Red Reaper

Chapter 2: The Reaper Comes at Night

Cyrus creaked open the heavy hospital door, and said with a gentle smile,

“Maya.... I’m here...”

He entered without another word, and sat by her bedside,

“I’m sorry i’m so late. Work went a little long today.”

He brushed her auburn bangs from her face and gently kissed her forehead. He said with a sad tone in his voice,

“I miss you.... You know, I’ve been keeping your room clean for when you come home.”

Cyrus sighed. He knew she wouldn’t respond, how could she? He opened his phone, and checked the time. 10:47pm. And he had work again tomorrow. Cyrus sighed, and patted his only sister’s head. He said with a single tear in his eye,

“You know.... tomorrows your birthday... Why don’t you.... Maya, it’s been two months.... why don’t you get any better?”

Cyrus stood up, and left, his only goodbye being the unmoving, emotionless gaze of his baby sister, and the door slamming shut behind him.

The streets outside were dark and cold, illuminated only by the faint street lights. His footsteps echoed through the air, giving the night a certain eerie feeling. An ear splitting shriek scared Cyrus out of whatever thoughts he was having, and tore his attention to a figure in the middle of the road, standing in front of a woman, surely the source of the scream.

Cyrus watched in horror as the woman began tearing at her own throat and face, when her dead eyes locked onto him. She ran with a speed no human should possess, and pinned him to the ground. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t fight back. She had strength he could only imagine, and as she clawed desperately at his throat and face, all Cyrus could was ‘Am I going to die here...?”

The figure’s red hair shined cruelly under the moonlight. He smiled widely, revealing a mouth full of sharpened teeth. His eyes were hidden by the red hood he wore as he sang,

“You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you...?”

The man kicked the woman from Cyrus’s chest with a heavy foot, knocking her several hundred feet away, where she returned to mutilating her own face, before falling dead in the streets. Cyrus’s mind flew back to Maya, and he recognized the phrase instantly. It was the same, when he found Maya’s dying and twitching body, the only thing the red stranger said was that exact phrase. ‘You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven't you.”

Cyrus tried to sit up and lunge at the man. Finding the pain too intense, he said in a harsh whisper,

“You....”

“Me. Good to see you again, Black.”

The man in the red coat used a single finger and dipped it in the blood that pooled on Cyrus’s chest. He licked it hungrily, and sighed in content,

“Ah~ you’re as delicious as i thought. But you still have ripening to do.”

The man's face turned into a steady frown,

"Of course he'd show up during dinner. It's rude to invite yourself, you know."

A terrible voice hissed,

"Messing with a child, are we? My, my. Seems you do take after me after all."

"Touch him and die."

A man walked into view, with silver hair and golden eyes, though he couldn't be older than thirty. The man laughed,

"Ooh we're getting feisty, aren't we? Don't get so pissy, I just followed my nose."

The man in the red coat glared at Cyrus,

"Why are you still here?"

Cyrus stumbled over his own tongue, before forcing himself to stand. He managed the words,

"R-red.... Reaper......."

And backed away slowly. The red reaper took a slight bow, his hood not allowing the revelation of his identity, and sang,

"A pleasure."

The silver man laughed aloud,

"Aha!! You've been caught in the act!"

Red Reaper sent him a fiery glare,

"Do you want tostarta fight? I will tear you limb from limb, and you know it."

Cyrus feared that if they fought, he'd get caught up in it, and that was the last thing he wanted. He turned around and ran as fast as possible, not daring to look back or process what had just happened.