A Dance With Death

|| Chapter 28 - Niall ||

Two doctors are working on the machines. The police has arrived to investigate the scene. The janitor, who was the first person to see the damage, is being interrogated by an officer outside the room. There is a small group of people gathered in front of the door, who are anxious to know what happened to the room where Zayn Malik is being treated. There is a young man who is silencing the crowd.

My body is to be shifted to another room in a few minutes, because obviously, this ward is no longer safe for me. The workers are making a few arrangements for shifting my body to another ICU, which supposedly has two more patients. Great. Now I will have roommates.

The reapers and I, we stand behind all the people quietly, each one of us lost in our own thoughts.

"I don't know how the hospital authorities will explain this," I ponder. "People won't buy the excuse of a 'ghost' doing this."

"From what it looks like, they'll make it seem like faulty wiring caused this," Ektor says.

"People wouldn't buy that either," I counter.

"Well, that's the best excuse they've got for something that a ghost did," Griffith says, reminding of my state of being. Not only am I a ghost, but I am also a dangerous one.

I nod. "Yeah."

My attention goes towards Althea, who is facing away from the three of us, staying silent. She's been quiet for some time now. She's standing with her shoulder against the wall, slightly tapping her head against it. I notice that Griffith and Ektor have followed my gaze. All of us fall silent, allowing the hushed murmurs of the live ones to take over.

Althea mumbles a few words which are inaudible. I look at the other two reapers, who shrug.

"What happened Althea?" I ask.

She glances above her shoulder, relying on her peripheral vision to view me. "What?"

"You said something before," I say.

"Oh." She stands up straight and turns around. Her face appears grimmer than usual. "I miss her."

Ava. I purse my lips as I think of her as sorrow starts kicking in. Her memory is the only thing that I would have to live with. I never knew her in real life, I never knew what she was like. I was with her for only a few hours. But whatever I know about her, and the amount of limited time I spend with her, I grew really fond of the girl. She handled this situation much better than me. She was a strong kid.

"I miss her too."

Althea smiles sadly. "She was a good person. And she was supposed to live a very long life," she pauses momentarily. Taking in a deep breath, she said, "You know, when we were in her room, and I was explaining to her a few things about her present form, I also told her about the choice a soul has to make. As a reaper, it was my duty to do so. But I also told her that she wouldn't need to make a choice because we would find a way out of this mess." She shakes her head.

"So why didn't she stay?" I ask. "She still had to make a choice right. She just disappeared. She didn't even say whether she wanted to go or not."

"She did. Before we exited the room, she said that if matters don't go in her favour, she wouldn't like to stay. She said that if she died, she wants me to send her away, without delay."

"But . . . why?"

"She said that if she stayed for the last few moments, it would make her departure emotionally painful and she didn't want that. That's why she vanished just after her death."