Death's Apprentice

2

I thought Death would've changed into something more formal, something other than his shirt and stained jeans. I doubted anyone would've called me crazy for assuming, given where we were headed, but my assumption turned out to be wrong. The only changes Death made to his outfit: his scarf wrapped around his throat and his scythe. He looked over at me and grinned, though it didn't quite reach his eyes, or his voice for that matter.

"Come on, kid. Let's not keep them waiting," he said. Aside from that, I had no warning for the sudden change of scenery. I blinked, and I blinked, and I blinked until my eyes adjusted to the bright light assaulting them. I looked at Death and shielded my eyes. His hair reflected the light like snow.

"I thought you had to do some weird slashy stuff with your scythe to do that."

"Only when we need to get out of the mortal realm. Interplanar travel is a lot easier when you're not on a nexus."

"How does that make any sense?"

"Less traffic," Death said with a shrug. "This way." As he led me along the street paved with gold, I noticed something. I couldn't hear his footsteps, which might've concerned me but we were surrounded by laughing and chattering souls. It didn't last long. When they noticed Death, they fell silent and moved away, allowing us easy access to the gates of the heavenly kingdom.

Gold and silver, not pearl and abalone, made up the delicate swirls and solid backing of the gates. Something else caught my attention, or should I say a lack of something caught my attention? Not a single guard could be seen. Nothing visible stood to prevent chaos from erupting within the crowd. My eyes flicked from place to place, trying to catch sight of some form of angel or sentry or anything that could be watching over the crowd.

"These are souls from people who did the right thing. Sure, some of them might've jaywalked or stolen a few pencils, but they weren't Hitler or Ghandi."

"What's wrong with Ghandi?"

"He was a horrible man who did great things. Oh, you know what's fun? One time I reaped a guy who kept apologizing to the thing that killed him. I think he was Australian or something, but that doesn't matter. These are the good souls who walked the Earth, so they're trusted enough to handle themselves. Besides, if any fights do break out, there's no rules stopping an angel from throwing them down."

Slowly nodding, I stared at him. "How'd you know that's what I was confused about?"

"You were mumbling to yourself," he said. "Besides, whenever I actually bring a soul up here they always ask that. Why dead people are so concerned with their safety, I have no idea." He knocked on the bottom of the gate, ignoring a guy yelling at us. Glowing edges appeared, creating a doorway which swung inward. With a dramatic flourish of his arms, Death bowed. "Welcome to Heaven."

My eyes widened, and I stared at the sprawling city before me. The streets were paved with gold and glass bricks. Puffy, cotton candy clouds edged them like sidewalks. Countless houses and parks stretched into the distance, the occasional farm sprinkled in.

"Yeah, yeah. It's nice, keep it moving. I'm not being late to this, again." Death shut the door and started along a road. I hurried after him, glancing at the glowing inhabitants. Some of them wore modern clothes, but the further we walked along the slowly inclining road the older the clothes looked, and the blonder the hair became. I rubbed my eyes, hoping I was just seeing things. I wasn't.

"Uh, does everyone just start bleaching their hair at some point?" I asked. "And their skin?" I added that as we passed by a group of people with patchwork skin, several sections giving way to glowing light. One young girl's hair floated around her head, occasionally melding into intricate horns before separating into strands. I took a step closer to Death.