Have you read Red Reaper Part Three - Lust?
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Envy
Noun
- A feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck.
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It was horrendous. A man had been crushed. His chest was partially caved in, a huge chunk of concrete sitting on him. His neck was bent at an impossible angle. His face and torso were covered in blood, the torso ending at the line of a collapsed wall. He had no legs.
“Holy crap,” Kyle gulped, slowly bringing her hand down to her heart.
Jett ignored her. He picked up his scythe, turning it so the blade hovered over the mans mangled chest. He lowered the scythe until it pricked the skin, then quickly pulled the blade up. A ghostly version of the man seemed to have been hooked out of his body by the scythe.
“Ahhh!” the ghost gasped, as he appeared. Catching sight of Jett and Kyle’s cloaked figures, he froze.
“Geofry Dorin, you’re dead. We’re taking you to the Afterlife.”
Geofry just stared at them.
The silence stretched. “Er, what do we do now?” Kyle asked.
“Take him to the Hellhole,” Jett said, and started walking off.
“Wait!” Geofry shouted suddenly. “My wife, where’s my wife?”
Kyle glanced at Jett’s retreating back. He didn’t pause. She turned back to Geofry. “Was she at home with you?”
He nodded frantically. “Yes, yes, she was in the bedroom,” he said, pointing further into the rubble.
Her stomach dropped. Oh God, there was another dead body here.
He suddenly started screaming. He was climbing over the rubble after Jett. “What’s happening?!” he yelled.
Shit, Satan’s Will. “Stop,” she shouted at Jett’s retreating back.
Jett ignored her. Geofry started sobbing.
Fear for Geofry squeezed her heart. “Stop! Please stop Jett,” she shouted, her voice strangled.
To her surprise he stopped. So did Geofry.
Shaking, the man stood up and wrapped his arms around himself. “Please,” he whispered, looking imploringly at Kyle. Tears streamed down his face into his beard. “Please,” he whispered again. “I need to find my wife.”
Kyle’s throat tightened. She swallowed a few times before she spoke. “Can’t we… can’t we help him look for her?” she asked Jett.
“No,” he said, turning to face her and folding his arms across his chest.
Dick. “If she’s not coming with us, she’ll still be alive. We could help her.”
Geofry’s face brightened immediately. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, she’s still alive. It’ll be ok,” he dithered as he started to climb over the rubble back toward Kyle.
“It’s not our job,” Jett grunted.
“Ann! Ann!” the man called, scrambling past her.
“Just… just stay there,” she said to Jett, willing her voice not to tremble. “Please.” Please.
She could swear she heard the tiniest resigned sigh. That was good enough for her. She scrambled off after Geofry before Jett could change his mind.
“Ann! Ann!” Geofry called, hope filling his voice. He scrambled over a splintered truss and let out a shout.
Kyle’s stomach dropped as he began wailing. She couldn’t see him. Her hammering heart willed her to move faster. He came into view, kneeling and cradling a dead woman.
“Ann,” he sobbed, gently stroking her bloody face.
Kyle approached him slowly. Her stomach clenched. The woman wasn’t as badly crushed as her husband had been, but she was definitely dead.
“You,” he turned an accusing look on her. “Get her out. Use your scythe.” He gestured to it.
She looked at the scythe in her hand. “I- I don’t know how to use it.”
“Please. Please.” His expression shifted to one full of such pain and destress, her heart broke. Her eyes stung as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. He’d been so hopeful. She’d given him that hope. “I’ll… I’ll get Jett. He can use a scythe.” She scrambled back over the rubble, wiping her cheeks.
“We’ve found her,” she called, as Jett came into view. She paused to swallow. “I don’t know how to use the scythe,” she said, when she felt it was safe to speak again.
“You can’t use it on her,” he called.
“I know, but you can.”
“No.”
“Please,” she called, trying and failing to keep the desperation out of her voice.
He fidgeted. “She’s not ours.”
What?
“She’s hers.”
What the hell did that mean?
