Death Wish (8 page)

*

“Geez,” says Harrison, running a hand through his hair as we leave the room. All around us are worried murmurs, and Harrison, Robin, and I try to stay together in the crowd.
I know exactly what Harrison means with that one word. How on Earth could people have died without submitting Wishes? At first, I wonder if someone from the Fairy Godparents, Life Chip Engineers, or Surgeons accidentally leaked Chip information to the general populace. But I quickly dismiss that idea. After all, anyone who learned about how they worked would need a Life Chip Extractor to remove the Chip, and the Chips of the Smiths were still intact. I’m about to let the matter go, side with the two doctors and assume that it was just a horrible malfunction, when I suddenly remember two things: the strange man threatening Godparents last night, and a conversation I had with Robin while I was teaching her about the Life Chips.
“So the
only
way for someone to die is to remove the Life Chip?”
“Well... Not technically, I suppose. Remember that the Chips are responsible for healing any injuries we sustain? 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... 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. Why do you ask? Are you worried someone will die before submitting a Wish?”
“Oh, no, nothing like that. I was just curious. Thanks for clarifying that for me.”
The idea is so ludicrous that I almost laugh; but then I remember how strange Robin’s behavior has been throughout the training.
At first I attributed it to fear about the changes being a Godparent brings, but now I’m not so sure…
I look at Robin, who’s walking slightly ahead of me and also appears to be deep in thought. I’m opening my mouth to talk to her when she suddenly spins around to look at me.
“Hey, Eliza, I’ve got to go. I promised my mom I’d give her a call later. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She looks over at Harrison and bows her head slightly. “It was really nice to meet you, Harrison. I’ll see you two later.”
Harrison gives her a friendly wave goodbye. Before I can say anything Robin takes off into the crowd, the hem of her sky blue dress whipping around her ankles. I lose sight of her
within moments. I let out a frustrated sigh, and Harrison gently presses his hand against my back.
“Hey, Elly, are you okay?” He looks concerned.
I look at him, force a smile on my face, and nod. It’s not that I don’t trust Harrison; I trust him with everything in my life. I just want to fully deny or confirm my suspicions before I start pointing any fingers. And besides, Robin’s strange behavior is normal for a new Godparent.
It is far more likely that the stranger Harrison saw has a connection to these unexpected deaths than Robin.
And besides, the timing of the stranger is too convenient: he threatens the Godparent organization, and the next morning we hear about two people dying without Wish submissions? I lean down and give Harrison a kiss.
“Yep, everything’s fine. But what Doctor Sloan said reminded me of that guy you saw last night.”
He nods.
“I thought the same thing. I’m going to go to the Primary’s office and tell him about the guy. Maybe he’ll come by Headquarters again, and we can find out what he knows.”
“Good idea.”
Harrison gives me a quick hug before heading off to Primary Godfather Johnson’s office. I wave goodbye, anxiety pooling in the pit of my stomach while my mind is haunted by the image of the dead Smiths.

