CHAPTER TWELVE -- NO ONE DESERVES DEATH’S HOLD

  1

  As the battering intensified on the other side of the locked doors of Skulton’s office, Graves retrieved her scythe and stalked to where Dodd lay, writhing in pain from his shattered ankle.

  “I'll make it quick, my love,” Graves said with genuine regret as she loomed over him.

  Dodd frantically groped for a weapon in the broken glass and remnants of Skulton's smashed display case. As his trembling fingers brushed against a sword, he managed to grab it.

  Graves prepared to deliver an executioner's stroke, but Dodd was an instant quicker and thrust the sword into her belly. Eyes wide with surprise, Graves’s scythe slipped from her hands as he drove the blade deeper into her. Dark blood gushed from Graves as Dodd forced her back. The sword pushed through her and penetrated deep into the wall behind her, pinning her to it.

  A hint of a smile played on Graves’s face as she gasped in pain. “You missed my heart.”

  “I wasn't aiming for it.” Fading fast, Dodd staggered to Skulton's desk and tapped some numbers on the keypad, but failed to unlock the double doors. “What’s the code to open the doors?”

  “You couldn't kill me, even though I was trying to kill you.” Graves pulled on the sword's grip, trying to free herself from impalement by prying the blade loose from the wall behind her.

  “Please, don't do that. It's over,” Dodd said, inky fluid flowing from his multiple wounds.

  “When I get free, I'm going to do to you what you're unable to do to me,” Graves threatened as Dodd retrieved her scythe and limped over to her. “You won't kill me. You can't.”

  “Don't make me. Please,” he pled as she struggled to work the impaling blade free from the wall.

  With both hands on the sword’s grip, Graves had almost pulled it free when Dodd suddenly struck. In one fluid motion, he slashed through her wrists with the scythe. Both of her hands were neatly severed, her black blood spewing from the stumps like oily geysers. Pinned helplessly to the wall, she shrieked in pain and rage as she stared at her hands lying uselessly on the ground.

  “I'm sorry.” Dodd collapsed as the lock on the doors finally broke and the doors burst open.

  2

  Ross lay battered and convulsing on the lab’s roof. “Your boss is dead by now,” he growled at Morton through gritted teeth. “It doesn't matter what you do to me; your side has lost. It's over.”

  Morton pulled out the glass cylinder he took from the containment chamber. He held it out, taunting Ross. “Oh, no. It's far from over.” He returned the container back into his pocket and punctuated his statement by smashing Ross's elbow with the bat. Ross screamed and cradled his arm, writhing on the ground. Mercifully, this blow finally broke the cracked weapon in half.

  Morton tossed the sundered bat and dragged a still-helpless Ross over to the roof's edge. He peered over the side of the building and down several stories to the empty parking lot below. “I wish I could drop you on a car, that would look cool. But the hard pavement will have to do.”

  When Morton leaned forward to push his convulsing foe off the building, his unusual choice in jewelry popped out from under his shirt. Ross's eyes widened as he saw the soul cell from Toth’s Scythe pistol hanging from a thick gold chain around Morton's neck.

  Ross grabbed for the silver cylinder as Morton pushed him off the roof and managed to snag the chain as he began to fall. Morton tipped forward as he tried to break Ross's death grip.

  The chain’s clasp broke a moment too late. Morton's forward motion continued as his feet slipped on the graveled roof. He toppled over the side, following Ross to the ground below.

  3

  Theda lay on the floor of the containment chamber as a panic-stricken Kritt pounded on the door.

  “Warning. Purge system in effect,” the computer voice announced over the PA.

  “It won't be long now,” Theda said. “It’s going to be painful. Luckily, I’ll be dead before then.”

  The air vents hissed loudly as the room filled with an ominous grey mist. Theda smiled grimly when Kritt sobbed in desperation and shoved her gun’s barrel into her own mouth. As she pulled the trigger, Kritt saw Angelina on the other side of the glass, firing her Scythe pistol at her.

