Death Wish (6 page)

Wish 7

“This
—
” I say, holding up a shiny, pen-shaped item, “
—
is a Life Chip Extractor.”
I hand the device to Robin, who carefully turns it around in her hands to look at it from all angles. We’re in my office today. She’s sitting in the fabric-bound chair in the center of the room and I’m leaning against the edge of my desk, one ankle lazily crossed in front of the other. Because we aren’t doing any physical training for this session, I get to see what Robin’s normal street attire is. Today she’s in a knee-length white skirt and a short-sleeved, button-up turquoise blouse that really brings out the green in her eyes. I’m wearing a pair of black skinny jeans, cork wedges, and a loose white tank top cinched around the middle with a wide red belt. The sun is bright and blazing outside, so I decided that for this portion of the training my pupil and I would retreat to the cool recesses of the Fairy Godparent building.
When she first came in, Robin gave me a shy smile and a very friendly hello. There was no trace of yesterday’s tension, and I was glad for it. Not only do I want Robin to enjoy both her training and being a Godmother, but I also want the two of us to get along. She is absorbed in studying the Extractor, and in the silence I pray that today will go better than yesterday did. I clear my throat and she looks up attentively.
“Today we will be going over the fundamentals of Wish completions, Chip extraction, and the areas about Death Wishes that the general public doesn’t know about. I’ll go over the main points, and then you can ask me any questions you may have. Sound good?”
Robin nods and says
yes
. I hold out my hand, and she places the Life Chip Extractor in my palm. I shift to place it on the desk behind me before turning back to her.
“Before I begin, I need you to understand something very important. The information we’ll be going over today is
only
known to select groups of people: the Surgeons who heal us, the Engineers who created the device I’m going to tell you about, and us—the Godparents of the Fairy Godparent division. No one else knows
—
”
I lean forward and place a hand on Robin’s armrest. Now our faces are only six inches apart. I focus my gaze on hers, increasing the intensity in my voice.
“
—
and no one else
can
know. What I’m about to tell you is the secret to granting death in our world.
O
nly
the Surgeons, Engineers, and Godparents can know. If the knowledge about death got into the wrong hands it could be disastrous. So, before I continue, I am required to remind you of the vow you took when you became an official initiate of the Fairy Godparent Organization.”
Robin swallows nervously but I don’t stop.
“As a Godmother agent for the Fairy Godparent Division of the government’s Federal Security Branch, you are sworn to a life of secrecy. Any confidential information you become privy to is to be guarded as closely by you as your life. If you should reveal any of the knowledge you gain as a Godmother to anyone other than a Surgeon, Engineer, or fellow Godparent, you will have effectively turned in your own resignation. Release of classified information to unauthorized individuals will result in Death Wish completions being carried out on both you and the individuals you revealed the knowledge to.”
I straighten up and look down at her, my voice cool and authoritative.
“Do I make myself clear?”
For the briefest second I see a flicker of fear in her eyes. But that flicker quickly hardens into determination.
Robin nods and says in a clear, strong pledge, “Yes, Godmother Hayworth.”
I nod. When I continue my voice is softer, an attempt to ease the tension in the room.
“Very good. Now then, the first thing you need to know, before I can teach you anything else, is about the device called the Life Chip.”
I turn my head slightly while lifting my hair away from the nape of my neck. I intentionally wore a high-backed sleeveless top today, so that this demonstration won’t reveal my shoulder blade scars to Robin. I point at the exposed skin just below the base of my skull and tap it with my finger.
“The Life Chip is attached to this section of the spinal cord at birth, and is the reason everyone in our world is able to live as long as they would like. I don’t know the specific medical details, but the basic premise is simple: the Life Chip acts as a relay station for the signals going from the brain to the body and vice versa. But instead of simply passing on the signals, the Life Chip modifies them—specifically, it increases the rate the cells in our body heal themselves. Here, let me demonstrate.”
I push myself off the edge of my desk and walk around to the other side of it. Robin rubs the back of her neck like she’s trying to feel the Life Chip buried deep underneath the skin. I open the top drawer of my desk where the metal blades of a pair of scissors wink up at me. Nostalgia washes over me when I take them out. I gave Harrison the same demonstration when I was assigned to be his instructor. Even though it was over three years ago, it still sometimes feels like it happened only yesterday.
