Prophet

Sadie comes back with a gasp, her blindness returned. She’s been gripping the arm of the couch hard enough to puncture the fabric, making her hands ache. She licks at her dry lips and leans forward when nausea fills her.
It’s gone after a few seconds, letting her call out, “Death? You here?”
She hears the rap of his footsteps on tile as he comes closer and settles near her. Death sniffs at the air, sensing Sadie’s panic and the crackle of ozone. Her blind eyes are huge and scared, making her face look very young. Her hands skitter nervously in her lap, fingers plucking lightly at the hem of her skirt.

“What did you see?” he asks gently, leaning forward to listen.

“A woman, she kept twisting and she laughed. People were screaming, they couldn’t breathe, there was fire and something exploded. She said ‘Come to me’ at the end.” Sadie takes a deep breath, letting her fingers flutter up towards his face. Death leans into her touch and she smiles, tracing a finger down the bridge of his nose. “Gabriel did tell me I was going to have visions,” she says softly, but her lips are still trembling. “I had forgotten how vivid they can be.”

Death doesn’t know what to do as she pushes her forehead against his. Sadie can feel Death’s cracked skin on hers, which is comforting. She has to calm down, forget the woman’s gaping smile.
“Should I, uh, write it down? Or tell Gabriel?” Death puts a protective hand on the back of her neck.

“Just write it down, Sadie. I’ll save them until they’re needed.” She nods, dark hair falling over her eyes. “Will you write it down for me? I don’t have a proper computer here...”
Death nods and settles down as Sadie begins to speak.

Later, when Sadie has her head in Death’s lap, his fingers threading through her hair, he talks about work. Heavenly rules probably forbid sharing with mortals, but he plans to keep Sadie.
“The reapers can be annoying, you know. Like children.”

“Children who can kill with a touch,” Sadie mutters into his thigh.
His hands pause in her hair as he frowns. “Does this upset you?”
He can see the curve of her smile when she laughs.

“No, of course not. I knew what I was going into.” He nods, satisfied, and settles back into the couch.
“What sort of job did you have?” She snorts and turns from her side to grin up at him.
“I’m blind, remember? That doesn’t leave many job opportunities.”
Death can’t fathom not having a job, a purpose. He has always been Death, he will always be Death. What he does is everything he is.

“I...see.”
“I don’t.” She hides her giggle with a hand as he smoothes the hair away from his face.
“Are you happy, Sadie?”
“I’ve only been here a few days, but yes,” she says, smiling.
“It’s been hours down on Earth. Time moves quickly here.”
“Do my parents....do they even know I’m dead, then?”
Death can hear tears in her voice, which makes him anxious. She moves to sit up, hunching away from him. He can see the red stains on her dress where the bullet exited.
“Sadie....”

She looks over her shoulder with a fragile smile.
“I know. I just got a tad overwhelmed. Everything else is okay, I just don’t want my parents to be sad.” She gets up and makes her way towards the kitchen, hesitating near the entranceway. “I think tea would be nice right now. Would you like some?”
“Yes, please.”
Death can hear her moving carefully around, grabbing the cups and plates whose places she’s already memorized. Suddenly there’s a crash and a thud, the sound of dripping water. He teleports to find Sadie prone on the floor, surrounded by spilled water and cracked cups. Her eyes have rolled back in her head.

“Sadie.”
Death lifts her easily with one hand, feeling the spark of ozone. She’s having another vision. He grits his teeth, annoyed with Gabriel, as he sets her gently on the couch. She whines low in her throat, arching her back. Death sits near her and waits for the end.

Sadie can hear the screams, the gasping breaths as her vision steadies and unfolds. It always feels weird to see again. She’s gotten used to darkness. Someone is weeping quietly, a woman. When her sight finally clears, Sadie can see she’s standing in a dark room, watching a woman who’s facing the only window. She’s crouching, folded in on herself. Sadie hears someone behind her and turns to see a boy walk in. Young, grubby, nervous. His clothes are splattered with filth.
“Um, hello? Are you okay?” he asks anxiously. Sadie can see the woman’s thin shoulders tense, and she wants to scream at the boy to run as he takes a step closer. “Miss?”

The weeping stops when she turns, leaping at him with claws outstretched. Her face is white and
haggard, eyes wheeling madly about. The boy screams and stumbles back, but she has him by the throat. Blood spurts, passing harmlessly through Sadie, who can’t take her eyes away. The vision blurs, refocuses, and winks out as the woman-thing returns to weeping.

Sadie’s crying when she comes back. She can feel the tears on her face.
“It was bad this time,” Death rasps, his voice close by.
She nods shakily and sits up, realizing her clothes are wet.
“I dropped the water and cups, didn’t I?”

“Yes. It’s fine. I already cleared it away. You fell onto the cups, are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m okay. I keep seeing monsters. Women. Both women, and there’s something wrong with them...” She reaches absently for his hand, fingers gripping tight. “Do you think something bad is coming?”

“I honestly don’t know. There has been no word from Heaven.” Sadie sags against him as he wraps an arm around her, wet clothes and all.
“I guess we should start writing this one down, then?”
He notes the trembles in her fingers and the bags under her eyes before shaking his head. “No, we’ll do that later. Change out of those wet clothes for now.”

“I wasn’t aware I could change,” Sadie admits, gently touching the wound in her side. “I thought my clothes were stuck on me, too.”
“In a way, they are. If you leave here, your old clothes will reappear.” Noting her confused glance, he smiles. “It doesn’t make any sense, but that’s how it works. Come, then. Let’s get you changed.”
Death takes Sadie gently by the wrist and leads her out.

Death summons clothes for Sadie, turning his head politely away as she changes. It’s a simple outfit, a pale green dress with puffed sleeves that falls to her knees, but she looks lovely to him. She smiles in his direction for a second before falling to her knees.
“Sadie?”
She chokes out, “Vision,” as her eyes roll back in her head.
Death holds her up, feeling her shoulders tense when the vision consumes her.

Death tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and grimaces, “Gabriel.” There’s the flutter of wings behind him in answer. Death doesn’t bother turning his head. “I was promised she wouldn’t be harmed. That she wouldn’t become another mad prophet. You angels ruin everything.”
Death can remember the world before angels, before humans, just him and God among endless chaos. He doesn’t miss those days. Usually.
“She’ll be fine,” Gabriel says defensively, wings snapping. “This should be the last vision for a while, anyway.”
Death rounds on Gabriel, baring his teeth.
“She weeps after each prophecy, angel. She’s been seeing monsters.”
Gabriel shrugs. “I can’t do anything about it now.”
Death frowns at his carelessness and turns to glare. “I would enjoy reaping you.”
As Gabriel opens his mouth, Sadie comes back. This time she’s laughing.