The Reaper

Chapter 4

Nobody burns in hell.

That's because there's no fire. It's more darkness and random geysers and bottomless pits. At least, that's what I was seeing as I walked through Seoul with Randy on an oh so exciting tour of the afterlife.

It felt odd and tingly, like some invisible person was pricking me with needles, just not hard enough to hurt. Randy said it was due to me being alive but also in the afterlife. I wasn't so sure it was that or something else. But Randy did know more about this than I did.

Another thing that was weird, I didn't have Ares. For reasons I'm still unsure of, Randy forbade me from taking my scythe into Seoul. Something about too much negative energy. And, although I wasn't going to question it, I couldn't help but feel like I should have my scythe. Especially in a place with demons who looked a bit too anxious to rip me apart.

Luckily for us, however, all of the demons and whatnot seemed to be inside of cages that looked extremely difficult to escape. But between the needle sensation and the not having Ares, I still felt about thirty percent unsafe.

Randy looked over his shoulder at me every few minutes, probably to make sure I wasn't having a massive panic attack. Every time he did, I nodded and he turned his head again.

Another reason I wanted Ares was just to have something in my hand. I always had to be holding some kind of object. If I wasn't, I got extremely anxious and fidgety. Combine that with being in a place where literally everyone wanted to kill you, and I felt like a walking train wreck. In fact, I thought I might hyperventilate and die, until Randy stopped and waited for me to fall into step with him.

"Andrew, it's fine. Calm down." he said, looking at me like I was insane.

I tried speaking, but my voice didn't work. So I just nodded, even though I wasn't sure I could calm down. In fact, the train wreck was getting slightly worse the longer I spent without something in my hand. It wasn't even fear, really. Just an ominous feeling that something bad would happen and I wouldn't have any means of protection.

One thing was for sure. I hated Seoul. The place made me nervous and anxious and all sorts of other things I didn't like being. If I had the choice, I would have left that (literal) hell hole and never came back again. But, unfortunately, I didn't. So I was forced to keep walking through this place that had the ability to turn me into a complete nutjob.

"Here are the fields of punishment." Randy said, gesturing to a place that looked a little to much punishment and not enough field.

There were spirits being subjected to both modern and more medieval styles of torture by various demons who looked all too happy to be performing the task. Suddenly my stomach lurched, and the nervous feeling became ten times worse. It was definitely fear now. I felt like those demons could smell me and were waiting for the right time to kill me. I tried telling myself it was just the emptiness of my hands, but it was also where I was. This place seemed to be feeding off my nervous energy and making it a thousand times worse.

"Andrew, we're leaving." Randy said worriedly, like he thought I might have died if he didn't get me out that instant.

I nodded vigorously, eager to leave and go...well anywhere except there.

As soon as we reached the gates, I slammed them open, relieved to be back in the room of the Grimm Council. Immediately, I grabbed a random piece of paper from the sofa and squeezed it between my fingers. Almost instantly, I felt better. I didn't even find it odd that I was being comforted by a paper scrap. Although Randy stared at me as if I was a psychopath, which I wasn't denying at this point. At least I could breathe normally now, but my voice still refused to work.

I checked my watch. 10:30. I had school in the morning. But the idea of going home by myself that late was unnerving. So, I decided to stay with Randy.

Just until my voice started working again.

AUTHORS NOTE: This is a note from Andrew: Please excuse my weirdness, I apologize for having a brief psychotic episode. But in all seriousness, I love when characters have strange quirks. And this is Andrew's. I sort of have the same thing. I cannot go more that ten minutes without touching something. Anyway, I'm rambling. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Tootles!