the grim reaper

3

I slam my way out of Mr Johns office, his little comments always finds a way to get to me but then again he talked about my dead mum who i've never even met before. I mean how could he do that after i've suffered for so long without her, and for him to tell me he voted for me to be returned? And for him to say i wouldn't have caused any harm? It makes my blood pump tremendously, adrenaline running through my veins. I feel my heart pounding against my rib cage, my breaths deep and hard. I smash through the walls with my fists, more dents form and join the over 89 dents i've made. I remember when i used to punch holes in the wall when i first started reaping, i made a rule to stop when i was too injured. Now i can't even feel pain.

I pummel and pummel through the wall, the holes getting deeper and deeper. I grunt in frustration and anger, all the while keeping my breathe steady. Mr Johns voice repeats over and over in my mind and i become more angry, it's not working. I punch harder and harder, i slip more and more out of my body. "This isn't enough!" i yell into the opening space around me, here in the art lab there is nobody; a great place for destructing seeing as nobody will ever venture upon my interpretation of art (punching holes). "this isn't enough to calm me down!" my voice echoes around the room. By now the anger has fully awoke in my body, my heart beats faster than ever and my need for violence increases. I look down at my hands. They are red, blistered and are drenched in my blood. I wince as i relax them, my fresh tears sting as they drip onto my knuckles. A sense of calmness runs through my body. Too calm, my mind is empty and my emotions... they were unrecognisable. Who am I? I know very well that i'm not a reaper, i may have been born into the business and bought up as one but I am still human. I can't ignore my human characteristics or my human temper and emotions, I can't ignore my human way of sarcasm and my short attention span but I've never been raised around other humans, how would i even know if these things were considered normal? Perhaps...just maybe, it was time for me to make a new path in my life? But how would i fit in, how would i know how to talk to people, how would i become loved and cared for. How could i develop who i am when the person my fellow reapers wanted me to be had already been given to me? How was i supposed to get rid of everything i learned here to get used to things in the human world?

*A few hours later*

If i procrastinate any longer i'll never understand what Mr Johns meant when he told me i'd assess the human world. Perhaps he wanted something better for me, something more natural for me. I guess now is the time to find out. I clear my throat, "Mr Johns? what did you mean by an assessment on humans."

"Well, Toby.., your mother named you Toby..., I've decided that I no longer just want to accept deaths of humans. I, and many others, want to change their fate. We want them to live a long and happy life, something that they can enjoy and isn't short because of a tragic death. And seeing as you, a remarkable human being who we trust very much, can get so close to humans without truly scaring them or worrying them... we want you to try and prevent their deaths instead of just accepting their deaths. Now, you may ask me what drugs I've taken or ask how much caffeine I've had but when it comes to reaping you can see two things before it actually happens, how it happens and how you can prevent it. Now as you can tell no reaper has ever prevented death because this can cause great dangers. If you grow to attached to the person you've rescued then you might not return, you might not save another life again. And when it comes to the reaping career you can't just leave, with or without permission but we've already been over these punishments." I gulp when i remember death was more than likely the result for fleeing, "You could also be unable to save them, there isn't a solid punishment for this but it does darken and add weight to that heart of yours. Now our boss, the one who agreed to let you be brought up here, is willing to free you into the human world.. for a cost. You have to rescue 15 people in 15 days, there is a list of all the names. You don't have to save them all but you must save at least 6, now our boss would be pretty frilled if you could save them all but some stories are set in stone right?" Silence answers his question. "I'll take it you understand our wishes, you can decline but that would mean eternity in here. Trust me, you probably don't want that."

It's just 15, right? Nothing to big. Nothing to special.., "I'll accept the challenge, William Johns." we both chuckle, why was i mad at him again?