Fall of a Sky Reaper
So here's the thing, I didn't want to die, it wasn't apart of the plan. It was supposed to be a completely different outcome. The mission was simple, get in, get out, but the rookie ratted me out. He got caught and was held in custody, the police gave him a deal to give up everyone's name for his freedom. That was exactly what he did, and guess who was first on the list. Me.0
Maybe I should introduce myself, I'm Drew, I was assigned a mission from my crew. A simple bank robbery, its done all the time, it wasn't rocket science. I should say my crew aren't the best of people, but it helps to pay the bills when there isn't a job available for people with no experience. We're called Sky Reapers, as we stick to the rooftops to get around, hardly ever on the ground.
Anyway, the rookie was caught, he gave up my name and I did what I was taught to do. I ran. It was a few days after the robbery when the police had caught up with me, I was on the ground getting some food for the young ones. They were shooting every which way at me, a bit extreme but I guess they saw me as a "dangerous" man that needed to be dealt with. Unlucky for me, I got hit, one in the ankle, the other in my side.
There wasn't enough time to escape, to get to a roof, so I didn't know my way around the streets, I had to think quickly, I needed to find somewhere to hide. Turning the corner, I found the first alley I could see, it was very dark so there were plenty of places to hide, but they were too open.
Venturing further there was a vent shaft that wasn't even hooked on properly, I climbed in and moved the vent to appear closed if they passed. With the wounds, it was tricky to crawl inside, but it had to be done, once the vent was in place I crawled as far back as I could out of sight.
All that was left was to wait it out, after thirty minutes my adrenaline had started to fade, which was when pain hit me, it was excruciating. Many layers of my clothing were smothered with blood, surprisingly it didn't leave a trail to show I climbed in.
With no adrenaline left, the pain felt so severe, I knew I wasn't going to make it, but I wasn't going to let myself die in here. The police had left the area an hour ago, I hoped I was still safe and crawled out the vent, going to the one place I know for certain was safe, the sky.
Climbing to the roof, with great struggle, the area suddenly became familiar, I was only a few jumps from the crew. I could see the camp fires from here, I signalled to them with a howl which is how the crew contact one another. All their attention was hooked to my physical state, clothes scraped from the vent shaft when I crawled out, and smothered in blood. So much blood that they all knew I didn't have long, I could feel myself starting to slip, I could feel myself fading.
Fading so much that I hadn't realised I had fallen to my knees, and into the arms of the leader, Boomerang. He was all I had left, no family other than him were here to mourn for me, he found me on the streets when I was 6 and brought me up here to my new family. 12 thrilling years with the Sky Reapers, I wouldn't change it for anything.
As I lay here in Boomerang's arms, in the few moments I have left, he repeats to me our mantra and the crew follow. It is ritual to be the last words the dying hear when passing over. Our way for the dead to have hope for when they reach the afterlife. For the last words we hear, to be the first we speak; "From the grounds to the skies".
