"So, what will it be?"
I sigh, closing my eyes and rubbing at my head.
"I guess...I guess I'll be a Reaper.""Really?!" York flips in the air once, and then moves towards me. He throws his arm around my shoulder, and I shove against him. "I definitely didn't think you'd agree.""Why wouldn't I?" I grunt when he finally lets go of me. He was hugging me like we'd known each other for years, and it was definitely weirding me out. Funny, the whole Reaper thing and discovering what happens after death is cool, but someone showing me physical affection?
Bizarre."No one else has. We've been trying to fill the Z spot for forty-six years now.""Seriously?" I raise a brow at him. He smiles sheepishly."There aren't a ton of people who meet all the qualifications to become a Reaper, and the ones who have, have all picked a new life.""Let me guess, filled with fortune and fame." He shrugs, yawning a bit dramatically.
"Most beings I've met are quite similar. They all seek the same thing. Lucky for me, you are a bit odd.""I am very normal." I argue. It was kind of part of the whole, "not being special" thing.
"No, you are one hundred percent not, my friend. But that's not important right now." He claps his hands together. "What's important now is getting you to Sumerian so we can get you all sworn in.""Where is Sumerian?" He smiles then like he's trying to hide something and waves his hand in dismissal."No where you'd know. Don't even worry about it." Okay, well, now I'm definitely worried about it."How are we getting there?" Now his grin is a little evil looking."You won't believe me anyways, so there's no point explaining it. You'll find out everything soon enough." Why can't he just tell me now if I'm going to know anyways? And who's he to say I won't believe him? "Look. Just. Shut up. Close your eyes, and trust me, okay?" I grunt, glare at him for a moment longer, but eventually do as I'm told and close my eyes.I feel him grabbing my right forearm, and I tense up, but don't open my eyes. I hear what sounds like something being unsheathed, and I furrow my brow. The air pressure drops suddenly, and the air leaves my lungs for a split second.It returns before panic can even set in though, and my eyes immediately open."What the-""We're here." York interrupts my bitching, looking around me to wherever "here" is. I scoff at him one more time before turning away from him to appease my curiosity.
Hm. How anticlimactic.We're in the bottom of what looks like a giant cavern. A very dry cavern, at that. The air is dusty, and I can see the sun from all the way down here. All the way down here being hundreds of feet. A fall from the top would definitely kill you."Nice place you got here." I say, nodding my head and holding a thumbs up to York who shakes his head at me."This is just the human part of Sumerian. Patience." He holds a hand up to me and moves over to one of the stone sides of the cavern we were in. I watch him carefully as he faces the wall. He holds out a giant Katana, like it's no big deal. I hadn't even noticed he'd been holding it before. I was too focused on the teleporting thing, I guess.I keep my eyes on him as he brings the blade to his palm and slices it open, not flinching once. He stows his giant fucking sword in the back of his hoodie before walking closer to the wall and smearing his ink black blood all over the place. He's clearly drawing something intentionally, but I can't tell what. It just looks like lines to me. I wonder if his black blood was a him thing or a Reaper thing.I'm more than a little surprised when the lines he drew begin to glow, and the ground begins to rumble. Rocks start falling away in a rapidly appearing ground hole, and I back away a little cautiously. It stops growing at about six feet wide."Don't worry." York laughs at my reaction. Huh. A staircase leading down into the earth has appeared. I can hear rocks still tumbling below, and I wonder how deep down the stairs go.He turns around and grins at me, motioning towards the hole in the ground. I hesitate, and he rolls his eyes at my apprehension of the magically appearing hole-in-ground stairs. He holds his hands up in unsaid defeat and walks down under the ground while I stand back for a moment, watching him disappear into the earth. I don't hear him getting brutally slaughtered by demons or anything... I guess it's safe.I scratch the back of my neck and look around a little.I wonder if it was too late to accept that reincarnation.