Death Lives

Chapter 2

     He stood across from her, watching as the summer wind toyed with her hair. He hated this part of the job, watching and waiting as he carried out the list only he could bare. In all his time watching the torment he brought was the part he hated the most. Seeing the disbelief, the shock, the horror and the pain in the loved ones eyes as his work was done.
     Sure there were times he took pleasure in his job. When it was time to snuff out the life of someone truly evil, someone who didn't deserve to breath air. There were far to many times that he would take a victims life while their assailant stood there, oh how he wished all their names would appear on his list. Or the bittersweet sorrow when it was time to end the suffering of someone in immense pain. But this wasn't one of those times.
     He had seen her more then once before, he had taken people close to her before. He knew the girl across the street, he hated seeing her crying. Such bright eyes dull with pain and sorrow, he wished he could give her comfort as a reaper took her loved ones across the veil. And just like the time before it would happen again this day.
He was death, the unexpected suitor to those who saw him.
    Death could hide in plain sight, and not soul would see him. He could walk through a sea of party goers, people packed in so tight that air barely moved and approach the person on his list. Then and only then that person could see him, they never knew in that moment they were conversing with death itself. Not until the body hit the floor and soul continued to stand, when the reaper approached that's when they knew.
      He smiled at her and waved, all he wanted was to ease the pain she would endure today. He knew, death knew the kids on the list were her own flesh and blood. He could see the exhaust written the single moms face as she waited on the sidewalk for the silver van to pass. She smiled back and waved and death stared at her in confusion.
     The van passed, with a flick of his wrist and a snap of his fingers the driver of the semi woke. It was a moment to late though and death knew that. The man driving the semi slammed on the air brakes, and began to attempt to stop the big rig. It hit the silver van dead center, instantly the fiber glass sliding door smashed inward. The body began to crumble and the frame buckled under the stress and pressure that the bigger vehicle caused.
    The windshield exploded outward, glass flew through the air, raining down onto the roadway and the front two tires rolled partially up onto the damage van. Inch by sliding inch became more and more unrecognizable. Death watched her from across the street as her father's body slumped forward and the horn began to blare.
    She took a few heaving breaths before a scream ripped from her lips, tears began to stream down her face as she stood glued to her spot. He looked down at the sidewalk knowing the reaper was here for her bounty, he didn't want to see her world desolve from under her feet. He hated himself in this moment more then any other, he hated to rip her family from her in such a forceful matter.
    When death looked up he had seen the blood had drained from her, her skin ashen as she knelt on the cement. Her body slowly tilting as she  fell the rest of way down. He briskly crossed the street, ghostly walking through a car that was coming up the intersection and noticed her face was slack, pupils dilated. He looked over her body and knew she was going into cardiac arrest.
    "You are so not going to do this to me, are you?" He stated, looking around. This was not what he had intended on happening, she wasn't on his list, she isn't suppose to die. "You've got to be kidding."
     He threw a look toward the scene of the wreck, an ambulance had finally shown up but they were to busy to notice the woman slowly slipping into unconsciousness. He had to act fast, souls that passed before their time had no where to go. The reaper would never show and she would be lost in limbo.
    All death had to do was get her heart started again, and get the paramedics over to keep her alive.
    He sank to knees, allowing his body to cross the threshold to the plain of the living. He looked down at her as he got into position to start resuscitation.
    "It's not your time, not yet." He told her before tilting her head back. Death pinched the bridge of her nose, her skin was soft, softer then he had imagined it would be. Not that he had had much human touch to compare it to.
    Death covered her lips with his, he breathed into threw his nose and exhaled threw his mouth. Her chest rose as air was forced into her lungs, he did it again. He rested back as he placed his hands over her chest, placing the heel of his palm between the valley of her breasts. She looked peaceful, but it wasn't her turn, everything in time.
     "Can I get some help?" He yelled toward the crowded as he start chest compressions on her.
   The irony of the moment had crossed him as he continued to compress down her chest in an ease rhythm. He was death, the person who brought the human soul out of its body so they could cross over the veil. And yet here he was, giving her the kiss of life, the opposite of what his job was. People slowly started to turn and look at him so he yelled. "Please!"
     A parametric looked over and immediately sprang into action, in a moment it went the two of them to a whole team of people. He had felt her heart start as he stepped away to let them in. They asked him questions but he couldn't tell them anything about her, except that she collapsed after seeing the car accident.
    They loaded the woman onto a gurney as they hooked tubes and IV's into her, death stood to the side as they rolled her back to the ambulance loading her in.