04

The priest clad in green robes had only been speaking for a few minutes before Regina Morales started crying into her hands, her shoulders heaving as she wept.

I didn't know what to do. What was I supposed to do?

Before I could act out on anything, there was the quiet sound of clothes ruffling and then a tiny little girl wearing black tights and a dress clambered into Mrs. Morales' lap. The little girl was an exact carbon copy of Mrs. Morales and had the same eyes that both Regina and Archer had.

The little girl didn't say anything, just nestled up tighter towards her mother and tried to wrap her tiny little arms around her.

After that, I figured it was okay for me to cry, too.

Actually, I cried a lot.

I was still struggling to keep my composure, tears dripping down my face, while I stumbled my way up the steps of the altar to drop a rose on the casket that was properly laid out.

"Didja know my brother too?"

I glanced quickly around my shoulder and saw the same little girl from earlier standing behind me on the steps, clutching at the tail end of my dress.

I nodded, rubbing a hand cross my cheeks to get rid of the lingering tears.

The girl cocked a smirk. "He was pretty cool, huh?"

I laughed shakily. "Definitely."

And then I was promptly baffled by the appearance of two other small girls of the same size that were near identical to the one standing in front of me. It took me a minute to work out that they were all triplets.

"May!" one of the girls said with a frown. "Mommy says we're supposed to be sitting down!"

"I'm coming, June, I'm coming," the one called May sighed, flapping a hand in her sister's direction. "You and April need to chill out."

I couldn't help but laugh again at their cute display.

The little girl called May grabbed my hand as I made my way back to my seat, and then the girl named April clutched at my hand, as well, smiling up at me with a gap in her front teeth.

"Thanks for rounding up my children," Regina laughed shakily as May and her sister clambered back up onto the pew, followed by June.

I smiled halfheartedly in an attempt to seem polite, but instead of saying anything, I just reached out and hugged her as tight as I could.

Nineteen minutes later I was stepping out of St. Patrick's Cathderal, my coat wrapped around me tightly, hoping against hope that I was going to be able to find a taxi easily. It was nearing nine and in my father's terms, that meant late, even if I didn't have school tomorrow.

"It's a bit late for a young girl like yourself to be out at this time of night, isn't it?"

I jumped about a foot in the air and spun wildly around on my heel at the sound of the voice. The voice was eerily creepy, harsh and gravelly souding, so deep it was like it was echoing up from some cavern.

Squinting to see closer in the dim light the street lights were giving off, I made out the figure of a man who was sprawled out at the bottom steps of the church. How I'd missed the guy walking out of the church I had no idea, but he was definitely there.

The guy was dressed in ripped jeans and what looked like a faded and worn leather jacket. His hair was dark, tinged with a bit of gray, but his face was so eerily pale and white it was like he was giving off this creepy glow.

I caught myself stumbling backwards, my arms tightening around myself as I stared at the guy.

"I don't know who you are, but I'm not looking for trouble," I stuttered out, gnawing on my lip nervously.

Probably not the smartest thing I'd ever done in my short sixteen years.

The guy gave a laugh, dragging himself up to his feet as he started rummaging around in his pockets. "Oh, I know you're not, Hadley Jamison. I'm not here to bring you trouble, either."

My jaw dropped. "What-? How d-did you -?"

"Know your name?"

The guy pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, followed by a lighter, and promptly lit it. Taking a drag on the cigarette, he gave me a sort of smirk that sent chills down my spine.

"I know everything, Hadley Jamison," the guy said in an oddly haughty voice. "It comes with the job description."

"Look, I don't know who you are, but you better stay the hell away from me," I spat out, my sudden anger causing my cheeks to flood with color.

"Or you'll what? Scream?"

The guy started walking closer, stepping into the dim glow of the nearest street lamp, smoking cigarette between his thin, bony fingers. I had to stumble back a bit to stare the guy in the face, he was that tall. But the creepiest thing about this guy, the one thing that had me wishing I'd never stepped out of my apartment tonight, were his eyes. They were pitch black.

"Who are you?" I demanded before I could stop myself, clenching my fists together.

"Oh, I'm known by lots of names," the guy drawled, taking another drag on his cigarette. "Some call me the Devil, the Grim Reaper, Hades, the angel Azrael. I could go on and on, really." The guy smiled as he said this, flashing straight white teeth that seemed to glint in the light.

"But I suppose, for simplicity's sake, you can just call me Death."