Shun
It was easy for me to figure out which hospital Alice had been taken to; I just figured which one was the closest to Murucho's, and headed straight to it. When I walked through the sliding doors, I was immediately hit by the chilly hospital air and smell of sickness.
A woman behind the reception counter in the center of the massive lobby glanced up at me. "May I help you?" she asked while typing something on her desktop computer beside her. I propped my elbows up on the marble counter and said calmly, "Is Alice Gehabich in this hospital? And if so, what room and floor?"
The receptionist gave me a questioning look, then typed Alice's name into the computer. "Yeah. She's on the second floor in recovery. Room 40." I thanked her and headed towards the elevator. As I waited for the two metal elevator doors to open, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of condition Alice was in; she was supposed to be dead, after all.
The ding of the elevator made me jump with surprise, and the two doors slid open. I waited for the people to clear out before stepping in and pressing the floor number. The ride up felt endless, even though I knew it would stop in a matter of seconds.
Finally, the elevator came to a halt, and I stepped off. A man who had been waiting, gave me a nod as a greeting, and took my place in the elevator. Looking at directional signs, I figured out which wing of the floor Alice's room was on. There were hardly any people wandering the halls on this floor.
Perhaps it was because it was getting late at night and visiting hours were most likely coming to an end. I walked past room 37, then 38 and 39, and finally reached room 40. Outside of the heavy wooden door, I could hear the beeping of machines, and the faint sound of a conversation taking place.
Taking in a deep breath, I knocked on the door and slowly pushed it open. Inside, I found Runo and Julie had been the ones talking, while Murucho was sound asleep on the vinyl hospital sofa. Alice laid unconscious in her bed, but it appeared more like she was sleeping.
The sight of her made a pang of sadness strike me. How could something like this happen to somebody so innocent? I'm sure Death would tell me how fate doesn't care who you are until your time comes. Runo stood up from her seat and asked in a hushed voice, "Shun? Where have you been? Have you seen Dan?"
Feeling caught off guard by the sudden bombardment of questions, I was unable to find any words to say at the moment. Julie told Runo, "Give him a moment to get comfortable in here. This isn't the most pleasant atmosphere to walk into, ya know?" Runo sighed and sat back down in her chair.
"Guess you're right, Julie." I was grateful for Julie calling off Runo before the questions could really get going. Cautiously, I walked over to Alice's bedside and gazed down at her. She was pale, but that was it. For some reason, I expected her to look worse, seeing that this was how she was supposed to die.
"So….What have the doctors said so far?" I asked. I already knew how things would play out for Alice, but I wanted to know how things would have gone if Dan wasn't giving up what was left of his human years, to save Alice.
Runo looked over at her ill friend and said sadly, "They said she's lucky to still be alive right now, even if it's only barely." It was funny how I now knew all of the mechanics of death. I knew she would stay alive for as long as her soul remained in her body, although it would be immensely painful for her, and eventually her soul would work its way out and wander Earth.
Runo continued, "They've purged all of the poison from her system, but how the damage left behind heals will determine her recovery." I nodded slowly and reached down to place my hand on Alice's. It was cold, almost lifeless, but still felt like it held the aura of life deep within.
Hold on a bit longer, alright? Everything will be okay, I said to her silently. Runo suddenly asked me, "Shun, have you seen Dan?" I pulled my hand away from Alice's and stood there for a moment, my back towards Runo and Julie so they wouldn't see my facial expression.
What was I supposed to tell them? The truth was certainly out of the question; they wouldn't believe me in the least bit. But what kind of lie could I tell them that would explain Dan's sudden absence that would span for an unknown amount of time?
I ran a hand through my hair and told them, "I'm not sure where he's at. I think he said something about remembering he had to go out of town for a little while. Oh, and that he can't be reached by phone. Not sure why. He probably did something idiotic and lost that privilege, knowing him."
Runo cast her eyes down and said, "Oh. Well, I guess when he gets back he'll be in quite a surprise to know what happened to Alice." I reminded myself how he had not known of the fate that would befall Alice, even though he may have had some forewarning of her death.
But he was also not present when her destined fate kicked in, so the others could only assume that he still didn't know what had happened thus far. Murucho began to stir from his slumber and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Huh? What's with all the noise?"
