The Unknown Afterlife
By NerdyBionicGeek

A/N: This contains spoilers and references to my main book Donovan Castle Chronicles: Vol 1
This also contains violence and morbidity.
My drawings attributed to this are in the next chapter.

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Claire and Kenzi sit upon an outdoor, circular bench as colorful dead leaves brush against their feet.

Relaxed and warmed by the flickering fire, they attach marshmallows to forks to roast. The flames lick and wrap around the mallows, causing their surface to blister and become a golden brown.

Smoke arises from the decorative fire pit outside the castle.

Claire leans forward, staring into the dancing flames. The light flickers from the burning flames. It reflects in her purple eyes, casting up creepy shadows upon her delicate features. Just like that of a flashlight held by children beneath the chins to spooks their peers as they tell spooky tales.

Kenzi notices Claire deep in thought as smoke rises into the air and embers float. "What's on your mind?"

Claire glances up a brief moment before staring back at the fire kissing the marshmallows on her fire poker. "I was just wondering."

"About?" Kenzi asks as she removes a marshmallow using two graham crackers.

"Death. I've been having premonitions about death lately."

This gives Kenzi pause. "Whose?"

Claire simply shrugs. "I don't know. All I see is Reap in his hooded cloak staring ominously over a body facing down. I can't see his face."

Kenzi nods and swallows hard as she licks a finger covered in sticky sugar. "I see."

Claire removes her marshmallows before they blacken too much and fall off into the fiery pit of doom. She sits back, pulling off the external layer of the large marshmallow.

After they cool a bit, Claire pops them in her mouth. She places the remaining center back to the fire as she asks. "What is Reap's story anyway?"

Kenzi smirks, happy for the change of topic from the dead man. If she thinks too hard, she'll worry that it's Lucas or her sister's husband or someone else at the castle.

"If I tell you, you have to keep it a secret. Some things aren't meant to be known by mortals," she sternly warns.

"I promise," Claire says honestly as she clasps the rod in one hand and her snack in the other.

Kenzi gives an acknowledging nod. "Good. Well, for Reap, it all began with the start of the multiverse. He has one job, one job alone. That is to reap the souls of the dead. He uses his sharp, glinting scythe to tear the souls from the recently departed.

"Afterwards, he transports them to the Netherworld. In the Netherworld, people, beings, and animals alike are then directed to their rightful place whether that be Heaven, Hell, limbo, or elsewhere. The Netherworld is essentially like a train station, a stopping point before your final destination.

"He reaps anyone and everyone, regardless of belief, status, religion, morals, acts, sins, and preferences. It doesn't matter to Reap. It's just another satisfying death. When your time's up, it's up. There's nothing he or you can do about it. If you see him before your death, you can plead all you want, you're still going to die and he's still going to take your soul.

"However, Reap teleports across time and space, hopping between multiverses and dimensions to wherever and wherever he is needed.

"His favorite times over the centuries has been mass casualties such as plagues and mass murderers.

"Although, this isn't just work for him since he truly enjoys it. The fact that he revels in death is not the only terrifying thing about him.

"What's even more unsettling is he can read your mind, communicate telepathically, and follow you wherever he likes. He can even be invisible. He travels via teleportation, appearing and disappearing in a cloud of sulfur.

"When you see or hear or feel death, fear grips you. The strong cold hold of death surrounds you. Hair prickles along your skin as goosebumps rise. A chill runs down your spine. His skeletal figure is shrouded in a dark hooded cloak, hiding his petrifying features.

"Occasionally, he rides a matching steed. A deadly, skeletal unicorn that sits beneath his cloaked form. His skeletal body rattles against the bony ribcage of the equine body as the steed gallops, pounding its deadly hooves into the ground.

"The skeletal unicorn sends chills through you if you happen to look into it's eyeless sockets. You dare not make eye contact with Reap for fear he'll take your soul.

"Speaking of souls, even if you see Reap, you'll fear that your time is up.
However, that is not always the case. Sometimes he's here for others you love or protect. But you can't protect anyone from the blade of Reap."

