TW: Cursing, burns, death, assault, knife, panic attack, portals, afterlife that is my own invention, tell me if you think there should be more.

"How do you prepare a baby for an interview?" Carolin Campbell wondered aloud, stark black eyes glistening with concern.

    She grabbed a roll of bandages and began to unwrap them, staring absently at the one-and-a-half-year-old in front of her.

"I mean, the best he'll get is a bunny. Or a swan or something..." She trailed off, wrapping the bandages around his arm. "I... I can't do that to him. I just can't."  She groaned and secured the bandage, pushing back the tears building in her eyes. Biting her lip and looking into his mocha iris', she continued, "I'm so sorry, Ophel."

    The child in question simply cooed questioningly, his sense of touch and pain not back yet.

She laughed slightly, brushing a wayward tear from her cheek. A void opened up in her stomach, as unwanted water continued to trickle down her face.

The salt touched her lips and slipped inside her mouth, filling it with the taste of dread and failure. She couldn't save him, she couldn't even take care of him!

... But she knew who could, at least until she figured out how.

Amos Hammond.

A Reaper. A Morde, nonetheless. It was perfect.

No one trusted Reapers anyway. Especially not Mordes, those that took murdered souls back here, to Maroesol. What's a couple more disgraced? And once the dust settled, she would come in and plead the child's innocence , his trauma. That fact that he needed to be taken care of. The Guardians would back her, and the Justices would have to concede. By then she'd even know how to take care of Ophel!

She'd gotten way too attached to him already, but whatever.

She finished rubbing the cream across his cracked and blackened skin, placing him in pajamas and tugging up the sleeves to cover the last of the horrible burns covering his body. There were still some on his face and head, but this was the best she could do.

She placed him in the part of bed she had sectioned off for him, and went to plan his way to Amos. She was saving a life here. She was in the right.

∽

    Jade Thomas was about to die.

    She didn't know it yet, but she was.

    Amos watched her silently from halfway out of the tiny shadow made by the shelf right beside them. Not in a creepy way, they swear, just... She was so pretty! Like, who gave her the right to have such amazing brown eyes with those specks of caramel that glowed like fireflies under the fluorescent lights of Target. And her dirty blond hair with streaks of dark blue in it that desperately needed a good brush through just made her look even more like some sort of goddess as it bounced behind her on her way to the self check-

    Wait! Amos, you're here to bring her to Maroesol, not oggle her. Get over yourself. Just because she's pretty doesn't mean you can be horrible. She's more than just looks, y'know! Now stop being such a useless gay, and go make sure she dies at the right time.

    But, Jade probably has the best personality. It would be so amazing to bring her flowers and make her breakfast in bed and a picnic and- STOP!

    Ugh. Already murdered people were so much easier to deal with. They usually didn't turn out pretty.

They didn't even know why they were here. They could have just waited in the garden until it was closer to the estimate and then come to make sure they got the timing right. Then the portal would be closer too. Instead of all the way back in the bread aisle.

Jade had finished scanning her items and was getting the bags off the weight sensor when Amos saw her next. They quickened their pace and fell into step with her just as the sliding glass doors opened.

The sun was just setting as they stepped out, painting the cloudless sky in a million swirling colors. Shadows elongated and lights turned on as sleep deprived teens finished school work and the warmth of the day disappeared behind the mountains. The calm, almost unmoving, scene gave the sense of acrylics painted carefully on a canvas, not the real world, which was tainted with evil.

Evils like the coming murder of the young women beside Amos.

The world around them lit up slightly as Jade finished turning on her flashlight and aimed it to the side, turning to follow it. Amos stepped after her silently as they followed the brick wall of Target to, Amos assumed, her car.

They didn't mean to be that person, but could Jade's murderer hurry up? Amos was not at all physical so could not ride in a car, and they really didn't feel like chasing one down again then having to go all the way back to the store.

As if sensing Amos' thoughts, a boy about Jade's age came running up to them. "Hey, Jade! Long time no see!"

Jade immediately tensed and sped up. "Go away, Brad."

"Come on, sweetie. Stop walking away from me, please?" Brad said, reaching out to grab her wrist.

Even after all these years, instinct still pushed Amos forward to try to get him away from her, but of course, it didn't work. Neither of them would know Amos existed until it was too late.

