Don't Fear The Reaper

{xxix. famous last words}

❝Thomas Edison's last words were: 'It's very beautiful over there.' I don't know where there is, but I believe it's somewhere, and I hope it's beautiful.❞

-Looking for Alaska by John Green

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Finality seems to pour from the sky in a hazy mist, covering the Ashdown outskirts with an impenetrable sadness. I can barely see through the fog that's settled on the Green Mountains, and I have no idea if it's natural or a sign of our impending doom.

I don't know why I decided on the Ash Grove for all of this to go down, but it seems perfect. The first place Mor took me may be the last place I see Will alive.

Turning to glance at Will in the passenger seat, I try to calm my nerves. Will gives me a weak smile, but it's hardly comforting. Now that my shock has worn off, I get a weird feeling when I look at him, somewhere between lovely security and ominous terror. I'm terrified for him, and for myself.

Leaves crunch as my tires squeal and whip off of concrete onto the dirt road that leads into the Hundred Acre Woods. Other than that, the two of us are surprisingly quiet.

Then music begins to play - my ringtone, Famous Last Words by My Chemical Romance -, making me jump and nearly swerve. Will raises his eyebrows, but I quickly grab my phone, which I'd totally forgotten I'd left in the cup holder.

The minute I pick up, before I can even say "Hello?", Kat's sharp, decisive voice exclaims, "Lila!"

"Kat?" I respond dubiously, hoping for the life of me that my sister didn't see me leave. "Is something wrong?"

"Where are you driving off to?!"

What's wrong? Will asks me mentally.

Instead of answering, I just turn speaker phone on and set the device back in the cup holder so both of us can hear. In front of me, the road is getting narrower as we leave Ashdown behind and breach the thicket of evergreens at the base of the hill.

"Do I really have to tell you everything?" I say to Kat after a moment.

I can hear her sigh. "No, but- look, Lila. I know you're with Mor, and I know he says he's an angel, but I think he's lying. I think - I think he's some sort of demon or something. Like the Grim Reaper, or..."

Dammit, I think. How am I supposed to respond to that?!

Beside me, Will groans, softly enough that it won't transmit through the phone.

I forgot how smart she was, he says to me. And she never settles for anything. I don't know what you should tell her.

Breathing in through my nose, I trail off with, "Kat..."

"What?"

"He is a Grim Reaper," I say, knowing things are already bad enough that there's no point in sugar-coating it now. "It's a long story. We didn't tell you because he's my reaper. I'm going to die."

I brace myself for her reaction. Somehow, I expect her to be angry, but her voice is more horrified than anything. A cacophony of metaphorical spiders dance across my skin as she blurts, "What? Li, have you lost your mind?"