Episode 2: Reaper

I get a strange sensation throughout my entire body. I thought I had just died but I am feeling immense pain coming from my chest. It almost feels like someone is trying to pull out my heart.

I open my eyes and assess the area. I am horrified to see my idle corpse lying at my feet. I shriek and pull away but a rustling noise disrupts my frightfulness.

A chain! Why is there a chain coming out of my body? I yank at the thick links of metal but they seem to be firmly attached to my frame. I follow the long chain as the other end meets my former body.

Have I...died?

I look at the palm of my hand. It seems to be glowing slightly. I feel a bit lighter as well – I could run a marathon right now if it weren't for this cursed chain which weighs down my soul.

Wait a minute...a soul...?

"MICHAEL!" I call out to my brother. I scream at the top of my lungs in case anyone hears me but it is to no avail. Even when a couple walk metres from my position they are oblivious to the death that has occurred around me. Eventually one man notices the bodies and begins to call the police. I grab his arm trying to gain his attention but all he does is move away from what might have just felt like a draught.

"Why can't they see me?" I cry to the world.

"It is because you are already dead." I yelp when I a man in strange robes taps my shoulder.

"H-How can you see me then?"

I gain an image of the man. He has short black hair and a cheeky grin. His clothes remind me of the sort of clothing ancient Japanese people would have wore: black kimono with a white sash tied around his waist, wooden sandals in white socks – and a sheathed katana.

He kneels down to my level and speaks to words that will change my life (or afterlife) forever...

"I am a Shinigami...a guardian of souls..."

"A Shinigami...?" I stammer. I had never heard the word until now. I asked him what it meant.

"Shinigami translates to 'death god' in your language. Some people have been known to call us Soul Reapers but most people generally mistake us for the Grim Reaper."

An image of the dark hooded man wielding a scythe enters my mind. "So you're like Death then?"

He laughs. "I suppose you could say that...I guide souls like you to a place called Soul Society...think of it as a sort of heaven..."

I never believed in places like 'heaven' and life after death until now. But as each second ticks past it seems even more real. I am staring at my own dead body whilst having a conversation with the dancer of death.

I feel a bit more calm now after he has explained everything and so I begin to ask him about my brother's whereabouts.

"Michael eh? I did come here a while ago to perform Konso on a kid, maybe that was him."

Relived I plead with him to take me to Soul Society so I can be reunited with him.

"Okay calm down I just need to perform Konso on you." He notices my confused face. "Konso means soul burial."

He unsheathes his sword to which my survival instincts take over. "Relax kid I'm not going to cut you with it...see." He points at the base of his sword which contains some Japanese characters. "I just have to tap this on your head and you'll soon be on your way to the afterlife."

As unfortunate as death has been I'm now looking forward to the prospect of having a heaven-like afterlife. I eagerly press my head forward ready for the ritual.

He hesitates for a moment. "What's the matter?"

"This is odd...I'm not sure about this..."

"About what..." I'm beginning to get agitated.

"Sorry kid but I can't perform Konso on you...in fact..." He pins my chain with his foot and within a blink of my eye cuts most of it away from me.

"Why did you need to do that first?" I ask him but his once jovial appearance has turned to utter disgust.

Why is this man looking at me so strangely?

"There's something not quite right about you kid...It isn't quite evil, but is nowhere near good either...Soon your chain will erode and you will either die in the process or worse still, become something we Shinigami loath most – a lowly hollow."

I become stressed. "What do mean a hollow? What's a hollow?"

He did not answer me and walked further into the darkness of the alleyway. "HEY ANSWER ME!" I scream with the top of my lungs. "WHY WON'T YOU TAKE ME TO MY BROTHER!"

The feeling of complete and utter helplessness has returned. Defeated I cry myself to sleep on the cold, damp cement.

My slumber is brief as I wake up to more pain, only this time it's different. The first time it was a throbbing sensation form the chain but now it's more debilitating. I clutch my heart as the worst possible pain engulfs me. It is a strong burning sensation, like I've just guzzled a vial of hydrochloric acid. I twist and turn as my body enters spasmodic fits of rage. I cannot do anything to stem the pain. In a small moment of sanity I gaze at the source of the torment. The long chain that once connected me to my body is eating itself by the second. I try to touch it but small teeth nibble at my finger.

"What's happening to me...someone please help me..." I realise it's futile. The one person that may have offered me salvation has abandoned me and all is hopeless. I have been left to rot away and never be seen by a soul again.

"AAAGGGHHHHH!" The pain is most unbearable. I could die any minute but not even death will spare me from this torture. The chain is just centimetres long now and my heart throbs to the point that it feels like it is about to burst. I bite my right thumb to counter the pain. A sudden stab and my jaw locks with such force I bite my appendage, separating it from my hand. To counter the extra pain I resort to my other thumb – not a good idea.

With blood spouting from two stumps in my hands and a burning heart that will go in any minute I screech at the top of my lungs so that any deity could answer my desperate pleas for mercy.

Then it stops...

I pause for a moment, unsure why the pain has seemingly disappeared. Not even my hands emit pain. What have I done now.

I inspect my chest, expecting to see my little chain. But it has completely dissolved and left a large cavity where my heart should be...should be...should be...

Oh dear god where is my heart?

I freak out and tap my chest and back, searching for a pulse. I press hard but I feel nothing from that region that I had taken for granted. All that remained was a distinct and ugly hole which poked out the other side into the infinite space.

"SOMEONE HELP ME!" My screams only trigger another bout of pain. I'm really getting over this and hope this will be the last session before I can finally cross over.

This time the pain – as excruciating as it may seem – is actually giving me a sense of euphoria. I almost feel like I'm getting stronger. Something is welling up inside my body and it is only when white material coalesces around my body that I have realised I discovered true fear.

Perhaps this is what that guy meant by becoming a 'lowly hollow'. I'm definitely feeling nothing around my chest region and nothing but pain and despair have greeted me since this afterlife. Perhaps this is what hell was supposed to be like – no even in hell, you know what is going to happen next. One moment I feel higher than life itself, the next moment oppresses me with the amount of pain not even an animal would endure.

White continues to pour around my body like a supernatural fluid. Now my face is begginning to be concealed by this bony material. My vision is limited by two small slits as my horizon quickly fades once again to darkness.

Some time later (I cannot give the exact amount) in the morning...I awaken into a new world. Everyone seems to be going about their daily routine, oblivious to my presence. In a way I feel angry almost vengeful at these heartless individuals who don't respond to my long and unneccessary

suffering. I need to teach them a lesson. I need...to...hunt...

Things are looking bleak. What could I mean by the need to 'hunt'. Is it too late for me already? Find out in the next chapter...