Wish 11

The next morning I continue Robin’s training by introducing her to the Clerical team of our organization. Even though I’m pretty sure the man Harrison saw was involved in the mysterious deaths of the Smith couple, a small part of me is still suspicious of Robin. I keep a close eye on her while we talk, looking for anything that could point towards her involvement. But she must be unaware of my suspicions, because she is acting normally. I try to act normal too.
“Robin, this is Anna, one of the receptionists who takes the requests of Death Wish clients.”
Robin shakes hands with Anna, the woman who told Harrison and I about yesterday’s meeting. Anna murmers a polite
How do you do?
, her carmine lips gently bent upward
.
“Okay, I
have
to ask,” says Robin, a small smile on her face. “Why
on
Earth
is this organization called the ‘Fairy Godparents’? I don’t even know what that means. Like, glitter and wings fairies?”
I laugh while Anna rolls her eyes. Robin immediately blushes with embarrassment. I want to tell her that Anna’s cold demeanor is for everyone, not just pixies. But to my surprise, Anna answers the question, giving me a small smirk.
“Actually, Eliza,
Harrison
told me the answer a while ago. Apparently, Old Worlders had these stories called ‘fairy tales’, and a recurring character in these was a Fairy Godmother. The Godmother would grant the wishes of the main character and help bring about their happiness—”
“—and my best guess is that the original founders of the Godparent Organization wanted to put a positive spin on completing Death Wishes, so they adopted the terminology of these happy stories.”
I turn around and am surprised to see Harrison standing behind us, a grin on his face while he finishes the explanation.
Anna’s demeanor instantly changes. She turns the corners of her ruby-red lips up in a true smile and gives Harrison a warm hello. I refrain from rolling my eyes. It’s no secret that she’s had a crush on Harrison for quite some time. He gives her a smile in return but wraps an arm around my side before turning to Robin.
“Hi, Anna. So what’s Elly teaching you today, Robin?”
He plants a kiss on my shoulder while addressing my trainee. Anna pouts and walks away, moving on to her other duties.
“Eliza’s showing me the front end of the Godparent Organization,” Robin answers, looking down at the notepad in her hand. “She just finished explaining the process clients go through in submitting Wishes, and we were about to move on to what determines which Godparent is selected for which case.”
Harrison grimaces, wrinkling his nose and sticking his tongue out in a goofy expression.
“That sounds
boring
. You guys can do that without me.”
I laugh, but stop at the look Harrison gives me. He jerks his head to a nearby corner, and I nod before turning to Robin.
“Hey, Robin, I’m going to talk with Hare for a second. I’ll be right back.”
She nods, and we both move away for some privacy while Robin reviews the notes she’s written.
“What’s up? Did you talk to the Primary?”
“Yeah, I did,” he says, handing me an envelope. I open it and find a picture of a man with white hair and gray eyes staring back at me.
“When I described the guy to him, he gave me this picture. Primary Johnson says that this man has been spotted hanging around the Godparent entrance to our complex on multiple occasions. He told me to give you this copy of the picture, and to report any more sightings.”
I nod, staring at the image in front of me. The eyes of the man in the picture are haunted, almost like some part of him has died. I have no trouble believing someone like this is capable of murdering two unsuspecting people. I slip the photo back into the envelope.
“Creepy. I’ll definitely keep an eye out.”
“Thanks, Elly. And be careful if you do see him, okay? The Primary says that he runs away before anyone gets a chance to question him, so we don’t know who he is or how dangerous he can be.”
He takes my hand in his, and I give it a reassuring squeeze.
“Don’t worry, sweetie, I will.”
He nods and reaches up to give me a kiss.
“Like I said, learning about clerical stuff sounds super dull, so I’m going to abandon you now. It was mind-numbing enough the first time, and I don’t feel like dealing with Anna’s flirting today.”
He winks and I laugh. He looks over my shoulder and waves.
“See you later, Robin!”
She waves back and he gives me another quick kiss before walking down the hallway to our offices. I move back over to Robin and she spies the envelope in my hand.
“What’s that?”
I hesitate. I still remember the strange questions Robin asked about how the Life Chips work, and part of me is wary of sharing any information about the investigation. But she is looking at me with such innocent curiosity, and another part of me insists that there’s no way she’s connected. I feel instant guilt over suspecting my trainee, and I hand her the envelope.
“Don’t tell anyone outside the Godparents, obviously, but we think this man may have a connection to the deaths of the Smiths.”
Robin stares at the photo, no trace of recognition in her eyes. This makes me feel better; after all, if she was involved, wouldn’t she be nervous that one of her partners had been discovered? She hands the photo back to me.
“Creepy. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for him.”
I bite back a laugh.
“What?”
I tell her that’s basically what I said when Harrison showed me the picture. She grins, and any remaining suspicion I may have felt instantly vanishes.

