The Reaper

Chapter Five

I received a call from Uriel, telling me that Gabriel would be bringing me a vehicle to drive the students to my home. I was surprised, but pleased, knowing Gabriel would choose a sturdy vehicle for me, and one hopefully with a full tank. 

I met the students at the school in the classroom, which was full of bags, coats and happy, excited students, all with about fifty pounds each to spend. I stood in a blue jacket and dark jeans, my dark hair spiked at the front and smiled at them all chattering excitedly about the things they were going to do once they arrived. I hadn’t mentioned how large my home was yet. I wanted to surprise them. 

I suddenly realised I hadn’t been home in a year or so. The house would be a tip! I had to do something! As I debated whether or not to quickly go tidy up, Uriel spoke to me.

“Do not worry yourself so. Your home is perfectly tidy. You must remember that dust does not accumulate there. Remember the spell you and Melissa cast when you first moved in together. The time spell. It stops dust accumulating there, thus reducing the amount of tidying up you have to do, and you tidied everything up the last time you were there. Don’t forget the other spell you have that keeps the unused rooms clean and tidy for you.”

I nodded to myself. He was right. The spells ensured the house tidied itself when I wasn’t there, which, due to my job, was quite often. I also knew my faithful horse, Kronos, would be well fed, as the straw in his stable replenished itself whenever he needed it. 

I smiled, remembering the times he and I had rode out to Harvest souls together. He was literally like the wind, and, due to not being an ordinary horse, could travel between  dimensions, in all Planes of existence. I waved everyone out of the room and they quite literally stampeded out, and I had to quickly sink through the wall to avoid being trampled by them all. Thankfully, no one saw my impromptu vanishing act, as they were all too busy stampeding outside to impatiently await the arrival of the coach. 

I followed them all out just in time to see the coach pull up. The coach was large, white and gleaming. The words Gabriel Travel were written on the site, a golden halo dotting the ‘i’. I smiled as Gabriel leapt out of the driver’s seat and tossed the keys to me. The class cheered and climbed in as Gabriel and I stowed their luggage in the luggage compartment of the coach. We shook hands and smiled at each other. 

As I climbed into the driver’s seat, I saw Harvey and Melissa sat in the nearest seats, grinning at me and chatting to each other. The class cheered as I drove off, and in the rear-view mirror, I saw Gabriel vanish in a golden mist. My thoughts turned to Melissa once more, and how much she reminded me of my late wife.Everything about her reminded me of my late wife. My Melissa. If I hadn’t personally took her to Heaven myself, I’d think she was my Melissa, with a severe case of amnesia. I drove on, mile after mile, the scenery ever changing, reminding me just how much the world had changed over the past several million years. A few hours later, the inevitable happened.

“Are we there yet?”

I laughed. I knew someone would ask sooner or later.

“Yes, we’re nearly there. About an hour or so to go.”

The coach erupted into cheers. I smiled again, and from behind me, I heard Melissa’s gentle laugh, and I felt my heart lift. I continued on my way, looking forward to the moment when we would get inside my home, knew that several of the girls would go crazy when they saw Kronos. 

Suddenly, as I rounded a corner, I saw signs of a recent landslide, and my skin prickled horribly. I continued round the bend in the road, and without warning an enormous crack appeared in the road, and I swerved to avoid it. To my horror, it swerved and moved so it was in front of me, and I swerved once more. No matter where I turned, it was there. I drove towards the other side of the road, away from the barrier and the edge.