“People don’t really think about this until they become Godparents
—
”
I walk back around the desk to my place in front of Robin. She has a slightly queasy look on her face, and I bet she can guess at what I’m about to do.
“
—
but our bodies heal at an
incredible
rate. Take this gash in my arm, for example.”
I open the scissor and lay the edge of one of the blades across the inside of my forearm. I press down and sweep my hand away. A large red wound instantly blossoms on the skin, the blood welling up and spilling over. Robin lets out a gasp. I appreciate the sympathy, but after the sheer number of ways I’ve been injured on Wish completions a half-inch deep cut like this only registers a light sting. I hold out my arm to Robin so she can watch it more closely. Barely a second passes after the blade leaves the wound before the bright red blood becomes dimmer. As we watch, the skin scabs over, then the crust falls away to reveal shiny and new pink skin surrounded by a trail of drying blood.
“Now,” I say while setting down the scissors and reaching for a tissue to wipe off the blood, “about how long would you say that took?”
I pause and quirk an eyebrow at Robin. She still has a slightly queasy look, but there is also a sparkle of fascination. Like I said, no one really considers the healing speed of our bodies until it’s brought to their attention.
“Um, I’m not sure, maybe… a couple of seconds?”
I nod and drop the used tissue in the wastebasket next to my feet.
“That’s right; barely more than a blink of the eye, and a surface wound is completely healed. Before the Life Chip, do you know how long an injury like that would have taken to heal?”
“Actually, I do,” she answers, a look of interest in her eye. “It would have taken a few days for it to completely heal, but even then there might have been a small scar.”
I widen my eyes in surprise. “Wow, that’s…exactly right. How did you know that?”
She blushes and looks down. “I
—
um, I like studying. The
—
the Old World. It’s interesting.”
I laugh. “You should meet my boyfriend. You two would have a lot to talk about. But yes, you’re right. A wound like that would have taken a day or so to completely heal, but even then the skin would be somewhat marred. But with the Life Chip, what would normally take days to heal takes only seconds.
”
I smile at Robin. “Any questions?”
She starts to shake her head, but then pauses before speaking up in a quizzical voice.
“No, not about that, all of the Life Chip stuff makes sense. But, I still don’t understand why Godparents are able to kill people. Wouldn’t the Life Chips just heal any injuries immediately?”
I smile and tap my nose, one of Harrison’s Old World gestures that means she asked just the right question. “You’ve got it, Robin. Any efforts we make at completing Wishes would be futile while the Life Chip is there. So that’s how Godparents complete Death Wishes: we remove the Chip.”

*

Hours later, with the daylight outside dimming, we still sit in my office while Robin reviews what she has learned today. She speaks in a slightly monotone voice, like a student testing herself on material for an upcoming exam.
“Okay, so the Life Chip is right below the base of the skull. The skin above this area is reinforced with a special material at birth so that no one will die accidentally if this area is injured. In order to kill people—”
I raise my hand and stop her. “Actually, Robin, we don’t use the word ‘kill’.”
“What?” She looks confused again. “But that doesn’t... I mean, that’s what we’re doing, isn’t it?”
I shake my head.
“No. See, the word ‘kill’ implies the Old World crime of murder. And because the only people who die are the ones who asked to die, we aren’t killing anyone. The Godparents are essentially tools; we’re a means to an end. So we don’t say ‘kill’, we say ‘complete the Wishes’.”
Robin nods. I don’t think she completely understands or agrees, but we’ve been here so long that I’m sure she just wants to agree and go home. I know I’m ready for the long day to be over. I hold back a yawn while she continues, fantasizing about the cup of coffee I’m going to get when we’re done.
“So, in order to complete Wishes, Godparents must remove the Life Chip. To do this, we use the Life Chip Extractors.”
At this she holds up the instrument I gave to her at the beginning of our meeting. She presses the small silver button in the middle, and a shiny blade pops out of the end.
“The blades are made of a certain type of metal that can cut through the reinforced skin, so we slice at this section using the blade.”
She clicks the button again, the knife retracts, and a claw-like device replaces it.
