Death's Apprentice

1

It was too quiet. Walking to catch the bus meant being assaulted by a barrage of noises, but there weren't any. Even the ambulance that flew past me with its siren blaring was quieter than usual. The strangers I passed made no sounds, even when their mouths moved. My own feet made no sound against the pavement.

I swallowed and glanced around. People went around their daily business: Jamie delivering baked goods, Carla walking her mail route, Jocelyn giving out parking tickets. None of them so much as glanced at me, despite our morning ritual of greetings. Jocelyn looked at her watch and scanned the sidewalks, before frowning. I waved; she didn't respond. She typed a number into her phone, a gift from my dad, and held it to her ear. Just like the others, no sound left her mouth. If this was a joke, it was a damn good one. I kept walking. With each step I took, the remaining sound in the world faded away, leaving me in complete silence.

I stopped in the bakery, hoping to grab a bagel before school. Nobody paid attention to me, even when I waved my hand in Jessie's face. I huffed and walked out. If everyone kept ignoring me, what was the point of going to school? Instead of heading towards the bus stop, I turned and walked down an alley. Some part of me hoped for sound, but none came.

When I made it halfway through the poorly lit alleyway, I heard footsteps behind me. The noise echoed off everything: the walls, the window, even the air itself. I sped up, hand slipping into my pocket. No pocket knife. A creeping chill crawled up my spine until it locked me in place. I couldn't continue, but whoever those footsteps belonged to could. They stopped; I could feel their stare on my back.

I wanted to turn. I wanted to look. I wanted to know why they decided to follow me, but I couldn't work up the nerve.

"Ardia," a soft voice said. "You've lived your life to the span you were given. At one point you were the latest being to enter the world, and now you are the next to exit. This is the time for your final goodbye."

My lips pressed together. They didn't sound dangerous. The threat in their words did, but the certainty they spoke with meant the person behind the words was as dangerous as the threat. Swallowing back the fear in my chest, I turned.

In front of me stood a hooded figure. A shadow concealed any trace of a face, but I wasn't sure they had one. The figure's dark, tattered cloak hung to their ankles. A stream of sunlight, the only one in the alley, glinted off the razor sharp scythe dangling from their left hand; their right held outstretched, reaching towards me. My eyes widened, mouth suddenly dry. The Grim Reaper stood in front of me with their hand offered.

"Can I- uh, can I get back to you on that? I kinda want to go haunt some people or something?" It came out as a question, but I didn't care already forcing my feet to move. Even if that moment was a slow shuffle backwards, it was better than standing still.

They lowered their head, hand falling to their side. My slow retreated ended as I froze and tensed. Eyes trained on the scythe, I prepared myself to feel the cold metal bite into my body. It didn't move.

"Hauntings make a lot of paperwork. A kid like you isn't going to do it," the reaper said, voice louder than the first time they spoke.

"I'll do it."

They laughed and shook their head. "I think I have a better idea." They took a step towards me. I stumbled backward until my back hit a hard brick wall. No matter how hard I tried to pass through it, I couldn't. If the Grim Reaper stood in front if me, that meant I was dead, so why couldn't I pass through? Said Grim Reaper drawing closer to me meant i didn't have time to think about it.

"Jeez, kid," they said, though I swore they said cheese. "I'm not going to hurt you. I have an offer for you."

"What is it?" I asked, wary. Something must've shown on my face because they took a small step back. I nodded in appreciation, feeling a lit less like a cornered animal. It might've been stupid to feel relieved, considering the offer could be something like jumping into an active volcano or supporting PETA. If it were the latter, I'd rather die again.