“Where are we going?” Ashy asked Death as he led her away from the storage rooms.
“To tell the Big Guys that you’re going to be my apprentice.” Death murmured. Ashy cocked her head.
“Why do you keep calling them ‘The Big Guys’?” Ashy asked. Death didn’t answer at first. He was silent, and he stood still all of the sudden, as if in shock. His blue eyes turned a dark grey, and he wasn’t staring at anything in particular.
Ashy looked around, confused. She then turned back to Death and touched his arm. “Hey, are you okay?” Ashy asked.
Death shook his head and murmured, “I’m fine. I’m just running a little behind schedule.” He led her through the door that was made of white marble on one side and dark stone on the other. Death pushed the heavy door open and motioned her inside.
God and Satan were looking at a man that was kneeling on the ground, pleading. “Please, God! I don’t want to go to Hell!” The man pleaded. Ashy raised her eyebrows at him.
“Of course you don’t! No one does!” Satan yelled furiously. Death heaved a sigh. God turned his head and saw him.
“Ah, there you are, Death! Come here and make this man be quiet so we can think! Life couldn’t shut him up.” God murmured. Life grunted to Death as he led Ashy over to the man. The man saw Death and he scrambled away, whimpering.
“Please! Please don’t let them put me in Hell!” The man begged.
“That’s a bad word.” Ashy said pointedly. She was probably the only girl in her school that didn’t like saying cuss words. She was always the weird one in her school.
“Hell is not a bad word. It is simply a bad place.” Satan told her. Ashy glared at him.
Death put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. “This is Ashy. I’ve come to request that she become my apprentice.” Death said slowly.
“Well, of course, my boy! Why not? You’ve taken forever to find an apprentice! Literally.” God said cheerfully. Death nodded graciously, smiling. He then turned to Satan, who was staring at Ashy, scrutinizing her.
“Wasn’t that the child that we were going to judge this morning?” Satan asked. Death nodded.
“Yes, but I would like to make her my apprentice.” Death said firmly. Satan glared at him.
“I know what you want to do with her. Shut up so I can think!” Satan grumbled. He stared at Ashy longer. Ashy looked at her feet, avoiding Satan’s red eyes.
She saw something in the corner of her eye. The man was trying to escape. He was reaching for Life’s cloak. All he had to do was touch it, and then he’d be alive again....
Ashy looked nervously at Death, wondering if he had noticed. She didn’t know what would happen if the man was alive again, but a feeling in her gut told her it wouldn’t be good. She slowly walked away from Death, and he turned to see what she was doing. He held his hand up to God and Satan when they began to say something. Death watched Ashy, wondering how the man would react.
Ashy approached the man. Life had stepped further away from him, leaving him laying there, curled in a ball, sobbing. Ashy knelt down next to him and placed her hand on his back. She could feel the evil in him. But he just wanted to have forgiveness. He wanted to stay in the storage rooms, at least. He didn’t want to go to Hell. He had heard the screaming voices in the crack calling to him. People down there stayed in eternal pain.
The man looked at her when Ashy touched him. “What?” He asked harshly.
“Ask for forgiveness. That’s all he wants.” Ashy murmured. The man looked confused. “Ask God for forgiveness. He’ll forgive you. He promised he would always forgive you if you asked for it.” Ashy glanced over at God, who was watching her thoughtfully.
“You mean... I don’t have to go to Hell?” The man asked. Ashy shrugged, and then looked over at the Big Guys. They were looking at each other thoughtfully.
Satan nodded at Ashy. He still had to go to Hell, even if he asked forgiveness. Ashy turned to the man. “You still have to go... Down.” Ashy murmured, unsure if she had offended Satan or not.
The man looked at her beseechingly. “Please don’t let him take me to Hell.” The man begged.
“I can’t control that. But pain is a state of mind here. Just don’t think about it, and you won’t feel it.” Ashy whispered. The man looked into Ashy’s green eyes, searching for any kind of hint that would tell him if she was telling the truth or lying.
“Fine.” He murmured finally, dropping his eyes to the floor. Death strode over and took the man by his arm, hauling him up onto his feet. The man stumbled with Death over to the crack in the ground.
The man stepped in, tears leaking down his face. He dropped, and all was silent.
“Well, who wants lunch?” God asked cheerfully. Satan murmured his agreement and the two men floated off, chatting. Ashy stared at them as they disappeared.
“Well, now that that’s settled...” Death murmured, pulling his hood over his head again.
“That’s it? I just had to get someone to go to... Down?” Ashy asked, slightly shocked.
