Katie And The Reaper (A Post-Apocalyptic Romance)

Chapter 1 - Katie age 15

The reaper was in a death coma and it was Katie's fault.

"He will come out of it or he won't."  Marie said flatly when her daughter asked.  "Not that you should care."

This was not their first conversation about the reaper and how Katie thought he should be treated.  You'd think since he'd saved their two asses that Marie would care a little more about the incapacitated guy in medical.  With the onslaught of the end times and all, Marie had discovered her super-power for compassion and healing.  She mended bodies and cried over humans, and the others all the time.  She was supposed to care about all life.  It had been written in her code, for goodness sake.  She was a mystical healer now, self-sacrificial and a peace loving free spirit.  

Except she didn't get the note that her love and pacifism extended to everyone.  Her wonder-mom didn't give a bean for the reaper and didn't care who knew it.

"He got hurt helping me.  Why wouldn't I care?"

"That would not have happened if you had stayed where you were supposed to." Marie said sharply. 

They could have this argument all day.  In fact, they had.  Katie had broken Mom's Big Rule: Stay Where I Can See You. Which, generalized, meant within the walls of whatever settlement they currently called home.  Once rule number uno was broken, all bets were off.  Mom didn't care why.  She didn't care what good was done when Katie broke the rule.  Mom didn't care about anything other than Katie had left her sight and now she needed to be house-bound and guarded and put on kitchen duty.  And there Katie would stay until she was sorry.

Only that didn't work anymore.  Katie used to be sorry about making Mom upset and worrying her.  But after the first two times of breaking the rule, that all wore off.  It was the freaking end of the world.  Katie had things to do, places to be.  Life to live. It was not the time to be all sheltered and crap. 

Not only was Marie still pissed, five weeks later, about Katie breaking rule number one, she was mad that whenever Katie needed help, the reaper appeared to do the helping.  Mom didn't just hate him, she was terrified of him. It made her beyond unreasonable.  It turned her beautiful, compassionate heart, that everyone thought was so non-judgmental and precious into a shriveled up old mushroom of bitterness.

Marie gave Katie a firm look, perfectly trimmed eyebrows down.  The former glam queen was nothing if not always the perfect beauty.  "How many times have I asked you to stay away from that creature and to stay out of medical?  He is dangerous." She enunciated the words carefully. The world was full of dangerous things; people lived behind walls, carried guns, died daily, but Mom singled the reaper out as the Most Dangerous Of Them All. "In fact, Declan thinks we need to either move him out of the compound or dispose of him.  If he doesn't rise soon, he will have no control when he wakes.  Do you know that that means? What can stop him then?  We'll put him down while we still can.  It's the best for everyone."

"Dispose of him?" Katie felt herself spit the words out in outrage. "Put him down?" She couldn't believe they'd do that.  "Put him down? Like a feral or something?  What the hell Mom.  He saved our lives.  He's helped this compound.  He-"

"He is a life-sucking-fairy-construct-psychopath that murdered and broke the world!" Marie screamed in Katie's face.  She looked ready to hit her, and Katie flinched away, a hurt, frightened look falling over her face before she could mask it.   

"You don't know him."

Marie heard her.  "You don't know him either.  You are only fifteen."

Again with the ageism.  Katie had killed human and creature alike and made snap decisions in high pressure situations no adult should have to make, but put her in a house in a safe zone, and she was only a teenager again. Her Mom wanted her to worry about school, life skills, and boys, while ignoring her actual talent-set and abilities.  It was like she couldn't see her own daughter any more.