“Next, we force the claw into the incision, which grips the Life Chip, and we pull it free which severs its connection to the spinal cord. This is essentially the same as cutting off the brain from the rest of the body. The body begins shutting down, and after a few moments the client dies.” She looks up. “Did I get it right?”
I nod and clap my hands. “Great job! Wow, you got that really quickly. It took Harrison much longer to catch on.” I smile and she grins.
“So Robin,” I say, glancing at the clock hanging above the door, “that’s all I had planned for today. Do you have any more questions before we call it a day?”
She starts to shake her head, but then she pauses. I wait for her to speak. She is clearly mulling something over in her mind. Her expression is thoughtful when she finally speaks.
“Well, it’s not really a question, but I just wanted to confirm some details.” Her voice sounds normal, but I notice that she’s clenching and unclenching her hands as they lie folded in her lap. I hope that the load of information today didn’t overwhelm her. It’s a lot to take in.
I nod and sweep my hand in front of me. “Fire away.”
“So the
only
way for someone to die is to remove the Life Chip?” She emphasizes the word
only.
I am about to say yes, but then I stop to really consider the question. “Well,” I reply, my words drawn out by contemplation, “not technically, I suppose. Remember that the Chips are responsible for healing any injuries we sustain?”
She nods.
“Well, if the functioning of the Chip was damaged somehow, it wouldn’t be able to heal the body, and that would certainly cause the person to die.” My voice trails off as I think about this scenario, but then I snap back to attention and look at Robin with a shrug.
“But that’s never happened, and the Engineering teams are the ones who handle the technical aspects of the Chips. So the Chips would have to malfunction in order for something like that to ever happen.” I cock my head to the side while looking at her. “Why do you ask? Are you worried someone will die before submitting a Wish?”
She looks to be deep in thought, but after my question she looks back at me and shakes her head.
“Oh, no, nothing like that. I was just curious. Thank you for clarifying that for me.”
Robin stands, smoothing her skirt with her hands, and gives me a slight bow. “Thank you very much for today, Eliza. Is that all?”
“Yep.” I move off of my own chair to stand as well. “That’s all I’ve got. And hey, I have some good news for you before you leave. I just got a new Wish submission for next week, and I’ll be taking you with me. Are you ready to go on your first assignment?”
I’m sure my eyes are sparkling with excitement. I can’t wait to see how Robin does on the field.
A trace of nervousness passes across her face, but then she swallows and gives me a shy, excited smile.
“I can’t wait.”

Wish 8

The week leading up to Robin’s first Wish passes by uneventfully. I continue working with my trainee, complete my piles of paperwork, ingest absurd amounts of coffee, and spend time with my boyfriend. But the day finally arrives and I’m sitting in my office, waiting for Robin to join me for her first Wish completion. My pendent is near my lips while I talk with Harrison, who’s currently on his own assignment.
“So what did your guy request?” I tilt back in my chair and prop my legs up on the desk. The cuffs of my black pants move up slightly, showing the smooth skin of my ankles.
“Eh, it’s a pretty normal one—basically he wants to be a victim of a mugging-turned-murder.”
Harrison’s voice is hushed and
the sounds of traffic ring in the background. He must be at the completion site now.
“I’m all decked out in my standard robber outfit, complete with dirt and an air of desperation.”
I laugh. “Oh yeah? So you aren’t looking very clean and put together, I take it?”
He whimpers.
“It’s horrible Elly. I smell like a freaking dumpster. And frankly, I look like one.”
I cluck sympathetically. “Well I still think you’re sexy, with or without the smell of garbage on you.”
“Love you too, sweetie,”
he replies.
“Alright, the client’s going to be here in a couple of minutes. I’ve gotta go. I love you forever, and good luck with pixie’s first assignment! Knock ‘em
dead.”
He laughs under his breath and I grin at the pun. There’s a knock at my door; I wave Robin in as I say “Always do. Love you for always, Hare,” and drop the pendent back to my chest.
“Hey, Robin. Have a seat.” I greet her with a smile.
“Hello, Eliza.”
She remembered to wear an all-black outfit like I requested. She has on a black t-shirt, black pants, and black ballet flats. I almost match her perfectly, except I’m wearing a black tunic instead of a t-shirt. While my hair is pulled up into a half ponytail, her hair is down, the A-line cut of her black and green hair framing her face. While she sits down, I pull out a manila folder from the middle drawer in my desk and lean forward to hand it to her. She opens it while I speak.
