A Reaper's Mission

Chapter 3- The Decision (Emma)

I'm back in the Judgement Room. It has been forever since I've been here. I look around the room. The guy who is getting sentenced right now is just a pathological liar, who never tried to get better, so he's probably gonna get Purgatory. I look at the panel of judges and smirk at the memory of their wrinkled-up noses when I walked back in a week ago. Guess it is true that they never forget. I mean they have always disliked me since I busted the door into here with my scythe.

I hear movement to my right. I look over to see a guardian had appeared on the balcony. He goes and leans against the wall. He closes his eyes as if he was bored. As if he was here against his will. He is nothing like David. I wrinkle my nose in disgust, mimicking the judges. David is the only guardian I ever met that actually cared for all his charges.

Suddenly, the guardian's eyes fly open and I am staring into a deep, dark blue sea. My breath catches in my throat. I suppose he is good looking. He has wavy brown hair and looks like he had worked out well in life. His faint halo floating over his head adds to his beauty, much like it did David. Neither of us stops looking at each other, and then he gives me a smirk.

Ew.

I turn away from him and focus back on the jury and their poor victim. I sense him before I see him. I naturally do the rational thing; I leap from the balcony and land as the verdict is read. I look up to see the guardian staring down at me, a clear look of amusement on his face. I scoff and flip my hair at him. I head over to the Purgatory-sentenced guy and start to lead him away feeling the guardian's eyes on me the entire time.

After dropping the guy off at the Purgatory Door, I start to head away, but I feel a tingling and my hair rises on my arms. I turn to the reason and see it. The Hell Door. A quite average door leading to such terrible horrors. The door that David walked through, to never come back. The only guardian I met that truly cared about all their charges, not only the ones that went to Heaven. He was the first guardian I saw. I never even met my own guardian. It's not fair that a guardian who loves all his charges passionately was forced to go to Hell.

At that moment, a light bulb goes off.

It isn't fair.

And I'm going to bring him back.

**

Step one in saving David is talking to his superior. The likelihood of me accomplishing that is one in a million, but I will. I walk back out into the Judgement Room to see more grim Reapers and about two guardians wandering around. That's odd. A big accident must've occurred for all of these people to be here. None of us come here willingly, only for business. I scan the extra guardians, but there's no way they are David's superior. First off, they're both dudes. Second off, I remember that lady being short. I look up to see the brown-haired guardian still there. He looks kind of upset. I wonder why. I follow his line of sight on a guardian angel, who in turn was looking disappointedly down at a human. What...

No, Emma focus.

The only other place I could possibly find David's superior is the Guardian Tower, but that isn't going to happen; grim reaper are not permitted there. No exception. Honestly it would probably be a direct ticket to Hell for any that dared to enter. Hell, hardly any angels are permitted there.

But I need to talk to his superior. More than likely she'll never turn up in here. I only recognize a few guardians that turn up often. But that's normal. Most guardians that turn up know their charge will make it to Heaven or they got unusually attached. That's why David stood out. He got attached to all of his charges...

Snow falling. The reek of being near dumpsters. A baby's wail filling the air. David, his halo unusually bright in the alley, hunched over a dumpster. He stares hopelessly into the dumpster, not wanting to accept the harsh reality. I already accepting it. Because it is my duty to collect souls, not to care about their age or their life.

The baby.

Maybe I should change my focus. I need to know what happened to the baby. Did he find a good home? Is he happy? Does he have a family? Friends? Is he even alive? Did he have a better life than I ever did?

I need to know.

And I know where I can find this information.

"Edwin!" I yell, rushing into his office. He looks up at me from behind a stack of files on his desk, eyebrows raised. I stare at the files and fight off a yawn. Those tedious files... makes me exhausted just looking at them.

"Yes?" He says, closing the file.

I cut to the chase, "Can you tell me anything about the baby that David and I saved that night?" I put my hands on the edge of his desk. I lean towards him, biting my lip. The anticipation is killing me.

Edwin's reaction to my question is immediate. He jerks straight up in his chair, snapping his focus to the door I left wide open behind me. He rushes over to the door, looking both ways, before silently closing it. He finally turns to look at me, and I feel like I should drop dead from the look in his eyes. "Are you insane?! What if someone heard you?!" He whisper-yells at me, red filling his face.

"What? It's not like anyone will ever believe that David lied to protect me." I tell him, throwing my hair over my shoulder impatiently. We've had this argument a million times before, "But that's not what's important—"

"Not important? Not important?!" Edwin yells, looking super stressed and red. "Emma, you are accusing a guardian of lying! Why won't you realize—"

I cut him off, "Edwin." He closes his mouth, but still looks pissed as all hell. He sighs and waves his hand. "I just need to know how the baby is." The burn of tears in my eyes stops me for a second. "Please." I whisper, looking straight into his dark brown eyes. I can't stand not knowing anymore. I can't believe it took me this long to start properly wondering about it. I guess some things never change. I'll always think of myself and my wants first and everyone else second.

Edwin sighs, and in that sigh contains all of his frustration and exasperation. "I don't know, Emma. I don't have access nor can I get access to that information." He says, giving me a pointed look.

"Why?" I ask, dreading the worst. No... he must be okay...

Edwin rolls his eyes and looks to the heavens, "Because only guardians have information about the living." He says slowly, enunciating every word. I feel a swell of relief in me that comes out as a sigh.

"So, he's alive." I say, rephrasing Edwin's words. He nods, giving me a small smile. I rest my butt onto the desk, feeling a rush of happiness. Then a whole new set of worries come to mind. I need to know he was happy. I need to know he isn't trapped like me. That he has a family and friends who loves him for who he was, not what they want him to be.

But I can't do that.

So, the only way for me to accomplish anything is to befriend a guardian (or become a guardian which is impossible). Well damn it all! How the hell am I supposed to do that? Very few guardians actually try to get along with reapers. Not even David wanted to befriend a reaper. The only other way for me to learn what happened to the baby and find out how to save David... would be to go to the Guardian Tower.

And everything clicks together.

I look at Edwin in a new light.

Edwin has been a reaper for a long time now. He must know some guardians somewhat well. And that means...

David's supervisor. No doubt she would remember me, after all its not every day a guardian angel is removed from the line of duty forcibly. Especially with a reaper involved. It's even rarer they get sentenced to Hell. More than likely I will never see her in the human world, and highly unlikely I'll ever see her in the Judgement Room, so the best option is to go to the Guardian Tower and break all the rules. I smirk.

Breaking the rules is something I'm good at. Breaking the rules was how this all started, what's a few more. But I'll need help. I glance over to see Edwin still looking at me, his forehead wrinkled in worry.

The answer to all my problems

"Edwin...can you get me into the Guardian Tower?"