“Way to spook em’ Squeakers,” I snorted.
He rolled his eyes and turned to greet his own Elementals, who were quite a different bunch compared to my guys. My Elementals were like little dark clouds everywhere they went, even with their upbeat personalities. They had this aura of seriousness that shrouded over them, drowning out any other emotion they felt, while the Life Elementals were like beacons of sunshine.
Each one, with their gorgeous gold eyes, sparkled under the sun they were made to worship. I never noticed before that Life Elementals seemed to actually glimmer under the sun’s rays. I always thought Odysseus did this because his skin tone was naturally bronze but seeing him amongst his peers proved it was also because of his element. I wondered if I glowed under moonlight like he did in the sun and made a mental note to ask him about this later.
Once our two teams were ready to go, Odysseus and I stood before a portal that was waiting to be opened. I summoned my scythe and spun it twice before addressing the nervous crowd. “Today’s task is going to include teamwork with other elements. Many Life and Death Elementals end up becomingParticeps Potestatis, so it’s only natural for you to work alongside one another. Odysseus and I would like you to perform two very important tasks today: for my Reapers, you will be given a reaping list with ten names on it. You are to reap your ten souls, bring me the souls so I can tally them, then report to your Life Elemental partner so they can complete their task.”
“Life Elementals: you will fill the place of the soul that has been reaped. You will have ten families on your list that needto be blessed with new life. I have portioned ten souls per team for you to disperse amongst these families. You will take them as I create them and bless these families. The balance of Life and Death hangs in your hands, and we need to make sure this task is done in a well-coordinated way.” Odysseus gestured to the portal behind us. “Remember that this task will make or break who makes it to our top ten candidates. Please take this very seriously but remember that you are all worthy in our eyes, regardless of if you continue forward.”
“Let’s begin.” Odysseus and I stood on either side of the portal and opened it, allowing the fifty of our Elites to enter. Once they were through, we joined them on the opposite side, where we all floated above the streets of Manhattan. Horns blared, voices yelled, and rain trickled from the never-ending sky, casting a heavy fog over the busy landscape. “Alright! Death Elementals: here are your lists. Please report back to me when you have collected all ten souls successfully.”
“Yes, Mr. Crawford!” they replied. I handed each one their batch before they turned to plumes of smoke and danced through the air, disappearing into apartment windows and through opening hospital doors.
Odysseus began to create souls, gearing up for his Elites to start their part of the task. His hands moved in circles as he spun Life energy around in them. It wove rays of sunlight through his hands like yarn, and as he did, the strands would morph into small blobs before taking shape, similar to tear drops. The droplets would hum a little as they infused with his powers before finally becoming ready to be dropped into a Human that could birth it. I was always fascinated by this process and watching him spin these souls to life was incredibly breathtaking as much as it was awe-inspiring.
I decided to take the time to investigate how my Elites were doing and drifted into a nursing home, where Calvin was reapinga bonded couple. He was concentrated on the woman, who was watching a television show on repeat. Dementia had stolen much of her mind, so she was pretty out of it, and barely paid attention to what showed on the screen. He materialized before her and read her name once more before extending his hand. “Hello there. My name is Calvin, and I am here to take you to your wonderful forever.”
“My... forever?” she croaked in a deep, pain-filled tone.
“Yes ma’am. It's time for you to go where you will feel no pain, and where you can enjoy your husband and life once more.”
She looked him up and down carefully. “You’re too young to be the God of Death?”
He chuckled lovingly. “I am one of his friends.” He winked to me over her shoulder. “He’s very excited to meet you. You don’t want to keep him waiting, do you?”
“No, I suppose I shouldn’t...” She reached for a shawl that was folded on her bedside table. “May I bring my shawl? It might be drafty where you’re taking me. I would like to keep warm if I am to wait for a long time.”
“You can bring whatever you’d like.” He placed his hand on her heart, and the moment he did, she let out one weak gasp before slowly falling into the chair. Her body slumped a little, her shawl falling down her shoulders. Calvin had enough respect to pull it back into place before he began to pull her soul from her body. The soul was as crisp and pure as can be, a true candidate for Caelum, which we were both relieved by. He cradled the soul lovingly for a moment before storing it in his scythe, nodding to me, and taking off towards the husband’s room. He was truly winning brownie points with me, for being so compassionate with these souls, and I knew I wanted him for my final ten.
Next, I ghosted into one of the harder trials, which was Beatrice reaping the soul of a man having a heart attack. Theman flopped wildly on the floor, his eyes rolling into the back of his head, while Beatrice stood like a statue and watched him flail. She was utterly frozen and only breathed huffed cries as she tried to find the courage to intervene. I went to myself, but surprisingly, Elektra appeared and dashed to the man’s side, placing her hand on his heart to stop the attack and finish him off. He decompressed loudly before finally falling still, his face stricken with pain even in death. I cringed at the sight of this but was curious to see what would happen next.
Beatrice broke into a sob and pulled on Elektra’s arm. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry! I let him suffer! I...I...? How could I freeze like that?”
“Hey, it’s ok, really. Don’t upset yourself. It happens to the best of us,” Elektra reassured her, taking the soul and placing it in the palm of Beatrice’s hands. Her mouth popped open in surprise as Elektra closed her hands around the soul. “What Nick doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
“No, Elektra, you reaped the soul, so you should take the credit!”
“Shh, it’s fine. Why don’t you swap with my next soul? It’s just a cancer patient who is passing in her sleep. It’ll be an easier task than your car crash victim.”
Beatrice nodded once, sniffling, before wrapping her arms tenderly around Elektra. “Thanks for being so cool about this. I’m so embarrassed right now.”
“I’ve frozen before, too, Bee-Bee. It just takes practice and self-restraint. Remember, we’re here to relieve them of their suffering, so we have to act fast sometimes. Don’t let nerves stop you.” Elektra stood and gestured to the window. “Hop to your next one, ok?”
“See ya, Elektra!” Beatrice turned to smoke and darted through the window, leaving Elektra to sigh to herself and look at her next reap.
I stepped out of the shadows and crossed my arms, clearing my throat loudly. Elektra jumped wildly and spun on her heel, gasping when she saw me standing there. “Um, Nick! W-What are you doing here?”
“That was an interesting choice you made just now, to help your friend like that,” I began.
She hugged herself while biting the piercing in her lip, a common habit of hers. “Look, don’t hold it against her. She’s a good Reaper, but I don’t think she’s seen more severe cases before. I don’t want her to lose a spot over one slip up.”
“I never said she would. Then again, had I not stopped in to check on you, I probably would have given her the credit for a more difficult reap: a reap she was not ready for, though.” I raised an eyebrow at her. “You handled that reap well, as well as helping your friend.”
“I, er, thanks. I only wanted to do the right thing for the Human and the situation,” she nervously explained.
“You’ve given me a lot to think about, that’s for sure.”
“Like what?” she popped.
