The Reaper Child: Book II [Child!Reader Protagonist]

~Chapter 14~

A/N: Double update in a day! Had to continue that mini arc of this book

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You had too many questions wanting to know exactly what was going on. The kind of instructions you just received were nothing like the ones you've ever received in the past. As curious as you were, a part of you wasn't sure you wanted to know what your mother was planning. Based on the sinking, uneasy feeling in your stomach, you just knew it wasn't good.

You decided just to ask Grell very quietly. "What happens after-"

"Shh!" The redhead eyed you sternly. "What did I just tell you?" She spoke in a low, hushed voice even though no one else was around.

Not daring to speak another word, you looked down at the ground and kept your gaze there. When you got closer to the building, you looked up again to see a sign that said "London's Liquor and Wine".

You've never been inside an alcohol store before. It was only when you and Grell walked through the door's entrance that confirmed that this place was where Grell's "plan" was going to execute.

The perimeter of the store was fairly large and full of shelves of many bottles. There were many different shapes and colors of those bottles. Each of those bottles had their own unique name and brands.

Why were there so many different types of alcohol? Wasn't alcohol just alcohol no matter what? Maybe this is something only grown ups will understand. But even then, what was it about alcohol that adults liked so much?

To the left of the store, several feet in front of the entrance, there was a burly, bearded man sitting in front of a cash register. He wore a thick pair of glasses and was occupied reading a magazine.

Grell took you by the hand as she led you around the store. For the next fifteen minutes, you watched as your mother appeared to be carefully browsing each and every shelf.

It was as if she was looking for something specific.

Finally, you saw Grell's eyes widen. She grabbed a fancy looking bottle filled with a dark red liquid. You guessed it was some fancy, very expensive alcohol.

A smile of satisfaction spread across Grell's face before she put the bottle away.

This confused you. If she seemed to find what she was looking for, then why did she put it away? You bit your tongue to refrain yourself from asking any questions.

Grell gently grabbed your hand again and took you to the corner nearest to where she picked up that bottle. She was facing one of the shelves. That was she reached over towards you and squeezed your shoulder.

That was the signal she had mentioned earlier.

Your small body froze in place for a second. You looked up at your mother, whose gaze was still focused on the bottles in front of her. The instructions were that after you were given the signal, you had to go to the opposite side of the store and climb a shelf. You turned around to see that the opposite side of the store was a fair distance from where you and your mother were.

Not only that, but the shelves in that area were right next to where that clerk was. The shelves were pretty high too. Did your mother really want you to climb on that? You knew this was wrong, so why would Grell request such a thing from a child like yourself? Weren't you going to get in trouble with that clerk?

Your thoughts were interrupted when you felt another squeeze on the shoulder. It was firmer this time. You looked up at your mother once more. She didn't say anything. But her eyes were urging you to keep going with the plan. You gulped and quickly took a deep breath. Whatever your mother was planning, you didn't want to disappoint her. You began to walk only to be stopped by Grell's hand that was still on your shoulder.

Grell knelt down, still pretending to be browsing. She didn't turn her body or look at you.

"Don't act nervous," she whispered to you. You could barely hear her. "Just enjoy yourself and be a kid." She finally let go of your shoulder. Even though your heart was still pounding, you did your best to not look nervous though you had no idea how good of a job you were doing.

Grell watched you from the corner of her eye as you walked away towards those other shelves. She couldn't help but smile. It was a pleasant surprise to her how well this plan was going so far. Normally for this sort of thing, she would have her best friend Ronald helping her. Most of those plans went well as they made an excellent team. She never had a dull moment with him.

But if this plan went well, you may just be her new accomplice more often. There are things a child could do that an adult couldn't.

Her plans were over halfway done. All she needed were a few more moments before she could wrap this whole thing up.

Without stopping, you glanced over at the clerk as you made your way over to the shelves. He didn't once take his focus away from his magazine. That meant he hadn't noticed you yet. You assumed that was a good sign.

Your nerves didn't improve when you realized that the top of the shelf against the wall appeared much higher when you were right in front of it. But you did everything in your power to be brave. After giving yourself a second to mentally prepare, you began your climb.

You placed your feet at the edge of the bottom shelf and used both of your hands to grab onto the highest shelf you could comfortably hold on to. You then used one of your legs to hoist yourself to enable yourself to grab onto the shelves above you. The pattern continued.

Before you knew it, you were half way up. That was when you decided to look down.

A small squeak escaped from your throat. Still managing to hold on, you held a hand firmly against your mouth. Cursing yourself for unintentionally making a sound, you quickly looked down where the clerk was. He was still busy reading his magazine.

Relieved that you haven't been caught yet, you continued your climb. The height below you was scary, no doubt about that. But the climb itself wasn't so bad.

If anything, you may have been having fun doing this. You've never done anything this exciting your whole life.

You were now three quarters of the way to the top. So far so good. You kept climbing. It wasn't long before both of your hands were able to touch the very first shelf.

You did it! You really did it!

Your lips curled up into a smile of triumph. You climbed up to the top of your shelf just like you were instructed to.

But then... What now?

You looked behind you around the store. Grell wasn't anywhere to be seen in your line of vision.

The man still managed to not have noticed you yet. Grell did say earlier to keep climbing no matter what but you were already at the top now.

Guessing that you were perhaps supposed to stay put for a bit, you adjusted yourself so that both of your feet could be resting on the same shelf.

But during your attempt in setting your highest foot down, you had accidentally pushed over one of the glass bottles. It tipped over the edge and you watched in horror as it fell closer and closer to the hard floor.

Within seconds, the glass made contact with the ground and shattered into several pieces. The liquid expanded itself all over the place.

That finally caught the attention of the clerk.