Grim Dead- FINISHED! READ!

[Lhia Dunwaith]

I was bored. Very bored. Spending hours in the Grim Reaper's office studying cracks on the ceiling was not very fun. All I could think about was one thing- my future, or lack of one. I ignored anything I felt- hunger, thirst, tiredness- I just wanted to die right then and there, and get the pain over with.

Until I heard a scream come from the other room...

"ELLA! NO! NO!"

It was Matt. He was probably dreaming, I thought. God, this place is a loony bin...

I wanted to know what he was dreaming about, though. Who was Ella? Was she his daughter? Or his wife? She could've even been his dog, for Christ's sake!

I got up, throwing the comforter back onto the couch, and walked around to the back of the desk. On the ebony wood sat small pictures in frames of him and a girl with long, wavy brown hair. She was the most beautiful person I had ever seen; it HAD to be Ella. Matt had her arms around her, and he was smiling at the camera in a way that I thought could never be seen coming from him. I wondered who had taken the picture.

Then, Matt came in through the door to his room. His hair was disheveled and messy, like he had just woken up. I never had time to put the picture back on the desk, but he didn't get mad.

"Yeah," he said. "That's Ella. She was my girlfriend."

I asked him, "What do you mean, was?"

He didn't answer immediately. "She... died." I knew it must have been painful for him by the way he swallowed hard after he said it. "You know, she was a lot like you."

"Mmmm." That was all I could think of saying.

"I bet you heard me screaming in my sleep just then, right?"

"Uh... yeah. I did."

"Sorry about that. That hasn't happened for about a month."

"Mmmm."

"I guess I should let you know that you have less than half an hour left. Your parents still haven't come."

"Mmmm."

"Are you going to get sick? I can bring a bucket in here or something-"

"No! That's... I'm fine." Embarassing...

Matt didn't seem to think it was embarassing, though. All he said was, "You're pretty brave. I'm serious. I've never known any other teenager to take their fate as calmly as you. Of course, you're the daughter of Harriet Bloodvale and Michael Summerfrost."

He didn't sound like he was trying to tease me. I knew that if I were to open my mouth to start to talk, I was going to burst into tears.

"You'll be fine," he said consolingly, with a touch of guilt in his voice. "It'll all be over in just a second, I swear."

"ARE YOU GOING TO KILL ME NOW?!" I suddenly jumped about two feet in the air, the back of my neck pringling.

"No, I won't. Not now."

I sighed and sat down on the sofa where I had taken my nap. "How many minutes is it?"

He answered, "Just about fifteen."

BLAAAAAUUUKKK!!! FIFTEEN MINUTES!!!

I couldn't bring myself to cry. I couldn't I couldn't I couldn't I couldn't I couldn't I couldn't I couldn't I couldn't...

But guess what I did?

Cry?

No.

I sobbed.  

[Lhia Dunwaith]

"Come on, Michael, we're nearly there! See that sign?!?!?! We're going to make it!"

"No we won't, Harriet. Please... just leave me alone."  

[Lhia Dunwaith]

"Mia."

"What? Is it time?"

"Yes. It is. I'm... sorry."

"It's not your fault my parents didn't make it in time."

"It's not their fault either. Don't blame them."

"I'm not blaming anyone."

"Want to do it quickly? I'm only asking because some people want me to do it slowly and painfully-"

"Yes, please. As quick as you can."

Slowly, he held the scythe's blade up to her neck. Just as he had done for Ella.

Ella.

Oh, Ella, I'm so sorry...

It's all right, Matt, you can do this, his brain said. She's just a kid. You kill tons of kids every day.

Yes, but not ones like this... Mia's special. She's just like Ella.

Mia won't give up her family and friends to be with you. She'd rather die than live with you.

How do I save her from dying? I have to abide by the code that magic and God Himself set down for me. How?!?!?!

"Come on, Matt..."

He said those last words out loud. His teeth were gritted and his eyes were shut tight. Mia stared at him.  

