Grim Reaper on Speed Dial

One Dead and Dying

"24 years ago, a messenger came to us. A messenger of the council of the believed in. Too many were dying, the Earth was dying. the messenger told us of an intervention." the teacher tells a kindergarten class.

I run down the cold grey stone hallways frantically. Running not for my life, but for my big sisters. I can't let them take her.

"The wars need to end' the messenger said. The council has had enough." The man continues in a dramatic voice for the little ones. "From now on, a new rule is in place, if you murder, you lose part of your soul.' the messenger told us all those years ago. Six new species were made from this rule and a new afterlife for those who died without all of their soul intact."

My feet slam down on the pavement and stone. My breath comes out in painful gasps. My arms pump by my sides with purpose. Tears stream down my face, blurring my vision, which comes in spurts. I'm in one hallway, then by the time I blink my eyes clear of tears I'm in a new one. All sixteen years of my life have been in this prison, I know these paths, but they've never felt so small, so long. I've never felt so slow, I feel like I'm in a dream, and I'm running in quicksand. I let loose a scream of frustration that gets ripped out of my mouth by the wind slapping my face in protest to my speed. I've never run this fast, never felt so helpless.

"The new species include Demons, those who murdered and who now must feed on souls to compensate. Ferals, those who lost all of their souls and are in result, completely savage and unreachable. Daemons, those who lost part of their soul but haven't murdered yet. Whisps, soul fragments that are borne if the thing that stole them from their original body dies, and their original body still lives. They cannot reunite with the rest of their soul until all of it dies. Echos, those who died without all of their soul intact so became a representation of what their loved ones saw them as. And lastly but not least in the human department, Reaper Guardians. These are people given certain powers to kill Demons, Echos, Ferals, And occasionally Whisps. Their powers include 'life jumping', or going from any afterlife and back, teleporting, healing, and manipulation of light. They are bound by their assignment and could not stop even if they wanted to."

I hear voices and I know finally I am close to the main event room. "-Goodbye Osin Jaiden Grace," someone says, I assume having just finished her obituary. I scream in protest, tearing a path through the crowd with it. The people who've known me all my life part for me with remorse in their eyes. The Reaper Guardians who almost never come out of their sector in Cicadia now stand on the raised platform at the head of the room with my sister chained up and on her knees. One holds a huge scythe. They wear green and gold armour, laced with black accents. They look beautiful, otherworldly. Their helmets reflect the light in the room, showing my desperate reflection in it as well. They do not flinch, they do not stop. One raises the scythe above Osin. She screams at me in rage "Winnifred stop!" but I refuse. I don't even pause. I wish I had...

"The new afterlife the council created is called the Abyss. It is where anything without all of its soul intact goes, where you should all hope to avoid. " The teacher finishes. The children look up at him wonderingly, thinking over all of this new information. The teacher wishes they didn't have to learn it so young.

10 years ago...

All my life has been war and violence. Peace skipped my birth by six years, my exact age now today. In Cicadia, five is when you stop being a baby, technically it's four but the heads are lenient with fives. Sixes through twelves are children. We are not yet old enough to be put in the pit for punishment but are subject to lockup in solitary for up to three days if we do wrong. Da lectures me over this worriedly as he goes over my outfit once more with his quick hands. My older sister Osin in an adult of fifteen, and watches me with guarded eyes. She was one when Cicadia was first formed, 14 years ago. Da's fingers fly up to my hair and put two twisted strands in a braid behind my head, then he moves so Osin can take a picture of me. She gives me a smile then sets it down on the little table in our little flat. Da undoes my braids then picks up the razor from the little table and shaves off half of my hair down to a buzzcut. I look to Osin and Da's complete buzzcuts, one of their symbols of being an adult. I'm told hair is unnecessary and gets in the way, so we shave it off at intervals of age. The elderly get to go bald.

"You're a child now," Da says, his voice quiet and rough. Osin tells me our accents sound trapped and claustrophobic, we used to take time with our words, now they are clipped and rushed. I don't understand how our accent could have changed so quickly in the fourteen years since as much of Ireland and Scotland as possible threw themselves into building Cicadia. The underground city. My history teacher tells me six years ago exactly our bunker was found by the above grounders, and then we had to go even more military than we were already. I'm broken out of my thoughts when Da takes off my old emotion check collar and fits it with a new one. Osin throws the old one in the trash compactor on the inside of our flat door. I stare at Da nervously as he attaches the new clunky metal thing to my neck. The light on it goes yellow right off once it's completely hooked up and I feel the little spines of it go into the back of my neck. It's only a small tickle. "Calm down girl. This one has a worse shock. You're a big lass now, you have more power and control of your life, use it. Control yourself now." Da commands in a rough voice that's somehow soft at the same time. Osin runs her hands up and down her arms fighting goosebumps and leaves them crossed. Her pondwater Hazel eyes lock on mine, they are more green than brown today, my only tell of her emotions when her own collar will not tell me. There is a shine on them that still can't combat the dull look she has today. She is hiding things inside herself again. Suddenly she puts on the jacket she wears around her waist that used to be Da's and comes down to her knees in front of me next to Da. Her jacket smells of thing I'd never have smelt if they weren't on her jacket, Osin tells me that it is the smell of woods and fire. To me, it just smells of her. Osin brushes some hair from my face swiftly. My hair is deep burnt red, a stark contrast to my almost amber-hazel eyes.

