The Reaper

Chapter 4

The hammering of his heart seemed to echo through the air, and I could feel the literal vibrations of it through the blade that was lightly placed against his jugular.

The larger man that I had kicked remained motionless on the ground as I stayed locked on my current target.

"Let us play, my pet," I whispered into his ear.

A deep shudder racked his body and his breathing and heartbeat skyrocketed. A fresh burst of fear clouded around us, and I inhaled deeply. I slowly walked around to face him while keeping the blade to his neck. His shocked intake of breathe told me my visage had shifted, and as I peered closely, I could just make out my facial features in the reflection of his eyes.

"I'm going to let you live," I hissed out, "but you are going to deliver a message to your boss for me."

The man nodded his head vigorously, sweat pouring down his face, "Yes, ma'am. Anything."

"Good."

Before he could even blink, I darted back to his unconscious friend and drove my dagger through his back, puncturing his heart, and without hesitation, I proceeded to stabbed each lung as well. When I looked back up, the smaller man had paled considerably and was starting to hyperventilate. I smiled sweetly, my dagger like teeth flashing, and without breaking eye contact, I shoved the blade into my prey's temple.

The man's legs buckled under him and he collapsed to the ground, and I chuckled.

"He really sent the two of you after me? Pathetic," I said with hate.

I hopped up from my spot on the ground and cleaned the blood off my blade using the dead man's jacket. Then I went over to my car and rummaged around until I found a piece of paper and a pen and began writing out my letter to his boss. I skipped over to where he remained on the ground and gently tucked it into the inner pocket of his coat.

I leaned in and brushed my lips over his ear, whispering, "I will know if you open this. I will know if it isn't delivered as instructed. I suggest you don't disappoint me; otherwise, I may have need to visit your beautiful wife and daughter. Perhaps they would be more inclined to help me and follow directions."

"P-please! Please leave them out of this!" he screamed, his voice cracking.

"Do as you are told, and they shall remain safe from me. Understand?"

He nodded fervently and jumped up from his place in the dirt. He cast one glance at his fallen comrade before diving into his car and speeding away as quickly as he could down the access road.

I heaved a heavy sigh once his taillights were gone and wrestled with my power in order to subdue it. I groaned in frustration as I finally managed to contain myself and walked over to the trunk of my car and pulled out a shovel. Walking a few hundred feet into the surrounding forest, I quickly began digging a shallow gr*ve for the man whose body was still leaking out on the road.

*****

After about three hours, I was back out on the interstate and making decent progress towards my target location. The shrill sound of my ringer nearly gave me a heart attack as it pierced through the silence that permeated the car. I grabbed it up from the console and gave the screen a cursory glance before pressing the green call button and putting it to my ear.

"What the hell, Grimme? It's been hours and you haven't checked in since you left? What the f*ck?" shouted Grace, an edge of hysteria creeping into her voice.

I sighed heavily before speaking, "There was a slight.. delay," I said with no emotion. I worked to keep the power from exploding outward as my body and brain tried to start reliving the memory of my encounter. I ground my teeth together and inhaled sharply before continuing, "it has been dealt with, but I'm sorry I forgot to check in. I didn't mean to worry you."

She sighed into the phone, "Are you okay?"

"No injuries. They seemed very unprepared. I expected someone better trained to be sent by Venza. He may be up to something," I said, wracking my brain to try and figure out what he was up to.

The quick gasp pulled me from my thoughts as Grace began screaming at me through the phone, "What do you mean Venza sent them? How can you be sure?"

"Grace, calm down please. They were tailing me so I pulled onto an access road and dealt with them. They said their boss sent them to get me, but they made sure to mention he was the one that performed the experiments. So, Venza," I mumbled.

"What did you do?" she whispered.

"I dealt with it. One heading to the underworld as we speak, and the other is returning to his boss with a lovely note."

The silence that reigned from the other end of the phone spoke volumes about how Grace was processing the situation. I could hear her heels clicking against the floor as she paced back and forth mumbling to herself.

"Look, try not to worry yourself overly much about this. There's honestly not much we can really do at this point. Clearly, he already knows where I am. So, the best thing we can do is to stay vigilant. Stay off the computers, okay? Make sure you always have a weapon, and don't leave your house or office without an escort. Call Marx, and I'm sure she would be more than happy to help, okay?"

Grace sighed heavily, "Fine, but she better not blow any of my sh*t up with her weirdo powers!"

I laughed loudly, "Weido powers, huh? If hers are weird, what the h*ll do mine classify as?"

"Ugh, you know what I mean, Grimme!" she huffed out.

"Just make sure you call Marx. If there's anyone I can trust to keep you safe, it's Marx," I giggled.

She huffed heavily, and I could practically hear her eyes rolling as she grumbled an agreement. After she hung up, I pulled off at a rest stop and grabbed my phone again. I scrolled through the contacts and pulled up Marx's contact information. Her ID picture popped up, and I smiled warmly. It showed the two of us standing together with our arms thrown around one another and our cheeks mashed together. It was by far one of the cheesiest photos I had ever taken, but she had insisted.

I quickly hit the call button and thrummed my fingers against the dash while it co tinued to ring. Right as I was about to hang up, I heard the line pick up. Soft breathing echoed through the ear piece, and I took a deep breathe before speaking.

"Hey, Marx. I'm calling in a favor," I murmured.

"F*ck me! This had better be good!" she exclaimed.

I stifled a laugh, "Venza is back."

Her breathing stuttered, and I could pick up the faintest scent of fear before she got herself under control. "What do you need done, and I'll do it," she said without hesitation.

"I got his calling card a couple of hours ago, and I need you to keep my associate safe while I am away."

"Just text me the information I need and consider it done, Grimme," she said, all business.

"Thank you," I breathed out.

She hung up without saying goodbye, and I immediately sent her Grace's contact information. I refused to send a street address and figured Grace would be smart enough to meet her somewhere outside of her office or apartment. After getting that taken care of, I looked around and noticed how late it had gotten. I sighed softly and crawled into the back seat. I shot another quick text to my contact in the CIA letting them know tomorrow would be when I made my sweep before placing my phone back in the center console.

I settled down into the back seat and closed my eyes. Seconds later, the nightmares started.