He slid on his glasses and saw me. "Shun? When did you get here?" Julie glanced over at the wall clock and said, "About ten minutes ago." He straightened his blue shirt and said, "Ah, I see. So, any new word with Alice?" We all shook our heads, and I could a see a bit of disappointment on the short blonde's face.
He then turned to look at me. "I just thought about something. Why did you run back at the mansion when Alice collapsed, Shun?" My actions had totally slipped my mind with all of the chaos that had occurred in the last twenty-four hours.
"Guess I was caught off guard at first, but then I ran to try and find some help, and well…Got a bit sidetracked," I told him earnestly. "But that's beside the point now. Now, Alice is alive and getting some of the treatment that the city has." This put a slight smile on the three of their faces; something reassuring was what they needed to hear right now. The door slowly swung open and a doctor walked in.
He saw us and waved. "Hello. I'm just here to check on her and take a few blood tests to see how she's coming along." We all stepped to the side of the room to get out of the doctor's way. He took two vials of blood and replaced an IV line in her arm.
When he was done, he thanked us for our cooperation and was about to leave when Alice made a slight noise before forcing her eyes open. "Huh? What's going on? Where am I?" she asked in a groggy voice, as if she had just woken up from a long nap.
The doctor stood there beside her bed, his eyes wide and jaw slightly slack. Runo, Julie, and Murucho were doing the same, but quickly snapped from their trance and ran to her beside, where the gave her the closest thing to a hug that they could give her without piling on top of her.
"Alice!" the three squealed in unison. The doctor was still standing firmly in his place and said beneath his breath, "It's a miracle." He then shook his head and said in a normal voice, "I'm thrilled to see that you're awake now, Miss Gehabich. This means one step closer to your recovery. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to run your blood samples off to the lab and I'll be back in a little while after that to check on you again."
He then walked out of the room, still looking somewhat astounded by the sudden miraculous recovery that took place before him. Runo and the others finally broke from their hug, tears of happiness and relief streaming down their faces.
Alice, who looked utterly lost by what was happening, turned to look at me and asked, "Could somebody explain to me what's going on?" Murucho suddenly bowed and said quickly, "I'm sorry this happened, Alice. It was supposed to be me in that hospital bed."
Alice tilted her head to the side, still not following. Runo patted Murucho's small shoulder and explained to Alice, "Somebody tried to poison Murucho, and it was in his drink that he switched with you. But that's all over now. You're back, and that's what's important."
Alice still showed no signs of remembering this, but she didn't press the subject any further. Instead she smiled and said, "Well, I'm glad everything's okay." The others smiled and nodded with agreement. Alice turned and looked at me, a smile still plastered on her pale features. I chuckled and told her, "It's good to have you back."
Death
I watched as the Council took Rogue down into the dungeon cells, where it was just announced that he would spend the rest of his eternal years down there, with no hope of ever getting out. That's how it needs to be. Now, there was the matter of Rogue's illegal Reaper.
Grim and I had presented him to the Council and explained his predicament. Of course, they placed him in a rehabilitation program to turn him into a proper Reaper, and hopefully reverse the mental damage done to his mind.
The head of the Council looked down at the illegal Reaper and told him, "You are to spend your time in there until you show signs of changing. When you are dismissed, you will be assigned to an instructor." Grim suddenly shot his hand up and said eagerly, "Oh! Oh! Let me be his instructor! Please! Please!"
The illegal Reaper's eyes widened and he shouted, "No! You're not going to assign me to that lunatic! He freaks me out!" I found myself grinning at the scene before me, remembering how I had said the same thing when I was first assigned to Grim to become a Reaper.
The head of the Council raised a brow and asked, "Grim, are you sure you want to volunteer for this case? You know we have professional Reapers that handle these kinds of things? They are trained to make teaching illegal Reapers an easy task."
Grim cackled and told the head of the Council, "You see, sir, I may be old, but I am nowhere near past my prime. I can handle an illegal Reaper with ease, I promise you this. Besides, I think it will be fun!" The illegal Reaper stood there, unable to believe what was taking place before him.
The head of the Council crossed his arms and said, "Alright then, you will be assigned to Grim. Have no worries, young Reaper. Grim is one of our top Reapers here. He taught Death over there, and I promise you that you will turn out fine." The head of the Council was about to walk off, but I stopped him. "Wait. I have something else to say." He raised a brow and said, "Yes, Death?"
