The Doomsday Book

Chapter 3

"Would you look at that! Little Maxi." The Reapers laughed.

I sighed, rolling my eyes. "What do you want?"

"We can be wherever we want!"

"Except, like, twenty different dimensions and—"

"No one asked."

I stuffed the scroll away and pushed past them, door opening for me. A hand grabbed my wispy shoulder before I could walk away. My reflexes kicked in, sliding my glinting blades from my wrists and throwing the hand away.

The Reaper snarled, kicking his feet with blades protruding from his heels, his own scythes. He charged at me, kicking hard. I ducked from his blades and elbowed him off me, sending him to the wall. My blade was on his throat, bloodthirsty. The boy was trembling now, nonexistent heart racing at the speed of light.

"I could end you," I hissed, feeling a mix of anger and excitement, joy. "I can stick my pretty little silver into you and paint it red and no one will give a damn because everyone knows, no one will ever recover from a scythe-blow!" A laugh rumbled out of me without my realizing.

"Y-you'll— you'll be sent to Hell! You'll be caged in— in the Sixth Layer!" he cried pathetically.

I grinned, laughing as if he told me a stupid joke. "Oh, dear Reaper, you forget. It takes three strikes before I'm out! First kill, I get a proper scolding and held back from field work. I'd be stuck inside, managing the papers and whatever for a while. Second kill, I get demoted to being a Trainee again for a full course; back to square one. Third's when I get my blades painfully carved out of my veins and blood, and I get sent packaged to Hell."

The Reaper gulped, eyes deep and dark with fear.

"But then again, you'd be my first 'unnecessary kill'. Not a problem for me at all," I growled, pushing my blade deeper against his neck.

He winced. "I-I'm sorry! I-I'm sorry, so please! Please, don't kill me! I can't— I don't want to die again! I-it's painful! You should— should know how it—"

"Shut up!" I shouted. "How did you die!"

He let out a jumble of words before making a noise and tried again. "I-I was killed by a car accident, but— but that's not fair, so I—"

"You've no idea what pain feels like," I interrupted, gritting my teeth in fury. "You haven't the slightest clue what agony is because you are a simple-minded, stupid bastard who can't get over the 'unfairness' of life, even in death!"

A cold hand grabbed my shoulder, grip as strong as iron. That's when I realized I was shaking. Silence settled tensely over us. No one dared to speak.

"Kiara, put. Your blades. Away," Delta said firmly, darkness creeping into her tone.

I huffed through my nose, throwing the boy I pinned down into the floor. "Touch me again and you lose your hands."

He whimpered and scampered off, followed by his friends.

"You good?" Delta asked me softly, cautiously.

I retracted my blades and turned away, vision beginning to blur as a familiar heat clawed into my insides. I tried to regulate my breathing, barely succeeding. "We need... we need to find the Book." I shuffled out, not looking to see if Delta was following.

"Hey, Kiara?" Delta murmured, walking behind me on the dark streets.

I didn't stop my quickened pace. "What?"

"What... what happened back there? I'm not one to pry, but that was..."

"Insane? Terrifying?" I helped.

"Not you," she replied. "I mean, you're not all sunshine and rainbows drawn by shitty crayons, but your eyes were just—"

I stopped suddenly, human body still and tense. "I've always worked alone when I can. Reason being: I don't want stupid questions."

"My questions aren't stupid," she muttered back. "You're not the only one who's been through some fucked up shit, so get off your high horse or else fall off."

I glanced back to see her eyes gleaming dangerously. A chill crawled through my spine, and I found myself grinning again. "I'm a dangerous person. Actually, I'm not a person. I'm just dangerous. This is gonna be your only warning. My Reaper form holds years of violent, twisted thoughts. That's why I'd prefer my human form. But I'll jump at the chance to kill."

"So how come you haven't killed anyone yet? 'Unnecessarily,'" Delta pushed. "Wouldn't you be in Hell by now with your 'violent, twisted thoughts'?"

I continued walking, slower this time. "I've centuries of practicing self-control. Like I said, I'll jump at the chance to kill, but I'm not stupid. At least, not stupid enou—"

A saber missed my head by mere inches when I cocked it left. My eyes glinted. Delta slashed at me, forcing me back to dodge her attacks. The blades slid out from my wrists, blocking near-hits and close calls.

"Let's test how stupid you are then," she challenged, nicking my cheek.

I scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. I can't kill you with my scythes, but it'll hurt like Hell."

"I know," she replied impatiently, lunging for me.

"I swear, God is trying to force me to fight those close to me."