"Let go of me," Jade commanded, though the waver in her voice ruined her front of confidence.

"I really hope you don't actually mean that, Jadey. For your sake," Brad said as he turned her towards him more and raised his other hand until it was between their stomachs. Something gripped in his fist flashed silver.

Jade gasped.

Their position mostly blocked the object from Amos' view, but they already knew what it was.

Brad leaned into Jade's ear and stage-whispered, "Don't scream."

"Wha-What do you want from me?" Jade asked, chest rising quickly.

"I think you know. Now, if you just come with me, I won't have to use this." Brad began to walk back into the parking lot he had come from, keeping Jade pulled close to him.

The girl gave a short, scared yell, and jerked out of his grip, backing up quickly. Brad spun around, and finally showed off the item in his hand.

A switchblade.

"I really wish you hadn't done that," Brad growled, shoving her back against the wall and pinning the knife against her stomach. "Now be a good little girl, and stop struggling."

"No! Please. I'm sorry, just leave me alone!" Jade's voice was high and desperate, like the sound of a discordant violin.

"Shut up!" Brad dug his knife a little further, effectively silencing his captor. "Good girl."

Jade spasmed, slamming her knee upward between his legs. He grunted and doubled over, stepping backwards. She stepped back a few times, shock rolling off her like the waves of a tsunami.

Then she turned and ran.

She got maybe three steps before his hand clamped around his wrist. He spun her around and jerked her forward.

"I really wish you hadn't done that."

Amos ran back to the bread aisle as fast as they could, hindered by their mid-thigh length black skirt and a heavy heart. Jade didn't deserve this. But there was nothing Amos could do about it now except their job.

They tripped over their muddy boot lace and through the swirling portal, crouching down beside a thornless flower, now right beside them. With one quick dig of their purple and silver scythe, the rose was out of the ground and in their gloved hands.

    Amos breathed a small sigh of relief, and stopped to rest for a moment. Their heart would be beating out of their chest right about now, if it could beat at all. Their muscles still hurt from the exertion though.

They should probably get going before Brad did much else with her.

They sighed and stood up, going back through the portal that only they could see.

It was actually really disconcerting to see people just walking out of thin air during Amos' first couple weeks. It was especially awkward when you accidentally slammed into someone just coming out of a portal. But that was the usual now, and slight changes in reality usually warned when someone was about to step out.

They took a bit longer walking back, giving Jade time to rest as her senses faded out. A couple minutes later, she was next to the lifeless body of the twenty-year-old, not minding the blood that had pooled around her.

Brad was nowhere to be seen and neither was the knife. Good.

Amos leaned their scythe against the wall beside them, as sharp objects and Newlydeads did not mix well.

Amos leaned down to touch Jade's forehead. Cool skin met slightly warmer as Amos laid their hand right under Jade's hairline, one yellow petal from the rose she had just picked pressed between the two. Amos left their hand there for one second, then two, three, five, seven seconds until finally a burst of heat as powerful as a California summer all caught up into one moment wrapped her extreme-temperature resistant glove. Following right behind it was a feeling colder than an iceberg hundreds of miles under the water.

Amos removed their hand just as Jade shot up, gasping for air. Tears immediately filled her eyes and her breathing was double as heavy as it had been when Amos had left.

She choked and began to cough violently, all of the unneeded air coming violently out as soon as it had entered.

Amos scooted back a bit, so as not to crowd into Jade's space, and said, as soothingly as possible. "Hey, Jade. Can you hear me?"

Jade jerked her head up to look at the person speaking to them, then nodded slightly through her tears.'

"Okay, good. Can you try to breath in for me? For two seconds. " Amos requested. It was normally 5, but again, they didn't really need air.

Jade hesitated for a few more quick breaths, then took a deep breath in.

    1... 2...

    She finished this first part, though she may not have realized.

    "Now hold that breath for seven seconds. You're doing great" Amos commented, slowly lifting a hand so it was near Jade's, where it was grabbed tightly. The rest of the exercise remained the same as the living's.

The whole time, Amos was counting: 1...  2... 3... 4..-

Jade choked, the breath getting caught in her throat. She spluttered, trying to make her lungs work. Heavy breaths finally came again after a few seconds. Coughing followed in the next moment.

"You're okay. Let's try again. In for 3. Through your nose."

