Reapers

Chapter 13: Cars are Death Machines

Roman sighed as he walked to his car, unbuttoning the button on the shirt at his neck so he could breathe easier. He hated how uncomfortable his uniform was, but the gray button up shirt and black pants did look good on him.

He jumped when he heard a loud screech, and looked up to see a phantom the shape of a bird flying overhead. He grabbed the dagger Virgil had given him, which he had tied to his leg, but he relaxed when Virgil jumped out of nowhere and slashed it down.

He watched Virgil land onto the asphalt, making Roman wince since landing on his feet like that must have hurt. The scythe disappeared as the purple reaper folded his hands in prayer position.

Roman walked up to him as he finished, dropping his hands as he turned to the human. "Why do you pray every time you kill a phantom?" he asked Virgil.

The reaper just shrugged. "I guess... I don't know where they go when they die. I hope it's somewhere peaceful, and that they don't return."

"So you pray to Death?"

Virgil started to follow Roman as they walked to his car. "No, I pray to Pluto. I ask him to allow them into his kingdom."

"Pluto is real? Like the god?"

Virgil laughed slightly, "No, I don't think he is. At least, I've never met him or any other gods. It just became a habit to pray to the roman gods, one that I've had since I was alive."

"I guess that makes sense. I don't know, I guess ever since I learned about your world I kinda lost my faith."

"Well, you don't have to. You still have a chance of going to heaven."

"Can you go to an afterlife? I mean, since you used to live and all."

"Yeah, I would go to a roman afterlife if I did. Most reapers retire after a while and go to the afterlife they would have gone to when they first died."

"There were three roman afterlifes, right? Elysium, Tartarus, and the fields of... ugh I always forget that one."

"Asphodel fields, where most souls go."

"Right! Which one would you go to?"

"I don't know, and I don't plan on finding out. I don't plan on retiring."

"Is there a reason why?"

Virgil shrugged. "I guess it's boring doing nothing, I would rather work. In Asphodel fields, you literally do nothing but stand around. Elysium is paradise, sure, but most of my life I spent working so it would be weird to go there. Most of my life, anyway, but I would still get restless there. Tartarus, well... I'm sure you know what happens there."

"Well, I'm sure that's the last place you would go to."

"You don't know me, pr- lollipop." Virgil bit his tongue hard. He almost did it again.

Roman looked over at him curiously as they continued to walk, but the reaper ignored it. He unlocked his car and said, "I know you like helping. At least, you like helping me, so you wouldn't go to Tartarus. Only those that are truly evil go there, at least that's what I've heard."

"I only serve Death, and they asked me to protect you. That's it."

"Really? Cause when we first officially met, you easily promised to help me."

"Shut it, Prince. Just get in the car and go home."

Roman held the keys out, jingling them slightly. "Want to drive?"

Virgil jumped back slightly. "Are you crazy? I don't have a license! I have no idea how to drive either! And I'm certainly not getting into that death machine!"

"You already died! It's not like you're going to get hurt either, you can go through everything." To show, Roman put his hand through Virgil's chest who jumped back and tried to swat at the human's hand.

"Quit it! I am not driving! And I'm definitely not getting in there!"

~~~

"Oh my gods, oh my gods, why did I agree to this?" Virgil mumbled to himself as he held on tightly to the seatbelt.

Roman laughed at him, keeping his speed steady as they drove on the highway, apparently much faster than Virgil was used to. He can move with super speed but no transport of any kind, except maybe a horse, should be moving this fast.

"You're going to be fine. In my 13 years of driving, I've only crashed once."

"Yeah! Recently! Very recently!" Virgil whined as Roman shifted lanes. "Oh Mercury, please protect us."

"Hermes! God of travelers! Also thieves, and I'm sure there's other things."

"Mercury and yes!"

"I remember his Greek name the best, sorry."

"They are two very different gods! It's not just the name that changes!"

"Look, if anything goes wrong you can just go back into your reaper form, or whatever you do, and you won't get hurt!"

"Why did you even want me in the car in the first place? I can easily keep pace with this stupid machine, and it would be easier to get rid of any phantoms if I did!"

"I don't know, I just..." Roman sighed, and Virgil could see his grip on the steering wheel tighten. "It's easier to drive when someone else is in the car. Keeps me focused."

Virgil bit back his negative retorts and tried to think of a positive way to respond. Obviously Roman was scared of crashing his car just as much as the reaper. "Okay, fine. I-I could see why you humans could love cars so much." He squeezed his eyes shut as Roman shifted into another lane again, slowing down as they made their way off of the highway. "A-and you could be a worse driver. I've seen worse."

Roman glanced at him, feeling guilty to see he was obviously terrified. "Hey Virgil, take a deep breath while counting to four, then hold it for seven seconds."

"W-what?" The purple reaper opened his eyes to glance at him.

"Just do it, trust me." Virgil nodded and did as Roman said, breathing in for four seconds and holding it. "After you hold it for seven seconds, slowly release it while counting to eight."

Once again, Virgil nodded and slowly started to breathe out, tapping a small rhythm. He noticed that he felt a lot calmer, not totally relaxed but it was significantly better. "Thanks. H-how did you know that would work?"

"I always do that breathing technique before I go on stage. My friend Logan taught me it!"

"Sounds like a good friend."

"He is! We've been friends ever since we were kids, despite being very different."

"Huh, that sounds nice."

"So, do you have any friends? Besides me of course."

"Right, like we're friends. I'm just your bodyguard, that's pretty much it."

"First off, ouch, second off, you never answered! So," Roman looked over to Virgil as they came to a stop at a stop sign. "Do you have-" The question got stuck in his throat as he looked at something.

Virgil frowned as Roman cut himself off, instantly on edge. He turned to where Roman was staring and froze. There was a phantom, one that looked like a giant floating eel, and two reapers were fighting it off. Janus and-

"Remus?"