Death's Guide

CHAPTER ONE

I finish my rounds, grabbing Mrs. Jones another vanilla pudding. I am not sure why she likes them so much when the chocolate ones are clearly so much better, but she insists. I notice movement out of the corner of my eye, and I know it must be nothing, but being up this late everyday by yourself makes you a little paranoid sometimes. Clutching the scissors in my pocket, I slowly walk towards where I saw the movement, knowing full well that this is how people die in horror movies, but I need to protect my patients.

I peek around the corner into the hallway where the movement came from, and the cat pops out. “SHIT! Monty, you can’t keep sneaking in” My hand aching a bit from where I was clutching the scissors so hard, I scratch the cat’s ears and chin. “Who’s going tonight buddy?” I hope it isn’t Mr. Wadsworth. He is one of my favorite patients. I also know that his children are visiting tomorrow morning.

I stand up to continue to the kitchen for the pudding. I decide to let Monty stay at least until the end of my shift. It was especially cold tonight, and then there was the notion of his escort duties. There was a rumor among the staff at Riverside Nursing home that Monty was a guide to the beyond. He would sneak in every now and again and curl up on a patient, and by the time he was gone, so was the patient. Everyone knew that it was a coincidence, but my sleep deprived brain couldn’t shrug the thought tonight.

Monty, purring, rubs up against my legs as I walk down the hall. “Buddy, if I trip on you, it’s not my fault.” He just sits down and looks up at me slowly blinking. “Alright, I’ll give you a little bit of milk, but we both know it isn’t very good for you.” Opening the fridge, I pull out a few vanilla puddings and the milk, putting them on the counter. I pour some milk into a bowl and place it on the floor for Monty to drink. “Don’t let Suzie know I let you stay here.” I instruct as I head back to Mrs. Jones’ room.

“Here you are Mrs. Jones. I grabbed some extras too so that you don’t have to worry about it until the morning.” I line up five puddings in her room’s mini fridge. If this didn’t last her until tomorrow, I would need to talk to the nutritionist about a substitution. Mrs. Jones didn’t respond and just sat in her chair watching late-night cartoons. Honestly, dementia patients were some of the most interesting patients to have. I turn to head out the door, and startle as Monty is sitting in the doorway. ‘So, Mrs. Jones tonight. Darn. I guess I’ll have to let Suzie know we don’t need to order as many vanilla puddings anymore.’ I was going to miss her. She was an easy patient for the most part. It wasn’t any sort of surprise though. She had been here for years, and her dementia was in the late stage.

I head back to the break room to sit down and get some homework done, hoping I could get at least one assignment done before my shift ended. ‘Ugh, I have an exam tomorrow, I’d better get some studying done too.’ I think as I sit down at the table.

Luckily for me, calculus is the last math course I have to take for my degree. I’m not great at math and being able to calculate the area of a pringle isn’t going to help me much career-wise either. I consider banging my head against the table until the information seeps into my head when something bumps against my leg. Shooting up from my seat, I knock my chair backwards and almost flip the table. “Fucking hell Monty, you could at least meow or something. God damn it!” I collect the scattered papers and pick up the chair.

Monty blinks at me and starts licking his paw, rubbing it against his face. He’s very well kept for a street cat. His mostly white coat is never dirty, and he seems well fed. ‘Maybe he sneaks out of his house and comes here for escort duties.’ I think as I sit down again. I stare at Monty trying to figure out why it feels so off. He comes here frequently enough that nothing should be out of the ordinary, and he’d already shown up in Mrs. Jones’ room. “Shit.” I get up. Monty didn’t stay in Mrs. Jones’ room. He never does that. He always stays with them until they pass, never leaving them until they’re gone. I back up against the wall and stare at Monty. He stops his grooming and comes up to me rubbing against my legs again. ‘Shit. Shit.’ I stare at him as he looks up at me with his blue eyes. “You’re not here for Mrs. Jones, are you?”

I slide down the wall as the realization hits me. I let my legs fall out in front of me and Monty crawls onto my lap, confirming my suspicions. Standing on his hind legs, Monty puts his front paws on my shoulder and rubs his face against mine, purring. I gently grab his paws and hold them, staring at where his brown boots meet his white fur. I lean my head back against the wall as I feel tears slide down my cheeks. I couldn’t believe it. There was still so much of my life left to live, why now? Why, when I was so close to getting my degree?

I wipe my tears and go into my family group chat. “I love you guys <3”. I go through old conversations and put my phone away when the screen is illegible due to the tears. “Fuck. Monty, why?” I close my eyes again, letting the tears roll down my cheeks as I pet Monty, his soft purrs both ominous and comforting under my fingertips.

The guide is late again. I sigh, breathing in the frigid air as the deep blue of the night turns softer as the sun begins to rise. “He should be here by now damnit.” I pace outside the nursing home waiting. I had already impatiently come out of the rendezvous and tracked him here. I knew it was against the rules, just in case any living saw me, but it had been three hours since he was supposed to guide the soul to me so I could help them through the next step. I hope they weren’t too talkative. It was always hit or miss with the elderly. Most of the time though, they loved giving advice about life, and told me that I needed to do this or that to better my life. I preferred the silent ones. The ones that have realized what happened to them and were still processing too much to talk much, if at all. Those ones were nice. They always followed instructions and I didn’t have to worry about them wondering and becoming haunted.

