Part 8
Eyes wide open she took a few deep breaths, the dream had
been vivid and even now she mentally took stock of her body, feeling like she
really had just fallen. She was sore, but before she could concentrate further
on it she was pulled back under, back into the world of dreams.
He watched Eve unobtrusively and wondered what was going
through her head. Wondered what she was seeing in her mind. She was still
resting. Her brief moment awake had her looking alert. More alert than he would
have liked to have seen her. She was supposed to be getting weaker instead she
seemed just like the same. Now she was
slumped in the bed once more and he wasn’t sure what to think. He resisted the
urge to go and touch her again. He needed his strength. Tomorrow this was going
to end, one way or the other. Tomorrow she would die.
Stretching Eve woke, a little stiff and sore, but she could
move. Getting up she looked around, death was nowhere to be seen. It had been a
long night and while she knew that she had slept, it didn’t feel like she had.
Her bones ached from deep within. Dreams had chased her all night as she slept
and every bit of pain she felt in those dreams seemed to be real pain now that
she was awake. Standing under a hot shower she tried to wash away the feeling.
It woke her up, but the soreness still remained. Dressing in silence she wasn’t
surprised to see death appear in the mirror behind her as she applied her
makeup.
“Morning, how did you sleep?” Surprise was clear on his face
as she spoke. She didn’t know if he slept at all, but as she asked, it was less
about that and more about breaking the habit of waiting for him to talk first.
She wanted to get back some of the control that he had over her.
“The night passed. You on the other hand had an active night.
I watched you. What where you dreaming about?”
“None of your business.” Eve schooled her face not to show
emotion to him at all. “Are you going to follow me again today?”
“Maybe, but that is none of your business either.” Even as he
tossed the same words she had used back at her.
“You’re trying to kill me, how is that not my business?” He
ignored her and disappeared from her sight. “I know that you are still there.
Just because you don’t want to talk to me anymore doesn’t give you the right to
disappear.” When he didn’t respond she sighed and continued getting ready for work.
How had that not worked? No one had ever lived from that
before. It was Levi’s trademark. Levi was the one who had taught him how to do
it properly for extreme cases that pain didn’t work for. Sure he had never
needed to use it before, but how did it not work on her? He stood there
watching her finish getting ready for work and still she showed no sign that
she was weak at all. In fact with the makeup on, she looked powerful, much more
powerful than he felt. The lack of rest and sleep he was getting was beginning
to take a toll on him. Maybe it was time that he spoke with his father again
and risk whatever extra punishment may come his way. His missed Eve as she
breezed out the front door, but for the first time in a few days, he was not
going to follow her. It was time to catch up with his family.
While Eve was at work, Death was visiting his brothers one by
one on his way to see their father. It wasn’t easy tracking them all down, but
he managed it without too many issues at all. It just took time. With each
brother he explained the situation and told them what he had tried. None of
them could suggest anything more to do. They had never seen anyone withstand
death before. Levi suggested his favourite preference for death, but was
disappointed to hear that it had already been tried and hadn’t worked. A
painless quick death always worked for Levi. Eric was another brother that was
disappointed that his night time touch and die during dreams had not worked.
Jordon was a fan of accidental deaths, but that was harder to work out when
there was only one person allowed to die. That was why Jordon always got the
multiples. Heath suggested poisoning, but it wasn’t effective all the time.
Mitchell was the only one who had an idea that might be of use, but to put it
into effect it would mean Mitchell doing the job and his father wouldn’t be
happy at the suggestion. Each of them had their speciality, they knew all the
different ways to kill whether they used them or not, but each of them tended
to stick with what they were the best at. It was how they worked and it was how
their father liked it to run.
In the end he swallowed his pride and sought out his father.
The godfather of death as he liked to call himself some days. In the years that
had passed he had never aged physically. He found his father underground in his
favourite dungeon. The walls were black, staircases steep and the corridors
were long dark and winding. It was like walking into the deepest depths of
hell. He was sitting on an old chair against the wall with papers on the table
in front of him.
“Have you completed that last task yet?” his father hadn’t
looked up yet, but disapproval was clear in his voice at the time that he was
taking. Their jobs were to move quickly and fast unless specified. This was not
one of those go slow times.
“No yet father. I am still having a few issues.”
“Issues? What is so hard about this task? I can repeat it for
you again slowly if you like. Kill Eve Adams.” He looked up now and his eyes
bored into mine.
“She is an angel.”
“I thought that I tasked you to kill the last of them years
ago? Don’t tell me you failed back then too.”
“No father. Ava Adams was the one we suspected to be the last
of her kind. I suspect that she didn’t know what Eve was back then.”
“I am still not seeing the issue. You have killed many angels
before” Impatience started to filter into his voice.
“She is more than just an angel. She won’t die.”
“How have you tried so far?” His father regarded him with undisguised
curiosity.
“I have tried all the ways that I normally use and some of
the ways my brothers use and have perfected and they have not helped either. It
is like she is immune to death. The total opposite to what I am.” He knew that
it sounded silly, but it had come to him like lightening. There was no other
reason that made sense. Even as he uttered the words he doubted them himself,
but if he was death, then she had to be life.
“Life, what makes you say that?” His father scoffed.
“Twice I have seen her bring a black rose to life again. She
resists death even when she is sleeping. She feels the pain I can inflict, but
doesn’t die. It is the only thing that I can think of. How am I supposed to
kill life?”
“There is no such possibility. We are death. No one can
resist our force.” His father’s tone was one of warning and force.
“I am telling you that this one can. She won’t die. I don’t
think that I am going to be able it kill her within the week, if at all.” He
hated saying those words for fear of what they could mean for him, but they
were the words that he was thinking and he would rather be upfront and honest
now, than lie and continue to fail.
“I have had enough of this.” His voice boomed and echoed
throughout the room. “I am going to send Mitchell in to see if he can help you
out. Stay out of his way. Be warned though, if he succeeds where you fail, the
outcome will still be the same and the punishment will still stand.”
Understanding the threat he walked back through the corridors and up to the
ground level. Was it wrong that he hoped that his brother failed? If that
happened he might not suffer. As the sun hit his skin he felt slightly warmer.
It was an unusual feeling considering that he was normally so cold.
Eve hadn’t seen him all day. She wasn’t sure whether to be
glad or worried by that fact. His reaction to her this morning made it was
clear that the games were stopping and that he was starting to get worried. Sure he had tried to kill her a few times in
the last few days, but the smug smile that he had first greeted her with was
fading fast as she resisted him.
“Eve what are you up to tonight?” Instantly she snapped out
of her daze at the question.
“Nothing planned Jen, just a quiet night.” With the events of
the past few days had been hard to think much in advance with death hanging
over her head for blatantly. Work and home were all that she was managing.
“It’s Friday night though. You can’t have a quiet night
tonight. How about coming out with me and the girls for a few drinks?”
“I don’t know Jen….” Part of her wished that she could let
her hair down, but the other part was scared that death was waiting for this
kind of opportunity to strike again.
“Just a few. It won’t kill you. You never know you might meet
a nice guy and finally break your man drought.”
“Oh alright, just a few.” Surely it couldn't hurt to live for
the moment, just once.
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