Fantasy Reapers: The Eyewitness Accounts

[Yatasal]

The Unthinkable
Many of my characters were already posted in the lore, with simple backstories. Here I will post the details
of Hosanna Nix's death. You'll know what happened from eye witness accounts, but also know
that we won't stay with the murder mystery. Eventually you'll find out why she died and that,
if I play my cards right, will be the new plot. Hopefully.
Anyway, here's what will come to be known throughout the reaper community as "The Unthinkable".

The main thread can be found here.​

 

[Yatasal]

For her part, Hosanna was excited to finally be out on her own. It occurred to her of course that things could go wrong, that the worst could happen, but Ashea had made sure this was an easy case.
"Remember, be calm and collected. She's a scared, sixteen year old girl. She's tied to the scene of her murder, a small forest near her home. So when you talk to her--"
"I know, I know," Hosanna assured her. "Be gentle, let her come to me. Let her talk, express her feelings, be gentle. When she realizes, approach with a hand on the shoulder and then offer a hug."
"And...?" Ashea smiled.
Hosanna rolled her eyes. "Be gentle."
"Good. You'll do marvelously, Hosanna."
Now, on the forest pathway that Nellie had died on, Hosanna began to grow nervous. She had done this a few times, but she knew that Ashea was always standing behind her, invisible to everyone and only whispering advice in Hosanna's ear. But now, she was entirely alone, with a scared little girl. Hosanna took a deep breath. "Well, here I go."
Nellie wasn't hard to find. She was sitting by herself, sobbing into her hands. People jogged past her, and a gentle wind was blowing through the trees. Nellie's hair was unaffected by the wind, as was Hosanna's hair and clothing. She was still dressed in the same bloody clothes she had worn in the accident, and the poor girl was probably in shock. Hosanna nodded to herself. She could do this.
She walked to the girl. "Nellie?"
The girl looked up in shock. For a few seconds she didn't speak, just stared at Hosanna. "You... You can see me?"
"Yes, I can," Hosanna told her. "Mind if I sit down?"
Nellie gave a small nod, and Hosanna sat by her. Reapers couldn't interact with the world around them, even with the ground. So when Hosanna sat, she hovered slightly above the ground, but Nellie didn't notice. "Nellie, do you remember what happened?"
"I was... I was walking home. I take a shortcut through the woods."
Hosanna nodded. "Yes. Do you remember what happened next?"
"I... I don't know. Something hit me from behind. I don't remember anything else."
"Nellie, I'm so sorry... But you didn't make it. You died."
Nellie opened and closed her mouth. Tears welled up in her red, puffy eyes. "Is that why no one can see me?"
Hosanna rubbed her back. "Yeah sweetie."
"Why can you see me, then?"
"I'm what's called a reaper," Hosanna told her. "I take souls to heaven. You're Christian, aren't you?"
Nellie fingered a cross necklace on her neck, and nodded. "Yeah."
"Well, it's time to go. Are you ready?"
Nellie looked at her and nodded. "Yeah, I guess."
Hosanna stopped herself from breathing a sigh of relief. It was easy! Nellie didn't even fight her or ask any questions! Hosanna stood, and extended her hand to Nellie. "Come on. We get to fly there."
As she helped Nellie up, Nellie looked just behind Hosanna and screamed. "Behind you!"
Hosanna turned to look, and gasped in surprise.
And then she screamed.

 

[Yatasal]

Ashea watched Hosanna from afar, crouched behind a large tree. She couldn't hear a word they were saying, but Hosanna was doing it perfectly. She was proud of her apprentice, and closed her eyes. Of all her trainees, Hosanna was her favorite. The young reaper was incredibly charismatic, compassionate, and Ashea had a feeling she would quickly ascend the ranks of Reaper society.
She smirked when Hosanna helped the girl stand. She had this in hand. Ashea turned invisible and flew back up towards the Hall of Afterlives. Hosanna had this well in hand. She'd be there to congratulate the girl when she arrived, having completed her first case in record time. Ashea was nearly halfway up before she heard the screams.
Reaper screams were so rare, Ashea wasn't even sure what she was hearing at first. But it filled her with such inexpressible horror and hit her like a freight train that she knew it was Hosanna.
Ashea fell like a stone at terminal velocity, and was so fast that she went through the ground, finding an underground cave system. She sped back up through the surface. She came up, her arms outstretched and one leg bent at the knee. She was breathing hard, and her eyes widened, her mouth dropped at the scene. Ashea didn't even notice the ghost who kept trying to run away from her death scene, but Hosanna hadn't untied her.
Hosanna... Stars above...
Reapers don't die. Reapers only died from old age. Reapers... Reapers couldn't... They couldn't bleed...
Ashea dropped, hovering over the ground. She floated over to Hosanna's crumpled, bleeding body. Hosanna's eyes were open, wide in shock. Ashea turned her over, and Hosanna cried out in pain. Pain? Pain, Reapers did feel pain, but not... Not like this. Ashea's hands shook. She didn't know what to do.
Someone hovered over to her, another reaper. Ashea looked at him in shock, her eyes wide. "What... What do we do?"
Hosanna suddenly screamed, and Ashea scrambled back, afraid of the screams. Hosanna grabbed at the undergrowth of the forest, the branches cutting into her already bleeding hands.
"That's... That's not possible..." the other reaper breathed. He floated to her, and tried to touch her shoulder. But his hand went through her. He looked back to Ashea, and Hosanna cried out again. This time, the cry was cut short as her eyes closed, and her fists, curled in pain, relaxed. Ashea went over, trying to put her hands on Hosanna's shoulders, wanting to shake her awake. But Ashea's hands passed through Hosanna's body. She sucked in breath, and watched as Hosanna's bloody, torn body started to glow.
The other reaper grabbed Ashea, forcefully pulling her back. Ashea watched as Hosanna's body exploded in light, blinding both reapers. When they looked back, all that was left of Hosanna was a giant burn mark on the forest growth. The wood wasn't on fire, but it was smoking ever so slightly, exactly marking the way Hosanna's body had been laying.
Hosanna's body...
"Stars above," the other reaper whispered. "You're Ashea Spyri, aren't you? What just happened?"
Ashea couldn't answer. She just turned and flew straight to the Hall of Afterlives. The other reaper flew after her, leaving an elderly, ghostly couple and Nellie Smith behind. "Hey, where we going?"
"The king should know," Ashea told him, flying as fast as she could. "The unthinkable has happened."
"Then... what happened?"
Ashea paused, staring at the reaper. Somewhere in her memory she managed to pick out his name. Tom. "A reaper... was murdered."