Despair

A single word that embodies the reckless acts we commit just to escape situations that could cost us dearly—like our lives.

This same word lays bare the selfishness of humanity, capable of offering up things that aren't even ours to give, just to dodge consequences. 

So, the key word for this chapter is Despair.

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"How did it come to this?" 

I kept asking myself over and over. I'd died in the most unpleasant way possible, and now I was stuck in this dark room without doors. Was this it? Would I spend eternity staring at this piece-of-shit TV?

"This can't be happening... someone, get me the hell out of here!"

"Yumi Brahams, 16 years old, the result of a union between an American and an Asian, resident of SoularVille, California, USA," came a voice from the darkness.

A man in a completely black robe stepped forward, hood up, carrying a scythe. "My name is Pedro, though on Earth, I'm better known as 'Death.' And this place is Purgatory."

"Wait a second—Pedro? Like the Apostle?" I was shocked. I mean, I knew my way around the Bible, but nowhere did it say Pedro moonlit as this. "And man, Purgatory was way duller and creepier than I'd imagined."

"Yes, the one and only. And if you thought you were going to be judged by cherubs with golden harps, you should've stuck around for the Messiah's second coming." He sat down on the other side of a table that appeared out of nowhere, holding a tablet and a scale. "I'll be judging you on His behalf."

With a dramatic wave of his hands, an enormous holographic list materialized in midair. It was so long I couldn't even see the end of it.

"And what's that supposed to be?"

"Your list of sins," Pedro replied casually, scrolling through the endless entries. "You've had a life full of ups and downs, but..."

"But what?" My stomach was in knots. If he had a list of every sin I'd ever committed, that meant...

"Ah, here it is." He tapped an icon, and a video popped up—one I absolutely did not want to see. "September 12th, 2017—exactly two years ago. You tortured an alleged rapist to death. And I have to say, I never imagined a 14-year-old girl could wield a construction hammer with such... finesse."

The video began playing, and immediately, I could hear the screams of that guy. And my laughs that grew even higher after every swing. The sound of bones shattering under the weight of the hammer echoed in the room. I covered my ears, unable to bear it.

"No, no, no! He was a bad person! He deserved it!" Tears streamed down my face as I clutched my head. "Turn it off!"

Pedro slammed his hand on the table, making me jump. "You think you had the right to do that? There were other ways to punish him, better ways. Just like you, he deserved a second chance. Maybe he could've found redemption behind bars. But you? You took that away from him. Now, thanks to you, I had to send his soul straight down below—for eternity."

The anger and sorrow in his eyes were palpable. For someone who's supposed to be a saint, he sure had a hell of a temper.

"People like him don't deserve salvation!" I spat, and before I knew it, Pedro's fist collided with my face, sending me crashing into the wall.

"And who says a selfish, arrogant bitch like you is any better than he was?" He crouched beside me, eyes full of disdain. "Enjoy eternity with the guy you sent down there. I'll watch your suffering from the VIP box—and I'll enjoy every second of it."

Desperate, I shouted the first thing that came to mind. "Wait! I'll do anything to redeem myself!"

Pedro hesitated, his finger hovering mid-air. I struggled to speak with my jaw shattered, but I pushed through. "Anything... I'll do whatever it takes."

"Anything, huh?" He smirked. "Dangerous words."

Pedro paced the room, tapping his scythe on the floor as he thought. Then he snapped his fingers, summoning a white contract and a pen out of thin air.

"Sit."

With some effort, I managed to fix my jaw back into place and took a seat. He slid the paper and pen across the table.

"What's this?" The document was written in what looked like Hebrew—or some other squiggly nonsense I couldn't read.

"If you sign this, you'll become my subordinate for an indefinite period. You'll return to the world of the living, in the same city, but with a new body."

"And my... 'job' would be?"