Claire stares at Kenzi with worried, wide eyed.

Kenzi reads her mind and sees that she's curious, so she continues with her story. "But what happens when you become friends with Reap? Do you hover the line of death or simply befriend him? Or do you live in fear for when it's your time to die? He will never tell.

"There are select individuals who aren't reaped when you meet or see him. Like us. Those individuals are of the supernatural or have died before."

Claire interrupts out of curiosity. "Is that why he comes to the castle?"

Kenzi smiles. "Partially. The castle is his other home, apart from the Netherworld.

"For those who have befriended Reap, he'll often spend his downtime visiting, shooting off morbid humor, or watching a movie or television show with you, hoping a character dies. As if you didn't guess, his preference is the horror genre."

This gets a chuckle out of Claire.

"He also has the tendency to try and lure you to the Netherworld by describing how wonderful it is there. That time is unlimited. That you can hang with ghouls and famous people like Elvis and loved ones. He's relentless. But you must never give in to his offer to die early cause he can certainly make that happen, just not by his own hand."

"How can he make it happen if he doesn't do it himself?" Claire wonders.

Kenzi leans forward, placing her forearms on her thighs. "Reap used to arrange something by hiring other minions or supernatural hitmen to kill his intended victims. Then it became illegal for his minions to kill.

"Keep in mind, not all his minions follow the no-killing-by-your-own-hand rule. This is where the killings with the scythe legends stems from. Reap uses his as a walking stick and to remove the souls AFTER they've died, not before.

"Some rogue reapers have gone around killing mortals and immortals for centuries. Albeit, they've been punished in unspeakable ways. So it became only supernatural hitmen and women could kill for Reap.

"The thing is, it goes against nature and there's always consequences to actions. You also can never return from the Netherworld. Only places you can go from there is limbo, Heaven, or Hell. There is no coming back once you arrive.

"So if you truly want to die and take one of his deals, you better be sure that's what you want. Thankfully, he rarely puts out hits anymore unless you're super evil like Hitler. He still offers tho, mostly out of the enjoyment he gets from the fear on your face. Just be careful. I don't want you regretting that life ending decision."

Claire stares at the dancing flames as she roasts more marshmallows. She watches the marshmallows swell among the sticks that pierce their centers. She looks down, thinking as bewilderment takes over. "Did he take my parents?"

"It's a possibility. The only time he can't do whatever he likes — besides killing — is when he gets the call to reap. Just like when a surgeon gets a page to operate, he must take the call.

"In his down time, he loves to spend time in the bloody river of the Netherworld, go golfing with shrunken heads, bowling with hearts, showing up at funerals to scare people, changing cloaks he refuses to wash for eons, toying with residents of the castle by dropping in on them, playing pranks on anatomy students by animating their skeletons, visiting his friends, and training and playing with his pet.

"He enjoys a multitude of grotesque hobbies, even collecting dead carcasses and pinning them to walls like an entomologist pins bugs and butterflies. But that's easier said than done.

"He even loves to tend to his deathly garden which hosts a variety of poisonous plants, even acid trees he's found on earth."

Kenzi notices Claire's wide eyes. "Yes, they exist. They leak and drop green acid from their branches, killing anything around them, so they must be kept separate from his other plants.

"He's actually planted quite a few poisonous and deadly plants in the Dark and Deadly Forest near the castle. Due to the magical soil here, they grow freely and easily.

"The skeletal unicorn stays here among the living, taking up residence in the castle stables. I've tended to him multiple times. He's easy to take care of because he neither eats nor needs brushing, just bathing and ridden. The saddle has gotten tangled in his rib cage a time or two."

This makes Claire laugh, replacing the sadness.

After getting off topic, Kenzi resumes where she left off. "But beware, Reap isn't the ONLY reaper. He's simply the first and head reaper. He has minions like I mentioned before."

"Is that what you meant by possibly?" Claire asks.

