💀Death's Apprentice💀

Chapter Fourteen: A Newspaper From 1934

Rose Delaney

          It had been so hard to leave the comfort of silky pajamas and the fluffy down of white cotton bedding, but a glass pitcher of ice water to the face had put a stop to that real quick. I was glad to at least get away from the flowers. Now we all trudged down a makeshift hallway that led us from the airport and into the plane. Death walked along with a smug look as I glared daggers at him. I appreciated the nice clothes his apartment had given me to wear that day, but I never had been a morning shower person.

          "Don't like ice baths, huh? Hot as Hades?" The apprentice smirked playfully.

          "The person or the place?" I asked half-heartedly.

          "Either. They're both real."

          "What about non-Greek religions?"

          "They're real, too."

          "Well, how does that work?!"

          Death cleared his throat. We both turned to look at him. He gestured to the other passengers trudging around us. Right...public place. I groaned, not satisfied with the knowledge given to me but knowing I had to give up the conversation for now.

          Someone shoulder checked me as they hurried past. I couldn't tell whether they did it on purpose or not, but I decided not to comment on it as I watched them. It had been a short woman walking next to a man I assumed she was with. The two walked arm in arm as they made their way onto the plane. I slowed down my walk. Something about them bothered me. It could have just been their rudeness, but there was something else...

           "Something is wrong. Something about that couple is off." I whispered to the apprentice, and in turn he relayed it to Death. They looked up suspiciously, but the couple was already hidden inside. I tried to find them as we got into our seats, but they were nowhere to be seen. Just as the flight attendants began to give directions I managed to spot them.

          The girl was peering over an old newspaper-right at me. I elbowed Death, who got the hint as I stared at them even after she had raised her newspaper. She was so short that the flight attendants couldn't see her over the seats in front on her. Death continued to stare with me until one of the flight attendants scolded us, and we reluctantly turned around and listened to them. I glanced behind me and managed to catch a glimpse of the newspaper the man of the duo was holding.

          'Report of May 23, 1934.' It read.

           Once the flight attendant's demonstration was over and the plane had taken off, the woman went to the front and requested to speak to one of the pilots. I decided to pretend to go to the bathroom. Some nagging feeling told me I needed to get a closer look at that newspaper. The idea of getting closer to them made me jittery, but the curiosity was eating away at my brain! I stood up and began to walk down the aisle. Death and the apprentice watched me curiously. I was halfway to the couple. Their faces were still hidden by their newspapers. Now I was close enough to read the headline.

          "DETAILS OF BARROW-PARKER KILLING IN AMBUSH REVEALED" The headline practically screamed. I frowned as I looked closely at the pictures of the couple gunned down inside of a car even older than the newspaper. Woosh! In an instant the man had stood up, stepped in front of me, and hoisted me into the air by the throat. He looked exactly like the man from the newspaper. Now that we were face to face I could see the eerie blue glow of magic in his eyes.

           "Bun n' cloud..." I choked.

          "What?!" The apprentice shouted in confusion. Loud protests came from other passengers as they began to notice my predicament. Death and the apprentice scurried to get up. One person tried to pry the fingers off of my throat, but the man only grabbed him as well and tossed him into the crowd, sending dozens of people ducking into their seats.

          "BONNIE AND CLYDE!" I rasped.

          The boys shot into action, sprinting up the aisle just before Clyde catapulted me into them. They both tried to catch me, sending the three of us sprawling. Instead of colliding with the hard, dirty floor I landed on something-or someone. I lifted my head and looked up, expecting to see the apprentice. It was Death.

           "Ack!" He yelped.

          "Ahhh!" I shrieked. We shoved each other away before leaning up. Glares settled onto our faces as we looked back at Clyde. Instead we both made eye contact with the apprentice. He was dying with amusement as he watched us.

           "WHAT?!" We snapped at the same time.

          "Nothing! Shall we?" He laughed. The three of us scrambled up and began to run at Clyde just as the plane shook with a terrible turbulence. Everyone but Clyde fell to the floor. We tried to stand again, but another jolt of turbulence shook us to the ground. I pounded at the ground in impatience.

          Suddenly gravity began to shift. A laptop case slid under the seats. Next there was a little kid's froggy backpack. Then a brief case. We all stood on wobbly legs, holding onto the seats for balance as gravity began to dissipate. Frantic yelling started as I felt everything get lighter.

          Then the plane dipped forward, and the screaming started. A red light flashed over my head, and I instantly knew that it was the seatbelt sign. Panicked parents buckled in their kids before strapping themselves in. They tried to comfort their little ones, telling them it was alright, but their kids knew their parents too well to believe their frightened faces. Many of the passengers started to cry.

          I tight, sinking feeling crept into my chest and sent a cold, sharp tingling sensation through my limbs. Fear. It shut out the sounds of Death and the apprentice's voices as they spoke quickly to each other. I turned to look out one of the windows only to see clouds going the entirely wrong way. The sensation took the breath right out of me. It was so obvious even a kid could tell what was going on. Our plane was crashing.