It took Genny two complete looks around the room before her conscious mind fully comprehended what her unconscious screamed at her. Some would call it instinct which drew her to this particular warehouse. Perhaps a preternatural connection she didn’t realize she shared with Country. There’s a slight chance it could also have been the police car parked outside. But with Genny, it was probably blind luck. Regardless of how she arrived, she now wavered between relief that she had found her friend and regret that she had found her friend, especially seeing him hoisted into the air by the single arm at his throat. Her knack for self-preservation made her turn and yank on the locked door until she turned red with exhaustion. Country made a mental note of it in case he somehow survived the night. When it was clear she was trapped, Genny turned towards the center of the room.
“Put them down,” she finally gasped out.
The man glanced over his shoulder. “What’s the magic word?” he said.
Genny’s face furrowed. “Abracadabra? But why would you want me to say that? Are you about to do a magic show?” Her face unfurrowed, eyebrows rising in anticipation. “Ooo. I love the one where the assistant gets sawed in half. Well, I used to until I figured out the trick. It’s pretty simple if you think about it. Each side of the box, on the inside, is covered with a thick layer of plastic wrap. When the saw goes through the assistant’s waist, she smushes her body against the plastic wrap so her innards don’t leak out. Now, there are also two hidden bottles of super glue, one on each side of the box again. As soon as the box closes, she smears a thick layer on both halves of her body and voilà!”
“It’s a good thing you won’t ever become a doctor,” the man said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Genny asked, her face getting a furrowing workout.
“It means I’m going to kill you tonight.”
“I don’t think I’d like that,” she said.
The man roared with laughter. Sheriff Jeremiah joined in but didn’t know why. Probably because his oxygen supply had dwindled to the point where everything seemed funny. Genny also chuckled, but her heart wasn’t in it.
“I tell you what,” the man said, “as a favor to you, a last request of sorts, I’ll let your boyfriend down.”
Country’s and Sheriff Jeremiah’s toes touched the ground for the first time in what seemed like ages. The color slowly returned to the sheriff’s face.
“Go on,” the man said.
The two started walking away from him. Genny ran towards them and threw herself into Country’s arms.
“Oh, Country,” she said. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”
“Two points,” Country replied. “First, we’re not safe. There’s an out of control fire over there, getting closer with each minute, and no way out of this room as far as I can tell. Second, what’s the deal with you and the door yanking?”
“I was going for help,” she said.
She sounded sincere.
“Alright already,” the man said. He gave a slight shake of the head, the universal sign of being annoyed with Genny. “Enough with the chitchat. It’s time to die.”
“Wait!” Genny said.
“What is it this time?”
“You haven’t explained what you want. Why you’re doing this. Who you are.”
“Ask your boyfriend. I already gave him the rundown.”
“But he’s going to die. How can he explain to me when he’s dead?”
Country noted the use of ‘he’s’ and not ‘we’re’ and filed it away along with the previous note.
“And he’s not my boyfriend,” Genny added.
The man rolled his eyes. He looked back at the flames which shot straight into the air behind him. The ceiling began to shudder.
He sighed. “I guess I do have a few minutes,” he said. “What would you like to know first?”
“How are you planning on getting out of here?” she asked.
“There’s a secret door over by … hey! That’s not nice.”
Genny’s face had the quality of a newborn lamb.
“Don’t do that again,” the man cautioned.
“Oh, no. Of course not,” Genny said. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“So, what do you really want to know first?” the man asked.
“What do you want from us?”
“I want you dead. I thought that was obvious.”
“But why?”
The smile dropped from the man’s face, replaced by a scowl, a glare which pierced Genny’s very soul. In spite of the flames, a chill flowed through her blood, and she started to shiver. She looked at Country for the courage, the solace she always found in his eyes, but in that instant, she saw a different emotion, one she had never seen in him: fear.
