Unknown

Chapter 2

I wake up with a start, gasping for air and trying to figure out where I am. After a few moments, I realize I'm in my bedroom, and it was only a bad dream. I wipe the sweat off my forehead and throw the covers off. I stand up, my legs wobbling a tiny bit as I walk to the bathroom. I take an ice cold shower to wake me up and clear my head. After I step out I take a look in the mirror. My skin is paler than usual, which is saying something because even the lightest make up barely matches it most of the time. My eyes are bloodshot, making the blue-grey color stand out even more. My hair is matted and tangled. I grab a brush and start yanking through it, not even flinching at the pain anymore. People are always talking about how thick hair is so great. Trust me, it's not.

I look outside the window. It's dark outside, but I would have to guess it's around 6 in the morning. I go ahead and get dressed, picking out worn out jeans and a black tee. I grab a tattered hoodie and put it on, not bothering to zip it up. I grab my book bag and sling it on my shoulder. I walk downstairs, being careful not to wake my parents up. One glance at the grandfather clock at the end of the hall tells me that it's only 3:00. I sigh, and decide to go for a walk. No use even attempting to go to sleep. I don't bother writing a note. I've done this so often they don't expect me to be at home.

After walking about a block, my mind wanders back to the dream. It isn't the first time I've had this dream. I usually have it when something is about to happen. It's nothing too big. But one could classify it as "bad".

The dream always goes the same way, with very minor variations. It starts off in what looks like to be an auditorium. It's empty, but I get the feeling that someone's there, that someone's watching me. I almost always hear rain, the soft pitter patter on the metal roof. I'm sitting in one of the seats in the back row. I stand up and start walking towards the stage. Every ten feet or so, the feeling of dread feels worse. I brace myself for what's to come.

This is where the dreams splits off into two different version. The "worst" version is where I come up on the stage. I hear a soft groan, coming from behind the velvet curtain. When I look behind it, I see a badly burnt man, his skin is charred in some places and bright red and peeling in others. His hair is dark, I think brown. I've never gotten a good look at him. He's in the back, I think a corner. He keeps on muttering to himself something over and over again. I can never decipher what he says. When I try to come any closer to help him, the dream ends. The worst part of it is that I feel like… I know him. That I'm practically leaving him to his death by not helping him, even though it's impossible. I can recognize him, but I have no idea where he is from.

The other variation is… more pleasant, but still incredibly odd. As soon as I get onto the stage the floor beneath me begins to crack, I have to run across the stage in order to not fall into the void. After a bit I begin to hear laughter, it sounds like a girl. I don't think she could be older than seven. I can't pinpoint where it's coming from, it echoes all over the room. It gets closer and closer, until I can almost feel like she's on top of me. I get a suffocating feeling settle in my chest, as soon as I can't take it anymore, I wake up.

Anyways, I keep walking, almost getting run over after zoning out while I was thinking. I keep walking until I realize I've reached Light's house. I wonder if he's awake… Only one way to find out, I suppose. I walk around their house until I spot Light's window, his bedroom light still on. I begin scaling the side of the house, being very careful not to make any noise or slip. My hand ends up slipping once, giving me a small cut on the palm of my hand. But other than that I make it unscathed. I look in through the window, and see that Light is over his desk, writing in a journal. I try to make out any more details, but I can't. I wonder what he's writing.

My mind wanders back to the notebook. Death Note. We thought it was a coincidence when the first criminal died. It's been nearly a week since that's happened. During that time Light had apparently figured out that the Death Note was real. He explained about how the other deaths had occurred. I didn't want to believe him at first. But, what would Light gain by lying? Plus, each death was reported on the news, and the Death Note showed the deaths at the exact time it had happened. I really had no choice to believe him. He had said that he was going to make the world a better place, make a perfect society, where he would rule as god. He had asked me if I would help. I told him yes, I mean, I didn't want to, but honestly… I was afraid of what would happen if I said no. I know he wouldn't actually hurt me, but also, I could actually see the positives to his plan.

Don't get me wrong, I don't agree to his plan. At all. But… he is getting rid of the world's criminals. In fact, one of the first people he got rid of was the woman who had murdered my parents. Alice Santoro. She never even went to trial, despite the fact that the security cameras saw her breaking into our home. The police said that they had full faith that Alice could never do such a horrible atrocity. It didn't help that Alice was the daughter of the multi-millionaire who had helped fund the construction of several new buildings.

But enough about me. I tap lightly on the glass. Light turns around and stares at me for a brief moment, a look of shock clear on his face. He composes himself quickly and opens the window.

"Maria, What on Earth are you doing?" His voice clearly shows exasperation, as though I've done this a thousand times. Which isn't true, I've only done it three or four, not including this time.

"Oh, you know, just hanging around," I reply. "But would you please help me up? I don't want to keep hanging outside your window any longer than necessary." He rolls his eyes, but extends a hand. I grab it and pull myself up, landing on the carpet. The first thing I notice is that the Death Note is lying open on the desk, pen on top of it.

I walk up to it and see pages full of names. I recognize a fair amount of them, most being some of the most well-known criminals of this day. There's got to see at least a hundred names written down. "Well…" I say. "You've done quite a bit since I last saw." I don't say the word 'kill'. That would make it too real.

"Well of course. I need to work as long as possible, don't I?"

"Fair point. Plus, you never do things halfway."

We fall into comfortable silence when he sits back down and continues writing as if nothing had happened. I can't help but watch. For some reason it's… captivating.

"You've taken quite a liking to it."

Light and I jump and look at each other for a moment before looking at… it. My first thought was There's no way that thing can be human. My second was 'What's that thing doing here?'

Describing it would be like… describing a sound. You would get a vague idea, and you might be able to recognize it, but you don't really know what you're looking for.

He had pale grey skin, and was easily seven feet tall, but he had a sort of hunch. He had feathered black wings. He also had an earring in one ear.

While I just stumble back, eyes wide with my hand over my mouth, Light has a more… shocked reaction. He let out a short scream, and fell back, trying to catch himself on his chair. He stays like that for a few seconds, trying to determine if what he's seeing is really there, like I am.

The monster all the while, just stands there, suspended in the air, a look of boredom on his face. He speaks for the second time.

"No reason to act surprised. I am the Shinigami, Ryuk. That used to be my notebook. Judging by your laughter, you both have figured out this is no ordinary notebook."

Light and I look at each other for a moment, trying to figure out if this is real or not.

Anyways, Light starts talking to Ryuk, going on about how he's been waiting for him and all that. He also asks why we were chosen, to which Ryuk simply replied that he was bored. So… a god of death drops a notebook with the ability to kill anyone with their name and face? Simply because they were bored?

Light then goes what a normal person would call "crazy". He says that using the notebook we'll be able to create a new world, with us as God and Goddess. I simply nod along with him because frankly, I don't know what to do.

I mean, I am honestly conflicted. I've never been this confused. I can see exactly where Light is coming from. I can't exactly say no or turn him in, otherwise he'll just kill me. I mean, as long as he only kills criminals he's not doing that much harm, right?

Then again, those people have families, and a lot of them were only doing what they had to in order to survive, and exactly who is Light to judge whether they live or die? Or anyone else, for that matter. I know Light is smart, a genius, but even he can slip up, and just one mistake, just one false move, and we're both dead.

Light gives me a few sheets of the Death Note and tells me to make sure to not lose it, like I'm an idiot, but I can understand his precautions. He then tells me that I should be getting home, as it's almost time for school. I climb out the window quickly and silently, and start walking home. I make it home just before my parents wake up. I grab my bag and tell my parents a quick good-bye, before walking out the door to repeat the boring process all over again.