[Lhia Dunwaith]

I didn't know if he was going to do it or not. It was freaky. He was spazzing out right in front of me.  

[Lhia Dunwaith]

"MICHAEL!!! WE HAVE TO RUN! NOW!"

"No. We're too late."

"I'M NOT GIVING UP ON MIA!"

Heaving Michael to his feet, Harriet dragged Michael toward the end of the hallway, until they saw a door. She dropped her husband and dashed to the door, throwing it open with a loud bang.

Matt turned to look at Harriet, with his eyes opened wide.  

[Lhia Dunwaith]

Oh, good, a distraction.

Her parents are too late! You're going to have to kill their daughter right now!

No, I won't do it!

Matt, you fool, kill her now! You're just going to forget her, anyway, at the rate your memory's leaving you-

Do I have to kill her? The law of magic states that if Michael didn't come, she's my property. Do I have to kill her?

Matt, she'd rather die than be with you.

I know, I know... I wish I could find a way to save her.

I know a way. Just let her go.  

[Lhia Dunwaith]

Michael and Harriet burst through the door just in time. Harriet had just enough energy to yell "LET GO OF MIA!"

Both Mia and Matt turned around. The scythe's blade was still upon Mia's neck.

"You're forty-five seconds too late." Matt informed them. "I'm sorry."

"No, you aren't," hissed Michael. "You're seriously not sorry. Don't put our family through this agony."

"Matt..." It was Mia. "Please. Just do something. Either kill me or let me go home. You can't hold me here like this forever."

Harriet had started to cry again. Her thoughts were exactly ther same as Mia's, though she would never admit it. But deep down, her heart knew that he was going to kill her. He had to. Michael seemed to know it, too. Matt was cruel for drawing out their pain like this.  

[Lhia Dunwaith]

I heard something in my left ear. Matt was whispering to me.

"Mia. There is something I need to tell you alone."

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING TO HER?" my dad roared. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TALK TO MIA AS YOUR HOSTAGE WHILE WE ARE HERE!"

"It's very urgent. Please."

I responded, "Ummm... okay."

Matt turned to my parents and said, "Mia and I need to talk. In my room. Alone."

Immediately my dad's eyes widened with shock. "Lay a hand on her and you'll wish you'd never been born."

Matt gave a small, sly smile and said, "Your sick and twisted mind remains untouched, Summerfrost. I have no plans, as of yet, to harm Mia at all."

I stiffened. My dad thought Matt was going to try to-

"Michael," my mom said, "they might only want to talk about some... things we don't know about."

Matt continued, "I assure you, Mia's fate rests on this one private conversation." Without my parents' response, he gently touched my arm, motioning for me to follow him. I did, quite meekly.  

[Lhia Dunwaith]

Once inside his room (which looked much more like a king's bedroom than anything), I said, "So. What is it you need to tell me?"

He sat down on his bed. I remained standing. "Because your parents are here to claim you, complications arise in my plans to have you die a quick, painless, and honorable death. I cannot kill you whilst they are here. Meanwhile, it is impossible for me to let you go home with them unaltered."

Unaltered??? What did he mean by that?

"You have two options. You can either stay here with me, where you will be safe and protected. Or, you can return home, where it will be impossible for you to lead a normal life because of yor magic."

"I don't have magic," I told him. "It won't ever awaken in me."

He gave me a true, genuine smile for the first time. I blushed- he was kind of cute when he didn't look so sad. "I think you'll find that in a year or so, your magic skills will come to you. It comes late in many magicians. Merlin didn't get his magic until he was twenty-six. Didn't anyone tell you that?"

I stared at him, until he continued, "But, anyways, if you go home, magic will dominate your life. It will be impossible for you to be 'normal' at school ever again. Do you understand?"

"Yes." I whispered. "Basically, if I return home, I'll be a freak, but I can fit in if I stay in Mirror Rim. You want me to stay here, don't you?"

The smile was wiped from his face almost instantly. "It doesn't make a difference to me," he said, though I could tell that it did.

