GRIM.

By: Kristi Huff

	My work is never finished. It began with the beginning of time. I 
never take a break. I never rest. I am contiual. Infinitive. I am feared by 
many, welcomed by some, and am destined to meet all. I go by many names, but 
you can call me Grim.
	Grim Reaper.
	I write this book to help you undertand. I am a very misunderstood
person. My work is nothing personal. Many of this world hate me because I took 
their loved ones away. But that's not my fault! They're the ones who died! I 
simply take their souls to the afterlife.
	Now let's face it. My job is not a very desireable one. I'm reaping 
people's souls, obviously. Not many people are going to like me. I didn't 
choose this job. It was given to me by Fate himself. Before this world was 
created, the Council of the Earth sat down and assigned jobs to each of us. 
Fate called on the Seven Brothers of Darkness and gave them each their jobs: 
Envy, Wrath, Gluttony, Lust, Avarice, Pride, and Sloth. Then he called the 
Seven Sisters of Light and gave them their jobs: Prudence, Justice, 
Temperance, Courage, Faith, Hope, and Charity. Then came the more solitude 
jobs. Life, my sister, was given the job of taking souls from the before life 
and giving them to the living. I was assigned last.
	"And you," Fate turned to me. "I will call Death. You are hereby 
charged with taking souls of the living to the after life." Nievely, I grinned 
and bowed.
	"It would be an honor." I replied. At that time, none of us knew what 
our jobs were. We had no idea what we would have to do. Some of us had very 
nice jobs. Giving Hope and Courage to those whom Fate saw fit to bestow upon. 
When I learned what the word 'death' meant, I confess, at first I was 
delighted. I had power. I was feared, respected. But over the course of 
thousands of years, I had slowly come to realize the sorrow I left in my wake. 
How I was not only feared, but hated. 
	At first, I could've cared less. I never even came face to face with 
them unless they were about to die. But then came the exploitations. Those who 
hated me came up with outlandish horror stories about me. Giving me names such 
as "Black Plague" or "Phantom of Misery". Most of these names I ignored. But 
one, I actually liked very much. So much, in fact, that I took it as my new 
name. "The GRIM REAPER". I donned the black robe and scythe, the Talismain of 
Mortality dangling from my neck.
	Talismains come in many kinds. They look like normal necklaces with a
pendant on them. The top and the bottom of the pendant are retractable. To 
activate it, you push the bottom towards the top until you hear a click. Mine 
makes is so that I look like I would if I were human, and not the robed 
skeleton I am. The one I own was a gift from Fate. He gave it to me after I 
realized just how undesirable my job was, so that I could have somewhat of a 
life outside of my eternal chore.
	How am I supposed to have a life? It goes against my nature as Death!
Fate said that is something I must discover for myself. He says that a lot.
		*		*		*		*
	Grim stood in the middle of the large room alone. The room of 
convenience, as the Council of Earth called it. Whatever any member of the
Council of Earth needed, would appear in that room. Right now, the room was
empty, except for a large mirror standing before Grim.
	Grim held his new talismain in his hands, studying it. He had been
activating it and de-activating it all morning. He liked the feeling of 
becoming mortal. He looked more like the other members of the Council of Earth
with skin and hair. He pushed the two pieces together. 
	Instantly, he was mortal. Grim sucked in a deep breath of air and ran
his newly-formed tounge across his teeth. He marveled at his blue eyes and
shaggy black hair. Suddenly, the door to the room opened as Avarice and Lust
came in.
	Avarice and Lust were Grim's best friends. They weren't as annoying as
the Sisters of Light, and they were the only two sins he could get along with.
In fact, they were the only members of the council that could actually stomach
being around his skeletal figure, besides his sister, Life, who was his 
undying favorite.
	"Yo, Skelly! Lookin' good!" Avarice greeted him. Avarice was shorter
than Grim, with ivory skin and short blonde hair. Grim turned to his friends.
	"You really think I look okay?" he asked. Lust smiled. He was taller
than Grim, had long jet black hair, and a deep voice.
	"With a little instruction, you could have any woman you desire." he
said. Grim rolled his eyes. It was always about women with Lust. Not that he
could help it. 
















