Reaper

I kept looking at the napkin note for the rest of my shift, sneaking glances at it as though I didn’t quite believe it was real. Every once in a while, I’d stick my hand in my pocket and was surprised all over again. I found myself analyzing the writing and remembering the way the man said my name.

I was ashamed of myself.

By the time the bar closed at 2, there were still a few rowdy, drunk guys left on the dance floor, unwilling to go anywhere except the bathroom to hurl. I shot a pleading look at Jesse.

He sighed. “You owe me,” he muttered, rolling up his sleeves.

“Thank you,” I mouthed at him as he went to go peel the customers off of the floor.

I proceeded to clean up the bar and prepare to lock up. Troy had left at about midnight – he was getting older, and plus he trusted Jesse and I to know how to lock up, since it was always one of us who was the last to leave. I picked up the bottle of scotch that had been sitting behind the counter since the man had been there, and I couldn’t help but stare at it for a second.

Despite protests from my conscience, I pulled out the note again. Don’t take the subway.

My mind was still moving at light speed. How did he know? What did he know? I paused for a second. I hadn’t told him my name until right before he left. When did he have time to write the note? Surely I would have seen it, right? I know I tried not to look at him, but that’s not something you’d just miss. It occurred to me that he could have written the message before he knew my name and then added it… But he still had written the message. Why?

“Up you go, sir, there you are,” I heard Jesse say. “Can I get you a coffee, sir? I’d really like to lock up – let me get you a ride home.”

I smiled. That was one of the reasons Jesse made a much better job of this than I did. When I did this, I usually just tapped on their shoulder and pointed to the door. I couldn’t talk to anyone. I bit my lip as I thought about the man again.

His eyes were what stuck out at me the most. They were so bright, emerald green – I’d never seen eyes like that before. And I swore, for a moment, after Jesse had grabbed my shoulders and scared me enough to drop the glass, his eyes weren’t normal. I almost thought they were glowing. I knew it was crazy, and probably due to the poor lighting in here, but it almost looked like his eyes were lit up. Literally.

I shivered as a draft flew through the room. The customers had left while I was content to let myself ponder my own thoughts.

Jesse sauntered back up to the bar, running a hand though his hair. “Well, that went better than expected,” he mused, taking a seat. I vaguely noted that it was the one the man from earlier had been sitting in. “So, Charlie finally got a number. Won’t your boyfriend be jealous?” He smirked.

“One, no boyfriend,” I muttered, putting the finishing touches on putting away the bottles and preparing to lock up. “And two, I told you earlier, it’s not a phone number.”

And with that, I turned and headed for the door.

I got one hand on my keys when suddenly – BOOM.

I nearly jumped a foot in the air. I knew it was storming outside, but that had been the loudest clap of thunder I’d heard all day. I threw a hand over my chest to try to calm myself, to no avail. Not many people knew this, but I had grown up terribly afraid of thunder storms. You don’t see them much in southern California, and even the ones we did see made me take cover.

I tried to keep my cool, but Jesse knew something was wrong.

Before I knew what was happening, he was in front of me, hands on my shoulders, searching my face.

“Are you okay?” I nodded. “Are you sure?” I nodded again. “Maybe I should come home with you. Y’know, just to make sure you’re safe and stuff. I’m a great cuddler.” I smacked his shoulder. “OW!”

I rolled my eyes. “Thanks for your generous offer, but I should get home. My roommates will be worried.”

“Hey, the more the merrier, I always say – OUCH.”

“You deserved that.”

“Alright, fine,” he said, throwing his hands up. “Where are you headed, anyway?”

“1st Avenue, by NYU,” I told him, giving the bar one last look.

“Really? Well, I’m headed there too. I’ll take the subway with you. That way, at least, I’ll be able to sleep tonight, despite my lack of accompaniment. You sure you don’t want a night with this? I’ll make it worth your while.”

“I’ll decline the night, thanks, but feel free to take public transportation.”

