Existence mini prequel- "Death's Arrival"

“DEATH’S ARRIVAL”

The moment she spotted me, I knew it. Granted, she did a really good job of pretending she couldn’t see me. The fact that she halted in her steps the moment her eyes met mine, then quickly darted past me as she hurried into the school, gave her away. Students walked past me all morning without seeing me, but this one saw me. I stood up from the wooden picnic table, where I’d been sitting awaiting her arrival. I could force her to acknowledge me by becoming visible to everyone else but I wasn’t in the mood to do so just yet. The determination in her eyes intrigued me. If there hadn’t been a parking lot full of witnesses, I have the feeling she would have yelled at me instead of cowering like most humans. The monotony of my existence didn’t hold much promise of entertainment. I’d play her games for awhile. Games were fun to play and it’d been much too long since I’d come across a worthy opponent, especially a female one.
When I’d decided to come much sooner than required to take a soul, I hadn’t been expecting to be intrigued by a mere girl. Although she was the soul I’d come to take, she wasn’t what drew me here early. There was something else here or should I say someone else here who didn’t belong. No, I wasn’t here for the girl just yet, I came to see the soulless. It wasn’t my job to follow the soulless but they were so rare. It had been over a hundred years since the last soulless walked the Earth. He was just a boy, which was expected. The soulless never lived long. They fulfilled their purpose by their creator and were then removed from life. Although he had no soul for me to hear I could still watch him undetected.
His eyes continued to scan the crowd of students. His purpose must be here. Patiently I waited until he found his prey. Almost as if he were the silly boy he portrayed, his attention was claimed by a girl. Ah, but not any girl. He was here for her, too. Her soul was marked, of course, and therefore mine to take. His purpose would be up sooner than expected. Whatever reason the soulless has for watching her will become pointless when I take her soul. Unfortunately, her time is up. Death is literally knocking on her door. Chuckling at my own humor, I silently rapped on the wooden door as I followed her into an empty classroom. Depending on what the soulless was after, I realized I might have to forgo playing her games and just take her soul as planned.

By Abbi Glines Dec 11, 2011