Kenzi nods. "Yes. One of them could've transported your parents. The only downside or upside to being THE ORIGINAL GRIMM REAPER, is you're neither alive nor dead, nothing can hurt you or kill you. Even if Reap tired of his job, which will never happen because he likes to reap enjoyment from it..."

Claire lifts an inquisitive eyebrow, interrupting. "Pun intended?"

Kenzi smirks, "pun intended. For Reap, death is not an escape. He just drowns his sorrows in earthly alcohol that has no affect on him. It merely trickles through his bony figure and pools on the floor. He mainly does this during the holidays because he's rarely invited to worldly parties."

Kenzi pauses and switches topic. "To the baddies, he uses his cold, icy expressionless stare to scare them before shipping them off to the afterlife.

"However, his job isn't always enjoyable because it's not always people who have lived long, happy lives. Some don't die peacefully in their sleep nor get to say goodbye to loved ones. This is where he shows his kinder side. He may look haunting and menacing, but deep down, he's just a big ole softy who has a reputation to uphold.

"He's just the taxi driver to the Netherworld who transports souls to their final destination."

Kenzi looks around and holds a finger to her lips. "So shhh, can't have people knowing this. Imagine how mad Reap would be if he knew I told you and polished his morbid and frightening reputation." Kenzi winks and turns back to her s'more, taking a big bite.

Claire looks over at a neon purple bug zapper. "What about bugs, does he transport those?"

Kenzi swallows before replying, shaking her head. "Nah, that's one of his minions jobs."

Claire nods and stares at the fire again. The heat radiates outward warming their skin.

Suddenly, cool wind blows around the women, gently shaking the barren, skeletal branches of fall and causing small tornadoes to pick up dead leaves.

The branches dance together, rattling against each other like Skelly dancing his his skeletal form. The temperature drops about ten degrees as hints of sulfur trickles into the wind.

Reaper appears as heavy sulfuric smoke mingles with the fire's. One difference between humans and supernaturals is they faintly smell the sulfur when he appears, rather than it being potent.

Kenzi looks up to see Reap silently approaching, which is normal for him because that's how he steals your soul. Unless, he's in the mood to frighten the dead. In that case, he makes his presence know by shaking the earth beneath their ghostly feet and speaking in his deep voice.

He likes to try various tactics such as casting off eerie feelings, unsettling your nerves, and affecting the world around you. He does this by rattling trees, creating thick clouds of smoke, and amplifying nature's sounds. He likes to trigger your fear response. Taking delight in the terror.

Of course those not of the supernatural don't believe in him, so they're even more frightened by him after they're dead. At least the supernatural will see and smell him before they die — if he wants them to. Which I suppose in its own right is frightening cause you'll fear your time is almost up.

Reaper moves in an eerie slowness that draws fear from somewhere within. "I sensed death." His hooded form casually looks around for a dead body before looking back to the women. "We're you talking about death?"

Kenzi jumps in before Claire can answer. "Yes, Claire said she was having premonitions about death."

Reap takes on an excited voice in his deep baritone. "My favorite stories." He sits down on a chair beside them. "Tell me more." He leans his scythe against him and clasps his bony fingers together.

Claire proceeds to tell him about her visions as Reap revels in them. He looks at the women and apologizes in advance if the man happens to be someone they know. Then he talks about his pet when Claire notices a big claw mark on his robe.

Reap smirks beneath the darkness of his hood. "You know, you can always come to the Netherworld to pet it."

Kenzi gives Claire a look and reminds her telepathically what she said about accepting his offers.

Claire shakes her head. "No, that's okay, I can wait. I'm in no hurry."

Reap shrugs a bony shoulder. "That's too bad. It would love you."

"It? What is your pet exactly?" Claire asks.

"I can't divulge that. Just know it has big claws." Reap chuckles as he remembers how he got the deep gashes to his cloak.

Claire swallows hard. "I can see that."

Reap smiles into the fire, choosing not to tell them any more specifics. "Otherwise, it's unknown. Speaking of the unknown. The Netherworld and where you go after that is unknown."