He gestured for me to walk out the door first, and I did so, stepping out into the cold, rainy night. I pulled my pathetic coat over my head to shield myself, but it wasn’t much help. The rain bit into my skin and the wind forced me back half a step. I waited as Jesse locked the door and put up his umbrella, but I knew there wouldn’t be much use for it in this wind.

He looked at me, thinking. “You’re going to freeze. All intentions aside, come here and share this coat.” He held out the side of his large, fur-lined trench coat and gestured to the space under his arm.

Most of me wanted to reject the offer, but the little bit that wanted it was also the really cold part. With a mumbled “thank you” I huddled under his arm, immediately feeling the warmth of both the coat and his body seeping into my limbs.

We walked toward the station, making small – and I do mean small – talk about the customers that evening. He asked me how my shifts normally went, since I normally worked earlier in the day. I was surprised that I found him at least slightly easy to talk to, despite the fact that his proximity made me a little distracted. He could be pompous, but he was certainly well-endowed with good looks. His blonde hair was slicked back from the rain, and I could make out some faint stubble on his chin as he laughed.

The whole time, though, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was wrong. I wasn’t supposed to enjoy this. I remembered the note – Charlotte - Don’t take the subway.

Surely it was just a joke. The man couldn’t know anything about what would happen tonight at the station, if anything was going to happen. Nothing out of the ordinary was going to happen. Why would it? Today was just an ordinary day. I shook my head. No, it was a stupid prank by a drunk man who thought he was funny.

But those eyes…

It was a relatively short walk to the station. We walked down the stairs and I breathed a sigh of relief as we stepped out of the rain.

Jesse, a little reluctantly, let me go, shaking the rain off of his coat and putting down his umbrella. “This is our train, I think,” he said, squinting at the board. “Come on, I don’t wanna miss it.”

He grabbed my hand nonchalantly and started pulling me towards the small crowd of people that were gathered on the platform. I eyed a few scantily-clad women and a homeless man who I smelled before I actually saw. They were people I normally didn’t make eye contact with, or at least tried to avoid. Not because I thought I was better than them, or anything like that, but because they scared me a little bit. I subconsciously held Jesse’s hand tighter as the homeless man looked me straight in the eye.

I flinched as the train barreled into the station, pushing a gust of wind into my face.

We got on, finding some seats relatively in between the doors. I tried to avoid touching Jesse more than necessary, but it was somewhat cramped in our car, and I’d rather be next to someone familiar.

It was once the train had started moving that I realized I was still holding onto his hand. Blushing furiously, I let go, clutching my purse to my chest to give my hands something to do. Jesse calmly folded his hands in his lap, watching me with a smug smirk.

“I still say no to the night.”

“Have it your way, Red.”

“I’m serious.”

“As a heart attack.”

Suddenly, the lights began to flicker. I clutched onto my purse tightly as they finally went completely out. The brakes began to screech and I lurched forward, trying to keep my balance as the train came to a dead halt. I looked at Jesse in what little light I could see him by – he looked nervous.

Thud. It sounded like something heavy landed on the roof. Thud, thud, thud.

Don’t take the subway.

I looked around frantically as the other passengers began to fidget. I knew it was bad when other, more seasoned New Yorkers were agitated.

I looked at Jesse again, pleading. “D-Does this happen a lot?” I asked quietly, my voice shaking.

He bit his lip. “Um…”

There was a shriek of metal on metal as suddenly a shadow appeared on the other side of the window. I covered my ears as people began to scream and the metal began to groan in protest against the outside assault. Jesse grabbed me again, this time to pull me underneath the bench.

“We’re under attack!” someone shrieked as the door was wrenched open and the assailants began to pour in.

In the dim light, I made out a familiar shadow. I recognized him as the man who had come and gotten the man at the bar – the one with the fierce scar on his face. And I froze, because there was something bone-chilling about him, something that I had to blink a few times to make sure I was really seeing.

His eyes were glowing.

Don’t take the subway.