Suddenly, sunshine burst through the clouds momentarily blinding her. She threw her hands in front of her face. Peering under her hands as the light faded, she saw a ray of sunlight reaching from the clouds to where Geofry and Ann were. As she scrambled back to them, an angel floated down through the shaft of sunlight. Huge golden wings fluttered elegantly from a figure draped in white.
Kyle managed to get to the couple as the angel landed. She was beautiful. Long shiny golden hair framed a perfect heart-shaped face. She smiled at Kyle, revealing a row of perfect straight white teeth and sparkling blue eyes. The man had stopped wailing. He stared at the angel in silence but continued to cradle his wife’s corpse.
“Well, hello. Does Jett have a trainee?” the angel said kindly, looking at Kyle.
Was she really talking to an angel? She swallowed. Trainee sounded too willing. Jett was definitely paired with her… “unwillingly, yeah.”
The angel’s smile took on a mischievous twinkle. “He must be loving that. I’m Dyana.” She held out her hand.
Kyle stared at her in shock for a moment but shook her hand. Her tanned skin was warm and soft. “I’m Kyle.”
Dyana let go of her hand. “Alright, Geofry,” she said, suddenly business like. “If you could give me some space, I’ll get your wife.”
His tear-stained face split into a smile. “You’ll- you’ll bring her to me?” he asked in wonder.
“I need some room, please.”
The man gently lay his wife on the rubble and scrambled backwards.
The angel grabbed something at her hip and pulled. The sound of metal on metal sliced through the air. Dyana held the point of a beautifully engraved sword with a gold and jewel encrusted cross piece before her. Despite how distraught she was, Kyle couldn’t help eyeing the sword with resentful longing. Damn, maybe she was greedy. Or was she envious? She supposed it didn’t matter, she’d gone to hell for both.
Dyana lowered the sword to the chest of the dead woman. Gently pricking Ann’s chest, Dyana then pulled it up quickly, just as Jett had with the scythe. A ghostly version of the woman appeared from her body.
The woman blinked, looking around at them. Her eyes stopped on her husband. “Geofry!” she cried. She flung herself at him. “Oh goodness, I was so worried,” she said into his neck.
The man just held his wife, sobbing silently into her shoulder.
“Geofry, what’s wrong?” the woman asked, pulling back and kissing his cheeks.
“Ann. We’re-”
“Hello Ann,” Dyana interrupted kindly. “I’m Dyana. I’ve come to take you to the Afterlife.”
Wait, that’s not how this was working. “Hold on. Thanks for getting her out, but she’s coming with me,” Kyle said, turning to Dyana.
Dyana gave her a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry Kyle, Ann has to come with me.”
“No, she’s coming with me.” Geofry said. “Isn’t she?” he added, turning desperately to Kyle.
Anger and discontent surged through her. “I found her first, she’s coming with us,” Kyle said stubbornly.
Dyana shook her head. “Ann can’t go with you Kyle, no matter how intensely you desire it. You may resent me taking her but it’s not up to us,” Dyana said gently.
“I don’t want her for me. I want her for him,” Kyle said, gesturing to Geofry.
Dyana raised her eyebrows. “Do you? Or do you want Ann to make yourself feel better?”
Kyle paused. Sure, she wanted Ann to come with her so she’d feel less guilty for giving Geofry hope, but she wasn’t completely heartless. She wanted her for Geofry’s sake. Didn’t she? Besides… “What did it matter?”
“It’s a sin of envy to feel discontent and resentful longing for someone else’s possessions, Kyle. It’s God’s Will that Ann comes to Heaven, just as it’s Satan’s Will that Geofry goes to Hell with you. I’m just here to take her,” she said.
Geofry started sobbing again. Ann’s face twisted with grief, silent tears sliding down her cheeks. Dyana moved to place her hand on Ann’s shoulder. Instantly Ann’s face relaxed despite the tear tracks down her cheeks.
“I’ll see you at the next one,” Dyana said with a smile as an impossibly long golden staircase descended from the clouds behind her. “Come Ann.” Dyana’s grip tightened on Ann’s shoulder.
“Goodbye Geofry,” Ann said quietly. “I love you.”
The man burst out into renewed sobs as the angel and the woman stepped onto the first step. “No, we have to be together.” He threw himself after them, slamming into an invisible wall at the bottom of the stairs.
