Chapter 4

The world felt cold and dark. There was chatter coming from the unknown, indistinguishable. She couldn’t think, her mind was a hapless fuzz. The young girl lifted from her bed, the cold itching at her skin.

“Come to me,” she heard a voice call.

The girl turned her head towards the door. There was nothing but shadows. She looked to the window by her bed, and again, shadows.

“Come here,” it called to her, saying a name she hated.

She looked around, the world swirling and the furniture vibrating. She instinctively kicked her feet for her slippers. Nothing was there. She moved ever so slowly, and her mind raced to look in the mirror.

The mirror served no reflection, it was vast and empty. She put a hand to the glass, and felt a shiver work its way up her arm.

“Look,” said the voice.

The girl peered closer into the mirror, a strange form taking shape before her. She pulled her hand away, and as so, another hand came forward from the mirror. An icy, boney hand. The girl couldn’t move, as much as she desired. She couldn’t force her pitiful body to run away, she could only watch as the hand reached for her.

The voice called her that awful name again. “I am with you,” it said. “You are mine.”

The hand sprang out and grabbed the girl by the neck. Her screams were swallowed by silence. A terrible, terrible creature arose from the mirror. The girl’s eyes quivered with fear. The creature opened it’s retched mouth, its jaw snapping and it’s teeth clamoring.

“I am you.”

Ray was awoken to a light knock at her bedroom door. She jostled up, still fearful from her horrible dream. She opened the door to find Antonio there, holding a letter.

“Sorry for the wake-up, I did a mail run and you have something,” he said, handing the letter to a tired Ray. It wasn’t often she was seen without her shades on, and he couldn’t help but stare for a moment at her dark eye.

Ray took the letter, and closed the door in Antonio’s face, refusing to say thank you.

She sat at her desk, the darkness accompanying her. It was tidy, papers and books neatly stacked together, old letters put off to the side. She had a journal gently tucked away, leather-bound and closed tight. Ray laid the letter on the desk and took out the journal. She carefully opened the letter so as not to rip it, and took out its contents.

It was from Beatrice, written in shorthand that only she and Ray could read. She took her time to decipher it.

Shurgate Company of Alden City. North of the train station. Terminus Prison is our destination. No directions given, ask Henry Shurgate. Told him to expect you. Be careful of reapers here. Not nice.

Ray frowned. Where the hell was Terminus Prison?

She leaned back in her chair. Alden was certainly a day’s worth of a train ride. Wherever the reapers were going, she wouldn’t be able to catch up. But if Beatrice sent her this letter, there had to be good reason, no?

She sighed and leaned back in her chair. Her body ached, and she was off for the day. Her bed was calling her, its warmth clinging to her mind. She rubbed her forehead. No, no she needed to go. Beatrice wouldn’t have given her instructions if she wasn’t meant to go after her.

She changed her clothes and collected her things; scythe, wallet, and pouch. She checked her soul trinkets, grabbing two of them. Only one was filled, the rest were empty. Hopefully she wouldn’t need them. She pocketed the trinkets into her thigh-pouch and put on her boots.

As she walked out she put on her shades. The light trickling through the hallway windows stung her eyes a bit as she snuck by. She made her way to the main hall, scythe neatly folded and clipped to her belt. The leftover reapers looked at her, too nervous to wave hello. She would have ignored them anyway.

She stopped in front of Clementine’s office. It felt like the door alone was watching her, judging her. The director was always in there, busy like the queen of the guild that she was. Ray feared that if she took one step closer to the front doors, Clementine would appear and stop her in her tracks. She swallowed hard, and swiftly passed by, silent as ever.

The immense arched doorways loomed over her as she approached. Her hand hovered over the handle, quaking in its place.

Did she have an excuse? What if someone saw her and she couldn’t explain her absence? What if Clementine was on the other side of the door, waiting to catch her right here and now? What if… she didn’t make it on time?

The reaper shook her head. No, no there was no point in dawdling. She pushed the door open, its creak filling the room. She shoved herself through the small opening and closed the door immediately, catching her breath like she ran for miles. It was only the first step.

Ray collected herself, checking to make sure she had enough coin and that her scythe was securely fastened to her belt. Though Belmus was a small city, the train station was on the opposite side from the guild.  She needed to be quick if she wanted to catch the earliest train to Alden. She refused to be wasteful of her time.

She marched along, passing the graveyard and into the heart of the city. Belmus was old and quiet, with citizens to match. She politely pushed by strangers on the daily commute, ignoring street vendors trying to hand her goods she had no use for. Carriages pulled by kind horses strode by, birds chirping and picking at the ground being scared off by passersby. All the brick buildings meshed together, until finally she reached the quaint train station.

There was a small group of people sitting by the tracks, their briefcases and all sat beside them. Most likely waiting for Alden, Ray figured. Which meant she wasn’t late. She checked the timetable by the ticketing booth and relief washed over her. Half an hour to go, she was safe. She approached the booth and took out her coin pouch.

