Free Reapers, Inc. - Brigit's Cross by B.L. Newport Page A

real
thought.
    “Heaven will be the door to your left. Hell
is the door to your right. Only one door will appear for each
soul.”
    “What if both doors appear?” Brigit asked as
they turned the corner. In the distance, she could hear the cries
of a baby. It sounded agitated.
    “They won’t,” John replied.
    “Are you sure?”
    “In the time that I have been a Reaper, I
have never witnessed both doors appearing. Our predecessors never
mentioned any such incident occurring. I will venture on to say
that if it’s not mentioned in your field guide, it won’t happen,”
John surmised.
    Brigit frowned as they approached a room
sealed off again by a wall of glass. Behind the glass, Brigit saw
the rows of baby basinets. Most of them were occupied with little
bodies covered in the obligatory pink or blue blankets.
    Except for one…
    Brigit’s gaze fell on the uncovered baby. Its
tiny arms were flailing over its tiny head trying to communicate
its irritation. This was the baby she had heard as they were
walking down the hall. She wondered why this baby wouldn’t receive
the same attention the other babies were getting. She wondered why
it had been left uncovered and unidentified by pink or blue.
    “Baby Girl Riley,” John said quietly. “Hold
this please,” he requested, passing the long black walking stick to
Brigit. She took it in silence and held it gently by her side.
    Together, they approached the wailing child
and stood over her. Her bright blue eyes glistened with the tears
that she had been summoning to no avail. John gently lifted the
baby from its crib and held her close to his chest as he cooed
soothing words to her. Brigit watched in silence. His expression
had changed. It had a softer look, one of a sad joy as he held the
baby girl in his arms.
    She watched as John carried the child to a
door and waited for him to open it; but his reach never extended
toward the handle. Instead, it opened from the inside and Brigit
saw a small woman in a white robe emerge. There was a gentle smile
on her face as she gazed at the whimpering child cradled in the
Grim Reaper’s arms.
    Carefully, John kissed the baby on the
forehead and passed her to the small woman. Brigit remained silent
as she watched the other woman receive the infant and began to sing
softly to her. It was a soothing sound and Brigit couldn’t help but
to let her gaze stay on the other woman. She noted the woman’s lips
never moved and that the words were in a language she had never
heard. The woman and the child passed back through the door and it
was gone again. John remained where he stood for a few seconds, as
if trying to regain his composure.
    “Who was that?” Brigit asked when he turned
to face her again.
    “Her name is Mary. She receives the children
on the other side.”
    “That song she was singing? What was it?”
Brigit asked as he reached inside his coat and withdrew the third
black portfolio.
    “It’s a lullaby. Don’t ask me what language
it is in, though. It’s a tongue that hasn’t been spoken since God
was a child,” he sighed as he read the contents of the file in his
hand. Brigit felt herself smiling at the slight joke. “Well, one
more for this morning and we’re done here. My stick please?”
    Together, they left the nursery. After a long
silent walk, they found themselves in the basement. Brigit shivered
from the sinister eeriness of the room. Something was not right
here. Ever hair of her body told her as much. Instinctively, she
slowed her breathing and tensed her muscles in preparation for an
attack.
    “Demetrius Rudikov, show yourself,” John
commanded. She looked at him, surprised by the sudden forcefulness
in his voice. He was gripping his walking stick like a club, as if
he too were ready for a fight. “Demetrius Rudikov,”
    “GO AWAY!”
    Brigit stepped back just as a force of wind
flew past her and hit the supply shelf next to her. Boxes of
bandages toppled from the shelf where they had been sitting to