Jim's Chapter 3

Jim describes his day to day responsibilities as a Valkerie.

The demon had its talons aimed for my neck, and it launched itself as hard as it could at me. I had to think, which I didn’t have much time for. People were behind me, and I didn’t want to do much damage to the buildings on the sides of me. So I made a choice. I ran at him, too. He was surprised and hesitated, which I predicte. It gave me time to use my speed moveI used my natural speed, which Grimm described as “insanely fast,” and temporarily super charged it with light energy. Grimm said that when I did that, I was barely a blur as I moved. My sudden disappearance shook the demon as I maneuvered to his back. I stomped hard with my boot heel on his spine, and he crashed down on the ground. I jumped off, and faced him with my back to the street.

“Look, I really don’t wanna have to send you to Hell…” I began.

Then his wings rose and thundered down. I felt the ground shake and it knocked me off guard. Then, the force of his wings coming down lifted him into the air. He blasted off, retreating into the sky.

“Damn!” I exclaimed. Grimm told me that my problem was that I hesitated before casting a demon into Hell. He was right, I guess. I jumped and almost caught him. I landed on the building ledge, and fired up again. He was heading towards the clock tower, but I was a little ahead of him. I drew my sword back, ready to cut off that ugly head of his. But I wasn’t planted on the ground, I was in the sky off balance. I couldn’t fly. I was in his element. He checked slightly to the left to evade my katana, and he swatted me out of the air like a fly with a powerful roundhouse kick. I crashed down on a building top with a really loud smash. It hurt. I fell from about fifty feet, after all. I was a bit dazed and got to my feet. I looked over and he was getting away. I flipped my sword so that I was holding the tip of the blade, and I launched it as hard as I could, like a throwing knife. The sword spun in fast arcs, and it connected with the side of my enemy. The demon roared as it started to fall from the sky. I sprinted over as fast as I could. I jumped over allies and leaped at him while he was in the air. I tackled him and tore my sword out from under his ribs. I kicked off of him and sent myself above him. I selected the right fingers on my left hand and pointed them at the demon. I sent a lightning strike from my fingertips and blasted the life out of that demon. He hit the rooftop hard, And I landed gracefully. I was surprised to see him still breathing.

“You have one last chance to surrender,” I said. “I can’t give Last Rites without your consent.”

I walked over, ready to either give him the Last Rites, or send down a death stroke. He choked out a growl. The Last Rites would have allowed him to take a job in Purgatory instead of going to Hell. I really would have preferred he asked for the Rites. But most demons refused it. I grimaced. I brought the blade down on his neck, and his body turned into dust. I saw a black cloud rise from the ashes and dive down through the building. That was a demon’s soul. It plunged into Hell, I assumed. I sighed and withdrew my sword. Even though that thing wanted to kill me and eat me, I still didn’t want to cast him into one the Lower Circles of Hell. I watched his ashes blow away and shrugged. I concealed my weapon and strolled away. I wondered about that trench coat he was wearing. Only me and maybe a handful of other living Spectrals could see him. He knew that. So why was he in disguise? He was probably just weird.

 I went out on patrol around the city. As I got to know it better, I realized how pretty it was. Just around sun set was the best. I got myself onto my favorite skyscraper and leaned against the radio tower. I watched the sun dip down behind the other buildings, remembering that Michael the Archangel kept a huge dragon in the sun in case of some demon war that he couldn’t win. Still, I repressed the thought that there was a giant snake monster inside that swirling ball of gas, and gazed at its beauty. Occasionally I glanced to my watch to see if anything was happening below. The needle didn’t twitch passed Livy. Other than that demon I fought hours earlier, I hadn’t really encountered anything since I began. The way Cromwell described it, I would be fighting demons all day forever. That sounded cool. What I had been doing for most of the time for the past six months was boring. I hopped off the skyscraper when the sun set, and made it off to my sanctuary. My sanctuary was where I lived. It was in an abandoned tower of a Cathedral still in commission on one of the city’s oldest streets. I looked at from across the street on a rooftop. I got down in a sprinter stance, and ran as fast as I could. I launched off the ledge and aimed for the open window to my sanctuary. For a second, I knew I was off course. I always forgot to check myself for the wind. I adjusted my arms a little, and I zipped right through the window. I judo rolled across the floor and got to my feet. The first time I tried that, I ended up smashing against the wall of the Cathedral.

I got to my feet and took my Magic book off the stand. I didn’t have a bed, because I didn’t need sleep. Instead, I had a small mat for me to meditate on. My walls and floor were made of old stone, since the Church I lived in was founded back in the seventeen hundreds. I moved my stand over to my mat so I could read my book. I had a trunk nearby, filled with candles and crazy stuff for complex spells. And of course, I had AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Beatles, and Elvis posters on my walls. My phone was charging in my computer on my desk. I had some paperwork to fill out later. I reaped a few souls the day before, including the soul of a visiting congressman. I sat on my mat and started reading my book. After a few minutes, I entered a meditative trance. Picture falling down an endless well. Its pitch black, and you can’t see or feel the walls. But you feel no fear, and farther you drop, the better you feel. As you keep going down the well, you see flashes of light and energy is absorbed into your mind. You’ll see bursts of white light, I think signifying the light realm Valo. Then heat and fire, being Muspell. Ice and cold for Nifilhiem. And a weird, feeling in my head for Vanamier. Overall, meditation peaceful and relaxing, as well as invigorating. I explored the contencts of my mind, which was connected to the Aferlife now.

