Sudden Departure

Chapter Nineteen

Two blue pools dripped above me, leaking alertness into me. The pools were dark and navy in color with a small ring of white circling a deep black pit. It swirled around directly over my face and dripped, one drop at a time, slowly waking me up.

My eyes widened to find Death leaning over me, an almost angry look in his cold navy eyes.

"You missed our meeting this morning," he announced coolly.

I shifted underneath the covers. I can't believe I forgot about that meeting, I thought with shock. Now, my chances of getting assigned are definitely lessened.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I couldn't get to sleep last night and I guess I slept in late."

He furrowed his eyebrows for a minute before turning away and heading towards the door. "Come with me."

I scrambled from the bed, all of my clothes from last-night still on, and jogged to meet up with him.

When we left the Scouts' rooms I expected a rush of noise to crash into my ears. Instead, it was dead silent. The lobby was empty and devoid of its usual chatter. Our footsteps echoed loudly off of the floor as we made out way to the elevator.

"Where is everybody?" I asked.

Death shrugged. "Missions, visiting Paradise, sometimes we have busy days."

I nodded and let the silence retain its place over us.

I gazed out the clear glass of the elevator as Death and I descended passed the housing levels, the main lobby, and a luxurious room filled with furniture and junk food. The elevator stopped at a long, wide-ish hallway. The walls and floor were a gray cement.

Death set off from the elevator with a long stride. His long legs pushed from the ground and propelled him at a speed that my short legs had to jog to keep up with. Even though he was old and hunched over, I could tell that when he was younger he was tall and strong. Much taller than me.

We walked (jogged) for what seemed like forever down the hallway, until we turned into a doorway. We were in a sort of stadium room. The ceiling were high and egg shaped, into a huge dome. A long running track was looped around an oval shaped field of synthetic grass. Stadium lights were embedded into the walls and ceiling, lighting up the room very brightly.

What is this place, I thought while looking around.

Almost reading my mind, Death spoke up. "Welcome to one of our many training facilities."

"Why are we here?" I questioned.

"I wanted to see your reactions in a different environment," a goofy smile filled his face. The smile didn't reach his cold, sad eyes. "An old man like me can also get sick of the same old room after hundreds of years."

I weakly returned his smile and turned to the center of the room. In the middle of the grass sat a wooden stool. I looked at Death and he nodded, motioning me to sit on it.

Once I took my place, Death went over the process from the other day. I closed my eyes and listened to Death draw his soul out of his body and tap into my mind.

A rush of wind rustled my hair. I opened my eyes and found that I was no longer in the training room, but in a cemetery. I looked down at the stool, it had turned into a headstone. I slid off of it.

It read:

Shailene O'Laughlin

A loving sister, daughter, and friend

Reach for the moon, even if you miss you'll land among the stars.

-Les Brown

A sad smile graced my face. I was at my grave.