The Doomsday Book

Chapter 4

"Jack? Jack! JACK, NO!"

I gasped, eyes shooting wide open. Sweat glued stray hair to my skin as I slowed my breathing.

"You look like Death's horse. You okay, dude?" Delta asked.

I nodded tiredly, wiping my forehead while sitting up.

"I didn't know Reapers could dream."

"I don't... I haven't dreamed for years. It felt so real, I thought he..."

"Who?"

I shook my head. "No one. It's just a nightmare." My feet leveraged my body off the bench. I stretched, popping a few bones.

"Alright, so what's our plan for this Sunday morning with two hours of sleep and the sun barely beating on us?"

"Searching. Again."

"Where to? After our little fight, I feel like we searched the whole world. Covered both Americas, Asia, islands, and half of Europe. Africa's a bust, Australia's crossed off the flipping list, and Antarctica isn't even an option!"

"Yeah, well, we got a little over a week left before the end of the world. Might as well check the rest of Europe and grab some crepes from France."

"You don't need to eat," Delta told me.

"And you don't need to talk," I returned, body contorting into my Reaper form. "Let's get this over with quickly."

"What would you consider a happy thought?" she suddenly asked.

I froze, eyes hard. "Are you... No, you wouldn't have asked if you aren't."

Delta crossed her arms, waiting.

"My thoughts are never happy, Delta. I'm a Reaper. We're taught to not feel. It's why I can watch someone's head get crushed under the tire of a car and not bat an eye."

"That doesn't answer my question."

I sighed. "Sometimes, when I have the need to kill, I think of them."

Delta tilted her head curiously.

"My family," I elaborated. "My first family back long ago. I don't remember them, it's been centuries, but I remember my brother. You cut him in half back in the war."

The Shadow's eyes widened. "Oh."

"It was just an illusion," I reassured her. "I hold nothing against you for that."

She nodded.

"I don't even remember their names." I chuckled, but it was hollow. "And you? What's your story?"

Delta shrugged. "I don't have much of a story to tell. I'm a literal bastard when I was born into this body. I've been around for a very long time. I've died a handful of times, I think." She had a thoughtful expression.

She had something else but didn't say anything. I hummed in response to her and dropped it there.

"We better get going," she said, walking. "Europe's far."

Big Ben. It was taller than I'd remembered. I passed through the busy streets, oblivious to the Shadow swooping by with a figure that was hardly noticeable.

Soon, we were passing the Eiffel Tower, stealing a crepe (I left some cash, don't worry), then we're by the Leaning Tower of Pisa, crossing a small body of water to see the Acropolis of Athens, crossing yet again to witness the Great Sphinx of Giza, and finally stopping when we traveled north again to Turkey.

"I am so tired!" Delta cried, throwing herself onto a chair.

I rolled my shoulder, popping something. "Damn, that hurts. Traveling that much in three days? No mortal would believe that."

"Keep your voice down," she told me cautiously.

"Yeah, yeah. But still! All this traveling and we come up with zilch?" I laid my head on my arms, muffling my voice. "The world's gonna end! We're all doomed! Well, the humans are at least."

Delta scoffed amusedly. "How optimistic."

"We don't even know how to destroy the book. A week later and poof!"

"Mhm. Finish your calamari so we can fucking go."

I stuffed the fried squid into my mouth and left, slapping money on the counter.

"Where do you get money from?" Delta asked when we walked out. "You don't have a job that I know of."

"I'm a Reaper. I also get paid for reaping. Field work pays more, which is why management is less popular. Besides, it's very boring."

I stared at the bookstore, lips pressed thin. The name of the store shouted at me, declaring its title like some arrogant celebrity.

"I mean, it's a bookstore. There's a chance the Book is in there," Delta said.

"Really? You're serious right now? I love reading, I do, but the chances of the Book being in this particular bookstore at this particular time would be a God-made miracle."

"Wouldn't hurt to check it out," she stated.

Before I could answer, the Shadow bolted inside, in her human form of course. I followed in, shaking my head.

"Look at all these books!" she hissed as loud as she could without bringing attention.

I opened one from a table. "They're all in Turkish, Delta. I can't read Turkish."

Delta frowned and stared up at the shelves forlornly. Then she blinked her cheeriness back and grabbed a book on the highest shelf.

"Oh my gods," she breathed, opening it. "Kiara, praise God, because we just found the damn Book."

"What?!" I ran over to her, looking into the Book and scanning the pages. "Holy shit. Well, halle-freaking-lujah. Guess I'm not all bad luck and broken heart."

"What?"

I shook my head. "Never mind. We gotta destroy this thing. Since we don't know how, we'll experiment. Let's start by burning it."