Paranormal Challenges Anthology

Dead on Arrival: @hazelgracewaters

Winner of Paranormal Challenge 1: Crossroads

Dead on Arrival by hazelgracewaters

The guy picking at the corner of his nose— and then not at the corner of his nose— is what does Mik in. Well, the crash on 94 is what did her in, practically speaking, but if she hadn't been dead already, it would've been the nose-picker that did it.

Before him, it's a toss-up between A) monotonous keyboard clacking B) chipped linoleum and C) the horrid lighting. While being corpse-pale doesn't help her look, the lighting really is dreadful. Bad enough that Mik had thought it would be her breaking point, until she'd seen the dude in her periphery who still can't get everything from his left nostril.

"Next." A single step forward. The hollow glow of fluorescents hangs around the waiting attendant, haloing her in stark light. Mik frowns. Death shouldn't look so good on someone. Mik will have to ask what brand of foundation she's using when she finally gets to the front of this godblessed line.

A sign above the next lane flickers on, and the guy manning it runs a slitted eye over the gathered souls. Instead of gesturing to those in front of her, he waves Mik over. She points to herself, questioningly, and he winks at her. Maybe the lighting isn't so bad.

He grins lazily, slouching towards her over the counter. "This line's faster, so it costs a little more. You can always go back to the other one, though, but you'll be at the end. Only fair."

Mik doesn't spare a glance behind her. "You're here," she says, leaning conspiratorially towards him. "Why would I want to go back?"

He laughs, forked tongue visible through a gap in his teeth. "Good choice. Anyway, this line just costs your soul. Better than waiting another eternity, right?"

Mik bites her lip, and he runs a finger up her arm. She shivers. Despite the tongue situation, he really is quite attractive. Hell-fire hot, even. He stares deeply into her eyes, and Mik would be blushing if she had enough blood to do so.

But then he breaks their gaze, jotting something on a legal pad. "Looks like no one placed coins on your eyes, so that'll be twenty-two dollars. Cash or Visa."

Mik blinks, digging through her purse to hide her confusion. A spurt of brains drips into her bag, and she rakes a hand across her scalp to find the source. This is not promising for her Instagram modeling career.

"Ah, don't worry about it," he says, "Happens all the time. You should've seen the poor bastards who came through in the 13th century. You don't look too bad, considering."

Not too bad? Mik frowns. Demons are liars, though, and she contents herself with that. When she hands him a few crumpled bills, the demon clicks his tongue and folds the cash into his back pocket.

"Better luck next time," he says, stamping triplicate forms before handing them to Mik.

He grins Cheshire at her. "We'll collect the rest shortly."

About hazelgracewaters

I am a twenty-something who makes a living as a professional nerd. Though I've only been writing a little over three years, I was lucky enough to have my first novel, Minnesota Goodbyes, featured by Wattpad. I can't quite stick to writing a single genre, so mash-ups (especially paranormal) tend to be my favorites. In my free time, I enjoy scuba diving and (badly) rapping the Hamilton soundtrack.