Pedro tapped his tablet, pulling up a montage of blurry, eerie footage. "Cleaning up loose ends. SoularVille has one of the highest concentrations of spiritual or paranormal activity on the planet. Even Transylvania can't compete. Your job will be to hunt down these entities. Sometimes, you'll need to kill them. What do you say?"

"Do I really have a choice?" I sighed and scribbled my name. "Alright, what now?"

"You're officially a hunter. The pact is sealed." Pedro leaned in close. "When you return, find Alfred. He'll give you all the details."

"Wait... can I interact with people from my past life?"

"Sure," Pedro said with a sinister grin. "But if they discover who you really are, they'll drop dead right in front of you. Courtesy of yours truly. Now, get out of my sight—I've got better things to do."

He snapped his fingers again, and suddenly, I was spiraling down a tunnel, rings of light flashing by faster and faster.

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I woke up gasping for air in what looked like a cheap apartment.

"Finally awake, huh?" said a red-haired guy leaning against the bathroom doorframe in nothing but boxers. "Welcome back."

"Jesus Christ, you scared me!" I scrambled off the bed, using my hands to shield my face from... well, too much information. "You must be Alfred..."

"The one and only. Though I was better-looking in my original form," he muttered, checking himself out in a mirror. "Anyway, don't worry—you turned out pretty cute for a Japanese girl."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I snatched the mirror from him, only to see a completely different face staring back at me: a petite Japanese girl with short, neatly combed black hair.

"And of course, my boobs got smaller," I muttered, glaring at the reflection. "But hey, at least my ass got a slight upgrade—"

"Uh, you do realize I'm still standing here, right?" Alfred interrupted, arms crossed. "Anyway, here's your gear. Suit up. We're meeting the team in 15 minutes."

He handed me the case and I closed the door. I started pulling out the stuff and placing it on the sink. When I grabbed the clothes, I found a nasty surprise.

"Are you fucking kidding me? A Japanese schoolgirl uniform? You've gotta be shitting me."

"Courtesy of Mr. Pedro, so if you want to complain, talk to him. But for now, you'll have to wear that."

"Goddammit," I muttered, having no choice. I put on the uniform, even the thigh-high socks, because the skirt was ridiculously short. There were two holsters, one for a knife and the other for a 9mm pistol. I strapped them as discreetly as possible on my thighs, hoping the skirt would cover everything.

Finally, I tied the holster with two samurai swords around my waist and walked out of the bathroom, where Alfred was already waiting, ready to go.

"Curious. You actually look like a modern-day warrior," he said with a smirk, opening the door. "Leave the swords. We're not in ancient Japan anymore."

"Despite reading a lot of SwordMan Japan manga, I doubt I could properly use them over a pistol," I admitted, tossing the swords on the bed before we left. Apparently, he was staying in a pretty shitty motel downtown, which was acceptable at best.

We crossed the street and entered a fast-food restaurant.

"There they are, come with me," he said, leading me to a table where two women, one blonde and one brunette, were eating like there was no tomorrow. "Good morning and enjoy your meal, ladies. This is Yumi, but from now on, she's Yin, and she's our new teammate."

"The newbie, right?" the blonde said after taking a sip of her soda. "I'm Rose, and she's Naomi."

"Nice to meet you, I hope—" Naomi cut me off with a slight cough, clearly uninterested in what I had to say, so I shut up.

"Good girl. See that guy over there?"

"Yeah, looks like the manager. What about him?"

"He's a demon disguised as a human. Go over there and take him out," Naomi said nonchalantly. I was shocked. I'd been here less than half an hour, and she wanted me to kill, without training or knowledge. This day could definitely get worse. "Consider this your first hunt. It'll be a piece of cake."

"But... I don't know how to kill a demon."

"It's simple. You have a gun and a knife under that mini-skirt, right? So go over there, put a bullet in the middle of his forehead, and that's it."

"With all these people around?"

"Yumi, you wanted this, didn't you? If so, then go do your fucking job, now!"

End of chapter.