Chapter 61 - Reaper I.A.

Morrigan sat in the passenger seat as the phantom rolled down the highway. She was hunched over her phone, having finished reading the article, she switched to Read-it to see if there were any threads about it in the local sub.

It was worse than she thought.

The most active thread was about her, with over a thousand upvotes pushing it right to the top. Codwell wasn’t even that big of a town. The next three threads didn’t even have more than a hundred!

I’m going to be sick, she thought as she clicked on the thread and started reading the comments.

“Morrigan, with your client back there, you shouldn't have stopped to look.” Death spoke with a patient yet firm tone. “You should have completed your duty and then looked into this news story.”

“Right, sorry,” Morrigan said absentmindedly, her focus remaining on her phone.

As she scrolled through the comments, a chill ran down her spine. People were speculating wildly about her disappearance, with theories ranging from kidnapping to running away to join a cult. The worst of all, however, was one particular comment with 500 upvotes.

‘Mom’s super sus. Anyone think she killed her?’

‘She didn’t report Morrigan missing for two weeks, she definitely did it.’

‘Why haven’t they arrested her!?’

‘Heard she’s a stripper and probably on drugs.’

Another commenter simply posted a picture of Casey Anthony making a weird face.

“Ooooh fuck…” Morrigan said under her breath.

“Morrigan, I understand your curiosity about this situation, but you still have another soul to reap today. I had to step in and take care of your last client because you wandered off in the middle of a reaping.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry!” Morrigan said, though her attention was clearly more on the phone.

Morrigan flipped back to the article, rereading the details of the case. About two weeks ago, her mom had reported her missing, saying that she thought Morrigan was staying at a friend's house for a week. After two weeks of not hearing from her, she finally alerted the police. When police questioned her on why she waited so long, her answer was, “I trusted Morrigan would check in when she was ready. I figured she just needed some space.”

Mom! Police won’t accept an answer like that! she thought furiously. How stupid can you be!? She switched back to the Read-it thread to look at more of the comments.

Death suddenly pulled off to the side of the road. Morrigan's head came up from her phone as she looked around. “Um… did you… see a hollow?” she asked, unsure why they stopped since she was certain their next client wasn't anywhere near there.

“Morrigan, we have to talk for a moment,” Death said gently.

“Um… sure.”

“Our duty as reapers is incredibly important. While we are working, our heads must be fully focused on our clients. They deserve it from us. They can never be an afterthought, no matter the situation.”

Morrigan just stared back at him.

“You wandered off in the middle of a reaping back there. I had to reap him for you. You must never do that again.”

Morrigan held up her phone, showing a picture of herself from back when she was alive. “Well, sorry, but this isn't a normal situation. I'm literally on the fucking news right now.”

“It could have waited,” he said more sternly. “You should have finished your job, and then once we were gone, you could have looked into it.”

“Well, you were there!” Morrigan shot back. “Doesn't seem to matter which of us reaps someone as long as they get reaped, so who cares?”

“I won't always be there.”

“And I won't always discover my mom's being investigated for possibly murdering me!” Morrigan yelled.

Death turned his gaze fully toward her, and his eyes glowed red. The light seemed to be sucked out of the space around him, darkening the car like a storm cloud. “Morrigan, this attitude of yours is ill-placed. I'm trying to tell you something important!”

Morrigan got as far away from him as she could within the car, leaning into the door with wide eyes.

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Her hand gripped her phone as she stared back, seeing a side of Death she never had before. The cracks that were still in his skull were more noticeable as the light from his red eyes seemed to seep through.

“You are a reaper now, and I've done much to make sure you've not had to bear the consequences for disregarding your duties!”

“I haven't disregarded anything!” she yelled at him. “I'm doing my damn best!”

“You have to do better!”

"Well then, just send me to limbo already if I'm doing so bad!” she yelled, grabbing the door handle and bolting from the car.

“MORRIGAN!” Death shouted after her.

That bastard! she thought, tears in her eyes as she ran full tilt, the wind whipping through her white hair. What, I'm supposed to just ignore this while my mom probably gets thrown in prison for a crime she didn’t commit!?

Despite the cloudy day, a shadow flitted past her as if a bird had flown overhead. It took her a moment to realize what it actually was, but then Death appeared in front of her. She dug her feet into the ground to avoid crashing into him.

