When she unexpectedly dies, Mackenzie Bowen lacks the paperwork she needs to pass into The Beyond. To avoid sitting in a waiting room for centuries, Mack is paired with Leon, a miserable Reaper, and hopes to either undo her death or earn her spot be...
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I couldn't say I was happy about returning to the world after I'd just been chased out of it by a rabid dog, but I couldn't see that I had much choice in the matter. I followed Leon once more, frightened of becoming lost in the labyrinthine corridors and on the train if I fell behind. Each of his long strides amounted to several of my small, scurrying steps. He didn't glance back at me, and I couldn't decide if he was annoyed that I was with him or if he was too focused on the task at hand. Either way, it was unsettling to think that my afterlife was in the hands of a man who wanted to be a million miles away from me.
Jane sat behind her desk in her St. Pancras office, the door of which Leon remembered to knock on, and curled her lashes around her pen. She didn't acknowledge Leon. Instead, she smiled at me as we approached and asked, "Is everything sorted out, now?"
"I'm stuck with her," Leon answered for me. "And now we need a name."
"Heading out on your first collection?" Jane blanked the rude Reaper to address me directly.
I nodded in reply. "Is that – is it okay for me to go back out there if I'm – you know – dead, but not meant to be dead?"
"You were definitely meant to be dead," Leon said irritably. "I saw the state of your body, remember?"
I remembered. I wasn't sure I'd ever forget that my first encounter with Leon was in a morgue. As far as first impressions went, it was memorable, to say the least. In fact, it might have been the most memorable of all the first meetings I'd had with anyone in my entire life and death, which was saying something when I'd once met a guy at a party shortly after I was legally allowed to drink by puking over the stairs and directly onto his head.
Jane noted the details of our collection and pushed the paper through the slot for Leon. He scanned the information quickly and turned without thanking Jane for her assistance. I smiled at her briefly before following him to the door.
"So, where are we going?" I asked. "Back to the hospital?"
"No. Our share of hospital duty has been reassigned to Anna and Lola."
"So...?"
"Does it matter?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe?"
"Not far from where I collected you. Any other questions?"
"Do we have to travel through the toilets again?" I asked.
"No. We'll walk through the door closest to the location of our target."
"Why can't you just teleport there?" I pressed. "Wouldn't that be faster?"
"Yes, and physically impossible. I'm a Reaper, not a magician."
"Not like I know," I muttered, feeling foolish for suggesting it.
"I could fill a book with what you don't know, which is why I'm going to teach you these things. If you're that interested, stop asking questions and watch."
