“ ‘From the darkness I come and to it I shall return.’ Ha!” I scuff quietly as I place the book back on the shelf, “What a corny starting line.” Though I guess I shouldn’t dismiss it that much either; I mean, I make comments like that all the time.
“Can I help you find anything?” I turn around and stare at the plain looking attendant.
I shake my head, “No, just browsing.”
“Just ask if you need anything.” The attendant said as he walked off.
I sigh and pull out my PDA from the inner pocket of my jacket. After a few seconds I had my date book open. ‘3:00 pm, 1120 W Mark Ave. T. Hansen.’ I check the time in the top corner, 2:55. Out of the corner of my eye I see a small goblin like creature beckon to me before scampering like mist up the stairs. Instinctively I follow it.
As I reach the top of the stairs I look over at him as he sat on the railing, “So?” I hold my hands up in confusion. The creature points to a middle aged man with short brown hair, wearing a leather jacket and a pair of faded jeans, who was browsing the CDs. Must be T. Hansen. I slowly walk over to him and pass behind him brushing my hand gently on his back, “Excuse me.” I say as I pick up a Dave Mathews CD.
I watch the man out of the corner of my eye. He looked at a few more CDs and then walks off to the stairs. Seconds later I hear a ‘Shit!’ and some loud thuds, then a few screams and a ‘Call 911!’ I look up at the all too familiar man next to me, “So what’s the T stand for anyway?”
The man looks at me, his confusion easy to read, “Toby. Am I dead?”
“Broken neck probably.”
“Did you kill me?”
I shake my head and point to the laughing goblin, “He did, I just took your soul before you died.”
“So you’re death?”
“Kinda.”
“I though death was a dude with a cloak and sickle.”
“This ain’t the middle ages, bud.” I pat Toby on the back and lead him back down stairs, giving his body and the swarm of people a quick glance.
“So what now?” He asks as I pull him away from the crowd.
“Well, usually you are supposed to pass on. Ya know, go to heaven or whatever you believe in.”
“What, you don’t take me there? You actually read this stuff?” He tries to grab a random manga on the shelf.
“What, can’t an undead girl have a hobby?” I grab the latest yuri manga from Seven Seas, “Anyway, how could I take you to a place I don’t know. This ain’t an escort service.”
“Well then how did you know I was going to die?” Toby walked through the shelves as I went to the register.
“I get an email every morning telling me the times, places, and names of people who are going to die. I don’t get reasons.” I sigh as I watch a clerk scamper from somewhere to the register, “If you really want to know, you could try and ask one of the deathlings. They are the ones that do the killing.”
“Sorry about that.” The clerk says as he scans the manga, “Find everything you are looking for?”
“Yeah,” I point to the police that were entering, “A bit crazy today.”
“Someone fell down the stairs.”