*

“Hey, Eliza!”
I turn around. Godfather Albert jogs down the office hallway towards Robin and me.
“Hey, Albert,” I say, introducing him to Robin. “What’s up?”
The tall, freckle-faced Godfather holds up two folders with a look of despair.
“I can’t
believe
they did this again. The clerks screwed up and gave Jenny and I two assignments for tonight. Do you think you and Harrison could cover one of them?”
He is pleading, clearly desperate to lighten his workload.
“Well, Harrison and I aren’t working together at the moment because I’m training Initiate Sun. But we need to get her completing more Wishes, so this works out perfectly.” I turn to Robin with a grin. “What do you say, pixie? Ready to tackle another Wish?”
Robin looks queasy, and I remember how negatively she reacted to her first Wish.
“Hey,” I whisper, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I know the first one sucked, but they won’t get any easier if you avoid them. Don’t worry; I’ll be with you the whole time.”
I pat her shoulder reassuringly, and she gives me a small nod. I turn back to Albert.
“Alright, Mr. Overwhelmed Godfather, which cases do you have there?”
He looks down at the folders, reading from the descriptions.
“Okay, one is for a woman in an apartment complex a few blocks away who wants to die in her sleep. And the other one is for a man who wants to... Ugh.” Albert grimaces as he reads. “He wants to be lit on fire.”
I close my eyes.
Crap,
I think to myself. Self-immolation Wishes are the worst to me. There isn’t any physical toll for the Godparent completing the Wish, but the
smell
... I let out a sigh of defeat.
“Damn. Well, no point in doing the woman’s Wish, Robin and I completed one exactly like that a few days ago. So... We’ll take the fire guy.”
I hold out my hand for the file. I don’t miss the look of relief on Albert’s face. No one likes the fire Wishes, except maybe Theodore and Trixie. But their enjoyment of the more gruesome assignments is almost as disturbing as the Wishes themselves.
“But you owe us coffee for, like, a
month
, alright?”
He laughs and agrees. I’m sure he’d agree to almost anything I proposed, since he looks so relieved about not having to complete the Wish.
“Thanks a million, Eliza, we appreciate the help. See you later. Oh, and nice to meet you, Robin.”
He waves goodbye and heads back to his office.
I sigh again. When I turn to Robin she looks scared.
“Um, Eliza...Why does he owe us coffee for a month?”
There is a terrified note to her voice. I grimace, and motion for her to follow.
“You’ll see, Robin... You’ll see.”

*

I set the pitcher of oil in front of our client. Ethan Knowles looks up at us for an explanation, and I motion for Robin to give one.
“Um, Mr. Knowles, this oil will help your body burn into the sweet embrace of death. The flames will lick away the pain of your mortal shell, and you will soon be released into the gentle peace of the life beyond this one.”
We alter the speeches of fire deaths differently for each client, and Robin and I agreed to include the afterlife part when we read that Ethan Knowles was a religious man. He smiles up at us, but I can see fear behind it. I kneel down and look into his eyes.
“Don’t be afraid, Ethan,” I coo softly, my voice dropping into the gentle cadence it always does when I speak to clients. “Let the fire be your cleanser, and feel it usher you into the peace of eternal happiness.”
I have worked with a few clients before who used pain in their religious ceremonies, and these kind of assurances helped each time. It helps here too; his smile grows wider as his fear is replaced with feelings of a higher purpose. I personally prefer the faiths that preach love and acceptance over self-harm, but clearly those views don’t apply to our client. I stand and motion to the pitcher.
“Now pour the oil over your head and prepare for your eternal rest.”
He lifts the jar up high, and as he closes his eyes to pour it Robin and I look at each other. I explained to Robin that, because the Life Chip would heal his skin over and over again as the fire burned, the Godparent Organization laces the oil of self-immolation Wishes with a mixture of chemicals that slow the signals of the Chips. That, combined with the anesthesia in the oil, means that the client will pass out while the flames eat away at him. Then, once we extinguish the fire, we can remove the Chip and he will die.
Robin looks really nervous, but I give her a meaningful look. We have to play our part until the Wish is complete; we can’t break character until then. I motion to her, and she hands a book of matches to the now oil-soaked Knowles.
“Take this tool of the flame, Mr. Knowles, and usher yourself into the next world.”
She gives him a shaky smile, trying to stay in character, and I give her an encouraging thumbs-up behind his back.
He takes the matches from her hand with an air of reverence. He gives us both a smile of peace before striking it against the sandpaper.

