Death Count

Chapter 3

"See now? That's your job," Miteus said. "The trouble is, you can only see people's Death Counts when they're nearby. Usually, at night, you have to check around the city to be sure everyone's safe."

He grasped my arm, and with me scowling, my head lightened and we appeared in a hotel. "Ta-da. Now we just have to check for anyone with red counts around Tulsa. That's the expanse of our territory." Miteus winked at me.

"Wait, 'the expanse of our territory' ?"

He ignored me. "Anyone in trouble should have a red Death Count, visible through walls." He glanced around for a moment. "No red counts here," he sighed. "Well, time's a-wastin'. Let's go."

We teleported around the town for God-knows-how-long, but thankfully only about 4 people had a red count. The visions I've seen were terrifying though, especially because they were so vivid and gruesome. The worst was the vision I had of a toddler who got ran over by a truck. I saw every gory detail of it. Will I have to do this every damn night?... I thought.

It was now early morning, and Miteus and I flashed back to where we were on the sidewalk. "See now? That's your job," Miteus said.

I was about to tell him that the job sucks ass, but I noticed that he was almost... fading?    Concerned, I pointed out, "Uh, you're kind of looking... transparent."

He turned to me, and sighed, "Oh... well... looks like I'm running out of time now." I gasped, remembering that this was his last night.
He began to explain, "I only a few minutes left. Once I die, you're going to have the full powers, so you can teleport, become invisible, and of course, change someone's choices. Remember that once you save a person once, their Death Counts cannot be altered anymore."

Shuffling his hand through his cape, he handed me a book thicker and wider than a phone book and continued, "Don't forget to read that; there's plenty of things you'll need to know from there... You know, you humans have expanded so much since the medieval ages! Well, we Death Counters and Granters have modernized quite a bit." He stood erect and straightened his armor. "I still rock this gear, but the other gods go with the times and wear jeans. Ugh."

He stole a glance at his wrist and his eyes widened, then he proceeded to speed along frantically, "Anyways, in each state, there are two greater—Magnus, if you will—Death gods, one good and one evil, who have been gifted an extra power by the God of Death, in conjunction with the regular Death Counters of their stance. In our state, the Magnus Death Changer is Eira, who is able to control the weather, and the Magnus Death Granter is Alden, who is good with persuasion. In each city, there are two Death Counters, one being the Death Changer like I am, and the other being the Death Granter who brings death to the lucky. I must warn you about Ludis, the Death Granter of this city. He's going to cause plenty of trouble..."

I stood there with my eyes widened. He said so much information that I didn't even process half of it. Miteus coughed sickly, looking away from me. He had almost completely faded away. He looked back up again, bit his lip, and spoke again, as wistfully as I had heard in this short time, "Eira will take care of you, and watch out for them... goodbye..."

Gone like a wisp of smoke, with no trace. He had shimmered, then lapsed into complete invisibility without ever reappearing. Overcome by thousands of thoughts and emotions, I was speechless, staring at the empty space that Miteus had occupied just a second ago. The atmosphere suddenly felt eerie and empty; suddenly I'm alone in the dark with no one around. Even though I've only known him for a few hours, I felt grief-stricken. After standing there alone for a few moments in attempt to process whatever the hell is happening, I stumbled home under the night sky twinkling with stars with the book in hand.

In the hallway of my apartment building, I stood, more than slightly frazzled. In a trance, I took the key from my pocket and opened the door. I walked to my bed and lied down. I spent the night contemplating about the inconceivable day. I didn't think there were actually supernatural things out there. After the death of my parents, I stopped believing that there was a god, because why would a god let that happen to me? But after today, I guess there are things out there, but not from any religion I have heard of before. 'Well, we gods have modernized quite a bit.'  he said. What on earth was that supposed to mean? And why did Miteus decide to train me, out of all the people, last-minute? There had to be a good reason. Or maybe he was just horrible at planning.

My mind trailed off to the Death Granters, Ludis and Alden. Would I even be able to handle them by myself? Then I suddenly remembered Miteus saying, "Eira will take care of you..." Curious, I sat up on my bed and grabbed the book he gave me from my nightstand. I opened to the first page, and it read: Loreid: U.S., Los Angeles, California; Death Counter

I flipped back and forth between the pages until I found the section labeled Oklahoma. I skimmed through: Alden... Eira... Finally, I found her name.

Eira: U.S., Tulsa, Oklahoma; Magnus Death Counter
*Affinity: Control over Weather

Idly, I had fallen asleep, but it was impossible for me to stay that way when I didn't need rest anymore. Before I knew it, dawn arrived, and the sun peeked through my curtains. I checked my alarm. It read 6:02.  I had to be at the diner by 7:00, so I started getting ready. The fact that I was now a Death Counter doesn't mean my apartment payed for itself.

 As I poured some milk into my bowl of cereal, I remembered that I didn't even have to eat. Still, I ate it anyways, you know, just to feel human.. I wasn't ready yet to take on this title as a Death Counter.  

Heh, walking is for people who aren't death gods, I thought. Laying crossways on my bed, I waited until 5:57, and then teleported to the back of Tally's Cafe.

 I walked around the building and into the door, beginning to work, as if it was a normal day and that the events that happened the night prior never happened. But I payed special attention to the Death Clocks of people, making sure to keep an eye out for those that were flashing red. The day went by normally, and I was beginning to think that nothing bad was going to happen that day like I'd hoped.  

That is, until Andrew, a regular customer, walked in. I suddenly sensed that something was wrong, except the feeling was far stronger than when I sensed Jade's death. The first thing I noticed when I saw him pass the doors of the diner was his bright-red, flashing Death Clock:  

0 yrs. || 4 days || 1:52:04