The Reaping (The Reapers Book 1)

The Reaping

by

Katharine Sadler

Copyright © 2014 by Katharine Sadler

All Rights Reserved.

I hate to fly. I’m not afraid the plane is going to crash or I’m going to catch the next flu epidemic from a fellow passenger. I hate flying because there’s nowhere to go to escape the ghosts, and there are always ghosts.

“I’ve been watching her every day for the past three months, ever since I realized she was actually serious about this guy. Then I hear him say they should elope. Elope! Can you believe it? What kind of monster is he?” the dead man said with a slight Southern accent. He’d been sitting on the lap of the person sleeping next to me and droning on about his still-living wife for forty-five minutes. Across the aisle, a baby had been screaming since take-off. The ghost spoke louder and louder to be heard over the cries.

I ignored his question, cranked up the volume on my iPod, and stared at the pages of the spy thriller I was having no luck focusing on. Even with Korn at full volume, I could still hear the baby and the ghost. I needed better headphones.

Fortunately, the ghost didn’t seem to need a response. “I mean, I understand that she should move on with her life, but does it have to be with him? My name is Doug, by the way.”

A second ghost, in a flowery dress, drifted up to Doug. “Sweetie, I don’t think she can see or hear you. You should just move along. Come join the rest of us in the back of the plane.”

“Oh, no,” Doug said. “She can see and hear me. I caught her eye as soon as I boarded with Shelley and she’s been staring at the same page of her book for twenty minutes.”

Damn it
. I considered turning the page immediately but figured that would be too obvious. Instead, I turned off my Kindle and mouthed, “Leave me alone,” at the two ghosts. For the first time, I looked at their faces. The man, balding and overweight, had bright blue eyes and a kind smile. The woman’s face appeared lined by age but pretty, her white hair tied loosely behind her head. She didn’t smile at me.

“You see,” Doug said to the elderly ghost. “I’ve been trying to get her to help me convince my wife not to marry an asshole, but apparently, she has better things to do with her time.”

I sighed and looked out the window. I made it a rule not to do favors for ghosts. Especially not ghosts like the man next to me whose real wish was to be alive again. I knew from experience he would never be happy about anything his widow did, because she was doing it without him.

“Oh, can you really hear us?” The woman drifted over and settled directly above me. “My name is Faye and I need your help. Oh, it’s been so, so long. I never thought I’d find anyone to talk to him for me.”

I took out my ear buds, looked at the woman, and shook my head. “No,” I mouthed.

“Oh, but it is so important. My grandson is flying to make a business deal that is going to be a huge mistake for him. He will be ruined.”

“And my wife will be ruined, if you don’t help me.”

Both ghosts drifted closer, and the baby screamed louder while its parents carried on a conversation over its head as though it weren’t even there.

A third ghost appeared in the corner of my vision next to Faye. “You have to warn everyone the plane is going to crash. We have to do something,” he screamed.

“Shut up, you,” Faye said. “Everyone knows we aren’t any better at predicting the future than the living. I was here first, so just wait your turn.”

“Uh, actually,
I
was here first,” Doug said as he pushed Faye off my lap and took her place. “So, about my wife—”

“Your widow.” Faye gave him a shove.

“The plane is going to crash,” the third ghost whispered in my ear as he leaned over the back of my seat.

“Shut up!” I shouted as I stood, pushing through the ghosts. Everyone on the plane stopped talking and looked at me. All I could hear was the whir of the engine; even the baby had quieted to a whimper.

I knew it would only be a few moments before the ghosts in the back of the plane drifted up to see what all the commotion was about. I also knew a joke would be the best way to defuse the situation and charm my fellow travelers. Unfortunately, I had never possessed the gift of saying the right thing at the right moment, and the more public the situation, the worse my choice of words became. Very often, I made no sense at all and people seemed to assume I was an idiot, or a lunatic. On this day, I made perfect sense. “That baby is driving me crazy.”

At least, I had told the truth; a truth that wouldn’t get me sent to the psychiatric ward of the hospital. Someone in the back of the plane even laughed and hooted in support. The people I could see shook their heads and frowned in disapproval.

“That baby can’t help it,” Faye said.

I knew I should keep my mouth shut and sit back down, but I couldn’t help trying to explain. “I know the baby can’t help it and I’m sure it’s a very sweet baby. Not that I really know anything about babies, I try to avoid them if I can. I mean…”

A stewardess hurried back to stand next to my aisle, a forced smile on her face. “Is everything okay back here?”

“Oh, yes, yes, everything’s fine. I’m sorry. I…” And I finally had the good sense to shut up, sit down, and go back to pretending to read my book.

“Okay, we should be landing soon. If you could please…”

I looked up long enough to smile and nod, before returning my attention to my Kindle screen.

“Wow,” Doug said. “You trying to get kicked off the plane?”

I ignored him.

“Look, honey, I’m not going to leave you alone until you agree to try to help me.”

“Me, either,” Faye said, settling down on top of my book.

“You have to tell them the plane is going to crash,” said the third ghost.

I sighed, pulled my carry-on bag from under the seat, and took out a small notebook and pen. “I’ll try.” I scribbled on the pad and tilted it so both ghosts could read it.
Give me names and addresses and don’t tell anyone else what I can do.

The three quickly agreed to my terms and gave me the necessary information. The third ghost was satisfied with my promise to alert the flight attendant. After they left, I used the call button and asked for a soda, which I was refused, because passengers could only get one beverage per flight. Hopefully, the brief conversation would be enough to make the ghost think I’d warned her about the plane crashing.