*

For the first few moments, Ethan Knowles is silent as the flames instantly spread across his body. I see Robin let out a sigh of relief, thinking this won’t be as bad as she was anticipating, but I know what’s coming next.
Next come the screams.
His eyes widen and I brace myself, wishing I could telepathically warn Robin about what’s about to happen. In the span of a few seconds, everything seems to happen at once.
Ethan begins screaming, a series of bone chilling shrieks that echo around us.
The flames finish devouring the oil, and we can hear the crackling of his skin as the fire moves to the next layer.
And the
smell
. There are no words to describe the assault of burning hair and flesh on the nostrils, and it is unbearable when the entire body is being roasted. The worst part is, when you first smell the flesh sizzling, it actually smells pretty good. That is, until you remember what type of meat is being cooked.
Ethan shrieks as the fire consumes him. Even though I motion for her to bear it, Robin can’t stay in character any longer. She tries to run but falls to her knees, and across the space I can see her sobbing. She begins retching up everything she ate that day. I stay in my place, facing our client so he has something to keep his eyes on as he falls into unconsciousness, but the sounds of his screams combined with Robin’s sobs and gagging cause tears to trickle down my motionless face.
Eventually, far too long to stand and listen to screams of agony and smell the stench of burning flesh, Ethan falls to the ground. The anesthesia has finally pulled him into sleep. I move then and am surprised to find that my legs have been replace with jelly. I stumble but regain my composure and use the extinguisher behind me to douse the flames.
When the smoke clears, the unconscious body of Ethan Knowles fills my entire vision. Tiny patches of his skin are bright pink, showing that even with delayed reaction time the Life Chip is trying to heal him. But the majority of his skin is a combination of an angry, shiny red and a terrible charred black. His hair is gone, as are his clothes, and I can see places where the shine of bone has been uncovered. The entire scene is so grim that I have to look away for a moment to pull myself together.
“Robin, remove the Chip.”
My voice is shaky when I give the order, and I still can’t bring myself to look at the body. I don’t hear a response, and when I turn to her Robin is collapsed on the ground. She is still sobbing and heaving, though her stomach is now empty. We don’t have time to waste; even now more patches of skin are changing from black to red to pink, and he may wake up soon.
I move over to Robin and grab her, pulling her to her feet by the collar of her blouse. She’s still sobbing and, just like her first Wish completion, I have to give her a hard slap to bring her back. She lets out a shriek and I shake her shoulders roughly.
“Initiate Sun, I gave you an
order
!” I shove the Chip Extractor against her chest. She fumbles with it, and I push her aside towards Ethan Knowles’ body. “Remove his Life Chip
now
.”
She sobs but obeys, crouching down by the neck of our client. She reaches down to the skin at the base of the skull, and lets out another cry when the charred skin flakes away at her touch. She’s shaking all over, but she manages to slice the neck and remove the Chip. As soon as the Chip is outside the body, she flings both it and the Extractor away from her, crawling away from the body while letting out terrified shrieks. She curls her knees to her chest and sobs, rocking back and forth on the ground a few feet away from our client. Ethan’s body starts shaking violently and I force myself to watch it instead of my traumatized trainee.
As soon his body stills and I’m positive that he’s dead, I rush over to Robin and gather her in my arms. She shakes violently at my touch, but then sinks against me, her cries filled with a renewed terror. I hold her tight and rock her back and forth, not saying a word as the smell of a burnt corpse and her horrified sobs fills the air around us.