Reap looks to Claire, staring at her, sending a chill down her spine despite the heat from the fire some inches away.

To taunt her, he gives some specifics, but not too much. "Plus, refusing my offer just means you'll have to wait to see the eerie decapitated boatmen, the beautiful wilted trees, the rundown homes, etc. Not to mention the wonderful scent of rotting flesh and decomposition. It's glorious."

Claire makes a disgusted face. "Yeah, I can wait."

"Your loss." He crosses his legs, making a rattling sound. "I've got eons, but you've got less time to wait."

Claire's eyes bug as she worries. "How much time?"

Reap chuckles. "You'll see."

A moment later he gets a look on his face like he's getting a telepathic message. His joy radiates from beneath his hood. "Well, I'd love to stay and tell you horror stories, but I have another soul to reap."

After that, he waves to them with a bony hand. He vanished in a cloud of sulfur, making the women cough and wave their hands in front of their noses to dispel the smell.

Reap reappears before a woman he knows as Rosalie from the castle. His excitement immediate dissipates. This is no criminal to delight in, it's someone innocent, someone he knows.

She's currently unconscious while a beast like creature claws at her protruding stomach, biting through the flesh to the fetus inside. Blood pools from her abdomen as the beast consumes the unborn babe.

Reap shakes his head, the only deaths that bother him are the young who have barely lived or not lived at all such as stillborns.

The wind blows his robe around his skeletal form as he stands watch, unable to do anything about it. He cannot intervene in deaths, only reap the souls afterward.

The beast gnaws on the bone, making awful crunching sounds.

'This will be hard on Rosalie' he thinks to himself. 'Losing both her baby and having it be done by her own husband no less. I only hope that she doesn't find out that her husband is this beast of a shifter. It's too bad some deaths are harder than others.'

He approaches the tent they're camping in after the beast runs out, covered in his wife and child's blood.

He kneels down, his dark robe brushing the ground, further dirtying the garment. Dirtier, the better. But he has no time or thought to appreciate the action, only his job. He wishes it could be a reap that he revels in, but this is unfortunate.

He waves his scythe, parting the soul from what is left of the babe's bodily remains, which is barely anything, just fragments of bone and flesh. The semblance of cutting the soul from its carcass and cutting a baby's cord to separate it from the mother isn't lost on him.

The babe's soul departs for him to retrieve. The soul doesn't look like it's remains. It's fully intact, looking like a normal human fetus. He scoops it up in his skeletal fingers, cradling it to his black robe and bony ribs. The fetus in his hands tosses and reaches out to grip his robe.

Reap sighs and disappears in a cloud of sulfur, reappearing in the Netherworld with the babe.

'Maybe it's better you died, little one. You are after all half beast like your father. Maybe your death will prevent others?' Reap tries to internally reason with himself, to justify this death. It helps a little, but he's unsure as to why this had to happen. He looks forward to the day the baby's father dies.

He takes the babe to the sorting center to be cared for.

An angel takes the babe from him to transport to Heaven. He nods solemnly to Reap before flying away.

Reap smiles gratefully. 'At least there are angels of death to help with things like this.'

Just then, he's called to another death. This cheers him up. A wicked grin plays across his fleshless teeth.

He disappears to another time in space. This time, in the past when people were hung. The 1600s to be exact. He stands within the viewing crowd, when people viewed hangings like people of the 21st Century view horror television and movies.

He stands as still as a stone sculpture, gripping his scythe. He watches the men and women get tied to a twisted tree with claw like branches. Nooses are slid over their heads. The terror on their faces sends a sick satisfaction over Reap. These men and women are up here for wrongdoings, not innocence.

Oh how he missed the past ways of killing criminals and torture.

After all are noosed, the stools beneath their feet are kicked away, their bodies jolting downward toward the ground. Their bodies jerk as they kick and try to live. They fight for breath, which they don't receive due to the rope strangling their necks.

One by one, each person stops moving as life leaves their bodies. He approaches the swaying corpses. He twirls his scythe, cutting the souls loose. Their souls appear beside him, most with wide eyes and one with a look of indifference.

