Waiting With Death

Chapter 8:

Cassedy and Grim swam until 5 in the morning. Grim peaked his head out the tower door. "Looks like we should get going if we want to make it to the pond in time for sunset," he said. Cassedy frowned and splashed around. "Do we have to?" she whined. He looked over at her as she dove under the water, popping up next to him a few seconds later. "Only if you want to complete your bucket list in time," he said. She sighed and started paddling to the door. "The climb down isn't going to be easy when we're wet," she commented. He looked over at her, eyebrow raised. She rolled her eyes and splashed him with water. "Come on, time to go." Grim said, smiling. 

He started climbing down before her so that he was under her. She looked down to make sure he has a few bars down so she wouldn't kick him in the face. "This was so much easier climbing up," she said. She slid down to the rung above him, almost hitting him. "Sorry! My hands are slippery," she said, apologizing. He grinned, "That actually gives me an idea," he said. She looked down at him again. "What?" Cassedy asked. He smiled at her before pulling his feet off the rung. With his hands so slippery and his feet no longer supporting him, he slid down the ladder until he was a few feet from the ground. "Grim!" Cassedy shouted after him. He let go and dropped to the ground. He looked up and called to her, "I'm okay.  Slid down, I'll catch you!" 

Cassedy stayed still, unsure. She was already dead, wasn't like she could get hurt worse. She looked down at Grim. "Are you sure?" she asked, nervously. He nodded, holding up his hands. "I got you, Cass. Come on," he said. She smiled slightly before shutting her eyes. Cassedy slowly pulled back her feet from the rung beneath her. She started sliding down the ladder, the air blew her still wet hair up as she went down. She let out a squeal on her way down, laughing. As Cassedy got closer to the bottom, Grim stepped closer to make sure that he caught her. She reached the end of the ladder and dropped down into his arms. She laughed again and looked at him. "That was fun!" she said, excitedly. Her face was red from the wind but her eyes were lit up. He smiled and helped her down. "Alright, to the pond," Cassedy said. 

They made it to the pond by the time the first rays of light were peaking out over the earth. Cassedy sat down on the bridge with her legs out between the railing poles, her feet in the water. The little fish swam around her. Grim followed her lead, sitting down behind the railing. They stared out at the sky, watching it slowly change colors. Grim glanced over at Cassedy, her eyes reflected the light but they were also sad. This would be her last sunrise. Without a word, she leaned towards him and put her head on his shoulder as she watched the sun rise. He leaned his head against hers and smiled slightly. "We have a lot to do today. What time does the sun set?" she asked. He looked at his watch, thinking. "Around 6, I think? So we need to be done with everything by 5. Not that much," he said. She shrugged. 

The sun has finished rising and was climbing higher up in the sky. Cassedy sat up, sighing. "So, 11 hours. That's all I have," she said. Grim looked over at her. "Doesn't mean it's the end, Cass. You'll get so see them again, eventually." She looked down, picking at her nails. "I have a question, Grim." He raised an eyebrow. A fish swam by his foot and it's tail smacked him lightly. "Where ever I go after this, how is it?" she asked. Grim looked down, thinking. "Are you asking if it's all clouds and flying angels?" he asked quietly. Cassedy shrugged. "I just want to know if it's better than here," she said. Grim looked up at her. He looked right in her eyes as he answered. "I don't know if it's better, everybody's life is different. But it's something. It's peaceful, you get to see people you thought were gone forever and that's enough for most people." 

Cassedy looked down at the pond. "What if it isn't enough for me? Aiden, my mom, my dad. What about them?" Grim shook his head, "I don't have all the answers, but what we do have is a list. And we're going to mark off every item on it!" He stood up and reached a hand down. "Come on, let's go. We're never going to finish if we don't get started," he said. She looked up and grabbed his hand, letting him help her up. They started walking away from the bridge and Grim looked over at her. "Where to first?" he asked. She thought for a minute, rubbing her hands together. "Florist?" she asked, grinning. He nodded, "Let's do this!"