“Geofry!” Ann called in alarm, turning away from Dyana. Her hands also met the invisible wall.
Kyle throat squeezed as fresh tears streamed down her face. Her nose was running but she didn’t bother wiping it.
“Come,” Dyana said, reaching for Ann’s shoulder again. They turned and continued up the stairs. The steps disappeared behind them as they climbed toward the clouds.
“Ann! Wait! Ann!” the man wailed.
They didn’t look back. He fell to his knees and hunched over himself, sobs wracking his body.
Oh God. Surely there was something Kyle could do for him. “Geofry,” she said softly between sobs. She touched him gently on the shoulder.
He didn’t move.
She gulped down a sob. Damn it… “Geofry. We need to go.”
He ignored her.
She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up.
He didn’t move.
Standing, she looked down at him. “Stay here, I’ll- I’ll get Jett.” She wiped her nose with her sleeve as she turned to scrambled over the rubble back to Jett. He was in the same spot, arms crossed over his chest.
She gulped down a few deep breaths as she reached him. “He won’t move,” she said quietly to the ground. “I can’t get him to come.” She couldn’t bring herself to look into the shadowy hood of Jett’s cloak.
He fidgeted again. “Satan’s Will will bring him.” He turned and started walking out of the rubble back to the bar. Glancing behind her she saw Geofry climbing over the rubble toward them, but he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going. His eyes were closed, face twisted in agony and wet with tears.
Letting out a small sob Kyle turned away and followed Jett. She kept a few steps behind him, trying to stifle her sniffs. She focused on her breathing. In and out. God, what had she done to this poor man. In and out. She was only trying to help. In and out. She’d made a huge mistake.
She walked right into Jett. “Ow,” she said, rubbing her head. They were back in the bar’s storage room. She hadn’t been paying attention.
“In,” Jett said, pointing at the open door.
She was so miserable she didn’t bother to protest. She stepped through the door into the black stone tunnel. Geofry followed.
“Use Hellhole to take you home Rivers,” Jett said, and slammed the door in her face.
Her eyes widened. “Hey!” she yelled, banging on the door. Shit, she’d completely forgotten about getting to her sister and Piglet. She rattled the doorknob, but it was locked. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” she shouted through the door. There was silence. Asshole! She was meant to give him the slip, not the other way around.
She turned around. Geofry was heading off down the tunnel. She supposed Satan’s Will was taking him wherever the back of the line for the entry chamber was. She was alone. Pushing her grief and panic deep down, she dug into her pocket for her phone. She opened it and tapped on the Hellhole app. It automatically brought up the route to the Grim city. She followed the long red line on her phone screen through the maze of tunnels. She passed other Grims, but they all ignored her.
When she saw the huge timber and iron studded doors, she closed the map and opened GrimM. There was a new message.
Where are you? -F
She hit reply.
Almost at the big doors.
She hit send. The message was seen straight away. Three dots appeared.
Omw.
She let out a small sigh of relief as she stepped through the little door, her cloak and scythe disappearing to be replaced by her long red dress, red heels, and handbag.
“Kyle!” Flynn was jogging toward her, a smile spread across his handsome face. She turned to him. As soon as he caught sight of her face his smile dropped. He picked up the pace. “Kyle, what’s wrong?” he asked, a hint of panic in his voice.
She took a shuddering breath as he reached her. She wasn’t going to cry. She took a gulp of air.
“Kyle? What’s happened?” Flynn asked, concern etched across his face as he grabbed her shoulders.
She crumbled. Sobbing uncontrollably, she lent into his chest. Images of the earthquake rushed through her mind, of Geofry, Ann. The pain, the fear, the grief overwhelmed her. She cried and cried, her whole body shaking.
“Hey, hey, it’s ok, it’s ok. I’ve got you,” he said soothingly, wrapping his arms around her and stroking her hair.
She took a huge shuddering breath as sobs continued to rack her.
“I’ve got you,” Flynn cooed, rocking her gently.
She sobbed her heart out into Flynn’s chest.
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Read Red Reaper Part Five - Sloth, out 27 April!