The Untold Story of a Grim Reaper: Chapter 26: Struck

Rushing, I sprinted towards the darkest piece of earth. 

All I could think was, Not them. Not them. Not after I had tried to keep them safe.

Feet first, I dove into the shadow of the dark afternoon. Tripping through the darkness of my own thoughts, of what might be their end, I finally ascended into the shadows of their backyard.

It wasn’t even a house anymore. It was a dancing globe of fire sitting on the earth. I shook from the reality that I brought this upon them. 

I could hear sirens, the sound of pressured water pounding against the cracking of the kindling wood of the home. The symphony that composed this scene broke my un-beating heart. I was so overwhelmed, it was too much, Lilli had done too much. 

From the flames, a small arc opened from the back porch. I hurried to the opening, relieved to see Julius stumbling from it. I jogged closer, he was hunched over, having difficulty standing. I ran into the burning house to help him outside.

At the foot of the porch, “Julius! Julius!” 

I leapt up the stairs and straight to him, I saw why he was hunched over and not leaving. Ethel was passed out. Covered in ash, her hair nearly all gone, her legs badly burnt. I went straight to pick up her feet, Julius continued lifting Ethel from her arms.

He was breathing heavily, his eyes were red, his face covered in tears. We made it to the back lawn only a couple feet before he tripped backwards from exhaustion. Julius sat up and hugged his wife, crying, pleading for her to wake up. Sobbing, kissing her forehead.

Regret and guilt licked my bones making me tremble where I stood. I wanted to send Lilli to Hell and live there with her.

The sound of paramedics, officers, and firemen approached. I revolved my stare to the flames that weren’t subdued from the dozens of hoses attacking it.

I tilted my disheartened stare to the ominous sky. Knowing exactly why the sky looked so sinister and reflected everything I was feeling. My keen eye caught my raven circling in the sky calling me to act.

I stretched my hands to the sky not caring that this may not work, not caring that there might not be a God listening. I spoke to the sky through my soul. I commanded it with my spirit. I tensed my whole being, like a rattlesnake before striking. I wound myself up to such a high volume of intensity I started to shake. The clouds swirled above me. Colors of black, grey, and yellow mixed and thundered. The flashes of lightening more abundant.

Suppressing my pride, I asked for whatever God to make me strong enough… but if this were a test… if this were a part of a plan waiting for my reaction… if the Creator truly gives us what we are capable of overcoming… then it would be by my will to be strong enough or not… I was given the choice to let this storm strike me down or enlighten me.

Then it hit me, lightening struck through my heart. A light in me ripped apart the darkness of the shadows I concealed myself in and exposed my true self. In full Reaper form, my hands abruptly tensed to a fist and I struck them down against the earth with a roar. A thunderous rumble shook the ground.

The scattered dust of the earth rose as the sky surrendered the ocean of water it imprisoned. The rainfall heavily pounded the earth, the sky spilled its every secret all at once upon the house. The yard completely flooded.

The house was nothing but the burnt history of a couple that invited death into their home. Someone grabbed my arm, “Don’t move!” The frantic, awe stricken face of a fireman stared at me, he repeated himself, “Don’t move! We need assistance over here! Are you alright? Don’t move, we don’t want you to strain yourself.”

Confused, I murmured, “I’m fine.”

The main waved his arms to invite more assistance, as he said, “You were struck by lightening. No one can just walk away from that unharmed.”

I was too exhausted to argue, too exhausted to manipulate him to leave me be. I wanted to be taken care of, even though my body was unharmed, my soul desired care. Denying love from others is how I got here. I accepted it, I told myself it was okay to be weak, it was okay to submit myself to sadness, the thick skin I had built washed away and I felt humble.

Several people brought over a gurney, assisting me in it and strapping me down. Ethel and Julius were way ahead of me, already being lifted into an ambulance. I felt so awfully sad for bringing this upon them, for inviting a witch into their home, for tricking them into loving me.

I was taken in a separate ambulance. The whole trip to the hospital was filled with the man and woman sitting with me, playing with their machines. All of their machines could’t read any vitals from me so they chalked it up to faulty equipment. I asked for a bottle of water to make them feel useful. I wanted them to know I was going to be fine.

While laying in the gurney, I took small, useless sips of water. In between the sirens my thoughts were filled with how I would break Lilli, how I would send her to Hell.