The Reaper's Token

I Get Blinded by Happiness But Don't Enjoy It

Violet and I walked a few yards behind Alice. We would have had to jog to match her brisk stride, and I just couldn't. Every time I looked behind me, I caught Keith scanning the roads and sidewalks behind us. He seemed to feel that something was chasing us, but I just shook my head and dismissed it. He wasn't sharing, and I wasn't asking.

Besides, what would Death be worried about anyway? Maybe he was just looking for the quickest opportunity to blow this off and sneak back to his condemned apartment to play more outdated video games.

The skies above the Financial District were overcast. Clumps of over-caffeinated people rushed past us along the broad sidewalks. I recognized the rounded, grey, glass building towering over us and felt a sudden, intense urge to sprint in the opposite direction.

"I don't like this," I whispered.

"Most people don't," Violet said. "It's a kind of repellent against the living and the tax collectors - to keep them from coming in. You'll get used to it and won't feel it once we're past the gate."

"Gate?" I asked.

"The doors," she said, pointing across the street to the glass entrance in front of us.

"Of course," I muttered sarcastically.

"Well, come on!" Alice said. She grabbed Violet by the shoulders and drove her ahead. Everything looked so different from last night. Last night it had been nearly empty when I had arrived, but now it was busy like Christmas Eve at a shopping mall.

Keith rested a hand on my shoulder, and I glanced up at him. He gave me a stern look like he didn't know what to do with me. Keith turned to face Alice as he pressed down on my shoulder. I can't really explain it, but we sort of dipped forward and combusted.

It was a blinding darkness. I couldn't see anything, but I could still feel Keith's hand on my shoulder. Although I tried to say something, I wasn't able to. My mouth felt heavy and slow, like it had been glued shut. My chest caved in slightly. Even though I was dead, I still had the same reflex to breathe. Go figure!

Maybe Keith had decided to end my apprenticeship early and send me down for eternal nap time. Before I could really think, I heard a whooshing sound like when the tide crashes against the surf, and I found myself in a bright, white paneled area. It was so bright, it hurt to open my eyes, and I wished that I had sunglasses on me.

Suddenly the brightness faded, and I was standing in what looked like a gleaming, highly reflective shopping mall.

Keith had donned a new set of Ray-Bans. He looked at the noisy masses, and an audible groan escaped his lips.

"Do you have an extra set?" I asked, squinting.

"Huh?" Keith grunted.

I pointed up at his glasses and would have rolled my eyes if I could fully open them.

"No, I don't, but I believe there is a store to our right." Keith frowned. " Just don't go far. Alice will be here soon."

"Don't worry. I am not a kid. I can find my way around." I said a little too sharply. "Is there somewhere you want to meet just in case they can't find us?"

"I'll walk to the food pavilion. If you get turned around, just ask the people behind the kiosk but beware - they're always trying to sell you something." Keith growled.

He started to storm off but stopped suddenly and walked back to me.

"Here." He said and abruptly planted a black iPhone in my hand. "It's not password protected. I will get you your own phone, but in the meantime, we use bartering or DNR, a type of online currency similar to bitcoin but based off the denarius, a coin used during the Roman Empire, to get what we want."