Grim Reaper - Chapter 6 • A Halloween Special

by Megan W., 11

A November 2024 Monthly Story Challenge Winner 

For a minute, I almost made a terrible screeching noise before both of my hands flew to my mouth to cover it. Another meeting? So soon? On the GHOST ISLE?

“Nico? Are you alright, Midnight? What happened?”

I could hear mom’s footsteps down the hall, so I grabbed my scythe and used the bladed end to sweep the glass under the beige, louvered sides of their bed.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” I said, trying not to sound like I just pushed someone off a cliff.

“I should go to my next job.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. Thankfully, it was dry now. I scrolled through the texts.

“Mission 🧇, England, pushed off a balcony ,lady with purple hair,falling deity”

 “Mission 🧇 claimed”

I swirled my scythe and headed to my portal. My head hurt and some glass was embedded on the bottom of my green fashion sneaker and on the side of my pink fashion sneaker, yet I carried on. My swimming mind drifted to the day I got Gatorade, my cat. Where could she possibly be now?

Four years ago, Halloween/Nico’s birthday:

Finally, I was turning thirteen! I had just started my first year of sixth grade a couple of months ago. As a celebration, I invited my friends over to watch PG-13 movies. I had graduated from elementary school, and was now in middle school. There were two years of each middle school grade; three years of every high school grade— an underworld practice I don’t really get. The first to arrive at the party was Misty, who had "great news" for me. Her long navy blue nails, with delicately painted blooms, twisted around her wavy hair and sea green highlights, as she ecstatically yapped on and on about whatever she was obsessed with that week.

“OMG! You know about how I’m TOTALLY randomly arranging blind dates!!??” No, I did not.

“I should totally sEt YoU uP!!!” At newly thirteen?

“Well, I already have!” What!?

“Meet us at the seafood you like! You know, the one with the octopus logo?”

“Um yeah okay!” I blurted, at the first gap that Misty took a breath.

“Oh! And I got you this great present, for your birthday. You know?”

Misty reached into her hobo bag and pulled out a square box about the size of a large deck of poker cards.

“I carved it myself!” Misty shoved the aqua box into my lap.

“Oh! Um… Ok!” I unwrapped the bright yellow ribbon from the cube. When I lifted the lid of the box, I found a sculpture of several death cap mushrooms, intricately carved from human bone.

“Do you like it?!” Misty hopped up onto the arm of the sofa like a rabbit.

“Yeah totally!” I giggled and looked up to her.

DING DONG! The door bell rung, loud and clear.

“Coming!” I yelled, shoving myself off of the leather couch. At the door, Mia and Mark waited. Mark held a large cardboard box, and Mia held a bulky package of multiple items wrapped inside.

“Oh hey! Nicole! We kinda need to open this RIGHT NOW!”

“Alright!” I was SO awkward as I lugged the heavy squirming package from Mark’s hands to the living room area rug. Could the gift inside this box be alive? Well, it either had to be alive or mechanical, because the package squirmed in my arms as I set it down.

“Well, open it~!” Misty unhelpfully chimed in as I tried to tear off the orange heavy-duty tape keeping the box from falling apart.
“Okay okay.” I reassured her that I WAS trying to open the box and not just squishing my fingernails under the tape for fun. As I pried open the lid of the box, in it, sat a tiny Russian blue kitty. Right on cue, it purred.

“Purr…” The light rumbling sound made me feel like it was all a dream. As soon as its first purr was done, the next sound I heard was the rest of my friends cheering.

“Happy birthday Nico!!!” Mark’s cheek touched mine as he hugged me, and could never have felt better.

Present day:

I returned to reality with the sound of a bang and a crash. And my mother’s high-pitched shriek.

This Halloween Special is related to Megan's other Grim Reaper stories:

• Chapter 1: My Life As A Teenage Grim Reaper
• Chapter 2:
• Chapter 3: A Little Thing Called School
  
• Chapter 4: I Think We’ll Be Friends
• Chapter 5: 
• Grim Reaper • A Halloween Special