Lost Soul

Chapter Twenty-Two: Death

I jolt awake before I can force myself to be still.

There's wood beams above my head and sea-gulls cawing in the distance.

I sway in a hammock.

A figure looms above me, but my vision is too blurry to make them out.

Something cold touches my forehead and I jerk back. "Shh," a soft voice coos. "Shh, you're alright. You're safe here. The pain should be gone."

My vision starts to clear as she pulls the wet cloth back. My heart jackknifes in my chest.

"Rae?" I rasp, trying to push myself up on the hammock.

She eases me back with a sigh, "I'm afraid not, my love."

Once my vision clears completely, it's obvious it's not Rae. But at first, the curly, frizzy black hair, and the dark skin, and the gentle hands... I could've sworn it was her.

I swing my legs over the hammock and bend over, waiting for the nausea. When none comes, I look up at the woman. "Where am I? Am I dead?"

"Why is that your first assumption?" She pouts, sauntering away from me. She wears a plain white dress and Greek-style sandals.

"Well, I was no where near a beach and I wake up being tended to by a beautiful woman. If heaven exists, then you're an angel."

Her cheeks darken. "That is sweet of you. I am a sort of angel. But not the kind you would find in heaven."

"Is that a riddle?"

She chuckles and eases into a rocking chair across from me. "It isn't if you know your mythology."

I give her a once over. Despite the Greek-style dress and sandals, I don't think she's Greek at all. A gold, braided belt holds a small scythe at her side.

"You're Death."

She smiles, brilliantly.

I never figured Death would feel so warm. But everything about her is. Her black eyes, her dark skin, her smile. She's open and inviting.

"So... I am dead?" I ask.

She grips the rocking chair's arm rests. "Not yet. But you are close."

"That's comforting," I sigh. "Why am I getting a personal visit from Death, then?"

She eases forward, studying me. "I sensed it the minute you started fading. I don't know why yet... but we are connected."

"Maybe it's because wherever I go, Death follows," I mumble.

She frowns. "That is not true."

"Please. Oliver. Will. Rae. Hell, even my mom."

"Oliver is dead," she confirms. "But the others are not."

My shoulders tighten, and it's a welcome surprise that a bolt of pain doesn't shoot through me. "Will and Rae are-?" I can't let myself hope.

"Alive," she confirms.

I shake my head. "You can't know that."

She spreads her hands. "I am Death. I know all who pass into my kingdom."

I put my hand to my forehead. "They're alive," I whisper.

She smiles, but it quickly fades. "You are already waking. We don't have much time."