Grim.

Chapter One: Almost.

        Her name was Julia and I had to kill her.

        No, not kill her.

        She would die on her own, but someone would have to take her soul away when she did. That person is me. I watched her and waited. 9:45 am was the official time that I was supposed to pick her soul up. it was 9:41.

        She wouldn't see it coming. In fact, she was so busy getting some kind of work done that she paid no attention to me. Usually, they would've seen me by now. Any other person would look at me and be a little freaked out. Some of them even start yelling at me to stop following them. I don't speak to them. I just wait and do my job.

        She was sitting at her desk swiftly writing in a notebook. It was some kind of homework she clearly had to get done that day. She should've gotten it done before, but I just got here. I have no idea why she put it off until now. I almost want to tell her that there was no point; that she'd never get to turn it in.

        Almost.

        It's not like I wasn't allowed to speak to my clients. I just chose not to. It was easier that way. The less I know about them, the easier it is to watch them die. The easier it is to take them away. I like my job to be easy.

        Julia stood up and put all the papers she was writing into a neat stack. As she stood, she got her first glimpse at me. I prepared my ears.

        She looked like a screamer.

        Her papers dropped from her hands. I'd underestimated the amount she'd written. There were so many that as the stack hit the ground, the papers burst into the air and flew around the room. Julia did not scream. She just stared at me with her mouth open. I almost smiled. The fact that she hadn't screamed amused me.

        I watched her expression through the falling sheets of paper. It did not change. Her mouth opened and then shut again. She smiled at me.

        You're about to die. I thought to myself. Why the hell are you smiling?

        "Who are you?" She asked. Her voice was so quiet she was almost whispering. I did not respond. "How long were you standing there?"

        I rub the back of my neck and try to ignore her. She begins to talk more and more. I think she's doing it out of fear. She thinks i'm an intruder.

        "You can take what you want. I won't stop you, but my friends will be here any minute. They're going to pick me up for classes this morning, so you should probably get out of here quickly."

        I admired the fact that she kept her voice steady. I know a lot of humans in her position that would have stuttered that entire sentence or not have been able to speak at all.

        "Sir, did you hear me? My friends are on their way. One of them is a black belt."

         In what form of martial arts? I wonder. They always say black belt. They never say what kind. As if the fact someone can fight is supposed to scare me.

        I hear a knock at the door.

        "That's them." She says. "Last chance to climb your ass down the fire escape." Julia looked at me and once she noticed I wasn't going to leave, she backed away from me slowly and left to answer the door.

        "There's a man in my room." I heard her say quietly to one of her friends.

        "Is he cute?" one of them asked.

        Yes. Yes I am.

        "Lauren. I don't know him." Julia replied.

        "Oh my gosh, are you turning into a slut? Is Dirty Daphne rubbing off on you. I told you to stop hanging out with her."

        "No! I didn't-. We didn't-. It's not like that. He's trying to rob me!" Julia exclaimed.

        "What?!" Both of her friends yelled.

        "Well, I think. I don't know how he got in. He hasn't done anything yet. He's just...there."

       They all stop talking. I can hear their footsteps approaching. One of her friends, Lauren, a brunette with shoulder length curly hair timidly peeks around the corner. She stares right at me, but doesn't see me. At the moment, I am invisible to anyone, but Julia.

           "He's not here." Lauren said.

        Her other friend had long black hair. She stepped right in the room, scanned it slowly and rolled her eyes. I almost wished she could see me. 

        "Really, Jules? Nice try. I see no one." Her voice was perfect. She spoke with a combination of solid playfulness and effortless sophistication. Her hair cascased down slightly past her shoulders. She walked straight into the room and sat down on Julia's bed. She was only an inch away from me. I debated moving, but decided against it.

        "it's cold in here." She said.

        It was 9:44.

       It was almost time.

       "Lauren, April, I'm not joking there was a man-ah!" Julia nearly fell to the ground as she entered the room. For two reasons. One, she was surprised to see me...and two, she was having a heart attack. She'd been having one for the last 10 minutes, but she'd ignored the pain. Now...it was going to be over.

        "They can't see me." I say as she takes her last breath.

        "Julia?" Her beautiful friend April gets off the bed and grabs Julia's body. Lauren and April pick her up and lay her on the bed. I don't see her soul. It should be here by now.

        I wait patiently standing over the body. I look closer and see Julia is still breathing.

        "What? How?" I ask out loud. None of them hear it not even Julia. I watch her eyes flicker back open. She inhales sharply and deeply. Julia sits up.

        She doesn't see me.

        I almost had her.

        Almost.