Death's Apprentice

20

The next day, I found myself standing knee-deep in something I hoped was water. The smell would have given it away, but with Vicks slathered under my nose, it was hard to smell anything other than the sharp scent of eucalyptus.

 Death didn't bother putting any on. He said, "If smells bothered me, I would have quit a long time ago." 

We waded through the water, venturing ever deeper into the flooded catacombs. It seeped into my shoes, and it squelched around my toes. I grimaced and tried my best to ignore it. I was going to take as many showers as I could after this, and maybe shove my feet into the lava lakes of hell. The further we went, the tighter the passageway became. Bones reached out and snagged my cloak on jagged ends while pale white skulls stared out at me from the walls. Those same bones were the only things I could see; Death blended into the darkness, and the sad excuse of night vision I had before wasn't working. For the first time in my afterlife, I was glad for the tiger harness buckled tight to me.

"Death?" I called when the line went slack.

"What?" His voice came from right in front of me. My shoulders relaxed. 

"Nothing, I just wanted to make sure you didn't ditch me." 

His deep laugh traveled down the passage. Out of nowhere fire filled the eyes of the skulls, leading down the passage like will-o-wisps.

"Okay, how many powers do you have?"

"Enough to help me in my job," he said, starting forward again. "Unfortunately, parting water isn't one of them."

The muck around us grew shallower with every step we took, soon giving way to a dry floor. I'd like to say we were quiet, that nobody would be able to hear us coming. I can't. Death's shoes squeaked worse than wet sneakers on school tile. My shoes were content making the weird gushing sound you get when liquid's moving around your foot, but that wasn't any better.

Death turned a corner. "You know, some of these bodies-"

My scream interrupted him, along with the thud of something hitting a wall. "Rat rat rat rat rat!" I ducked around him with shudders still making their way down my limbs.

"Kid, that was- okay, yeah that's a rat, all right. Run." He pushed me along.

"I thought you liked rats?"

"Only when they're carrying the plague or making food. Not when they want to eat my leg."

When we could no longer hear the angry rat noises behind us, we slowed to a walk, and Death took the lead again. It wasn't necessary. We took two steps and found the door we were looking for. There were large holes in the ancient wood, most of which were patched up. A chain fastened with a rusted padlock held the door shut.

Did Death bother looking for a key? No. Did he decide to play SWAT and kick the door down? Yes.

"There were probably other options to that," I said, picking my way around large splinters. "Like at least three."

"Was there another option to me taking away your night vision? Yes, but it wasn't as fun as dragging you through this place with the backpack." Death pulled down his hood and flashed me a smile. "Now help me look."

"You took my nightvision?! When? Why?"

"Uh, cause it was fun? Why else would I take it? Come on, help me look. It's been a few centuries since I've been down here."

I nodded. A few skulls lit up, along with candles. Candles lined shelves hewn from stone, they sat on every surface that didn't have papers, bones, or glassware. Death picked up a flask and swirled its contents around.