If that asshole thinks he can control me—she thought, preparing to fight him in any way she could. She stepped to the left, feeling the shadows wrap around her. The world blurred as she prepared to step into the shadows and take off toward the tree line in the distance. But before she could finish shifting into a shadow-step and merging with the shadows, Death grabbed her arm and pulled her out, the dark aura dissipating around her.

“Just leave me alo—!” she started to yell, but his arms wrapped around her, pulling her into his bony body. There was no warmth within his embrace; in fact, she felt a coldness radiating from him that chilled her to the core. Yet, despite that, it was oddly comforting.

“Morrigan… that’s enough,” Death said softly.

“Cut it out,” she said, attempting to pull away, but he didn’t release her. She could feel the demon stirring within her, but as usual, it found itself blocked by the seal, tapping it a few times before returning to her body.

“I don’t mean to be callous,” Death spoke in a calm, gentle voice, “but you must understand that keeping you as my apprentice may be out of my hands if you are deemed unfit.”

Morrigan’s struggles ceased as she processed his words. “What do you mean?”

“There are other powers at play, Morrigan. Powers that oversee even me. If they decide you are not fit to be a reaper, they could take you away. I am trying to protect you.” Death finally released her, though his skeletal hand still rested gently on her shoulder.

Morrigan avoided his gaze, looking away. Her anger faded somewhat, replaced by confusion. “Take me… away?”

“Limbo, or worse. You need to understand the gravity of your responsibilities. Failing in our duties can have severe consequences.”

“But I thought only you could send me to limbo.”

“If you were classified as a rogue reaper, I would be the first to receive the special order to reap you. But, if I were to refuse, another would come.”

“Another… reaper?” Morrigan asked.

"That's right," Death said, his skeletal fingers moving to her chin and guiding her to look up at him. “You are doing well, Morrigan, but you have to stay focused. I understand how difficult this situation with your mother is, but right now, you need to concentrate on your duties.”

She looked away, clenching her fists. “Why are you telling me this now, of all times?”

“Because I suspect you are running out of chances. I took care of your list while you were away and then injured, but they will only allow such an arrangement for so long. Eventually, a verdict is made on a reaper who is underperforming.”

“They? Who… the Fates?”

“No, reapers like us, but another branch with additional duties. You can think of them as reaper internal affairs.”

Called it.

“Morrigan, please trust that I always have your best interest at heart. You can figure out what you wish to do about the situation with your mother after you are done working for the day. For now, you have one more soul to reap, so put down your phone and put it out of your mind. Your list should be your sole focus until it is completed.”

As they walked back to the car, Morrigan asked, “So what happens if the reaper police do show up?”

“They will judge you if a final decision has not yet been made. If they deem action is necessary, they will either reap you, or in some cases, take you into custody. This can either be done with the intention of punishment for reapers who have committed crimes, or it is for the sake of retraining. Depending on the exact situation, they’ll eventually let you go back to your duties, or simply reap you and send you to limbo.”

Morrigan was silent until she mustered up the word, “Damn,” as they got back to the car. “So why didn’t you tell me any of this before?”

“It was unnecessary. At first, you were doing your duty quite well. Then, running away for a week is not uncommon for new reapers. It is a hard life to adjust to, after all. But that week turned into nearly a month due to your injury. Now, I worry any more hiccups may be further scrutinized.”

Morrigan squeezed her phone, which had been in her hand the whole time. She slipped it back into her pocket and got into the car without another word.

“But don’t worry, as long as you get back on track now, I’m sure there will be no problems,” Death said as he started the car.

“Alright…” Morrigan said, looking out the window as they started rolling again.

Putting the situation with her mom out of her mind was impossible, though. She had no idea what to do about it. What could she do? There was no body to find, but Morrigan still worried she’d do or say something stupid.

Then another thought hit her that made her blood run cold. There is no way this story wouldn’t get around to her classmates. She spent the majority of her school life crafting a version of herself that was from a good home and didn’t have a mom who worked as a stripper. Morrigan could only imagine the rumors and the house of cards that would come crumbling down now. Maybe she wasn’t a part of that life anymore, but still, the idea of it made her stomach turn.

She took a deep breath and unraveled her list, taking a look at the last name at the bottom. Put it out of your mind Morrigan, she told herself. Just focus on the list…

Of course, in practice, that was going to be impossible.

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