It was one-thirty in the morning when I arrived at Karolyn's house. The streets had been almost completely empty, but they were lit up with Christmas lights. Even so, I wasn't expecting a single light to be on in the Winters' house.
Which is why when I arrived and Karolyn was sitting up reading with her bedside lamp on, I was nearly startled out of ghost phase. I took a moment to calm down, watching her carefully from the hallway outside of her room as I did, and then stepped through the wall and into her room. When I entered, Karolyn glanced up from her books with an odd expression on her face, but then returned to reading after a second of looking around.
What was I supposed to do now? She was fully awake and reading, and even though she'd have likely woken up when I did my death touch on her anyway, I had no idea how to proceed. I eventually decided on waiting until she went to bed to do anything, and found a seat in the corner of her room to occupy until it was time.
Karolyn's bedroom was small, but it had more personality than some entire houses. She had a twin sized bed in the corner, a nightstand, and a dresser for furniture, but it was what was on the walls that gave the room life. On every wall was a large, center fit mirror, and on and around the mirrors were hundreds of pieces of paper taped or tacked up, each depicting a different place or subject. Scattered throughout the maps and random postcards were photos of Karolyn and her friends, as well as some doodles and other pieces of artwork or notes.
One particular note on the wall next to me caught my attention; it was of Karolyn's bucket list. On it was a variety of places, activities, and accomplishments, and I found myself learning something about her with each number. Karolyn was more than just a history lover and an artistic people person; she was something of a dreamer. Her list of places to travel ranged from locations such as Prague and London, to New Zealand and Mongolia. The things she wanted to accomplish were less for herself, and more for other people, and the activities on her list were personal challenges mixed with things like bungee jumping.
It took me a few minutes to realize that nothing on her bucket list would ever be completed.
I'd killed hundreds of people in my time as a Reaper, and actually reaped thousands, but knowing that her life was going to end before it really began bothered me more than it had with anyone else. I knew it was just because I'd been stupid and let myself fall in love with her, but it was still jarring, watching her read her historical fiction novel and sitting by her bucket list that would never be completed. As I thought about this, I decided that I'd have to stop thinking about her as being any more than a mission to me more than ever if I wanted to leave Burlington with a completed assignment.
I looked back to where Karolyn was reading calmly and focused on seeing only another human, another assignment to complete. She laughed out loud softly at her book, breaking my concentration for a moment, but after a few minutes of silence, I had almost worked up the set mentality to kill her.
Finally, the time came when Karolyn marked her page in her book and flicked off her lamp. She yawned, adjusted her pillows, and slid down under the covers. I took a deep break and slipped out of ghost form, as I couldn't use my death touch if I wasn't in solid form. As I crept forward, Karolyn shifted in her bed so that she was facing away from me, making it easier for me to sneak up on her. When I reached her bed and looked down at her soft, gentle face, my chest twisted and I had to look away as I lowered my hand towards her neck. If I just didn't see her, then it'd be easier for me to kill her. I wouldn't have to see the life drain out of her eyes.
My fingertips brushed the skin of her throat, and I activated the death touch the power of being a Reaper gave me. I heard Karolyn gasp and her hand went to her throat, grasping mine tightly as the life began to drain from her.
"Donovan?" I heard her breathe, and I closed my eyes.
"Don't fight it," I whispered. "I'm sorry." I felt her struggle beneath my fingers as she tried to breathe.
"Donovan," she choked out. "Look at me." A moment of shock and surprise came over me and I turned my gaze towards hers. What I saw sent me over the edge.
Karolyn's chocolate eyes were locked on mine and her full lips were parted slightly in struggle. I saw the warmth in her turn to a blazing heat as her heart began racing in fear and determination, but that heat was quickly diminishing to a cold, vacant glimmer. I saw her mouth my name as her heart rate began to slow, and suddenly, I couldn't take it.
My hand fell from her neck to her shoulder and I collapsed to the floor with my face in her comforter. Karolyn sat straight up and gasped for air as she tried to regain her life's stability, but after a moment, I heard her breathing calm. I expected her to scream, or yell, or run away, but she just sat there, unmoving and silent. After what seemed like forever, I felt her hand on my wrist, making me jump and look up at her. Her gaze was wary and uncertain, but it was straight and strong.
"Donovan," she said softly. "Donovan, what just happened?"
I swallowed hard and shook my head.
"I..." I began, my voice weak. "I tried to kill you and I failed. I... I failed. I've never failed."
Karolyn frowned and adjusted how she was sitting to face me more directly.
"Why?" she asked inevitably. "I really thought we were friends, and..." She sighed heavily and ran her fingers through her wild, curling hair nervously. "But there's more to it than being friends here, isn't there? Because most people, last I checked, can't kill people by just touching them."
I nodded and sat back, bending my knees almost to my chest.
"If that's what it had to do with, I'd have asked you to the dance weeks ago and I wouldn't be here trying to kill you," I told her honestly. She blushed a bit, despite the situation, but she didn't say anything on the subject of the dance. Instead, she leaned over and flicked on a nightlight, gracing the room in a dim, yellowish glow.