  4

  Ross slowly opened his eyes to find himself lying flat on the pavement of lab’s parking lot.

  Grimacing in pain, he surveyed the extensive damage done to his body. Trying to move, his shattered legs and arm flopped uselessly. The black reaper fluid flowed from his many injuries. He glared in disbelief when he saw that Morton survived the fall by landing in a flower bed.

  Dazed, Morton clutched his ribs and slowly sat up. His labored breathing was raspy and wet.

  After adjusting his glasses, he saw Ross stirring and tried in vain to get his own legs moving.

  “You’re all done,” Ross said. “You probably broke your back. Maybe even punctured a lung.”

  With great effort, Morton grunted in pain as he pulled out the glass container stolen from the lab. Coughing up blood, he placed it on the pavement between him and Ross.

  “Why won't you just die?” Ross asked, his convulsions finally beginning to fade.

  Morton selected a brick in the planter that was broken loose by his fall. “I will, but not alone.” He hoisted the brick, preparing to smash the glass container. “Flu season is about to begin.”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Reaching out with his good arm, Ross grabbed the container as Morton slammed the brick down. Ross screamed in agony as the brick crushed his hand. Morton raised the brick for another attempt, but paused when he spotted an old sedan speeding across the parking lot towards him.

  As the car screeched to a halt, Dodd and Dr. Dee climbed out. Morton recoiled in terror when he saw Dodd drawing his Scythe pistol and activating it. The brick slipped from his trembling hand.

  “No, you can't!” Morton cried out as he feebly crawled away with his legs dragging behind.

  Dodd fired his Scythe at Morton. The white beam from the pistol flew through the air and struck him in the back. Shrieking, Morton clawed at his throat as if trying to remove an invisible noose. The red-lensed glasses fell away, revealing his bulging eyes as he suffocated. He flopped onto his back amid the flowers, convulsing violently as his face turned a dark shade of purple.

  After several agonizing seconds, Morton choked to death. As he breathed his last, a dark, sickly yellow light left his body and hurtled back to the tiny prism on Dodd’s Scythe pistol. Nodding in grim satisfaction, Dodd pressed some buttons on his weapon and holstered it.

  Ross slowly opened his crushed hand to reveal the still-intact container. He sighed in relief.

  Dodd limped over to Ross with some help from Dr. Dee. “Are you still alive?”

  “No, I'm still dead,” Ross said, laughing through teeth gritted in pain.

  Dodd spotted Toth's soul cell lying nearby and handed it to Ross. “But not for long.”

  Dr. Dee examined Ross. “Look what a mess you are. It seems like we will have a long night of body work ahead of us,” she said as she injected him with a syringe filled with the silver fluid.

  “There's still some business we have to attend to inside,” Dodd said with regret.

  5

  Her face etched with sorrow; Angelina peered through the windows into the containment chamber. Dodd and Dr. Dee helped Ross stagger into the lab and sat him down in a chair.

  Ross asked, “Angelina, what are you doing here?”

  Angelina replied, “The Fates called me to take care of this big rush job. Are you both alright?”

  “We're pretty banged up, but we're okay. What's the status in there?” Dodd asked.

  Angelina glanced compassionately at Ross. “It's just about time.”

  “Are some of the bad guys still alive?” Ross inquired with a scowl.

  “No, they're all dead now,” Angelina replied, her sad but calming eyes focused on Ross.

  Dodd slid Ross's chair over to the large windows that provided a view into the containment chamber. Inside the sealed room, the mist had dissipated. Ross and the reapers looked in at the bodies of Kritt, Toomis, Vaught, Moss and Sarn that were strewn about on the floor.

  “What happened? Did Morton betray and kill them all?” Ross asked.

  “No. She stopped them,” Angelina directed Ross's gaze to the corner of the containment room where Theda lay in a pool of her own blood.

  “Theda, no! I thought she went home for the night. She came back?” Horrified, Ross pounded on the glass, but Theda's eyes maintained an empty listless stare. “Theda! Theda! Is she...?”