"I'll stay here, on one condition." He stopped and waited for the 'one condition' to be said. "Tell me more about Ella."

He closed his eyes and sighed, dragging a hand through his wavy brown hair. "She was my girlfriend." he said. "I had to kill her. She had the AIDS virus."

My mouth dropped open in an O of sympathy. "I'm sorry."

"We did everything together." continued Matt. "She was my best friend. The one person I could talk to about death. But I had to kill her; it was the only way."

I nodded, wanting him to say something else. But all I got was "I miss her so much."

Finally, he seemed to pull himself together. "Right. You're going back home."

"No," I reminded him. Was his memory that bad? "I'm staying here."

"No, you're going home. If I keep you here, it'll be hell for you. I say that in a literal sense. And then I'd have to get to know you better, and then kill you, eventually. So it's better this way. The problems you will face at home won't be very great, I assure you. Besides, you'll always have great parents that you can talk to about your problems, right?"

I nodded. "Right."

"I'll check up on you every few months."

"I don't think my dad will like that, but, okay."

He laughed. "You'll be fine."

I nodded and said, "I believe you."  

[Lady Pole]

This is a great story. Update soon smile Please  

[Lhia Dunwaith]

Will do, Lady Pole! Once I have enough time.

*EDIT* Mon Dieu! What am I saying? I have time NOW!  

[Lhia Dunwaith]

Stepping out of Matt's office, Mia was smiling. That made Michael wonder what he did to her in there. She didn't speak a word, until Matt followed her through the door.

"We've decided something." he said. "Under the laws that I have to abide by as Grim Reaper, I cannot return her to Michael. However..."

"What?" asked Harriet abruptly. "What's going to happen to her?"

Matt started to smile now. "It is perfectly legal for me to put Mia in custody of her mother. Harriet, Michael... you can have your child back."

" 'Custody'?" Michael was confused by the term in that context. "Does that mean I can't see Mia?"

"Of course you can see Mia," replied Matt, like it was the dumbest question in the world. "You can talk to her, too, if you like."

Mia just stood there, grinning at Michael. The look on her face convinced him that this was no trick. Mia was safe. Finally.

Matt interrupted the joyful silence by saying, "You guys are all lucky. I could have done anything to Mia. Anything that was in my power. I could have tortured her. I could have killed her. I could have given her AIDS. All that I can say is that this experience... changed me. In more than one way. So thank you, Mia."

Michael had no idea what he was talking about.  

[Lhia Dunwaith]

Matt watched dismally as Mia and her parents embraced in their family kitchen. He knew that he was doing the right thing by letting her go. The choice was just so hard.

You know, Matt, someday you're going to have to kill her again.

The voice inside his head began another debate, but he really didn't care this time.

I do know that. I don't want to take any extra years of her life away.

You love her, Matt. Admit it.

...Never.

Whatever you do, though, she'll refuse you. You're immortal, and she's not. Think about it. It's a never-ending equation that will only add up as the years go by.

Ella was the only one I'll ever really love. I know that Mia and I can never work out. She just... reminds me so much of Ella that it's hard to keep my cool around her.

You know, Matt, someday you've got to let go. Just let go of both of them.

I'm trying. It's just so hard.

Mia has her whole life ahead of her. You can help her be perfect by just backing away and letting her take the wheel.

But-

Just let go. She'll be fine. They both will be.  

[Lhia Dunwaith]

THE END!

As always, this is dedicated to Patrick and Gabby. Sorry, I took away the smiley-face-ness from Chaise/Matt.

More importantly, however, this is dedicated to my uncle Dan, who died from the AIDS virus when I was two. I really enjoyed sharing this story with the FOEM guild. Thanks so much to everyone for reading this!  

[Lady Pole]

I'm sorry about your uncle.
This is a really beautiful memorial for him.

You did a great job of shortening the story. I think I got a feel for the whole theme and enough to get attached to these few characters. It's a very gentle way of looking at death. Thanks for sharing this with us. Someday I would like to read the full version.