“Every time we are assigned a Death Wish, we receive one of these envelopes from the Clerical Department. Inside is a picture of the client, the manner of death they have requested, and any details pertinent to helping us complete the assignment.”
I walk around to take the empty seat next to Robin, and point to a section in the middle of the client’s profile.
“As you can see, this client has wished for Death while sleeping. So,” I move my finger to another part of the page, “under the ‘Pertinent Information’ section, we have been given her home address and usual times when she goes to bed. It says that she usually goes around nine o’clock, so we’ll go in between eleven and midnight to ensure that she’s soundly asleep.”
I stand up and Robin stands with me, holding the file to her chest. I lean down and look at her. I hadn’t noticed before, but she’s even shorter than Harrison. And with the nervous way she’s clutching the folder to herself, she looks even smaller.
“Hey.” She looks up at me. “Are you okay?”
She nods, but she still looks scared and possibly nauseous. I put my hand on her shoulder and give it a gentle squeeze.
“Robin, everything’s going to be okay. The first assignment is always the most challenging, but I know you’re going to be great.”
She gives me a timid smile.
“Thanks, Eliza.” Her voice is barely a whisper. “I’ll do my best.”

*

Getting into Marlene Rogers’ apartment is easy. The only resistance we encounter is a locked door, but I make short work of it while also teaching Robin the basics of lock picking. I straighten up and the door swings open into an unlit living room. Marlene’s Wish submission included a blueprint of the apartment, so I motion Robin forward to the bedroom in the back. There is a large bay window in the living room, and the moonlight provides enough illumination for us to make our way through without running into any furniture. I glance around at our surroundings.
There is a beautiful, plush sofa nearby, and decorating the walls and every available surface are a large assortment of knick knacks. I think back to the file and remember that our client is two-hundred-and-seven years old—that’s a lot of time to accumulate personal belongings. Robin comes up close and whispers in my ear, an undertone of anxiety in her voice.
“It looks like she’s lived such an exciting life… Why do you think she submitted a Death Wish?”
I’m about to say that I don’t know, as I have no way of knowing the inner workings of our client’s mind. But then a picture on a nearby desk catches my eye. The frame is worn, small hairline cracks line the wood, and the moving image inside was clearly taken a few decades ago. But that’s not what grabs my attention. The picture is of two people. One is Marlene, smiling happily as her yellow-blonde hair is blown backward by a breeze. The other is a man with pale grey eyes and dark brown hair, a laugh dancing on his lips as he holds and twirls the woman he loves in a dance.
I let out a sad sigh when I recognize those gray eyes.
“Eliza?”
I stop at the desk and pick up the portrait, holding the frame gently in my hands. I turn to look at Robin and point to it.
“I think I know why she submitted a Wish.”
I hand the aged frame to my protégé. She looks at it, and then quirks an eyebrow at me questioningly. I take back the picture and gently place it on the desk.
“I think that man was her husband. And I completed his Death Wish a year ago.”
“Hello, Jonathan,” I said sweetly. My client looked up at me and the light caught the streaks of tears running down his face. He let out a shuddering breath, and began nodding his head rapidly.
“Okay, okay, okay,” he muttered to himself, rocking back and forth. He was curled up on the floor, and I dropped down next to him. He was whispering “I can do this, I can do this,” over and over.
I placed a hand on his shoulder.
“It will be alright, Jonathan,” I soothed, scooping out a small silver vial from my pocket. I pulled it forward and cupped it under his nose. “Now breathe.”
But he ignored my order, shaking his head while muttering indecipherably. I slid my arm across his shoulders into a side-hug, and told him to breathe again.
“It will make it painless,” I added. “Just like falling asleep.”
A pained cry slipped out, but that time he nodded. His shoulders expanded as he inhaled the powdered drug. I waited, and after a moment he slumped against me into unconsciousness. A few minutes later I walked away, slipping his bloody Life Chip into a bag while letting H.Q. know the Wish of Jonathan Rogers was complete.
Robin claps her hand to her mouth, a horrified look on her face. I rub the back of my neck awkwardly.