I closed my eyes and gathered up my words before I said them. "We request permission to pass this Reaper's years on to a human that has recently encountered her fate. I know that this is not supposed to be done due to fear that other Reaper's will begin to bring back their deceased loved ones, but please make this the one exception."
Grim clapped his hands together and gave the head of the Council a puppy dog-like face. "Please, Mr. Council Man? We won't trouble you with anything ever again," he said with an innocent look, which suddenly vanished into one of mischief.
"But if you don't, then I'll follow you around for the rest of eternity! What fun that will be!" Grim began to laugh madly to the point where he fell onto the floor. The illegal Reaper glared down at his new mentor and said under his breath, "This is what I'm stuck with as a teacher?"
The head of the Council stared at Grim with horror; he knew my old mentor wasn't bluffing when he said that he would follow him around. The head of the Council let a shudder escape as he thought about what he would have to endure with.
"Fine. This is the only exception. If any of you speak of this, you'll suffer the full consequences. Take the illegal Reaper away and make the transfer over to, um, what is the receiver's name?" The illegal Reaper spoke up and said, "Alice Gehabich."
The head of the Council nodded his head and said, "Well, you heard him. Now, take him away and let these two Reapers be on their way." Two Reaper's escorted the brunette away and into another room, where his rehabilitation would begin immediately.
As Grim and I exited the Council's headquarters, I told him, "You know how to get your way, don't you?" He snickered and said, "Indeed." A slight grin formed on my lips. "Why did you decide to take that illegal Reaper as a student?" I asked while looked up at the moon in the night sky.
Grim told me in that smooth tone of his, "The way he is now reminds me of when I first began to teach you to become a Reaper; stubborn and obnoxious as hell. And because of that, I want to reminisce on the old days." I smiled and told him, "Well, if he is anything like me, then after you're done with him, he won't be stubborn and obnoxious anymore." Grim laughed. "You got that right, Death," he said with a grin.
One Week Later….
Shun
"Surprise!" we all shouted as Murucho walked into the lobby of his mansion that morning after waking up. He jumped back in shock, but calmed down when he began to look around the room and see how it was decorated. Balloons and streamers were scattered everywhere, and a birthday cake stood center stage in the room.
"What?" he asked but couldn't help but smile. Alice, who had recently been discharged from the hospital with a clean bill of health, stepped forward and smiled. "It occurred to all of us that we never got to celebrate your belated birthday with all of the madness that went on," she said happily.
Murucho's faithful butler Kato walked up behind the short blonde, and put on a birthday hat that matched the one that the butler was wearing on his balding head. "Thanks, guys. Really, I mean it," he said while straightening the hat on his head.
This party had been delayed since I arrived and had my wreck, where my unplanned death happened. Then everything else seemed to get in the way as well. In fact, this was the only reason that I had come all the way out here from the start, so it was a good feeling to know that it was finally happening. Julie jumped up and clapped her hands together.
"It's time for Murucho to blow out the candles on his cake! Come on!" She ran over behind the short blonde and pushed him towards the cake. I chuckled and caught sight of something in the corner of the room; Death was standing there. He was wrapped up in his cloak, making it to where nobody but me could see him.
I told the others, "Hey, I'll be right back. Go on without me if you want." Death slipped into a neighboring room, and I joined him so we could talk without the others thinking I was going crazy again. "I find it ironic that a being of Death is celebrating the day of a person's life. But who am I to judge?" he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
I was about to ask what he was doing here, but I quickly realized why when I saw who was standing in the room behind him. It was Grim, who was accompanied by Dan. "Hey, you're back," I said with a smile. Dan gave me a thumbs up and said, "You didn't think you'd get rid of me that easily, did ya? Besides, is it like me to miss a good party?"
I chuckled, and quickly noticed something different about him; he was wearing glasses. "What's up with those?" I asked and pointed towards his face. Dan took a moment till he realized what I was talking about.
He laughed nervously and said, "Oh, these? They keep me from seeing the lifeline of people until I want to, and when I do, I just take them off. Shades do the same thing for some reason, but glasses are bit more acceptable while inside."