"Avarice!" I boomed, storming into the council room. All eyes turned 
to me in surprise. Fate was sitting on his throne, Courage and Hope were 
chatting, Envy and Justice were arguing, and Avarice was trying to sell 
Gluttony a sandwich at some outrageous price. All has stopped to look at me. 
I pointed a bony finger at Avarice.
	"Who gave you authouization to sell things to mortals?" I demanded. 
Fate sat forward in his chair.
	"What happened, Death?" he asked. I stabbed my finger in Avarice's
direction.
	"I went to collect the soul of someone who had been sold a Talismain 
of Invisibility seventy years ago. When I got there, he was still young! After 
seventy years! How is that?" I looked expectantly at Avarice for an 
explination.
	"Uh... I dunno." he said.
	"He had a Talismain of Youth also!" I shouted. Justice stood.
	"How could this be? You have to sell your soul for just one 
talismain!" she said. "How could he have two?" I again pointed at Avarice.
	"Ask him!" I said. Avarice grinned sheepishly.
	"He offered me five grand." he said simply. I roared in outrage.
	"Do you realize what you've done? He's eternally young and he can turn 
invisible! He escaped me all three times I tried to take his soul! You've 
created a makeshift immortal with your greed!" Avarice shrugged.
	"Well, my name is Avarice!" he said. 
	"Which is why the selling of talismains is Fate's and my job alone!" I 
concluded. Avarice snorted. 
	"You sound just like Wrath." he muttered. I ignored that and turned to 
Fate.
	"What should I do?" I asked in a quieter tone. Fate looked thoughtful.
	"Simply bring his soul to the afterlife!" he said. I sighed.
	"It's not that easy. I have to confront the person and take their 
soul. Like this." I raised my scythe and slashed out at Avarice. The blade
went right through him without leaving a mark. "Of course, it doesn't work on 
Avarice because he has no soul. Only mortals do." Avarice grinned.
	"All the better I don't have a soul." he said. "Humans are such 
loathsome creatures."
	"Says the personification of a character flaw!" snapped Justice. I
ignored them and continued.
	"So you see, if the man sees me coming, he can turn invisible and 
escape, staying young forever. Which, as you know, is in conflict with my
rule. 'All those who live, must die'." Fate nodded and thought for a long
time. Then he said,
	"You must find him." track him down. Use your Talismain of Mortality 
to disguise yourself. No one is allowed to cheat death." I nodded and 
silently grabbed up my scythe. Then I walked out of the room. I went down a 
hallway. At the end of it, there was a door labled 'Earth'. I opened the door 
and found myself in a dark alley. I was in the mortal realm once again.
		*		*		*
	I quickly clicked my Talismain of Mortality. In an instant my bones 
were covered with blood and flesh. I felt a faint beating in my chest. I 
recognised it as my heart. I did my best to surpress the wave of emotions 
that suddenly came with being mortal. It always took me a moment to get used 
to being mortal. I sucked in a lungful of air and quickly ran my lewly formed 
tounge accross my teeth. Then I stepped out of the alley into the night.
	I walked along the dark streets, following my instincts alone. I 
focused on the cheater of death on my mind. His name was Davin. My instincts 
took me from the dark outskirts of the city to the more busier parts. Of 
course, Davin would want to blend in, make it harder for me to find him. To 
my surprise, I found myself in what looked like some kind of teenage night 
club. But instead of teenagers, I saw an assortment of monsters, aliens, 
animals, and other creatures I couldn't identify. One of which walked up to 
me, took off his mask and grinned. Inside was a teenage boy.
	"Dude! Nice Halloween costume!" he said. I smiled ruefully.
	"Thanks." I answered. The boy pointed at my scythe.
	"Is that real?" he asked. I quickly shook my head.
	"No, it's plastic." I replied. The boy smiled and left. As I searched 
through the masked and painted faces of the crowd, I thought of earlier days. 
I remembered the first time I'd used my Talismain of Mortality. I had known 
so little...
		*		*		*
	I fell to my knees, gasping for air. I was dazed, confused, and I had 
an uncomfortable feeling inside me. I heard a bubbly laughter behind me. I 
managed to turn my head to see my sister, Life, standing over me. Her long, 
blonde hair cascaded down to her shoulders.
	"I didn't think turning into a mortal would surprise you that much!" 
she said. I didn't respond. I stuck out my tounge and moved it around.
	"Humans are wierd." I finally said. "They constantly need to breathe, 
or they'll die. And what's this feeling?" I put my hand on my middle and 
swallowed. Life helped my to my feet. 
	"You're humgry. Come with me."

	We were sitting in the park. I had a half-eaten apple in my hand, and 
I was chewing on the other half in my mouth. Life laughed.
	"We just left the marketplace, and you're already almost finished 
with all the food we bought!" Despite myself, I smiled. Life was the only one 
who was able to get me to smile genuinely. She looked at me for a while.
	"I like this look better. You're not scary. You look nice." I looked 
up.
	"What do I look like?" I asked. She smiled and grabbed my wrist. She 
led me to a pond and pointed at it.
	"Look at your reflection!" She said. I bent over the edge and looked. 
I had black, shaggy hair that almost covered my blue eyes. I guessed I looked 
about eighteen in mortal years. I absently combed my fingers through my hair. 
Then Life's reflection appeared beside mine.
	"This is what you would look like if you weren't Death." she 
whispered.
	"I know." I whispered back. Life looked sad. I hated to see Life sad. 
I dipped my hand in the water, and flicked a few drops at her. She giggled 
and splashed me back.