Ari busted through the doors of the hospital, after almost busting her ass a total of 10 times she had made it. She ran to the front desk.
"My mother should be here, her name is Kylie Benson, what room is she in?" She questioned surprisingly calm.
The nurse looked over the paperwork.
"Second floor room number 140." She stated in a polite professional manner.
Ari didn't waste any time and ran for the elevator, she pressed the up button and waited, and once the door opened she scrambled inside and pressed the button for the second floor. She leaned against the elevator wall panting heavily. Her lungs burning from the cold air she breathed in while running. For some reason the elevator was cold, causing her to shiver and rub her hands together. When the door finally opened she sped walked out and began looking for her mothers room. Spotting her father waiting outside a door, she ran up to him.
"How is she?" She questioned as he looked over at her.
"She's fine, she's in labour. I'm going inside now, you can stay out here or follow me." He smiled as he ruffled her already unruly hair.
"I'll wait out here." She decided as she sat down in a nearby chair.
Her father disappeared into the room, once the door shut she sighed in exhaustion.
"Holy cow." She muttered.
"My lungs are on ice right now." She grumbled lightly hitting her chest.
She rubbed her eyes after pulling her glasses off. She yawned and looked around then down at her feet. Soon she started to doze off before jolting as she heard her mothers cries. She shuttered.
"Never having kids, I'll adopt." She muttered, worry shooting through her.
She began to doze off again, her head falling from time to time, till finally she succumbed to sleep.
Jack watched the girl as she slept, he smiled at her as he propped himself against the wall and rested his cheek on his staff.
"Shes rather pretty." He mumbled as he stomped the urge to try and touch her, not that he could anyways.
Jack had never really paid much attention to teenagers, so it was a bit strange for him being near one. He figured why waste his time on teenagers. They, like adults, didn't believe in him, so he never bothered. It seems that's changed now. His full attention was on this girl. He really couldn't stop staring at her, taking in all the details of her face. He ignored the noise around him as he fell into his own little world.
Jack sat beside Ari for a while, losing track of time as he started to rambled to her about things that he couldn't to the children. It wasn't like she could hear him, but ranting and rambling at her made him feel a whole lot better. He casted a sideways glance at her then grinned, it was kind of nice to be near and talk at someone close to his maturity level. All he had to talk to was the kids who were too young to talk to about serious stuff to, and the guardian who treated him like a kid.
Thinking about it now, he deeply craved to have someone that would understand his struggles and give him advice without worry of being seen as childish.
"Firecracker, I'm going to make you believe." He grinned as he stood up, only to turn his attention to the door.
Her father walked out with a small smile, and Jack took that as his cue to leave.
"See ya soon." He muttered as he walked down the hall.
He was determined to have that girl believe.
Ari was gently shaken from her sleep by her grinning father.
"Are you ready to meet your baby brother?" He questioned
Instantly she grinned and stood up. She nodded quickly and eagerly and her father smiled and took her hand and led her into the room. Upon walking in, Ari's eyes were instantly glued to the bundle in her exhausted mother's arms.
Her mother looks over and smiled tiredly as she gestured her closer. Eagerly she walked forward, and when offered, held the child in her arms. He was sleeping, which made her smile, her heart felt warm and fuzzy as she stared at her baby brother.
"His name is Eli James Benson. He weighs 6 pounds and 3 ounces." Her mother said proudly
Ali rocked him gently in her arms as she handed Eli over to her father.
"I'm going back to tell Tammy and Cupcake the news." Ali announced after visiting with her parents for several minutes.
They nodded as she went and kissed her mom on the forehead, then hugged her father, and finally kissed her brother gently.
"Goodnight." She gently said as she left the room, shutting the door behind her gently. She smiled to herself. She was a big sister now, and that in itself was exciting. She couldn't wait to see him again.
She turned towards where the elevator was and began to walk until stopping when she heard a strange sound. She frowned and turned around, looking down the empty hallway. One light flickered above a room, she noted the door was open, and because she was a curious girl, she walked closer.
She seen something black slide along the floor as it went into the room, it looked like shredded fabric. Her heart hammered in her chest as she inched closer to the room, and the closer she got the more she began to feel….strange.
Once at the doorway, she paused, something felt off, she could feel it. Something warned her not to look, but at the same time something told her to continue. Gulping she slowly peeked into the room, the sound of a heart monitor reaching her ears along with an oxygen machine.
She froze at what she saw, her heart dropped and she bit down a scream.
A figure in a long black cloak stood over an elderly man in a hospital bed. The figure had their back to her, but she could see wisps of black evaporating off the cloak like smoke. Something gleamed in her eyes and then she seen a glimpse of a scythe.
The figure turned to her, and she was face to face with a skull. She went pale, her blood running cold. The figure that she could only think to know as Death itself brought an index finger to its teeth where lips were supposed to be and made a 'shh' sound and then gestured her in slowly and pointed to the door. She weakly nodded and in a zombie like manner stepped in and shut the door. She couldn't see the old mans face, but she knew he was awake by his intake of air.
"It's my time isn't it?" He croaked out.
Death nodded mutely.
"Better late than never I suppose. Take me home." The man laughed weakly.
Ari watched as Death raised his scythe and she couldn't watch any longer. She quickly scrambled out and ran down the hall like a bat out of hell. She couldn't remember leaving the hospital, all she remembered was the feeling of her legs burning and her head throbbing. She soon found herself at the park and collapsed to her knees. She felt hysterical, she wanted to cry.
She seen Death! Oh God, did that mean she was going to die?! She trembled from the cold and from fear. She the tensed as she felt a sense of foreboding hit her, she sensed him before she knew he was actually there.
'Be at ease girl, it is not your time.' A beautifully haunting masculine voice stated.
She slowly turned to see Death standing over her, her eyes widened to saucers. Her heart was in her stomach. Dare she say she was close to fainting?
"W-who are you?" Was the only thing she managed out.
She knew who he was, but it was the only thing she could think to say.
'I am the Grim Reaper, also known as the angel of death or just Death.' He explained.
Why was he here? He said it wasn't her time, so why was he even standing there. Better yet how could she see him?
She slowly eased up to stand.
"If I'm not going to die, then why can I see you?" She questioned with a nervous waver.
She could feel his stare on her, and it gave her cold chills.
'You believe.' He stated, she hadn't noticed before, but he was speaking through her mind. That terrified her even more.
"What do you mean believe?" She bravely spoke up.
He inclined his head down at her, he still towered over her by a few feet.
'I mean just that.' He replied mysteriously as he turned away.
She watched him begin to move away.
"W-wait!" She called.
He stopped, but did not look back.
"Will I see you again? Without me or anyone else I know dying that is?" She questioned, itching to know more about this being despite being scared shitless.
'Perhaps. Now return to your house Ari Benson. The night isn't safe for the young.' His voice was still hauntingly beautiful but at the same time she noticed it was void of emotion.
He began to walk again. She watched as he faded into the darkness, leaving black smoke wisps in his wake before they too disappeared. She let out a shaky breath and began to walk home, her brain on autopilot. She didn't remember the rest of that night, it felt like a dream.
Did all of that really just happen?