Death's Stigma (NanoWriMo14)

Chapter 5

The smell of food was what had dragged Nadia out of bed. After a week of living with the team, Ryan's food was still more affective than any alarm clock. She shuffled downstairs like a zombie, her whole body aching. Her marks burned and her entire back was a massive bruise.

"You're up early." Ryan said as she sat down at the table. She put a mug of coffee on the table next.

"I think I'm gonna die." She said with a groan.

"On the bright side, you probably set the world record for a human cannonball. Elizabeth only made it three-quarters of the way through a skyscraper."

Nadia took a sip of her coffee and tried to stand up.

"Nope, you stay there." Ryan put a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her down. "Your going to sit and I'm going to make you something to eat."

"Thanks."

She moved her arm and stifled a yelp as her shirt tightened around her arm. The skin was inflamed and irritated.

"Why do they do that? Burn like that?"

"It's a warning, the closer the I am to burning myself out the more they hurt."

"That seems sadistic, who designed them like that."

Nadia stared into her cup as her skin crawled thinking about it. Ryan put a steaming plate in front of her.

"You don't gotta tell me, we all have our demons."

"Why are you up so early?" Nadia asked taking a big scoop of eggs and hash browns.

"It's nice to have the house to myself for an hour or two. I'm also getting ready to go hunting."

"You hunt?" She said with a mouthful of food.

"Yeah, I was raised in the backwoods of Michigan. Every so often I like to take a weekend and head into the woods. Ever been hunting."

"I'm a city girl, spent my whole life in Liverpool."

"Wanna come?"

She took another bite and thought it over.

"Sure, I got nothing better to do this weekend."

"If you're up for it pack a change of cloths and your phone."

"Alright." She finished off her food and made her way back up the stairs. After applying her ointment she grabbed a long sleeve and jeans. She stuffed some cloths into a bag and met Ryan by the door. There was a case laying there with Nadia's name on it.

"Let's go, grab some bags and head to the garage."

They took the elevator to the underground parking garage. Nadia put the bags into Ryan's pickup truck and got in the passenger side. Ryan got in and tossed her a pillow.

"You're going to need this."

They pulled out and Ryan turned north towards the woods outside the city.

"Everyone's got a story, so what's yours?" Ryan asked.

"What do you mean?" Nadia replied.

"How'd you end up meeting Lord Death?"

"You mean why I killed myself?" She looked down for a minute. "I was at a party. Some guy started getting grabby and I called my mum to pick me up. She was on her way there when...". A tear trickled down her cheek. "When she blew a red light and a...a semi hit her. I had a friend take me home. My mom didn't take pills or own any guns so I...I...I drank a bottle of bleach." She was crying, but was trying to keep herself composed.

"I'm sorry, we all know how it feels. Losing family always hurts the most."

"It feels good, feels good to tell someone." Nadia took a deep breath and slumped in her seat a little.

"I try to help everyone, it's not healthy to keep that stuff buried. Grim's the only one that won't talk to me."

"Why did you do it?" She asked.

"My mom died from lung cancer when I was eight and my dad was a cop. He died in a raid, some cartel flunkie killed him while they were raiding the place for drug. I used the pistol in my bag. I'm curious, what does bleach taste like?"

Nadia laughed and stuck out her tongue in disgust.

"Like pool chlorine but a lot more burning. Had to be the worst thing I ever tasted."

"Really."She said. Nadia nodded and they laughed.

"Thanks, I needed someone to talk to."

"It's no problem, I almost lost it before I met Elizabeth."

"How'd you meet her?"

"At a funeral, her mom was killed in the same raid as my dad. Up until you came she had the worst death out of all of us. She over dosed on some cheap crack after the funeral."

"So all of us are horrible damaged, not just me." Nadia said.

"Oh yeah, we're all completely fucked up in the head. Even Katie is a ticking time bomb of depression." Nadia couldn't imagine the peppy girl being anything but happy.

"Makes you wonder what Lord Death was thinking when he came to us."

"Who knows, who cares? Just look on the brightside, now you are a bad ass demon hunter."

"True."

They pulled out of the city and into the rural area surrounding it. Ryan tore down the dirt roads like she knew the path by heart. The canopy of trees grew thick until Nadia almost couldn't see the sky anymore.

"This is our stop." She stopped and pulled the truck into a small clearing. They climbed out and pulled their backpacks out of the back. Ryan grabbed her rifle case but there was still the black case with Nadia's name on it.

"What is this?" She said pulling it onto the tail gate.

"No clue, I've never seen it before."

It had the green skull on it and when Nadia opened it a Death Field opened around them. She pulled out a black bow and looked at. It was futuristic and elegant with the marks on her body painted on. There was an arm guard but no quiver. She pulled it back and a shimmering green arrow formed.

"Looks like the boss thought you deserved a present."

"It's beautiful." They felt a spike and looked into the woods.

"Looks like you get a chance to try it out Ryan said.

5373 words down.