When she unexpectedly dies, Mackenzie Bowen lacks the paperwork she needs to pass into The Beyond. To avoid sitting in a waiting room for centuries, Mack is paired with Leon, a miserable Reaper, and hopes to either undo her death or earn her spot be...
ओह! यह छवि हमारे सामग्री दिशानिर्देशों का पालन नहीं करती है। प्रकाशन जारी रखने के लिए, कृपया इसे हटा दें या कोई भिन्न छवि अपलोड करें।
The office was innocuous to say that, beyond the door, was the person who'd decide my fate. A frosted pane was set into the dark wood and someone had screwed a brass plate beneath it.
Jane Doe
Undead Affairs and Soul Allocation
Leon reached for a tarnished bronze handle when I noticed a sheet of paper affixed to the glass which said in bold letters, KNOCK FIRST. Realising that Leon had no intention of doing any such thing, I reached out a hand and grasped his arm to stop him.
"You're meant to knock first."
Leon paused. "Why the Hell would I knock?"
The Reaper had reason to care when he turned the handle and the door swung inward. Leon followed with an exclamation of surprise and was lifted onto his toes. He slammed one hand against the doorframe so that he didn't tumble right through. I lunged forwards and wrapped my arms around his waist from behind as he teetered on the edge of a swirling black vortex within which lightning crackled, threatening to obliterate any matter in its path. It took our combined strength to pull him back into a standing position. Once he staggered back to the relative safety of the stable ground, the door slammed in our faces.
Breathless in shock, I told him, "That's why."
Leon nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. Good call. I'll just..."
The Reaper cleared his throat and drummed his knuckles against the window. Before he could try the handle again, it turned of its own accord and the door swung back to invite us inside. Gone was the chasm of doom and destruction, and in its place was a simply furnished office. The walls and ceiling were magnolia, while the linoleum floor tiles were light grey with a few darker flecks. Ahead of us stood a reception desk which reminded me of the sort one might find in a post office or bank, with rooms beyond for clerical use. The lower half was wood panelled, and the upper was glass, and a woman sat behind one window tapping away on an ancient white keyboard. She was a neat, sensible-looking person. Her half-moon spectacles perched on her button nose, her soft brown hair had been coaxed back into a loose bun, and she had knotted a white sweater over the shoulders of her light blue dress.
With a flick of his wrist, the clipboard reappeared in the Reaper's hand. Leon approached the woman, tapping said clipboard against his abdomen slowly and rhythmically. She didn't look up to greet him, not even when he cleared his throat to get her attention. I scurried along in his wake, peering around at the plain room. A small smile tugged at her mouth, and I realised she liked to keep Leon waiting and revelled in his infuriation. She noticed me and I thought I saw her eyes widen behind her lenses.
Unable to draw out her task of irritating him any longer, she asked, "How can I help, Leon?"
"Dropping off. At least, I'm attempting to. I need her travel papers."
"You're alone?"
"Jack is... Yes. Alone."
The woman didn't look wholly surprised by this information. I wasn't sure who Jack was. A friend, perhaps? If he was, then clearly, he was a friend who couldn't stand Leon's attitude and had left him to his own devices. I couldn't say I blamed him. I'd have liked to do the same, but it looked like I was stuck with the guy until I got a ticket or whatever it was I was meant to do.
