Death Has a Daughter

Distraction

Only a hundred feet stood between me and what I deserved. Drake, the current high-scorer in the class and my sworn arch enemy, had fallen behind. I was in the lead. I'd worked so hard and come so far—this prize was mine. I deserved that spot and the praise that came with it. No way would I let him take it from me.

Only fifty more feet. My mouth watered as my legs went into full-sprint mode. I would taste the glory. I was the first of my classmates to get past the three Guardians, rank my scroll—, and get through the "Hall of Guardians' Light." I'd even made it through each obstacle without a single strike from a flying ray of Guardians' light, which put me first in line to get to the human's soul. Well, this 'fake soul.' My lips almost let out a laugh. This wasn't going to taste as good as the real thing, but it would be the closest thing I could get, and I was going to revel in my pretend glory. Ten more steps.

"UGH," I grunted out loud as I heard Eddie's steps whipping through the valley grasses like a jockey in Kentucky. He quickly gained some ground on me. He hadn't been the most talented Reaper, but he sure was a fast one. Being a racing horse of a Reaper—with his extra-long, light bronze limbs—that made him quicker than most of my fellow Reapers. His dense brown hair would whip me if he passed. And, like so many times before, he'd turn to flash the people's eyebrow with his chocolate eyes as he laughed.

I wouldn't allow Eddie to take this from me. My pace quickened, though I could feel him inches behind me. Eddie grabbed for my shirt, so I darted slightly to my left. He missed but was able to gain more distance between us. This made him way too close, as the soul stood only a dozen steps away. I'd have to dive for it. I thrust my body towards the soul. I reached for it and felt my shirt being pulled. Eddie had gotten ahold of me. My jump fell inches short, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. As I pushed myself up, I realized something far worse had happened when he had grabbed my shirt. Somehow, he had unsnapped my bra! I grabbed for my chest as my boobs sprung free, knowing the collar of my shirt would hide nothing. So instead of reaching for the soul, I instead tempered my boobs' claim to freedom, and he grabbed the soul. My mouth let out a deep grunt while my body deflated to the floor, and the alarms started going off. Freaking Fast Eddie beat me! Heat slapped my cheeks, exposing to the outside world the embarrassment I felt inside.

"That wasn't fair!" I growled through my clenched jaw as I looked up at Eddie, who stood over me with the biggest grin.

"All's fair in love and war, Cendall." He laughed and reached out a hand to help me up. My hand knocked it away while I stood up and crossed my arms underneath my chest, attempting to hide the fact that my bra strap was undone.

The pretend soul and Guardians that we had defeated, who were actually the head Reaper trainers, began rounding everyone up. As my classmates came to the finish line, the trainers instructed us to gather around so that the head trainer, Herald, could announce tomorrow's schedule. Drake approached the line and rolled his eyes at me. What's up his butt? He almost looked mad, which made no sense. If I had won today, his top rank would have been mine. I rolled my eyes, hoping Drake caught it, as I dragged my feet to where Herald started to speak.

"As you're all aware, Eddie has won the challenge, advancing his rank of four to three, with only Cendall and Drake above him. Only two tests are left, Reapers! The top spot is anyone's game." Everyone let out a small cheer. Thank Lucifer, we only had one week left. I was ready to be out on my own. Ready to obtain the scythe that would help me collect the human souls that were on my first list. We had all been training since the age of six on the methods of collecting a soul. The step-by-step checklist, narrated in Herald's horrible monotone, was engrained in my brain.

"Step one: Research the soul. Two: Stalk the soul until it's at a vulnerable moment. By 'vulnerable,' I mean a time the human soul may die via car accident, health issue, and so on. Three: Scout out the Guardian. Four: Wait until you can feel their soul calling to you. If you're unsure, look to your scythe, as it will glow. Five: Defeat any Guardian protecting the soul. Six: Place your scythe's tip into the heart of the soul. Seven: Once the soul is completely collected into your scythe's stone, take it to the researchers who will process the soul to its final judgment. Eighth, and final, step: Check the name off the list." He always laughed when reciting the last step, as if he had some inside joke about it.