"Not old enough to wed, but old enough to w***e around for food whatcha think?" Osin asks in a common tone as if she'd asked how my day was. I feel shock erupt over my face and a small giggle escapes me. Da snorts and cuffs Osin upside the head. Osin raises an eyebrow at me when she comes back up and smiles. My collar light blinks green now.

"s**t Osin, don't want her taking after you now!" Faolan calls out from the ratty little bed he is always nestled up in with his drawings. He's my bigger brother, an adult of thirteen. Our flat is two rooms, main, and the bathroom. This room has four beds, a small table, and our little bookshelf. Osin looks down and sees that Faolan's pencil has fallen too far from his bed for him to get up and get it again. She picks it up and flicks it at him playfully with a mischevious smile. He catches it with a smile and sets it down next to him.

"You've got new duties now little bit, time to mind," Osin says to me then takes my hand and starts to lead me out of the flat.

"drive drive drive sis! It's your only day off a year, Will can mind tomorrow when you're not off protecting our everlovin' lives. Stay and bug us a little!" Faolan pleads grabbing Osin's arms. She huffs and I hope she listens to him. I don't want to start my tasks today.

"Aye Da, have they got any real food in the cafeteria?" Osin asks in resign. I fight a gleeful smile.

"Today's ham n' beans day, and for soldiers day off I think Moira's putting in bacon bits and making scrambled eggs, then french toast." Da says with amusement. Osins eyebrows shoot up.

"then why are you bunch of-" she stops herself.

"civilian speak lass" Da chuckles.

"ahem," Osin clears her throat. "what are we waiting for then?" she amends.

"well, you obviously ya great lump!" I laugh.

"Winnifred!" Da feigns surprise.

"You're teaching her things again" Osin accuses Faolan.

"Well we can't have her defenseless against your top end ass crack now can we?" Faolan retorts. I finally dissolve into laughter.

"Now that he learned from you," Da tells Osin with suppressed laughter, his hand is over his mouth and his eyebrows are up. Today is the only day he lets things like this slide.

"Fine I get the hint I'm paying for lunch" Osin replies with an exaggerated sigh.

"Aye calm yourself little bit," Faolan warns me. "before-" but my collar shocks me anyway. My emotions got too out of hand. A small shriek escapes me and I grab onto Osins sleeve to steady myself. She strokes my hair.

"Come on then, before all the good cush's been dealt," she says, trying not to change her tone but I can hear the stress on it. I know the collars are to make us less easy to track down by ferals and such, but right now I hate them with everything I have.

Resume...

The memory costs me dearly. The split-second pause and I failed to reach Osin in time. My sister had made me feel brave and strong all my life even though I only got to see her once a year on her soldiers day off until I was ten when she was assigned to the pit and not allowed a day off for stealing art supplies for Faolan. It was his therapy. I haven't seen my sister in six years, now I see a scythe half my size swung into her and hit her right in the center of her chest. I see her small for lifted up from the impact, hear the loud thump as it enters her, and sticks our the other side. I hear the whoosh as all of her breath leaves her body in one go, and her features twist in surprise and pain, her eyes locking onto mine one last time as real fear enters them. Fear for me... Her body falls, almost in slow-motion as the Reaper Guardian rips its scythe from her, and finally, blood starts pouring, but as my sister had been turned into a demon, it is black now. Osin doesn't make a sound as she crumples, but I do. I scream enough for the both of us. I rush up towards the stage but one of the Reaper Guardian materializes in front of me an holds me back. I thrash and scream and cry, but it doesn't budge, its hold on me never loosening until the other ones have take Osin's body back towards their sector and the janitorial staff has cleaned up her blood. Its grip doesn't loosen until it shoves me back into the crowd then disappears as if it was never there. Da catches me, the shoves me back standing without any expression on his face but his message is clear, get a hold of yourself. People start walking out of the main hall quickly and in the confusion, I finally succumb to my half-crazed collar and pass out.