“Don’t look so sad, Robin,” I say. “This happens all the time. One person will submit a Wish, and sometime later one of their loved ones will submit one too. They’ve grown so used to having that person in their life that they decide they don’t want to be in a world without them.”
Unshed tears glisten in Robin’s eyes, and I shake my head while trying to reassure her.
“Hey, seriously, it’s okay. This is something you’re going to have to learn to deal with, because you’re going to see it a lot as a Godmother.”
I lean back against the desk and trail one of my fingers across the top of the frame.
“Do you know what helps me cope with the sadness?” I say wistfully. Robin shakes her head but she does lower her hands away from her mouth, trying to compose herself.
“I find beauty and meaning in each Death. For example, you might think that this is a horrible story of heartache. I, on the other hand, choose to look at this as a reunion. By us completing her Death Wish, we will finally bring Marlene and her beloved Jonathan back together.”
“You remember his name?” A trace of surprise overlays the sadness in Robin’s voice.
I quirk up the corner of my mouth in a sad smile. “I remember all of their names. And you will too.”

*

When we enter the bedroom, the only sounds that can be heard are the light snoring of our target and the gentle creak of the door I push open. I steal over to the bed and motion Robin to the side opposite mine. We both stare down at our target.
She looks the relatively the same as she did in the moving picture. But her expression seems heavier, almost like the sadness over her husband’s death physically pulls her down. She still has beautiful, shoulder-length blonde hair, and although they are closed in sleep now I know from her file that she has bright blue eyes. I reach into my front pocket and pull out a small syringe filled with a lavender-tinted liquid. Robin and I have spent many hours practicing precision techniques for injecting clients, and when I hand it to her she slides the needle into Marlene’s forearm easily. Marlene twitches slightly, but then breathes deeply again as the anesthesia takes hold. I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding; the drug will keep Marlene sleeping until we remove her Chip. I hold out my hand to take the syringe from Robin and hand her the Life Chip Extractor.
“Okay,” I speak softly, even though Marlene won’t be waking up with the sedative in her system. “She’s sleeping on her back, so you’ll have to roll her over to expose the Life Chip area.”
Robin nods and pushes the woman towards me until she lands with a soft
thump
onto her stomach. Robin leans forward and brushes Marlene’s hair to the side, exposing the soft skin at the base of her skull. I notice Robin’s hands are shaking but I keep whispering instructions, hoping my voice will quell any rising panic.
“Now, make sure the incision isn’t shallow. The Chip is located around one inch underneath the skin, so making a superficial cut won’t allow the retractor to reach it.” I wait for her to slice the knife across the skin, but she doesn’t move.
“Robin? Did you hear what I just said?”
She doesn’t respond. She’s just standing there, frozen, the Extractor in her still-shaking hand. Another second passes before she finally looks up, a twinge of desperation in her voice.
“We shouldn’t do this.” Her eyes are glistening again. “She doesn’t want to die, not really—she just wants an escape from the pain. We shouldn’t kill her. We
—
we should help her! Have her talk to someone!” Her voice rises, notes of pleading color her words.
I sigh. I feel sympathy for my trainee. After all, the first Wish you complete when you become a Godparent is the hardest to follow through on. But understanding her pain doesn’t change the fact that she can’t back out.
I shake my head and speak at a normal volume. “It’s not our job to decide whether or not someone is ready to pass on. We just fulfill Wishes. She had a week to change her mind and she didn’t. We can’t debate whether or not someone really wants to die because it’s not our decision. It’s theirs. And besides, if we were to pick and choose which Wishes we fulfill and which ones we ignore, then we really would become killers. Robin, make the incision.”
The glistening in her eyes finally forms into tears, and she starts shaking her head back and forth when they spill down her cheeks. She drops the Extractor to the floor and presses her clenched fists against the sides of her head, like if she can physically block out what’s happening. Her entire body shudders, and she begins muttering
I can’t do this, I can’t do this
over and over.
I let out a
huff
of air. I was hoping this wouldn’t happen. I move around the bed to Robin’s side. She looks up at me through her tears, probably expecting some gentle sympathy, but instead I slap her.
Hard
.
She gasps and drops her hands, the shock of pain momentarily halting the flow of tears. I clench my teeth and spit out my words.
