Raul knew the moment his microwave exploded in the morning as he was cooking up some breakfast that his day would be terrible. Although he was thankfully unharmed, his kitchen wasn't so lucky. Thank goodness his grandma had gone off to visit his aunt in Venezuela otherwise the religious old woman would have been yapping about how the whole thing was ominous.
He wasn't a religious person, he didn't believe in such things but as he walked into the museum where he worked - thirty minutes late with his boss thratening to fire him - Raul couldn't help but wonder what he had done to deserve such bad luck.
Anyone who saw him walk into the building would think he had a decent job as an Exhibit manager or something. Unfortunately his job was a souvenir salesman.
He couldn't pinpoint the exact point in time when he had hit rock bottom but he was officially there.
He could hear his fellow workmate, a ginger named Frank, talking about something but all Raul could do was blow the rouge strand of black hair from his face as he twirled an amulet necklace in his hand.
"Hey Ra, you listening? Tonight's the show. Will you be joining us? Me and the boys will be heading downtown for the full gig. Come on man, it'll do you good." He heard Frank say.
"No. I think I'd rather stay in tonight." Raul simply replied as he returned the necklace he was playing with to its position.
It was an interesting silver chain with a silver per ankh. The Egyptian symbol of life. There was just something about it that caught his eye.
"Come on, Ra, when are you going to start living your life?" Frank insisted.
Raul didn't respond, instead he went on to pretend to rearrange his souvenirs so that Frank would drop the conversation. He eventually did and went off in another direction, leaving him to his thoughts.
As much as he hated to admit it, Frank was right. Raul had spent too much time hiding away in the comfort of his solitude. He had always been an introvert. He preferred to be alone.
As he continued sulking over the whole thing, he realized that he finally had a customer. It was the most beautiful male specimen he had ever seen. With long flowing silver white hair, flawless skin, amber eyes and a slim build that was clad in black from head to toe, this man look like he'd walked off the cover of some magazine - or a painting. There was no way he should exist and yet he stood right there in front of Raul, twirling the same necklace he had admired a few seconds ago in his fingers.
"Oh... hello. Are you considering buying that necklace? It would make a great souvenir if you're an enthusiast for all things Egyptian." Raul said as he tried to not sound as intimidated as he felt.
Whatever little confidence he had vanished when the stranger turned to face him, still twirling the necklace in his hand.
"Not just Egyptian. Life is universal. Humans tend to cling to all traces of it like it's all they have. Life ends - it's never eternal as they think." The man said in the most nonchalant tone that left Raul unsure of how to respond.
"Uh - so, are you interested in getting the necklace?" He asked, trying not to sound like an idiot.
This made the stranger let out a low chuckle for some reason, making him feel like an idiot either way.
"No. It'll serve for nothing but humor if I were to wear the symbol of life." The man said with a smile, as if he was laughing at some private joke. "But I could tell you seem quite interested in it."
"Well I'm fascinated by Egyptian history." Raul confessed with a nervous laugh.
"Then here." The stranger said as he handed the necklace to him. "My treat."
"Huh? I ... I'm sorry I can't..."
"I insist." The man insisted and before Raul could say anything else, the man was suddenly in front of him putting the necklace on him. "Raul, I don't just give anyone a gift. I'd really like it if you accept it graciously. And you must never take it off. Ever."
"Wait, how do you.. how do you know my name?" Raul asked cautiously. "Who are you?"
In response to the stranger merely gave him a sad smile as a single tear streamed down his gorgeous face.
"I'm so sorry. You are truly a generous soul filled with so much life. I hope you can forgive me one day."
"Huh? What are you saying?!" Raul asked in confusion.
That was until he blinked his eyes.
At first he was disoriented. His vision was blurry, everything was spinning and he could barely breathe. He didn't even know where he was.
Had it all been a dream? No. It can't have been. It felt all too real. So what was going on? How did he go from having a conversation with a hot stranger to this - what was this?
He tried to look around so he could understand what was going on. Nothing made sense. It seemed as if his world had completely flipped over. And why couldn't he move?
What's going on? He asked himself. I can't feel my legs. I can't feel anything. Why do I feel so cold?
When he tried to open his mouth to call out to anyone he found himself choking.
I can't breathe. Why can't I breathe?
He heard voices talking from near him but for some reason he couldn't even turn his head to look. He knew at that moment something was very wrong with him as the initial shock slowly disappeared and he began to experience excruciating pain.
"There's someone trapped under the seats!" He heard someone shout. "It looks like they're still alive."
Under the seats? He thought in confusion even though he could barely think with the pain that was coursing through his body. Are they talking about me?!
He heard footsteps move to where he was. He saw someone crouch down to his level. A firefighter.
"Oh god... can you hear me? Can you move?" The firefighter asked with a horrified expression as they stared down at him.
Raul tried to say something - anything - but his voice wouldn't work. His vision began to blur and he began to panic.
What's happening to me? Am I dying?!
"Hey ... look at me. It's okay. I'll get you out of here okay. Just stay with me. Stay with me." The firefighter continued softly as he tried to get through to him.
No matter how many times the firefighter said those words Raul only found himself being pulled into the darkness until there was nothing at all.
For a moment the darkness was all there was, enveloping him like a thick blanket. Even the pain disappeared. Then he heard a beeping sound. He felt warm. The numbness was gone.