It was certainly different seeing Dan with glasses, but I was sure that I'd get used to it. My friend then snapped his fingers and said, "Oh, yeah! Guess who my mentor is?" Before I could even say anything, Dan pointed over to Grim and said, "Him!"
I couldn't help but laugh, seeing as the two had had a somewhat unpleasant first meeting, and it had seriously disturbed Dan. Grim snickered and told me, "Eyes was a bit apprehensive about it at first, but he got used to being around me rather quickly."
I titled my head to the side and looked at Dan. "Eyes?" I asked. My friend pointed to his eyes and said, "He calls me that cause I can see how much time people have left to live." Grim jumped into our conversation and said with smirk, "It's my nickname for him. Just like mine for you is little Reaper." He began to laugh and wiped a tear from his eyes.
"I'm a genius! How do I come up with this stuff?" I shrugged my shoulders and told him, "I have no clue. Hey, Dan, we better get back to the others. They'll be happy to see you again. And if it comes up, you were out of town for the past week, alright?"
He gave me a thumbs up. "Alright, buddy!" We walked out of the room, and behind us I could hear Grim shout, "Bring me back some cake!" Dan shook his head, and I found myself grinning. When we returned to the lobby, it didn't take long for the others to realize that Dan was with me.
"Look what I found," I said with a smile. They smiled and ran to him, where they wrapped him into a group hug, causing him to fall over. "Dan! You made it!" they squealed in unison. They stayed there for a moment, rejoicing in the return of their friend.
Dan finally said, "Okay, guys. Time to get off. I can't breathe." They quickly climbed off and apologized for nearly suffocating him. Runo, Julie, and Murucho led Dan over towards where the cake was and began to catch up with him, but Alice stayed back and next to me.
She was watching as the others were celebrating having the entire group back, and Alice was smiling herself. "You know, Shun, despite all the bad things that's happened the past few weeks, I'm glad that everything is back to normal and that we're all here together, like it should be."
I smiled, realizing that if none of us had gotten our second chances, half of this group would be gone, all died in the course of a couple of weeks. I looked over at Alice, catching her eye and causing her to turn and look at me as well, and smiled. "I'm glad we're all here as well," I told her.
She smiled and walked over to where the others were gathered to join in their celebration. Although Dan and I would end up being the only ones to remain alive while the others passed on with time, what was important was the time that we spent together, enjoying moments like this. I smiled and walked across the room to join them.
Death
Grim and I watched as the small group celebrated their friend's anniversary of life. My mentor said in a dreamy tone, "Isn't it precious, Death? When was the last time either of us ever celebrated our birthdays?" I crossed my arms over my chest and told him, "When we died and became Reapers."
Grim rolled his eyes. "Come on, Death. That was eons ago, and you expect when little old me died? You kid around too much, you know that?" Grim said in a whiny tone. I raised a brow at him and said, "I kid too much? Looks who's talking." Grim snickered and sat down on the floor Indian-style as he watched the celebration taking place.
As I watched the two Reapers talk with their friends, I realized something that separated them from me and other Reapers. Unlike us, who had cut ourselves off from our friends and families after we took on this job, they stayed and enjoyed the time they had left with them before mortality took them.
That was something I had wished that I had done before everyone I knew passed away as the years went on. I grinned sadly and told Grim, "It's time we take our leave. We aren't needed here at the moment." I turned on my heels and headed towards the door.
Grim ran up beside me and whined, "But, Death! They were supposed to bring me some cake!" I ignored his whining and stepped outside into the sunlight. All around me, life kept on going, never stopping for the world, even when it stopped entirely for one person.
That was how things worked. People would mourn, and go on with their daily routines. I told Grim, "You can stay behind if you want." I then began to walk down the sidewalk, going past people that were completely oblivious to the fact that Death was right in front of them.
Grim ran up beside me and said, "Nah, I'm going with you. You might do something fun, and I wouldn't be there for it if I stayed, now would I?" I smiled, but didn't say anything else to my mentor as we continued to leave the mansion behind.
I had learned a lesson that I wished I had when I first became a Reaper and even before that; live your life to the fullest, for you never know when it will be taken away from you.
chapter titled based off the song In My Life by the Rasmus. i find it kinda ironic how the first title and the last title are related to that band (it was not intended, i swear). well, another story down. a million more to go. i'll get back on Southern Hymn ASAP. read, review, and other things. ~Copperpelt~