  Angelina placed a comforting hand on Ross's shoulder. “She's still alive, but barely.”

  “We have to save her, open the door!” Ross yelled. “I'm a paramedic, I can treat her!” He tried to reach for the door, but his broken body failed to respond. Angelina gently kept him in the chair.

  “The door can't unlock until the decontamination process is done,” Angelina stated calmly.

  Anguished, Ross slumped in the chair, helplessly watching Theda. “What happened to her?”

  “Theda trapped that group in there and they shot her for it. Then she told them they’d die from the decontamination process. In truth, the procedure is unpleasant without protective gear, but it's not fatal,” Angelina explained. “She tricked them with that lie, which caused them to panic and turn on each other. She gave her life to prevent them from killing a lot of other people.”

  Grief-stricken, Ross watched as Theda's breathing grew shallow. “Does she really have to die?”

  “I’m sorry, it’s her time,” Dodd said solemnly. “It’s her destiny.”

  Heartbroken, Ross uttered, “Please give me the Scythe pistol. I'll do it. She’d want that.”

  Angelina looked to Dodd, who nodded. Angelina activated her Scythe pistol and gave it to Ross.

  With a rush of tears, Ross pointed the Scythe at his would-be fiancé and fired. “Theda, I love you.” A white beam flew from the gun and enveloped Theda, bathing her in its brilliant glow.

  Nearly unconscious, Theda's gaze shifted. She looked at Ross and weakly mumbled, “Ross.” Her eyes closed as she died. A warm amber glow left her body and floated back into the pistol.

  Ross cradled the weapon to his chest and sobbed, “I'm not going back to life.”

  “You have to. This is how it’s supposed to be,” Dodd said. “She dies but your fate is to live on.”

  Ross shook his head defiantly, “I don't care. I don't want to go on living without her.”

  Angelina replied, “I can't imagine Theda would want you to give up on your life.”

  Ross stared at Theda’s lifeless body, “No, but she'd understand that I want us to be together.”

  “It's not an option. Theda is dead. There's nothing we can do about it,” Dodd said.

  “If you send me back to my life, then I'll just kill myself,” Ross stated coldly.

  Dr. Dee patted Ross’s arm, comfortingly. “You still have your whole life yet to live.”

  “If this had happened the way it was destined to, I would've gone on with my life. But knowing what I know now, I can't,” Ross said sadly. “Now I want to be with her, wherever she's going.”

  Dodd replied, “She's going to the Great Beyond. You can’t follow her. You're not due there for decades.” Angelina gently tried to retrieve her Scythe but Ross gripped it tightly as he grieved.

  Ross’s face brightened with hope. “Wait a minute. Can you make both of us reapers?”

  The reapers exchanged doubtful glances. Dodd asked, “Is that what you really want?”

  Ross replied, “I can’t say I’m looking forward to spending my afterlife serving up death to people day after day, but I am willing to do just that if it's the only way for us to stay together.”

  “And what about Theda?” Angelina asked. “Is that what she’d want?”

  “I can't speak for her, but I'm sure she'd agree to it for the same reason,” Ross answered.

  “You won't make it as a reaper if you’re only applying for the job as a desperate measure to stay together,” Dr. Dee stated. “We can't recommend you two for the position. I’m truly sorry.”

  Dodd studied Ross for a moment. “There's one more option. You and Theda could be Storks.”

  6

  Dodd entered a prison visitation area that resembled a medieval dungeon. He walked across the dimly-illuminated chamber to where thick iron bars ran the length of the room, dividing it in half. As he peered through the bars, an old metal door screeched open from the darkness beyond.

  With the sound of rattling chains, Graves shuffled into view on the other side of the bars. She wore a dirty grey wool uniform and was swaddled in a ridiculous amount of heavy iron restraints. Her reattached hands were manacled in front of her. A metal collar on her neck held her head upright into a rigid uncomfortable position. Her ankles were shackled together, making it difficult for her to walk. Though covered with over half of her own body weight in iron, she carried herself as one whose spirit is unbroken. “Thanks for coming,” she said with a wan smile.