Reap's eyes glow brilliantly from his eyeless sockets. This effectively scares the souls. He internally smiles and laughs at the satisfaction this brings him.

Sulfuric smoke rises around him and the departed souls like black ink in water around a threatened octopus.

The living faintly smells the smoke, but attributes it to the horses and livestock around.

Reap and the souls disappear, reappearing in the Netherworld's sorting center yet again.

Angels take the men and women to face judgment to determine which final destination they'll end up.

Afterward, Reap decides to spend time at home until his next reaping. He makes his way across the dead grass, entering his spooky Addams Family like home. The floorboards wonderfully creaking beneath his bony feet.

His giant pet shakes the ground as it pounds against the flooring. Urns fall off shelves, dispelling ashes of his minions who've died by breaking rules of killing before the victims died. This serves as a reminder that there are universal and otherworldly rules set in place for reasons known and unknown.

Behemoth runs to him, pouncing on him, knocking Reap to the ground. His bones rattling. He chuckles and stares up at the big, black beast.

Reap has owned Behemoth ever since he first came into existence so he'd have a companion in his lonely line of work. He had it even before his minions.

Since Behemoth is the first of its kind, it's a hermaphrodite, serving as male and female. It has both fathered and birthed litters thanks to having others been created. But all Reap truly needs is Behemoth because it's enough to handle on its own. The litters were given to his minions.

Reap has been trying for eons to train the over energetic beast who refuses to be tamed or even listen.

Reap runs his white, bony fingers through its black fur as his hood falls back against the wooden floorboards. "Wanna play?"

The beast nods its head enthusiastically and jumps around, further shaking the house and causing frames, and taxidermic animals, and creatures to fall from the walls. The beast moves back off him and wags its tail, knocking things over.

Reap stands, his hood now resting on his shoulders, fully exposing his white skull.

"Come on, we're going outside, don't need you wrecking my priceless things."

They both head outside to play. Reap reaches inside his robe and pulls out one of his ribs. He waves it in the air, making Behemoth excited to play fetch. Reap throws his rib in the air like a stick. The car-sized beast jumps into the air, catching it easily.

When it falls back to the ground, it shakes the earth and rattles Reap's bones. Reap and his pet plays for a while until he receives another call.

This time, the victims are of the Bubonic Plague in another dimension. He goes through, reaping souls that have passed by the deadly disease.

Sometimes, reaping is a lot of waiting for the individuals to die since he has to be there before the death in order to reap souls. If he's not there when the soul needs reaping, the soul could get trapped inside the body or become earthbound.

Reap makes it a point not to leave any souls behind. His minions however, don't always take pride in their work and leave them behind, letting places become haunted. However, souls sometimes stay behind because they have unfinished business and refuse to pass on.

Reap goes through checking haunted places every once in a while to see if any souls that preferred to stay behind by other reapers are ready to pass on. If they are, he transports them to the Netherworld.

While in the time of the Bubonic Plague, he reaps dozens of souls. After taking them to the Netherworld, Reap returns to the castle to visit some friends and watch a horror movie.

Reap reclines on a couch as he watches it with his friends, one being a woman that keeps dying and coming back from the dead. She's been dubbed The Girl Who Lived, aka, Ash. It's a mystery why Ash never stays dead. She's elusive. The one woman Reap nor any of his minions have ever reaped. It's believed that the higher power has important plans for her here on Earth.

Before the movie even starts, Reap guesses who will die first. "Since this is a mortal filmmaker, it won't be as scary as the ones from the supernatural or Netherworld. I really should bring you some from my collection to borrow." He tells Ash. "Anyway, since this looks like the horror movie that sticks to tropes, I'm guessing the couple who makes out or has sex will die first. Then the drunkard or stoner. Then the ditz."

He continues on, even giving them an estimated time of death before gesturing to the screen. "You can play now."

Some others who were in the room to watch the movie left, leaving them two and others who don't mind Reap's commentary.