By the time she turned back, the man’s countenance, his whole being had changed, transformed into something that was no longer a man but both greater and less than a man at the same time. Two, dull red spots, like unpolished, deeply flawed rubies, stood where his eyes had been. Arms and legs had stretched into long, scaly limbs. The stench of a fetid swamp filled the room, overpowering the smell of burning wood and metal. Lifting his head into the air, he roared at the sky, his voice that of a snake, a dragon.
“Why do I want you dead?” he howled. “That’s who I am. It’s what I do.”
“Who are you?” Genny’s mouth quivered as she asked it. As though she already knew the answer.
“I am Death,” he said.
“You’re death?”
“Not death; Death. I am the Golden Cherub, the beautiful one. I was before you were. Born in the fires of the north. He who guarded the precious gems which adorned my body. I was the greatest of all. I am the greatest of all. Still, he kicked me out because he was jealous of my beauty, of my wisdom. He wanted the riches and glory all for himself, showing himself to be the petty tyrant that I always knew he was. I wasn’t strong enough to defeat him the first time, but each day, my power grows. Each day, my rage, like a whirlwind, spins faster and higher. Each satisfying death brings me closer to my goal, and I owe it all to you, Genny.”
“Why? What did I do?”
“You released me, Genny. Even though you never finished reading the book, you spoke enough to let me pass over. My friends may be stuck on the other side, in the other world, but I … I was allowed to break through and wreak havoc and destruction and death whenever I liked. And I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Why do you do it?”
“Because it’s who I am. And I hate you.”
“That’s it? That’s the only reason?” Country asked. “That doesn’t explain why you’ve been so intent on killing Genny and me.”
“You would have recognized the One, and I couldn’t let that happen, now could I?”
“Huh?” Country said.
Death reared back his head and howled once more. The flames rose up and lapped at the ceiling. Wooden rafters creaked and groaned. Metal beams melted and twisted. Hellish winds flowed through the room, screaming like a chorus of demons falling through the abyss. Country grabbed Genny’s hand and pulled her towards him.
“Run!” he shouted.
Genny didn’t argue but ran with him towards the far wall. Behind her, large chunks of ceiling crashed to the floor, crushing the chair, pumpkin-head Genny, and anything else in their way. The inferno stained the warehouse in shades of orange and red and gray, shrouding everything inside a fiery darkness. All the while, Death howled at them as if their deaths had already made him stronger. She glanced back once more. The flames hid him from view. Only his head remained visible, yet she could tell he was moving towards them, coming to destroy them like he had done to a million people before.
She froze. In the shadows, another silhouette appeared. Much shorter than Death. Much cuter, with long, flowing locks. Its tiny, delicate hands held something. A pipe, a piece of wood. Genny couldn’t quite make it out. The arms raised up and …
“Let’s go!” Country yelled.
Genny turned towards his voice.
“There’s a hole over here,” he said. “I think we can squeeze through it.”
The fire, which was meant to destroy, had burned a gap through the wall. For some reason, the flames had gone out and gave them a path to escape. One at a time, they pressed their bodies into the gap and headed into the open air. None of them noticed the fire extinguisher outside the hole as they ran towards the police car.
Before they got halfway there, Genny suddenly stopped as though she realized what she had just done.
“We’ve got to go back,” she said.
“Why?” Country asked.
“There’s someone else in there.”
“What are you talking about? There was no one besides us three.”
“Yes, there was,” Genny insisted. “I saw her.” She paused. “At least, I think I saw her.”
“Who?” Country said.
“Her. Cherie.”
“There was no one else there,” Country repeated. “Certainly not Cherie. And even if she or someone else was there, there’s no way we could get back inside to save them.”
As if to put an exclamation point on Country’s statement, the entire roof collapsed onto the ground beneath. Sparks the size of miniature chihuahuas shot into the sky. Genny held her breath and watched for a moment.
“Come on, Genny,” Country said. “We need to get out of here. It’s still not safe.”
Genny gazed into his beautiful, dark eyes. The certainty of what she thought she saw fading into doubt. Country was right. She must have imagined it. Her doubt weakened into indifference, and she smiled as best she could. “You’re right, Country,” she said. “Let’s go home. But do you mind if we make a stop along the way? I really gotta pee.”