“Pick. Up. Your. Extractor, Initiate Sun.”
Robin nods and bends down to retrieve it.
“Now make the incision.”
She hesitates and looks back up at me. Tears are still running down her face.
“C-can you make it for me?”
I have to tamp down a wave of pity. All I want to do is make the cut so she won’t be sad, but I know that doing so will only make her second Wish all that much harder.
“No, Robin.” I shake my head and cross my arms. “I can’t do that. I know it’s hard, but this is something you have to do. You’ll never succeed as a Godmother if you can’t remove that first Chip.”
I then let a touch of tenderness into my expression to let her know I’m on her side. “I know how hard the first one can be, but I also know you can do it, Robin. You’ll be fine.”
Robin sniffles quietly in defeat, realizing that I won’t budge on the issue. She leans over Marlene with the knife ready. She places one hand on our client’s neck, spreading her fingers to hold the skin steady and provide an opening. She hesitates again, but this time the hand holding the Extractor moves into action, and a second later a bright red slice has bloomed under the client’s skull. I nod; the cut was exactly how deep it needed to be.
“Good job. Now press the silver button again, and insert the claw into the wound. You should feel it clamp onto the Chip. If it doesn’t, wiggle the tip around until it does.”
Robin hesitates, and in those precious seconds the Life Chip springs into action. The skin around the wound knits itself back together, and Robin lets out a cry of dismay. I sigh. She’ll have to make the cut again, and I’m worried that she’ll break down completely if this process is drawn out.
“Robin, you waited too long. When we make the opening, there are only a couple of seconds to remove the Chip. Otherwise, as you can see, the site heals and you have to start over.” I look at her sternly. “Make the incision again, and this time don’t hesitate.”
Robin whimpers and loosens her grip on the Extractor. Her fingers slip on the still-drying blood, and she lets out another whimper. She looks at Marlene’s unconscious form with watery eyes and bites her lower lip.
“P-please. Don’t make me do it again.”
I hadn’t realized how hard this would be for her. But she will have to finish the job before I can give her any comfort.
“
Robin
,” I say, cold steel in my voice. She jumps and re-tightens her grip on the Extractor. “We don’t have time for this. Now make the incision and complete the Wish.”
Another moment’s hesitation, and then she finally does what I command and makes another gash. She takes a deep breath, clicks the Extractor, and a few seconds later she pulls back her hand, a gleaming silver Life Chip in the claw’s grasp. There is silence for a few moments, and then the figure on the bed jerks violently while her organs shut down, one by one. A death-rattle escapes her lips and then Marlene is silent, her long life finally over. I look at Robin and give her a thumbs-up.
“Good job.”
I point at the Chip. “So you know, that’s what a Life Chip looks like. Something that powerful is contained in such a small device.” I look at her. “Kind of humbling, don’t you think?”
Robin doesn’t respond, just stares at the Chip with haunted eyes. There are still bits of gore attached to the places where it was ripped from the spine, and Robin tries to hand the Extractor back to me with shaky hands. I shake my head again and hold out an open plastic bag. She hits the silver button on the device a third time and the claws spring apart, letting the Chip drop into the bag.
Now when she hands me the Extractor I do take it, slipping it into my pocket next to the used syringe. Robin stares at the lifeless body on the bed, a vacant expression on her face. I place my hands on her shoulders and gently turn her so that she faces me.
“Hey,” I murmur, giving her a reassuring smile. “You did really well. Okay?”
She doesn’t return my smile, but her eyes do meet mine. I sigh, and press a finger to the earpiece on the left side of my head.
“This is Godmother Hayworth with Initiate Sun. We have just successfully completed the Death Wish for Marlene Rogers.”
No one replies. I remember that, since the office is closed, my words are probably being redirected as a message for the cleanup crew in the morning.
“The time is 12:37 A.M.
,
” I continue, glancing at a clock gleaming on a nearby dresser, “and I am requesting a cleanup crew to retrieve the body at the client’s home address tomorrow morning. Thank you.”
I drop my hand back to my side and look at Robin. Her expression hasn’t changed. I reach forward to grasp her hand, and when she looks up at me I give her another small smile.
“Come on,” I say, pulling her to the door. “Let’s go for a walk.”