“Yes, and you did a fine job of it too. I didn’t do as well as you. I forced the man to go. You got him to go willingly. Much easier that way, though not as fun...” Death said as he strode off. Ashy ran to catch up.
“What does Death do?” Ashy asked.
“Death takes people to the storage rooms, where they are judged. He doesn’t do much more. Why are Ashy and Death speaking in third-person?” Death asked. Ashy blushed furiously.
“Well.... I didn’t think that your parents had named you Death when you were born, so I just assumed that Death was the title of the position....” Ashy’s words faded to nothingness as Death raised two eyebrows at her. “Sorry.” Ashy murmured, feeling tears well up in her eyes.
She didn’t know why she kept on crying, but she just felt so alone, and so scared.... Death stopped and Ashy bumped into him. He was like a statue. Rubbing her nose from the run-in, Ashy peered at him carefully.
He looked that way again. He had the dark grey eyes and the blank expression on his face, like he wasn’t even there with her. She shook him. He didn’t respond. “Hey.” Ashy said, poking his arm. “Hey!” She said a little louder, shaking him. He didn’t respond.
“I’d stop messing with him if I were you. He’s not gonna come out of that trance until he finishes seeing all the deaths that just happened.” The calm, gentle, somehow frightening voice startled Ashy. She spun around, grabbing onto Death’s cloak as if it would protect her.
Life laughed cruelly. “You think he’ll protect you? From what? Me? Sweetie, I could bring you back to life if I wanted to. Just a flick of my hand and you’d be back in your old body. They haven’t even buried it yet.” Life murmured, taunting her. Ashy cowered closer to Death, hiding in the folds of his cloak.
Something about Life scared her, just how Death had scared her when she was alive. She knew it wouldn’t be bad to be alive again, but she didn’t want to. She was dead, and that’s the way she should stay.
“Come on, sweetie. All you have to do is take my hand, and I can take you back to your brother. Back to Tobias. Back to your little husky puppy, Haven. He’s been whining for you. Listen.” Life murmured, her eyes locked onto Ashy’s. Ashy suddenly heard a childish male voice.
“Ashy? Where’s Ashy, Tobias? Where’s Ashy? Why didn’t she come home? Why are you crying? Tobias? Why are you crying? Why hasn’t Ashy come home?” It was Haven. Ashy’s eyes welled with tears.
“Touch me, Ashy. Touch me and you can go home to your puppy and brother. Touch me and you will live.” Life said, her voice hauntingly sweet. Ashy reached out for Life’s hand, no longer quite scared. Actually, she didn’t really feel anything.
Death’s cloak suddenly wrapped around her, protecting her. Death glared furiously at Life. “How dare you try to do that to my apprentice!” Death spat.
“It had to be done. She’s not very loyal, is she? She gave in after the first couple seconds.” Life said calmly, raising her eyebrows at Death. Ashy pressed against him, frightened. The fears came back to her. The feeling of feeling nothing had been so empty... So wrong....
“She’s not ready for that kind of torment. Do not get near her again, Life. I will tell God and Satan.” Death threatened.
“Oooh, God and Satan are out to get me!” Life mocked. “What are they gonna do, throw me into Hell?” Life chuckled at her own little joke and then looked at Ashy with those blue eyes.
Death turned Ashy away from Life and towards him. Ashy didn’t look at Life anymore. She didn’t want to have that feeling of nothing.
“Leave her alone, you got it? Leave her alone before I start messing with your apprentice.” Death snarled.
“He’s almost done with his training anyway. There’s not much more you can do to him. Not like those naughty little tricks you played on him the first day.” Life said, shaking her head shamefully.
“Those were your tricks, Life.” Death said pointedly, glaring at her.
“Were they? Oh my, look at the milliseconds ticking by. I have to run and go make a miracle. See ya.” Life said. She swooped her cloak over her head and she was gone.
Death released Ashy from his hold and looked at her, worried. “Are you okay? Did she hurt you?” Death asked gently.
Ashy shook her head, wiping tears from her eyes. Death’s eyes looked at her sorrowfully. “I thought Life was supposed to be good.” Ashy sniffled.
“Oh, she is. When you’re alive. When you’re not, she happens to be the rudest, most obnoxious thing up here. That’s why she listens to Satan more than God. She likes to tempt people, make them go down the wrong path.” Death explained.
“What happened to you? One second you were fine and next you were all like a statue.” Ashy asked him. Death motioned for her to follow him and she did, turning her head every once and a while to see if Life was near her.
She was frightened of Life now.
I hope that we get to meet Life's apprentice soon, and I hope he's not a 