he tall!" She stood in awe looking up. I assume she could see Emmett. Like he told me, one touch of the book and anybody can see him.
"Here- The name's Krissy. Vaughn. And this is Trinity." Extra emphasis was placed on the T's in Trinity's name. Krissy pulled a grey notebook out from her back pocket. Kind of a stupid place to keep something so important.
I took hold of the book, and sure enough, a female shinigami was peering from behind Krissy. Her hair was mid-length washed-out grey-green. A tribal tatoo covered her decaying skin. A tattered purple dress flowed around her. She was really short compared to Emmett. Maybe a foot taller than me- as compared to Emmett who was a good 2 and a half feet taller than myself.
DING
The elevator doors behind me slid open, to present a sharply dressed young man about my age. Blonde, shaggy hair fell close to his face. "I deeply apologize for being late- I had some last minute business to attend to."
Krissy eyed him up and down. "Now aint you somethin' pretty."
I stepped out of the way so he could enter the room. "Book please." Krissy again, slapped her hand out into the air to retrieve a Death Note.
"Oh, excuse my rudeness." The man opened his coat and revealed a black book similar to mine, though much older and made of leather. "This is Jay. And I'm Dillon Slater- Hitman."
My skin crawled. Hitman? My lord. What is going to happen to this world? I took hold of the death note first, before passing it to Krissy. I looked up, but there was no Shinigami.
"Uhm.." I turned around, and there it was. About the same height as Emmett, this Shinigami had a dark face with no features other than his eyes and a gold-plated toothy smile. He wore a dusty pinstriped mafia suit- home to several bullet holes.
"This one is clever...Slater." The Shinigami named Jay pointed out as he glared down at me.
"And you are?" Dillon somewhat ignored Jay's comment and turned to me.
"Uh- Makenna Thatch, nice to meet you Mr. Slater."
"Just call me Dillon. Only the people I have trouble with call me Mr. Slater." He chuckled a bit and winked. Sadly I pictured a squeamish little man begging for mercy at Dillon's feet. I guess I don't want to have trouble with him.
"UH- HELLO?" Krissy snapped her fingers right in Dillon's face. He blinked at her.
"Ya- I'm Krissy Vaughn. Nice ta meetcha." She used a bit of unpleasant sarcasm.
"And so you are." Dillon commented- walking off to sit in one of the chairs in the room. I looked up at Emmett, who was eyeing Krissy's Shinigami, Trinity.
Then I scanned the room again- and the young boy caught my attention again. He must have noticed I was looking at him, because he shut his book and stood from his comfy spot in the chair.
"Sorry. I had to finish the chapter." Setting the novel on a nearby table, he replaced it with a dark red hard-bound death note. "Please excuse Chuck's accent. He's a bit hard to understand at times. My name's Seth Jamison, and I'm in the 7th grade."
Again, with the passing around of the death note, I was able to see 'chuck'. He was probably the most frightful death god I had ever seen. Not like I've seen many, but I think it was a fair assumption. Decked-out in a black and red checkered clown outfit with big curly shoes and shredded balloon pants. His face was almost like a demonic version of 'Ronald McDonald'. The ghostly white skin and smeared makeup reminded me of that old horror film "IT".
"Fantoche Malintentionne. He-hee."
"Say what?" Krissy squashed her face, showing disinterest.
God, it sounds creepy too.
"It means Malevolent Puppet. Eh Francois."
Seth piped up, "But I call him chuck. It's ten times easier to say."
Oh great. A demonic clown with a French accent and creepy voice whose name means malevolent puppet but the kid Seth calls him "chuck". O-KAY then. NOW I CAN TRULY SAY: I'VE SEEN IT ALL.