Jade did as directed, finishing the three seconds easily.

"Good. Now try the seven seconds holding again."

1... 2... 3... 4... A little hiccup at 5, but Jade still didn't let any air out, so it was fine. 6... 7...

"Great... Now let that breath out for eight seconds. Through your mouth."

Jade let go of the unneeded air, which was all of it, in a large blow like the breath of Boreas.

"Good, now let's do that again."

They repeated the exercise a few times more, theirs being the only sound on the empty sidewalk.

    "Okay, Jade. We're gonna try a grounding exercise now. Can you try to name five things you can see?" Amos asked softly.

    Jade nodded and looked up at Amos first, her painted pink lips slightly parted. Her face was bare of makeup except for that and some mascara to darken her eyelashes. "Um... Your- your, uh, veil."

She was referring to the pastel purple fabric that seemed like silk to the  outside eye, that hung in front of Amos's face. It was like hair, as they could see out, but no one could see in. It covered up some bloody bandages and the elaborate makeup they loved using. Both were outlawed in their job's dress code, but it wasn't hurting anyone if nobody could see it.

"St-Stars-s. S-S-Street-light. Car. Bl- Blood. Oh, God." Jade gasped, clutching her stomach.

"It's okay! Everything's alright. The blood is fine, and so are you. You're finished that part! Now just four things you can feel."

"Cold. Tile. Hair. Sh-Sh-irt," which was a light purple and had a greyscale flannel over it that tied at her stomach. "And sso-socks."

Jade seemed a bit calmer now, and the red was fading from her beautiful - no, nevermind - eyes. But she was still breathing kind of heavily. So, Amos continued directing the exercise by saying, "You're doing wonderfully. Now can you tell me three things you can hear?"

"You. Wi-Win-Wind. Me." Jade's breathing had slowed down to a better rhythm now.

    "Great. Now two things you can smell."

    "Rose." This was from the perfume Amos had taken from her pocket and spritzed around them. It was hard to identify smells when you were already used to them. "And, uh... Bl-Blood."

"It's okay. You're doing amazing. Now just one thing you can taste."

"Uh... Normal? Kind of sour?" Jade had fully calmed down by now and was sitting up somewhat straighter. "Who are you anyway?"

"I'm Morde Amos, she/they. A Reaper, come to bring you to the afterlife as you are dead." Amos found it was usually best to be direct, and if they had to deal with another panic attack, then they had to deal with another panic attack.

To Amos' surprise, Jade just sat there with this thoughtful look on her face. Tears filled her eyes for a moment, but were quickly wiped away. She shrugged and said, "Okay. So what afterlife is it?"

Amos was a bit taken aback, this was very unusual. Though she hadn't dealt with young adults in a while. Maybe this was their thing now? Or maybe it was just better than the alternative had been...

Amos shook it off and said, "Okay, then. It's called Maroesol. We need to go back to the bread aisle to get there."

"K. What's it like there?" Jade said as she stood up, ignoring the blood still coming from her wound, and began to head back towards the store.

"Well... for starters, every sentient being ends up there when they die. There are animals, humans, lots of aliens. It's mostly self divided into species, though. Humans stick with humans, cows stick with other farm animals, etc. There are some exceptions. Like Bess, a goat. She lives in the apartment above me and makes the best cheesecake you have ever tasted."

Jade gasped loudly, and said, "Does that mean Bernardo, my cat, is there? Can I actually talk to him?"

Jade's enthusiasm was a bit confusing, but Amos guessed it made sense for someone to be so eager to see a pet again. "I... suppose. If you can find him, that is. And there are translators that you can hire."

"Oh, that's awesome!"

"But you probably won't have enough years to pay for one right off the bat." Amos cautioned.

"Years?" Jade wrinkled her nose.

Adorable- HOW 'BOUT NO! But she's so cu- stop it. She is. No! You may be about the same physical and mental age, but you have been conscious in this form for more than a hundred years longer than she has! So, stop it, Amos.

"What are years?" Jade insisted after Amos didn't respond for a few long moments.

"Right. Um, they're basically the money of Maroesol."

"How do I 'pay' with them?"

"With your Soulflower. Which I'll tell you about it a minute." Amos hurried to say as Jade opened her mouth. "Basically, I'm taking you to meet your guide. He'll help you get adjusted and explain everything better. You'll be with him for a week, then you'll go see a Justice.