I sighed, leaned back in my seat, and wondered again how my mother had been able to convince me to visit. The three day trip had been tedious, with only daily walks to the ocean to make it more bearable. My relationship with my mother had always been strained, but since I’d moved out, we’d had next to nothing to say to each other. Mom wasn’t interested in my life in Colorado, and she didn’t want me to be involved in her life.

Instead of dwelling on my pathetic inability to say no to Mom, I returned to my Kindle and sank into a world of smooth-talking characters and exciting secrets. I finished my book before we landed.

As I exited the plane, I smiled at the pretty, blonde stewardess, but she only nodded over my head at the handsome man behind me. Ghosts seemed to be the only sentient beings who took any notice of me unless I was babbling idiotically. I wove my way through the disembarking crowd and headed toward the exit at a fast walk. I only had a carry-on bag, and passed the baggage claim without a glance.

“Hey, wait up,” someone shouted behind me.

I kept walking, sure no one was yelling at me and, if they were, that it was a ghost. I heard feet pounding behind me.

“Hey, baby hater, wait up.”

I stopped, more out of surprise than a desire to confront whoever chased me. I turned long enough to see a chubby guy in a Phish t-shirt, about the same age as me. I didn’t know him and didn’t want whatever he was selling.

I headed to Hertz car rental and got in line. I was so ready to get back home. The drive from the Denver airport to Briarton would take about two hours, and I was scheduled to be at work in three.

Phish boy popped into line behind me. “Didn’t you hear me?” he asked, slightly breathless.

I faced him, ready to go on the defensive, but found it difficult not to smile. The guy had the most endearing smile and the contagious energy of a child. “You called me ‘baby hater’.”

“That’s not your name?” He stuck out a hand and his smile widened. “Hi, I’m Jed Forrester.”

His hand engulfed mine as I shook it, and I realized what a big guy he was. A little chubby, but under that, it looked like he had a thick layer of muscle. He stood a head taller than and twice as wide as me, and I’m 5”6. Just a solid wall of dude.

“I’m Kelsey Fitzhugh. And I don’t hate babies.”

“Right.” Jed winked at me. “I thought what you said was awesome. That baby was driving everyone crazy. I wish I had said it.”

“I shouldn’t have said it. I was just—”

“You absolutely should have said it. God, I can’t stand babies, either. What good are they, anyway, just crying and pooping and making everyone wait around on them?” He shook his head and chuckled as though he was truly baffled.

“If you chased me down to share your hatred of babies, it was a wasted effort. I really don’t hate babies; I’ve just had a lousy day, and I shouldn’t have said anything. I normally wouldn’t have said anything.”

“Oh. So you don’t hate babies? Not even a little bit? You honestly think they are sweet, precious, wonderful little bundles of everlasting joy?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever.”

“Oh, that sounded convincing.” He nudged me with an elbow. “You love every little bitty aspect of babies, right down to their poopy diapers?”

“I love the sweet smell of their darling little baby spit-ups and ear-piercing cries for attention.”

“Me, too,” he said with a dramatic arm sweep. “I especially think it’s so awesome how they do absolutely nothing interesting. They can’t even hold their heads up.”

I laughed. “Alright, so I’m not crazy about babies. I still shouldn’t have said anything.”

He shrugged. “I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on that point, because I think you should have and I’m glad you did. Did you see the parents? They were just sitting there like it wasn’t even their baby.”

“Maybe there was really nothing they could have done.”

“They should have at least
pretended
to do something. It would have made me feel better.”

“I’m sure they cared how you felt.”

“They should have cared, that’s my point.”

The line moved forward and I went with it.

Jed followed. “I don’t usually rent here, but since I’m here…”

“Where are you headed?” I asked.

“Briarton. How about you?”

“Me, too. I don’t think I’ve seen you before. You lived there long?”

“Nope. I’m just moving to town.”

I glanced down at his bag. “And that’s all you’re bringing?”

“My brother’s already there, with the rest of my stuff. He drove, but I couldn’t make it out there until today.” He stared at the line for a long moment, then smiled at me. “Hey, since we’re going to the same place, we should ride together. We could split the rental fee.”

I could hardly argue with a cheaper ride, but I didn’t know anything about the guy. “Thanks, but I’m kind of in a hurry. I have to be at work in three hours.”

“Not too keen on riding with a stranger? I get it. Let me get your number, though. We should meet up in Briarton.” I gave him my number and said goodbye when my turn came to approach the counter.

I got a two-door sedan that looked relatively new. My bag in the trunk, me plopped down on the front seat, the radio tuned to a hard rock station. I turned up the volume as Pantera roared from the speakers and then backed out of my spot.

“Ugh, how can you listen to this stuff?” a male voice whined from the passenger seat next to me.

Doug smiled at me, and I sneered back. “I’m not going to interfere in her life, so you might as well leave me alone.”

“I know,” he said, and sighed. “I figured you just took her information to get me to leave you alone. It wouldn’t make any difference, anyway. I saw her with him at baggage claim and she didn’t have eyes for anyone else. She’s in love.”

“You should be happy for her and move on.”

“Move on where? Way I see it, I know what I have here. I can watch her and make sure he treats her right, check in on my daughter, and I can talk to you. Beyond that, I don’t know what’s on the other side, maybe nothing. I’ll just stay here.”

Not the first time a ghost had promised to stick around, even to haunt me for eternity, but they never lasted. They either got bored watching other people live or they just faded away.

“I don’t think it works that way,” I told him. “Besides, I’m downright dull.”

“Yeah, I can tell. Unfortunately, there’s no one else I’ve found who can see or hear me, so I have to make the best of what I’ve got.”