The Reaper
Merlik Kohn looked out the window,
scraped at the frost with the back of her hand, and said, “The ice is on the
inside. Didn’t know it did that.” Through the spot she’d cleared she regarded a
man lingering on the stairs. She’d go so far as to say loitering on the stairs,
actually.
Merlik’s partner, Tam LeDion, shrugged.
“Gets cold here,” she said. “Seen a towel freeze and break in half because
someone hung it over a railing.”
“He’s out there again,” said Merlik.
“Thought it got awful slow.”
“Got it,” said Tam, and she threw a
coat on and went for the door.
“What if gets aggressive again,”
Merlik said. “Take your phone.”
They’d had this discussion a dozen
times since the guy started showing up, saying weird things to customers.
“People are leaving because of him,” said Tam.
It wasn’t an ideal beginning to their
purchase of a storefront in Clairton. It was hard enough to risk the
down-on-its-luck neighborhood, but when they finally started drawing a desired
urban revitalization crowd he started showing up. Tam was clearly agitated, so
Merlik followed along. She pulled the sleeves of her coat on as she stepped
onto the stoop beside her.
“Hey!” Tam said.
He turned around, facing them. His
buzzcut hair accentuated the thick lenses of his eyeglasses. His eyes looked
twice their size. A heavy white jacket with a gray snowy camouflage pattern
gave him a drab appearance though his speech was clear and intense. “Do not
thank a veteran for their service!” he snapped. “Honorable causes draw
dishonorable people. Evil is evil and good is good. Do not confuse the two, nor
show gratitude without context going by face value alone.”
“That’s fine,” said Tam, plainly.
“But would you move along, please? You’re scaring customers.”
The man frowned. His brows pressed
together and with steady clam he said, “There’re training centers here who
teach children how to execute mass shootings properly. The armed forces.”
“You clearly have a hard-on for the
military and whatever your beef, don’t care,” said Tam. “But please move it
away from the property.” She glanced at Merlik though the look on her face was
just as confused as she felt. Suddenly, the man grunted and walked off. Tam and
Merlik together went back inside.
“Went better than I thought,” Merlik
said. “Nice work.”
“Just have to be direct,” Tam
answered. She picked up gloves and a shovel while heading to the back door.
“Going to salt.”
With a scowl, Merlik said, “He’s
back.”
Tam froze. “You’ve got to be
kidding,” she said. She rushed to the front and shouted, “Hey! Didn’t I tell
you clear out?”
The man’s oversized eyes widened, and
he turned and ran.
Tam stood there in thought. “Of all
the weird scenes,” she muttered.
“What’s even going on here?” Merlik
asked.
Tam said, “We call the police.”
“Going to be one of those days,”
Merlik said.
“Pu a scare into him,” said Tam.
Merlik sighed and grew quiet.
“Mer?”
She said, “Can we stop talking about
him?”
“Sure,” said Tam. “Sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about,” said
Merlik. “Just don’t want to.” The stoop was now clear and little flakes of snow
were falling. She opened her mouth, and even though she had asked to stop
talking about the strange man, she wanted to add a thought before she forgot.
For a second, it looked to Merlik as if she’d seen something odd, something
indescribable. Instead, she bit her tongue as Tam passed out through the back.
“Another time,” she muttered.
It would have been easy to follow
Tam, but she chose not to. Instead, she went about doing what needed to be
done, and as the snow began to lay white on the ground, a good feeling came
over her. The weirdo hadn’t returned for an hour, so she slipped into the
kitchen. There she made a cup of hot tea. Vanilla chai, four minutes. She turned
the hourglass then sought something edible. Here she heard raised voices.
Her hair stood on end, and she
hurried to the back door. She pulled it open to find Tam squared off with the
strange man. She pointed at him, in his face. His expression told too many
emotions to choose with which he might employ. “Everything okay?” she asked,
startling the man yet buttressing Tam’s wrath. Tam pounded the tip of her finger
into his breast. He fell back. The mix of emotions turned into one: panic. Like
cornered prey, he jumped in the air, turned, and sprinted through until the
snow swallowed him. Tam gave chase until Merlik cried out, “Tam! Let him go!”
Tam’s eyes lit with dark fire, and
her teeth showed for a moment. Reason slowly returned to her features with the
rise and fall of her breathing. “Sorry,” she said, taking up the broom from the
ground. She tapped the ground with its bristlehead and snow exploded outward leaving
a round clear spot on the concrete walkway.
“Thought he was gone,” Merlik said.
“Sorry I left you with that.”
“Should’ve heard what that son of a
bitch said,” Tam scoffed. “Doesn’t know how lucky he is that I didn’t put one
in him. Or more than one. Whatever. He won’t be back any time soon at this
point.”
“No?” Merlik said. In the background
the hourglass began to chime.
“Told him as much,” said Tam.
“Come in and warm up,” Merlik smiled,
gently. “There’s tea.”
“You made me tea?” Tam asked,
softening visibly. “That’s very kind. Don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
Merlik wrapped her arms around herself
and looked to the sky. She said, “Temperature’s dropped significantly.”
Tam followed Merlik inside, rubbing
her hands together. Blowing on them as she cupped them beneath her chin. She
accepted the cup of tea and sipped, showing approval both physically and
audibly. At last, she sighed and slowed the world down. Merlik made a second
cup.
“What did he say that was so bad?”
she asked.
Tam shook her head.
“Is he sick… do you think he’s sick?”
asked Merlik. “Does he need help? If he’s homeless, out in this weather. We
can’t...”
“Don’t think so,” Tam answered. “Too
clean. Too groomed, you know?”
“Shit,” Merlik said, leaning towards
the window facing the side alley.
“He’s back?” Tam set her cup down and
started forward. She also saw the man.
“What are you going to do?” Merlik
said.
Tam paused and said, “Unreasonable
rage isn’t the answer. I’m okay, Mer.”
Out the door she went.
“Wait!” Merlik said, pursuing.
The door closed and a shot from a gun
changed everything.
Mord McGhee
Mord McGhee's work can be read in four
published novels and anywhere literary fiction is found. He is currently a
board member of Rowayat.org and an associate editor for Ariel Publishing, LLC.
Upcoming are two novels which are 2022 Claymore Award Finalists, a novella 'The
Stroke of Oars' and a chapbook 'Mind Poker.' On a personal note, Mord collects
fossils-particularly fossilized teeth.