  Dodd replied, “I’m sorry I didn't really get the chance to say goodbye to you at your trial.”

  Graves nodded, her face brightened slightly. “I hear they made you chief. Congratulations.”

  “Thanks. I’m only an interim chief until things get sorted out and they find a suitable replacement,” Dodd answered. “I see they reattached your hands. How are they working?”

  Smirking ruefully, Graves studied her hands as she clenched and unclenched them, testing their responsiveness. “They’re getting better. I heard the judges weren't going to give me my hands back, but you intervened. I’m grateful.” When she glimpsed the grotesque bracelets of jagged scars on her wrists, she shifted the manacles to cover them up. “I'm really going to miss you.”

  “I’ll miss you too,” Dodd said with regret. “Things just won’t be the same without you.”

  “I sure wish you had accepted my offer when we were in Skulton’s office,” Graves sighed.

  “I was sorely tempted,” Dodd replied with a faint smile. “Believe me.”

  “I still love you. I always have.”

  “I know. Same here.”

  Graves grabbed the iron bars and leaned in close to Dodd. “They're sending me to Death's Hold. Why did they sentence me to that infernal place? It’s not even designed to incarcerate humans.”

  “Because of you, five reapers are no longer with us,” Dodd stated evenly. “Not to mention all the living people whose destinies you altered.”

  “I know I must be punished, but don't let them send me to that tormenting hellscape,” she pled.

  “You violated our primary tenet,” he said. “You played God, choosing who lives and who dies.”

  “You're the big hero. Tell the judges this retribution is too cruel. No one deserves Death’s Hold.”

  “I can't do that,” Dodd said after a long pause. “I agree with their decision.”

  Graves went apoplectic. Her face transformed, twisted by seething rage as her eyes burned with fury. The bars creaked under the death-grip of her clenching fists. “Damn you to Hell, Dodd!”

  Two spectral guards materialized from the gloom behind Graves. Dressed in ragged cloaks and carrying rusty scythes, their eyes glowed red like embers in the darkness of their hoods. When they grabbed Graves, she shrieked and convulsed as if an electric current coursed through her.

  “I'm going to escape! I'll find a way!” Graves howled as the sentries dragged her back into the shadows. “When I get out, I'm coming for you!” Her screams faded as a door screeched shut.

  Dodd's eyes fell upon the thick iron bars that Graves had gripped so tightly, they were bent several inches apart. “I know you will,” he muttered to the empty chamber as he turned to leave.

  7

  A young man and woman were asleep in their bed when a golden beam of light fell on the woman, bathing her in a shiny aura. She glowed momentarily before the radiance faded into her. Some electronic beeps came from the foot of the bed where Ross, Theda and Dodd stood. Theda held a device resembling a Scythe pistol, except it was sleek, stylish, almost friendly-looking.

  “Then I push the big button again?” Theda asked as she studied the gun’s keypad.

  “Yes,” Dodd replied. Theda pressed a button on the device and it chirped. “You kids learn fast.”

  “We have a great teacher,” Ross said.

  Theda checked the pistol’s readout screen. “It’s going to be a girl. They'll name her Dora.”

  Ross perused a pink and blue file folder. “The case file says they've been trying for over a year.”

  Theda beamed. “I'm glad we could accommodate them.”

  Ross, Theda and Dodd walked out of the couple's house and headed down the driveway. “You kids are natural Storks,” Dodd said. “You're ready to fly solo.” Theda kissed Dodd on the cheek and hugged him. With a grateful smirk, Ross joined her and gave the reaper a warm embrace.

  Startled, Dodd hesitated a moment before returning their hug with a smile. “What's this for?”

  Theda replied, “Just a thank you. We may be dead, but you've given us our lives back.”

  Ross added, “That’s no small feat for a reaper.”

  THE END