His body felt a little exhausted but that was it. As he blinked away the sleep from his eyes, he took in the sterile white walls around him and realized that he was in a hospital. The beeping sound seemed to be coming from the heart monitor he was hooked on to.
"What the hell is going on?" He said weakly as he began to look around in confusion.
Everything was too confusing for him. It felt like a huge chunk of his memory was jumbled up. There was no way it could have all been real.
"I see you've finally woken up." He heard someone say.
Turning his head to the left, he saw a brunette woman with hazel eyes and dressed in a black sari looking down at him.
"Huh? Who are you?" He asked in confusion as he slowly sat up on the bed.
There was something quite inhuman about her but he couldn't put a finger on it.
"My name is Kali." She replied with a kind smile. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got run over by a truck? What's going on? How did I get here?" He replied.
"What's the last thing you remember, Raul?" She asked, a strange look passing through her eyes.
"I honestly don't know anymore. My brain is playing some trick on me. I remember being at work and... well there was this other guy, unnaturally attractive guy."
"Attractive guy?" Kali asked with a cackle before her eyes narrowed in disapproval. "Damnit Azrael. What the hell was he thinking, mingling with a mortal? He must really have a soft spot for you."
She was now mostly speaking to herself and yet somehow, some part of him got offended.
"Excuse me?" He asked, his voice coming out a lot harsher than he'd intended.
He saw her eyes widen in fear for a moment before she went back to her regular carefree look.
"Forgive me, I don't know what came over me." She said, her tone hinting at her being nervous. "Anyways, I'll fill in the gaps for you, Raul. Three days ago you took a bus ride back to your place after work. You never made it home."
"Huh?"
"A gas tanker lost control... it was a head on collision. Some people were lucky but unfortunately your seat was in the section the tanker rammed into. You were trapped and no one was able to get you out. Luckily you bled out before the tanker exploded."
"Wait, wait. Hold on a minute. Are you trying to be funny, lady?!"
"I wish I could tell you differently but you did die. However, because of this..." As she said this, Kali leaned forward, her fingers touching something, a necklace around his neck. "This amulet kept your soul anchored to your body so that your death wouldn't be permanent. I suppose that must have been his plan all along. He practically made you immortal without really making you immortal."
Raul couldn't help but stare in shock at the necklace he wore. It was the same necklace, the per ankh, that the gorgeous stranger had put around his neck.
So it hadn't been a dream after all.
"I can see all of this confuses you. I wish it wasn't as I've told you but since we're already dwelling on the realm of what your human mind deems impossible, I might as well tell you everything."
"What do you mean by that? My human mind? You're speaking as if you're not..."
"Human? That's because I'm not, dear child. I'm what you term a reaper. One of many servants of Death."
"Huh? A Reaper? You? You're a Reaper? Okay, I am either dreaming or someone is playing a prank on me."
"Listen to me, Raul Mendez. This is no joke or dream. Death had marked you and made you into something more." Kali said with a sombre expression.
Raul stared at her for a few moments before he burst into laughter.
"I'm sorry, but can you hear how ridiculous you sound? Who'd ever believe that?" He said in between his laughter.
He kept laughing for a few minutes but eventually stopped when he realized that her facial expression hadn't changed.
"Wait, you're being serious right now?" He asked with a frown.
"As I said, this is all something your human mind deems impossible. Unreal. But we'll change that soon enough. It's about time you became a believer, little one, because you are about to be at the very centre of all things supernatural." Kali said with a stoic expression.
As his brain slowly processed everything she had said his face grew very pale. He still refused to believe anything she had said and so, before the woman could say anything, he suddenly got off the bed and walked out.
"Hey, wait!" He heard her call out to him but he just kept walking. He didn't even know where he was going, he just had to get out of that room.
As he walked down the hallway, he could see doctors and nurses hurrying about their business. No one seemed to pay him any attention to which he was grateful.
He needed to think. To clear his thoughts and make sense of everything. As Raul was walking down the hallway, he came to the Chapel. Having never prayed before, he didn't know what was expected of him as he sat on the bench facing the wooden cross.
What did people usually pray for? Was it even okay to start now that he had woken up to the craziest thing ever. Or maybe if he prayed enough it would all be just some crazy dream.
"It's not a dream." He heard Kali's voice as she approached him and sat next to him.
"What, you're psychic now? You can suddenly read my thoughts?" He asked her in a sarcastic tone.
"Think of it as something like a hive mind." She said with a small smile. "And you are now at the center of it "
"Excuse me?"
"We are both linked to Death and you as a vessel..." She went on to explain. "That means, whenever you're in distress me - or any other reaper for that especially those who serve under the reaper you're channeling- can sense and find you easily."
"You're either very dedicated to this joke or I am seriously tripping." Raul said as he rubbed his temple. "There's no way what you're saying is real."
"What do you think? Ignore all logic and look at the evidence presented to you." Kali asked him.
"I think my head hurts and I need to sleep it off." Raul responded with a tired look.
"Then get some rest. You have a lot of catching up to do and so little time. There's a war coming. You need to be ready for it because every immortal will be looking to deal with the mortal vessel first." Kali said as she slowly stood to leave. "We will talk more after you've rested. As for now, try to digest everything I've said. For it's not a joke - or a dream. It's all real. You are now a Harbinger of Death.
You humans have a special name for it as well. I think they call you the Horseman of Death."
Word count : 2385