"Donnie, are you okay? You look a little pale," April commented as Don joined the rest.
"Yeah, fine, April," Don said. He wanted to tell her, or someone. But he was still unsure if it was a prank, and didn't want to look like a fool. Plus, who would believe him if he suddenly started babbling that he was the Grim Reaper? He was supposed to be the logical one in the family.
"So whatcha been up to?" Mike asked the redhead, already leading her towards the couch. April had been busy lately – her shop had had an unusual amount of customers with very rare and expensive items – she hadn't had time to see the turtles.
"The same old stuff," April said, "Now that the business has died down some."
An idea hit Don. "Hey April, if you don't mind, would you mind doing an appraisal on something for me real quick?"
April looked surprised, but nodded. "Sure, I'd love to."
"Great, be right back."
Don got up and nearly ran to his room. He hoped April could appraise the book for him, tell him it was a fake and he could get on with his life. Stopping at the doorway he looked at the desk.
The book was gone. A short squat lady sat in its place.
"Hello." She said cheerily. Don screamed.
The lady frowned, hopped off the table and was gone by the time Don's brothers made it to his room to see what the commotion was about.
"What's the matter?" Leo asked immediately.
Don turned to look at Leo, his mouth still frozen in the hanging open position. "The book…it was…and then it was a lady! But she disappeared!"
"Umm…are you sure you're okay?" Mikey asked. He looked as though he were trying to be serious and not laugh at the same time.
"Seriously," Raph spoke up, "You've been actin' real strange today, bro."
Don looked back to where the lady had been. Still nothing. "No…" he said slowly, putting on an embarrassed look. "Sorry."
His brothers were still giving him odd looks as he let them lead him to the living room.
"So what did you want me to appraise?" April asked, still sitting on the couch, and looking completely baffled.
"Nothing. You know what? I found a date on it. Made in China. Complete fake. Don't worry about it."
April raised a thin brow at him, but said nothing. The rest of her visit went smoothly, until it was time to leave.
"Can I talk to you for a second, Donnie?"
Slowly Don came over. "Yeah?"
"Are you sure you don't have something for me to appraise?"
"Yeah."
"Well what's up with you? I know you're quiet, but I've been here for hours and you've barely said four words to me."
"Sorry April. Just thinking."
"I know there's something going on, Donatello."
"April…do you believe in Death?"
The redhead laughed. "Death happens to everyone Don, you of all people should know that."
"No, not death, Death. With a capital 'D'. The Grim Reaper?"
"Oh." April looked confused and surprised at the same time. "Well…no. I mean, come on, a person to come and take you to the other side? Yeah right. I'm sure if there even is another side, you can find your own way. Why do you ask?"
"No reason. I'll walk you to the door."
-
When Don returned to his room after showering from evening practice, the lady was back again, sitting on his desk. The book was clutched to her chest.
Don opened his mouth to scream again but was interrupted by the book hitting him in the face.
"Ow! What the shell was that for!?"
"Shell? Come on dearie, a death can swear better than that."
"Who are you?" Don demanded, rubbing his beak.
"Your advisor," the lady said. "Mona, by the way. Nice to meet you at last, Donatello."
"Listen lady, I don't know how or why-"
She shushed him, already dragging him to his computer chair. "I have a lot of work to do in a short time, Donatello. Now shut up." Don shut up.
Mona dug into a bright red knitted purse she was wearing and pulled out a sheaf of papers along with a pen. Don noticed the tip of the pen had been fashioned out of a ferret skull.
"Alrighty," she began, sliding the papers in front of him and handing him the pen, "Now now now, I need you to sign here…good…here here…there…over there…up there…across…initial there…good!" She took back the pen and hopped up on the desk, crossing her legs.
"Now, if you have any questions, consult the book. If it's not in the book, call me."
Before Don could ask how, or if she even had a cell phone number, there was a faint pop, and she was gone.
The turtle stared at the space where she had been before picking up the book off the floor and flipping to the first page.
'Welcome to the challenging new career as a death', it read, 'Yes that's right, a death, not THE Death. Get over yourself. Since there are way too many countries, states and provinces to have Death get all over in time, a select few from each city in each country are chosen to do the duty. Congratulations!'
"Congratulations!?" Don snorted, but read on:
'If you have a computer, great. If not, get one. You'll need it. Names will appear on the screen. These names are the names of the people you need to collect. Each person will also have a time limit for you to collect them. NEVER COLLECT DURING THE DAY. And be careful. You may be a death, but you are not immortal. Finally, never tell anyone about your profession. Not only will they not believe you anyway, but it's against the rules. Happy hunting Don!
Don stared. How the heck…he tried flipping to the next chapter, but that was it. Don flipped through the rest of the pages in the huge book to find that they were completely blank.
Don flopped back onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. With the appearance of Mona and the last word in the book, he was beginning to believe that this was definitely not all a joke.
There was a small ping on his computer, and he got up to see what it was.