I look towards the horizon again and swear. I might have to actually go in and find the soul myself. I could sense that the guide was still inside, so luckily the soul hadn’t gone far. Maybe it was another one of the souls who hadn’t quite grasped what was happening and was still staring at their corpse. “Fuck.” I see a car pulling up. I have to go in and get out of here, dragging the soul with me if necessary. I walk towards the building and shiver as I phase through the wall. That was something I would never get used to. It is the strangest feeling ever. I close my eyes and concentrate, looking for the guide’s markers. They were everywhere. It must be that damned cat.

I phase through the wall again, hoping to find where the guide is, if it’s even still with the soul, and not taking a nap somewhere. It had done that before. I walk into an old lady’s room. Luckily, she’s asleep in a chair with cartoons on the TV in front of her. I quietly walk past her and sneak out the door. It would be her time soon, I could tell, and it would be best if she didn’t see me before her time came.

The markers at the end of this hallway are stronger than the others around the building. This was promising at least. I follow the trail down another hall and stop at the door labeled “Break Room”. I guess one of the old folks had wandered in here and passed while on one last adventure. Opening the door, I enter the room and stop in my tracks. “Fuck.”

It was her. I had seen her around here before taking care of the elderly patients late at night, sometimes passing her in this very room as she cussed out whatever professor and the HW assigned that was giving her grief that day.

Her soul hadn’t even fully departed from her body yet. She could still be revived if she wanted to live enough, and someone living found her in time. But here was the guide, curled up on her lap, purring as she took another too shallow breath. I could see the tear stains on her cheeks. Had she figured it out? Did she know the damn cat was a guide? That happened sometimes. Especially in a place like this, where death was common and expected. “Fuck.” I said again. She was so young. Younger than I had been when I had gone. Maybe she was meant to take on his role. Let him get some peace at last. “Fuck” I did not want that for her. She seemed so bright, so full of life. To be forced to deal with death for another eternity would be torture for her.

I ran my hands through my hair and turned around, beckoning for the cat to come with me. The cat stared at me for a few seconds, stretched, and got up slowly crawling off of her lap. It followed me into the hallway, and I gently closed the door behind it. “What were you thinking, choosing her? She’s so young!” The cat blinked. “Don’t give me that look. I know you have some input in who to take. Why her? She has her whole life ahead of her. She probably even has regrets, which means she’s so much more likely to become one of the haunted.” The cat just stared at me. The cat walks back towards the door and I open it for him hearing a gasp and some choice words.

I hear a voice outside the door and Monty was nowhere to be seen, so maybe I was wrong? I get up and walk towards the door to open it. Maybe Jeremy was here early for his shift. The door swings open right as I reach for the handle, scaring the shit out of me. “Motherfucker! Oh fuck! Shit!” I jump back and lose my balance, falling onto my butt. I guess I wasn’t over the whole ‘I thought I was going to die’ thing yet.

I look up expecting to see Jeremy, but instead see a tall, dark, and handsome stranger. “Shit, sorry. You totally startled me; it’s been a long shift. Are you the new maintenance guy?” He just stared at me. Monty rubs against his legs and comes over to me as I get up, my face on fire. “Sorry, I’ll show you to the maintenance room.” I dust off my butt and walk towards the doorway. He steps aside to let me pass, still staring. I stop and face him. “Can I help you?” I give him a good once over. He isn’t wearing the maintenance uniform. Or any uniform for that matter. He is in what looks to be a costume. Pirate maybe? “How did you get in here? Leave or I’m calling security.” I start to panic. Maybe this is how I die. I slowly put my hand into the pocket with the scissors. Monty rubs up against my legs, making me jump again.

“No need for that.” He gently grabs my wrist and I jump back pulling the scissors out, starting to shake a little bit. “Don’t touch me!” He just stares at me again.

“What’s your name?”

“Why the hell would I tell you that? If you don’t want to be arrested, I suggest you leave right now. I don’t have anything you want; I can’t even get into the med closet.” He chuckles and shakes his head.

“You’re supposed to be coming with me. Now what is your name? That will make this easier on the both of us.”

‘Fuck that.’ I thought, and turned around and ran.

‘Fuck.’ This was supposed to be an easy night. I don’t even know how she’s still alive. Her soul is barely still connected to her body. I stare down at the cat. He seems to smirk as he swishes his tail and walks out of the building through the wall. I roll my eyes and take off after the girl. She is surprisingly fast for someone who is almost dead. She turns a corner, and I phase to go through it. I pop out right next to her and she screams and runs faster as adrenaline kicks in. “Damn it lady, you have to come with me, I need to figure this out.”

“Fuck that and fuck you!” she yells over her shoulder as she turns another corner. I phase again, this time running into her as I pop out of the wall, and there is another round of some impressively colorful swearing as she crashes to the ground. I grab her wrist and pull her up. She looks at me and I feel bad for the amount of terror that is evident in her eyes, but we cannot stay here. “We have to go. I’m really sorry for scaring you and I know this is not ideal, but we have to go right now.” I reach up with my other hand and touch her forehead catching her as she passes out and crumples. I throw her over my shoulder and hope that I can phase her with me, because I can hear other people in the building, and they are close.