Existence 02 - Predestined

out to his mother. My work here was done. So I left them.
    The house smelled of ammonia and vapor rub. It was a familiar smell. All the houses of the elderly I visited smelled the same. The old lady, tucked firmly into her bed under several homemade quilts that were a mixture of brightly colored patterns that I had no doubt she’d made herself, stared up at me through cloudy eyes. She’d lived a long one. This had been a good life for her. One hundred and five years on this earth was a gift very few were given. Only the best, most honored souls were given these lives.
    “Well, it’s about time you got here,” she whispered in a weak voice.
    I couldn’t help but chuckle. She’d been waiting on me. The oldest one always were. They knew when it was time. These were the easiest souls to take.
    “I’m here on time, cher , you’re just an impatient one,” I teased her with the endearment her husband had used when he’d been alive. I remembered him murmuring, “I’ll see you in the hereafter my cher ,” to her before he left his body. She’d smiled through her tears. That had been almost fifty years ago.
    “Ah, you heard him,” she smiled and the wrinkles in her face crinkled even more.
    “I did.”
    “Well, let’s get on with it, shall we, I’m ready to see my man,” she whispered and a series of coughs wracked her small frail body. I reached for her soft cold hand and she gave me one small squeeze before I drew her soul out.
    * * *
    Gee was sitting in the purple chair that had once been where I spent my nights as I walked into Pagan’s room. Shifting my gaze to the bed I realized it was empty. I glared at Gee, “Where is she?”
    “Snippy, snippy Dankmar. Do you have low blood sugar too?” she drawled. What the hell did she mean by low blood sugar?
    “Where is she Gee?”
    Gee sighed loudly and stretched her legs out in front of her. For once she wasn’t wearing the tall black army boots she was so fond of. Her feet were bare and her toenails were a hideous shade of bright green.
    “She’s in the bathroom, jeez.”
    I turned to stalk out of the room when Gee stopped me, “Um, Dankmar, I don’t think she’ll appreciate you barging in on her while she showers.”
    She was right of course. I wasn’t thinking. It had been almost twenty-four hours since I’d seen her and I was growing more and more frustrated by the minute. Leif was completely off my radar and I was still at a standstill on how to deal with him. I’d thought after I disposed of Kendra he’d show up but I’d gotten no response.
    “You missed an awfully fun day,” Gee’s sing-song voice wasn’t something that I found comfort in. It meant she was about to say something that was bound to piss me off.
    “What did I miss?
    “Well, let’s see, I found out Pagan has low blood sugar and becomes a complete b--witch if she doesn’t eat a candy bar during a stressful moment. And I found out that Miranda does, in fact, love gossip and, quite possibly, Pagan more than she loves the tall lanky boy she hangs all over,” Gee paused and then grimaced when she heard my angry snarl. I wasn’t in the mood for games. “Oh, and Leif has returned from visiting his grandparents up North. The entire school was abuzz with excitement.”
    He’d returned to school. My disposing of Kendra hadn’t sent him to me; it had sent him back into Pagan’s world. I hadn’t expected that.
    “Is Pagan okay?”
    Gee stood up and threw an amused smile my way before heading for the door, “Yes, of course. I was on her like, um... I believe that old woman last week we took after she’d burnt down her house cooking said ‘like white on rice’,” Gee laughed. “That was one funny old lady. I hope I get to transport her soul again the next time around.” Then Gee left the room.
    The pale pink dress hanging on the outside of Pagan’s closet door caught my attention. The soft fabric appeared almost precious enough to touch Pagan’s skin. I walked over to it and picked up the dainty hem and rubbed the silky texture between my fingers.
    “Do you like it?” Pagan asked before wrapping her arms around my waist.
    “I love it. When will you wear it?” I inquired turning around in her arms to gaze down at her and soak in her features.
    “Well,” she bit the inside of her lip nervously then glanced around me to look at her dress. “I saw it at the store and I just... liked it. I guess I need somewhere to wear it...” she trailed off staring up at