“One for Alden, please.”

The woman behind the booth looked at her curiously as she produced a ticket. “Are you with those reapers who left the other day?” She asked. “I hope you didn’t get left behind.”

Ray tightened her form. “I was… called for assistance,” Ray said, only partially lying.

“Well they must really need it,” the woman continued, “It’s a long trip. Is there anything else I can help you with, ma’am?”

“No, thank you.”

Ray tucked her ticket away and swiftly turned away, trying to hide her contempt. She found a bench under the shade and sat, far away from prying strangers.

Finally alone again, Ray was able to relax. She was exhausted from walking, still feeling tired from the day before. She was in desperate need of some peace.

Just as she was able to loosen up, some older men nearby began speaking very loudly. One of them held the newspaper.

“Did you hear about this,” the one with the paper began, pointing roughly at an article. “Vampires attacking trains?”

So much for peace, Ray thought.

The friend scuffed out a laugh. “What, are they train robbers now?” He said, taking it non-seriously. “They’ve run out of hobbies since Dracula died.”

“Seems so,” the first man continued. “A full train and barely 10 survivors, apparently the damn thing had those nightcrawlers with it.

“When was this?” The other perked up, the sound of nightcrawlers catching his full attention.

“Just last week, look.”

The friend grumbled. “Well we better not run into any damn vampires then. Hey you,” the man called out in Ray’s direction. She was not willing to give him her attention. “You going to Alden too? Better keep us good folk safe from the vampires, girl.”

Ray frowned. “Sir, I am a reaper.”

“What difference does it make? Must not be a very good one, with ya lookin like that,” he said indifferently, making a waving pass at her.

“Pardon?” Ray said, straightening up.

The man with the newspaper looked up, a bit shocked. “Oh hell, you’re one of them ghost freaks.”

Ray tried so damned hard not to stand up.

“Yeah, can’t be a very good ghost hunter if ya got haunted yourself, huh?” The other man responded, looking at his friend.

She could feel her face grow hot and red. The men saw this and laughed at her.

“She’s still got some life in her!” One of them chuckled.

Ray wanted to retort, but tried to keep her cool. She breathed in, and sat back down, crossing her legs like a proper lady, and clasped her hands together. She narrowed an eye at the clock, settled on the pillar nearby, and breathed out.

The train rolled in, steam filling the air, and the train master called out. Ray plainly stood up, ensuring her scythe was clipped on securely, and calmly went past the old men who were slowly getting up themselves.

“If there is a vampire,” she said, slowing down near the pair, “I won’t be helping you.”

She couldn’t help but slip a smirk as she walked up to the steward at the train, but was immediately cut off. Boldness only went so far.

“Excuse me, ma’am, but weapons have to be checked into storage,” the steward said, holding his hand up to stop the reaper.

“I’m sorry?” Ray said, a bit disgruntled.

“It’s a safety precaution, all passengers have to follow it.”

She didn’t want to give her scythe away. Her knife she could part with easily, but the scythe was important. As a reaper, it was a part of her. Ray heard the old men snort behind her in amusement as they straddled onto the train.

Curse the lords, she thought.

Begrudgingly, Ray handed over her scythe, still folded up. The steward handed it to another man, and checked a note on a clipboard. He then took her ticket and punched it, allowing her on.

The reaper made her way to an empty seat near the front of the cabin. Far away from the old men who nestled into the car next over. The seats were finely cushioned, good enough for the long trip ahead. She closed the curtains to the window and sat down. No sunlight for her on this fine day.

The first few hours of the train ride were mostly peaceful. Some people were eventually served alcohol and got a bit rowdy, but calmed down after a scheduled stop. Ray couldn’t help but peek out the window, despite the sunlight bright on her eye. She hadn’t been this far out in quite a while.

She enjoyed the open farmlands and the small villages that waved by. It was calm and peaceful, and she wondered what it was like to live that sort of life. Reaping was intense, but it was fruitful. But maybe reaping some wheat would have been kinder to her than ghosts. Ray sighed. She wasn’t meant to know.

As the sun set, Ray began to doze off. Hard as she tried, she couldn’t stay awake the whole ride. The last time she tried, she had fallen asleep on Beatrice and wouldn’t budge until they reached their stop. Beatrice didn’t mind. Ray had been nervous during that ride, as Dirk wasn’t around. Being with Beatrice felt so nice, but learning she had fallen asleep on her shoulder was embarrassing. Even when Beatrice said she didn’t mind, it was impossible to convince Ray. The whole ordeal made her nervous. What if Dirk were to find out? He never did, but Ray still worried.

A small, sad smile spread across Ray’s face. Thinking of Beatrice made her feel warm. The sun had set, and she finally nodded off, sleep taking her.

It wasn’t until she was abruptly woken up by the shrill scream of a woman in the next train car being raked to death by a nightcrawler.