Ash stares at him with amusement. "Must you always go through the guessing game before each slasher?"

Reap let's put a deep laugh. "Of course! It wouldn't be as much fun if I didn't. You do it too, don't deny it."

She nods before tossing her head back laughing. "Touché!"

She hits play and spooky music begins with piano and orchestral instruments as the main component.

It takes a while for a character in the movie to die, so Reap comments. "This isn't horror, no one's dead yet. If I was making it, there'd be bodies piling up by now. There's always idiots in these earthly horror films. Yeah, split up cause there's no such things as strength in numbers in horror films." He says with heavy sarcasm as the characters go separate directions.

Not long afterward, someone dies. "Finally! It's not a snooze fest anymore. I've been waiting for someone to die!"

Ash laughs as he continues his rant.

He points to the screen with his bony index finger. "Look, they always throw away their weapon. Like why?! You're making it too easy for me to reap you!"

Ash laughs even harder.

Reap takes on a humorous tone as he continues mocking. "Yeah, just go investigate the threat! You're basically saying, 'Hey! Come kill me!' At least make it a challenge! Look, now he's running upstairs. Like how do you expect to get away from the killer? Jump out the window and still die or drastically injured?"

Ash replies back to him while laughing. "Why not run out the front door?! It was freaking open!"

They continue a few minutes more until they settle into the film.

An old book is shown on screen and it makes Reap laugh. "I've got scarier books than that! Mine are made from flesh instead of cow leather, human bone for the spine, and written in blood."

Ash gives him a disgusted look. "Hope they were dead when you harvested those."

Reap rolls his non existent eyes. "Of course, I can't kill, remember? I dug bodies up from the cemetery to get them."

Ash scrunches her face. "Still ew. Hope you don't get haunted."

Reap waves a bony hand in the air. "Nah, I reaped them long ago. They can't hurt me. Plus, I can't be hurt, Morbid Mama."

"What's with the nickname?" She asks as she stares at him instead of the screen.

"You love skulls, skeletons, morbid things, and you're officially a mama by extraterrestrials."

She shrugs, changing subject. "Well, you're not wrong. Are you going to be holding a rock concert again this Halloween?"

Reap nods his skeletal head. "Thinking about it. We can hold it in the cemetery again."

Ash points out excitedly, "since humans can see you on Halloween, we can advertise it to be bigger than last time!"

Reap rubs his hands together, making rattling noises. "I like that. I can invite all kinds of creatures! Even Ectogol."

Ash looks at him stunned. "Since when do you like Ectogol?"

"I don't. But that wraith is my number one fan. Gotta keep him around when most people hate me."

Ash places a hand on his bony shoulder. "I don't hate you."

"Thank you, Ash."

They proceed to watch the slasher horror film till the end.

Reap stretches his bones and sighs contently. "Ah, fifteen victims. It is wonderfully horrible. Should've been more though. Too bad the final girl is expected to survive."

Ash laughs in a mocking tone, "poor Reap."

Reap glares. "If that was real, I'd be there to reap them. I'd reap her eventually. Everyone's gotta die sometime. The movie was artfully done."

Ash laugh, "of course you would. You never give up, you're determined! I'm glad you're happy."

"What?! No one escapes the Reaper!" He glances at her, "Well, except you. When you're in my line of work, may as well enjoy it!"

He proceeds to explain to Ash, "I've seen people go every way imaginable. Some peacefully. Some thrashing about violently. Some in torment and misery. The important thing is they all made it to The Netherworld."

"Well, when I go, I want it to go peacefully and old."

"You'll never know...," Reap taunts. "Aging is no fun. Take it from someone who's infinite eons old."

"At least you're eons old. And don't have to suffer the pains of aging." Ash throws a skull pillow at him, which he catches.

He squeezes the pillow playfully. "You know, I've got skull pillows too, but mine is more gory, unlike this colorful candy skull."

"I'm sure you do. Just please don't tell me what it's made of."