"They'll determine how many years you get based on how well you followed common moral codes around you and the basic one that they all are given. Your achievements, how you treated others, etc.

"Those years are your currency. You lose one every year. When you run out, you fade. It's kind of like death, but actually nothing happens after it."

Jade gave her a panicked look, as if to say, 'So we go through another life of sorts just to go poof?'

"You can pay to be reincarnated," Amos rushed to reassure her. "That's a whole other process that you should ask your guide about."

"Who is my guide, anyway?" Jade asked. She was way too comfortable with this.

"Uh, yeah. Just give me a second. I forgot his name" Amos responded as she grabbed a folded up paper from the breast pocket of their white dress shirt. They unfolded it to find neat black letter lining the page, along with a picture of Jade and the flower they had gotten from the garden a few minutes prior. Scanning down the list, they seemed to find what they were looking for and folded the paper up, putting it back in their pocket. "George Alabaster. I've met the guy before, I think you'll like him. He definitely tries to be funny and can answer all of your questions better than I can. He's very afternoonified."

Jade snorted, and Amos looked taken aback. It was cute, sure, but what was so funny? Wait, no, it wasn't cute, ignore that. "Afternoonified?" Jade managed, before bursting out laughing.

Amos' lips formed a small 'O' under their veil, before the embarrassment set in. "Wha- I- Come on, it was a slip of the tongue. Stop laughing!" Amos exclaimed desperately. "It- It means smart. It was an expression from my original time period. It's not that funny!"

"It really is!" Jade exclaimed, hands on her knees. "Oh, god, it hurts to laugh."

Amos snorted a bit, Jade's mirth finally getting to them. A smile formed on their dry lips, and a chuckle escaped. Soon, they were all out laughing, hands on their knees, and eyes shut tight.

It was five minutes before Amos as able to collect themselves fully, and Jade had reduced to chuckling. "We- Hahaha, stop laughing!" They exclaimed.

"You stop!" Jade retorted, an arm around their stomach, stopping the blood flow.

"Okay, okay," Amos took a few deep breaths, refusing to look at Jade lest they start laughing again. "We should really go. George is waiting."

"Okay, okay. I'm coming." Jade stood up and went after Amos, who had begun to walk slowly towards the bread aisle. She snorted. "Afternoonified."

"Stop! Oh my god." Amos said with a chuckle.

"Fine," Jade said, drawing out the 'i' with a smile. "What're Soulflowers anyway? You said you'd tell me about them."

"Right! Um..." They began, considering how to explain this in a way that would make sense to the twenty year old. "First off... They're not all flowers. They can be any kind of plant. Every sentient being has one. Soulflowers are basically our ID's, our credit cards, etc. If you lose it or it get's stolen or somethin', you're basically set to wait until you fade. Most keep part of it in some sort of small trinket they can always keep on them to use throughout the day, and keep the rest somewhere safe."

"Okay, then. What's mine?" Jade asked eagerly.

Amos glanced at her, then pulled a bright yellow rose with a thornless white stem from behind their ear. They silently handed it to Jade as the two finally made their way into the aisle they intended. A swirling whirlpool of color and half formed images rested about halfway down the path bordered by shelves filled with peanut butter, honey, some chips, and bread.

Jade took a moment to admire the beautiful flower, before asking, "Are they assigned randomly, or do they represent something about the person?"

"They represent stuff. Like, I'm pretty sure the yellow rose petals mean that you care a lot about your friends and have a good memory, and the white stem means that you adjust well to change. The type of flower means that you are beautiful yet some think you aren't... the best person before getting to know you. Guardians pick them out," Amos explained, stopping at the portal.

Jade stopped by them a few moments later. "That's awesome!"

Amos nodded slightly. "Ready to go?"

Jade took one last look at the sandwich materials around them, then spun and stepped through the portal.

People usually waited for Amos to go first so that they could be there to guide and help and stuff, but Jade was different. Very different.

Amos sighed and stepped through the vortex, feeling the soft woosh of air as the portal closed behind them. They felt like they were forgetting something...

    Shit! Their scythe!

Finally! I have been trying to realistically kill that little bitch for MONTHS!

In all seriousness though, please be careful. I don't want anything like that to happen to anyone amazing enough to read this.

Baiiiiiiiii