If You Don't (Ryden)

~5~

~Brendon's POV~

"So...Know anything else about reapers that you can tell me?" I asked Spencer as we walked along one of the tunnels of hell.

Frank had instructed Spencer to walk me around and familiarize me with hell before taking me up top. It was really just caves. Occasional pits of fire, but mostly cave like... Everything with deep tones of reds, browns and rustic orange.

"I've never seen one, to be honest with you." Spencer shrugged, "There's still so much here I haven't seen... Even going up top will be new to me."

I nodded. It was so strange... The regular earth was called 'up top' and the only way up was through some portal...

We passed by another pit of fire and I could hear low moans.

"Patrick and Pete." Spencer said casually, "Ignore them."

"Pete? Really?" I asked a bit bewildered. He hadn't even said the word since his last break up... Let alone let someone close enough to be so intimate...

"The whole fire, lust thing with fire demons." Spencer shrugged, "Only to be expected. Still, cute how they always look at each other like they're the only other person in the world... Well, when they're not making sex eyes, y'know..."

"Yea... Not really." I admitted with a slightly confused laugh, "He's... He's like a complete 360 from my Pete... The Pete I can kind of remember."

"Similar to what Patrick says sometimes." Spencer said casually, "He talks about that mission very rarely... Still hasn't made up with the little flame that was guided by the fates to burn some church so he couldn't save the kid..."

I stopped dead in my tracks. Spencer took a few steps forward, before realizing I wasn't moving forward any longer. He tilted his head at me in confusion as I processed everything.

"P-patrick...Patrick killed Pete?" I asked, finally looking up at Spencer.

Spencer shook his head, "His flame did. It burned on a holy land that Patrick couldn't penetrate. He tried to save Pete."

I didn't remember much of that night. I remember heat burning around us. I remember difficulty breathing... Then waking up outside...

"Brendon." Spencer's voice pulled me from my thoughts. He nodded in the direction we were heading, "C'mon. We have somewhere to be."

I nodded, following after my old friend. A few more corner turns and we found what we were looking for. There was a swirling vortex, just in the middle of a path. I looked at it curiously as Spencer walked casually up.

"You wanna go first?" Spencer asked.

"Looking like this?" I asked, raising my hand in front of my face to examine my crackling, gray skin. This wouldn't get weird looks at all. It's the new fall fashion.

"You'll be invisible to most humans." Spencer said, scratching one of his horns. "Some will see you because of their spirituality, while others will need you to reveal yourself to them." He shrugged, turning to me, "Part of the reaping thing."

"Fantastic." I said with a roll of my eyes.

I walked up to the portal, stopping just before I jumped in. It felt cold. The swirling winds around it gave me chills. I was going to ask Spencer something, when I felt a push. I was sent spiraling into the portal, crying out as I fell.

I quickly hit the ground with a thud, groaning in a slight pain.

"You alright?" Spencer's face suddenly appeared above me. He offered his hand and I took it.

"No thanks to the push." I groaned, pulling myself to my feet with his help.

"Sorry 'bout that."

I turned to see Pete flashing me a devilish grin. He was leaning against air as he looked at Spencer and I.

"I wanted to have a lil fun too... Patrick is the king of fire down there... So I wanted to spread the flame a lil up here..."

"Pete, that is literally how you died!" I hissed at him through my new fangs. Pete just shrugged at me.

"I don't recall." He said simply.

I started to say something else, but Spencer stepped in.

"Brendon, focus. You have a mission. You need to find this soul." He said, "Pete's dead. You can't change the past."

I nodded, restraining myself from blowing up. It was my fault in the first place. And now I had to go find someone else who's blood would be on my hands too? Why couldn't I have just been something simple like, I don't know, dead and done with it all?

"How do we find him?" I asked with a sigh.

Pete laughed, leaning against a light post. "You're the reaper... You should have a sixth sense for this shit..."

I shot Pete a glare, but Spencer nudged my arm.

"He's right. Reapers are supposed to be able to kind of seek out their missions."

"How the fuck do I do that?" I questioned.

Both of the demons shrugged.

How helpful.

"Maybe it was too soon to send him up." Spencer said, looking over at Pete. Pete just shrugged, grinning up at the night sky.

"Hey moon... Long time, no see." He said lowly, still looking up.

"Should we look around a bit?" I asked, feeling a bit useless... Even though it was my mission. "Wait. People can't see us, right?"

Spencer shook his head, "Only your target... Or the extremely religious... Or anyone you let see through the veil."

"The veil?" I questioned, scrunching my face.

"The veil between life and death." Pete mused, his eyes traveling between the millions of stars in the sky. "Some demons don't care to use it at all..."

"You don't have Patrick's experience, Pete." Spencer said with a sharp look, "And this isn't your mission."

Pete held up his hands defensively. "Only here to observe." He flashed a toothy grin.

I looked down. This couldn't be happening... My old friends were so different in death... How different did death make me? All I remembered was the sound. Honking... Shattering glass... A choke of someone trying to speak...

"Brendon." I looked back up at Spencer. "Whoever this 'Ross' kid is, he must be close. The portal always sends you close."

I nodded. "Let's find him then. I'm ready to go."