Death and Darkness

Chapter 4

Delta and I walked to school together. Since neither of us need sleep, we stayed up all night talking. When we reached our lockers, I froze.

"What's wrong?" Delta asked.

I sighed annoyedly. "It's the fourteenth of February."

"Oh God," Delta breathed. "Well, at least I'm a new student, so there's not much to worry about. Right?"

"Don't get your hopes up." I opened my locker, letting loose a small pile of love letters. "Welp, at least I have more fuel for the fireplace."

Delta giggled, opening her own locker. A bigger pile of love letters and candies fell out. "Holy shit!"

"Oh good. Cavities," I intoned sarcastically.

"And cancer," Delta added, holding up a little box of cake.

I sniffed it. "Refined sugar and chocolate. It's homemade."

"Probably gonna upset my stomach then," she joked.

I giggled.

My jaw clenched as a crowd of boys surrounded Alexandria and her friends. They were receiving a bunch of letters and candies and roses and teddy bears.

"What's the Valentines Dance?" Delta asked, sitting next to me.

"Hm?" I questioned.

The brunette showed me a card that invited her to go out with Erik to the Valentines Dance.

"Oh, it's a stupid party the school hosts for 'love'. Think of it like prom, but with hearts everywhere. Let's not forget to add the 'Ritual Of Lovely Punch'."

Delta laughed. "What?"

"Don't ask," I muttered.

"How do you know all this?"

"I'm one of the 'Deco Squads'. Basically, a group that helps decorate stuff."

"There's no way you chose to enter willingly," Delta said.

"No, not willingly. I was elected," I mumbled angrily, glaring at Alexandria.

The bell rang. Delta went back to her seat while the teacher walked in. He might be the only one that ever enters his class on time.

"You seem distant from everyone else. Do you have any friends here?" Delta asked while she picked up a disposable tray with PB&J.

I grabbed a salad and an apple. "You mean besides you? Nope."

"Don't you get lonely then?" She moved off from the line and walked over to the benches.

"I'm a Reaper," I told her matter-of-factly while I followed her. "What do I even talk to humans about?"

"The weather," she suggested.

"The sun is hot."

She laughed.

A surge of energy hit me. The frequencies around me from Wanderers buzzed in a panic. Delta rubbed her head. The ground gave a tremor.

"What is going on?" I muttered.

"Doomsday, much? It feels like the fucking apocalypse," Delta said.

The sky above us darkened. Lightning suddenly streaked across the sky while thunder roared in fury but no rain.

"Zeus," I breathed, standing up.

"Hey, Kiara?" Delta called, tugging at my sleeve.

I turned to look where she pointed and saw a large eagle peering at us from a table. A lot of students had scattered from the bird, staring at it in awe and fear.

"Greetings, Reaper."

I felt it more than heard it. It wasn't a frequency, but it wasn't human speech either.

"I'm sure you know who I am."

I shuddered. "Yes." I didn't realize I answered out loud.

"The Underworld. Report."

"The Reapers are in a fit of panic, sir," I answered like a hacked robot. "We cannot access the Underworld. Many, if not all, souls due to pass are becoming Wanderers."

"Heaven is demanding a reason why no souls are entering. The Lord is worried. You and your friend will travel to the Underworld and fix the problem."

Delta looked shocked that she was suddenly mentioned. I assumed she also considered how most of the gods tended to hate Shadows. A spark of anger lit up in my chest, but it disappeared as soon as it came.

"How?" I asked the Eagle.

"I will take you to the shore of the River of the Dead. From there, you must travel without me." With that, the Eagle took wing, grabbing onto Delta's and my shoulder.

I winced from the talons while the Eagle flew with us in its grasp, swooping down to the Earth in an arc. The ground seemed to sink inward, creating a sort of sinkhole dropping directly down. I cringed and saw a glimpse of Delta tensing like a block of ice. Thankfully, no one lost their lunch when we landed on the foggy shore of the River of the Dead.