"Human skin," Reap tells her anyway. Only pain is having to moisturize them." He rolls the lights in his eye sockets.

She glared at him, which makes him laugh.

"Don't complain about having skin to moisturize just because you have none." She gestures to his skeletal form. "Especially since you have skin pillows by choice."

He unrolls his bony hands in an 'oh well' gesture as he shrugs.

Ash shakes her head at his quirky and strange personality. "I won't be borrowing any pillows from you, Reap."
Reap laughs again, "Good! I don't want to share."

She makes a disgusted face, shuddering. "And I don't want to touch those."

He mocks her by picking up one of her sugar skull pillows, hugging it to his chest.

"Ew! I don't know where you've been! You're probably getting dead skin cells from the dead all over it! You never wash your cloaks! You got mad at Acadia when she washed one of yours!"

Reap tries to hand the pillow back to Ash, but she refuses to take it.

She waves her hands at it, "it's yours now."

"Thanks, cool gift!" He pulls his cloak away from him by pinching it between two white, bony fingers. "She should've asked. That was centuries of filth! It held memories!"

Ash points to her used-to-be-hers pillow, "like you asked to dirty my pillow?"

"Sorry," he tells her half heartedly.

"It's okay, Reap. Just ask in the future," she warns as she sprays the couch with disinfectant.

"This dimension or another one?" He asks for clarification.

She takes on a look of irritation. "Me, in this dimension. Well, any dimension and time period you see me in."

He salute her and straightens his hood. "Gotcha."

Ash picks up her skeleton patterned blanket, folding it up. "I was thinking, since you never age, they should put your face next to the word 'limbo' in the dictionary."

Reap smirks, "I am pretty limber," he moves his bones and bends backwards easily since there's no muscles and skin to restrict him.

She doubles over laughing. "Not limbo the game! Limbo as in the place!"

Reap stands back up straight. "Nah, I've been there, it's boring. Just a ton of people and creatures wandering like zombies or sitting, bored to death."

Ash quirks an eyebrow. "Pun intended?"

"You know it. I know my vocabulary. I've been around...."

She continues for him. "Eons, I know."

They both laugh and leave the room. They continue their convo as they pass others. When they pass Lady Heather — a main ghost of the castle — Reap watching her float.

"What?" Ash asks.

He focuses his gaze back on Ash. "Something is keeping Lady Heather here. I just don't know what."

"Maybe it's her love of the castle?" Ash suggests.

"Maybe...," he strikes his jaw.

"You'll figure it out, Reap." She closes her jacket as the chill from Reap gets to her.

"You know it!" Reap laughs, "Could shoulder?"

She laughs as she nods.

"Never feel sad for the dead. You should feel envious of them!"

"Why? Because they now feel no pain?" She offers.

He shakes his head. "Because they're in a better place. A much better place, believe me."

Ash laugh, "You're acting like a cheerleader, Reap. Promoting death and all. But it's hard to imagine you in a skirt, with pom-poms. Jump up and down and rattle those bones, Reap!" Ash jumps up and down, mimicking a cheerleader.

"Hey! I'd look good in a cheer uniform. I'm thin enough," he mocks defensively.

She laughs, "yeah, you're all bones! That's one heck of a weight loss plan!"

"Believe it or not, I've reaped cheerleaders in full uniform before." He's proud of his accomplishment by how he puffs out his chest.

"I believe it. She fall off the pyramid?"
He nods. "Yeah, broke her neck. Actually the whole pyramid went down. One even had the hots for me."

Ash notices his cloak that's been clawed, "Behemoth?"

"Yup. Believe it or not, my cloaks are resistant to everything except claws."

"Even fireproof?"

"You better believe it! You should see me walk on lava in The Netherworld. People love that trick."

"Can you show me a picture?!" Ash asks, all excited.

Reap shakes his head stoically. "Nope. I'm not allowed to show pics and video from The Netherworld. The order comes from upstairs." With that, Reap disappears in a cloud of sulfur causing Ash to cough as well as a spying werewolf nearby. With that, Reap had the last word.