"Well the least you could do is explain," she said, leaning back on to her bed and crossing her arms stubbornly. I felt myself smile somehow, though it was only half-hearted.
"I'm not supposed to explain," I said. "I'm supposed to kill you and be done with it."
Karolyn put her hands up in surrender, looking slightly miffed, and leaned forward.
"Kill me then," she snapped. "If you were supposed to for whatever reason, you should have done it. Now you've just made me curious and we all know how that works out."
My eyes widened and I shook my head, standing up abruptly and taking a step back.
"I can't just do it now!" I exclaimed, realizing that I wasn't being as quiet as I should. I lowered my voice and muttered, "Not when you're just letting me like that."
"Well then tell me," Karolyn insisted, her voice suddenly very gentle compared to the moment before. "If you're going to kill me anyway, you may as well tell me why you have to. And maybe how you got in here too."
I watched her for a moment as she scooted over on her bed and patted the space next to her.
"I can't," I told her after a moment.
"We all have a choice." She looked at me meaningfully and I took a step forward, but then stopped.
"I can't," I told her again, so she shook her head and lay back down forcefully.
"Then kill me now, or I'm going to die of confusion and curiosity anyway," she whispered. I walked forward numbly and sat carefully at the edge of her bed. Karolyn looked so beautiful laying there, eyes on the ceiling and hair strewn all around her on her pillows. She didn't look afraid, just sad and a tad angry as she chewed her lip and waited for me to move.
"Aren't you scared?" I whispered, absentmindedly moving a strand of hair from her cheek. Karolyn's eyes fluttered and then met mine.
"No," Karolyn replied, and then shrugged. "I guess I probably am a little. Mostly just sad, though. But it doesn't matter. Just do it quickly if you won't tell me."
I closed my eyes as I moved my fingers to the base of her throat.
"Wait," she said suddenly, taking my hand gently. "Look at me, please, when you do it."
I opened my eyes and looked down into hers as they stared up at me. Taking a deep breath, I tried to activate my death touch, watching her flinch a bit as she felt my power turn against her. Something happened though, and after a few seconds of attempting to drain her life, every ounce of power inside of me seemed to fizz out, and I pulled my hand away from her.
"Donovan?" Karolyn whispered, and then gasped as I slipped my arms around her and pulled her up against me. She sat frozen against me, probably as surprised about it happening as I was about doing it, and then, to my utter shock, put her arms around my neck and hugged me back. We sat like that for a long time before I sat back a bit, pushing her away slightly.
"I can't do this. I..." I began, but my lips were stopped by Karolyn's as she pressed her mouth to mine. Now it was my turn to freeze. After a short moment, Karolyn pulled back a few inches and looked fearfully into my eyes.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking-" Her words didn't make it out of her mouth before a rsuh of feeling like nothing I'd ever felt came over me and I was suddenly pulling her back against me and kissing her fully. My arms wound tightly around her as our mouths moved against one another's, and her hands went back around my neck. She held onto me as if her life depended on it, and I held her right back. I don't know if I pushed her down, or if she pulled me, but suddenly my body was pressing hers down, and her hands were in my hair. I had no idea where we were going or what was happening, just that kissing her made me feel completely alive again, and that I didn't want to stop. Suddenly, Karolyn gasped in pain, and I sat up straight and moved away from her.
"Did I hurt you?" I asked, my vision spinning slightly as I looked down at her. She shook her head and sat up, pulling something from beneath her.
"It was this," she breathed, holding up the book she had been reading earlier. "I... Oh my God." Her face was flushed red, and I could see her chest rising and falling quickly beneath her thin camisole. She ran her fingers through her messy hair and looked at me with wide eyes. "Donovan, I didn't know... What... Why?"
"Why what?" I asked dumbly, thinking she was talking about why we had just kissed.
"Why do you have to kill me?" she clarified. "And why don't I care as much as I should?"
I reached out without really knowing what I was doing and pulled her so that she was resting in my arms.
"You won't believe me," I warned, making up my mind against my better judgement to tell her. She wasn't wrong when she said it didn't matter if I had to kill her anyway.
"But you'll tell me?" Karolyn looked up into my eyes, looking not afraid but instead eager as she did. I nodded.
"I will." Before I began speaking, I adjusted where I was sitting so that I was leaning against the headboard on Karolyn's bed and she was sitting across from me. "Ready?" Karolyn nodded and pulled her knees up to her chest.
"Here goes then. Karolyn, I... I am a Reaper."
---
Check it out! That's the end!
Well that chapter was significantly less cringe-worthy than some of the others (hey listen, I'm allowed to rip on my past writer self as much as I want lol).
Anywho, not sure when I plan to start posting the next installation (which was also written back in good ole 2012-13) but the first on is complete!
Hope you all enjoyed this little blast from the past!
-Haybails