I patrolled the city for a few hours, and to my surprise…nothing happened. Yep, I was guarding the only big city in the world that had no demon action. I heard in New York, there was demon fighting at least once a day for a Valkerie. I roamed around the roof tops and saw my buddy Charlie. He was a ghost who died four hundred years ago at the Tri City founding. He was a tall, French guy who’s real name was Charles Van Gone. He had a powdered wig, knee britches, the blue coat, the ruffles, everything. He spoke English, seventeenth century English.

“Charlie, how’s it goin’, buddy?” I said as I approached him.

He turned around and smiled.

“Jim, how are you? I do hope this day hast been well to you.”

“Yeah…Been okay. Fought a demon. Finally.”

“Is that true? My Lord in Paradise…It went well, I presume? Since you’re still bearing on Earth?”

“Yeah. Went swell. ‘Bout you?”

“Oh, it’s been a bore, I suppose. Not much to do once one is deceased.”

“Sorry to hear that. Look, why don’t you let me take to Heaven? I’m pretty sure it’s not boring up there?”

“I thought you told me that you have never been there?”

“…Uh…No. Not yet. I’m supposed to have a break in three weeks. Then I get to see my parents. And I guess my grandma…and everyone else I’m related to.”

Charlie laughed.

“Ah, my boy, why doth you insist on me going to Heaven? You’ve never been there yourself? Tis like I ask for a good saloon, and you speak of one you never entered.” He started laughing again. I joined in. I guess that joke was a killer back in the sixteen-fifties.

I glanced to the Tri City clock tower “Well…Like Led Zeppelin, I got to Ramble On.”

“Like…Who?” He asked.

“Oh, sorry. Rock band formed about…three hundred and fifteen years after you were alive. I forget the generation gap, sometimes.”

He looked at me with a blank face.

“A what band? Generation gap?”

I paused. What kind of crappy time would it be to never have Rock music.

“Never mind. See ya around, Charlie.”

I was gone as he waved and said goodbye. I roamed around for a while, looking for something to do. I saw a few ghosts I knew. How sad is this: there’s this spirit named Angela. She was pretty, from the early 1900’s. She died when her boyfriend was shipped to France during World War One. She committed suicide when she got news that he was killed in the trenches. The guy was chopped to bits by a German Gatling gunner that took out his whole unit. Or so she thought. She hung herself, just as the mail man came to her door with a letter that said it was mistake. Her boyfriend was the only survivor of the attack. She told me her story my third week on patrol with Grimm. I saw her a couple hours after I talked with Charlie. Angela was sitting by herself on a park bench near the park. I strolled over and sat next to her.

Before I get to that, I bet you’re wondering something. You want to know why there are ghosts if I’m supposed to take their souls to Judgment, right? Well, it’s a bit complex. You see, in the case of Charlie, his soul is too afraid to move on. I can only reap willing souls. In the case of Angela, she didn’t want to move on either, but this had a twist. Everyone is reserved a place in Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory when they are born. When that person is judged, let’s say they go to Heaven, their places in Purgatory and Hell is relinquished. In the case of Angela, she chose to stay on Earth as a ghost and wait for her boyfriend to come home. Of course he couldn’t see her as a ghost, and she lost her places in all the Afterlife. So she had to wait until a free spot came up. I got an order from Cromwell that her place in Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory opened up again.

“Angela, how you been?”

She gave me a smile.

“Alright I guess. You doing okay, Jimmy?”

“Yeah. I have good news, by the way. You have a place in the Afterlife, now.”

I saw her face beam. She launched herself at me, but materialized right through my torso. She laughed and turned Pol. I felt her embrace.

“Thank you so much, Jim.”

“Yeah, no problem. I’m just the messenger, Angela. You ready to go?”

“Yes.”

I felt her lips kiss my cheek. My first kiss, from a hundred year old dead girl. Sadder than her story, I think. She turned semi-transparent and I stood up. I drew my sword, and saw a scared looked in her eyes.

“It won’t hurt. You don’t have any nerve endings,” I joked. She laughed.

“You’ll visit me, right?”

“Sure. I get a week off soon, I’ll see you in Heaven.”

She closed her eyes, and rose my sword. I swiped my blade diagonally through her. Her image began to tremble and fade. I heard a pop and she vanished in a puff of smoke. Her cloud-like essence floated up to the sky and I watched it go. I always thought it was pretty to watch the souls go. I don’t know why. Maybe that was the Valkerie nature in me.

After a few weeks, I finally got leave to visit my family. I went to Purgatory so I could use the escalator to go to Heaven. I couldn’t teleport yet, which was really embarrassing It's kind of like being sixteen, but you can't drive yet. And all the sixteen year olds you know who can drive make fun of you and tell how awesome driving is. Yeah, the other Valkeries I see on occasion make fun of me for not teleporting. B******s…So I went up the escalator, yes like at a mall. I looked down at my feet and thought about how ironic it was that the steps were a little dirty. In front of me was this old guy. He had a hole at the base of spine. I had a game I liked to play in a situation like that. Hole at the base of his spine...It was a neat, very clean hole...He died in surgery, I guess in my thoughts. I saw death so much, it barely mattered to me. It mattered so little, I made a game out of it. But he was going to live forever in Heaven, so what difference did it make. I saw a bright light up ahead and the old man stepped through it. At once, golden light shone down on him and the hole in his back was gone. In fact, he looked in the early twenties. Then he went completely through the light and disappeared from my view. I finally got to the light and strolled in. It was weird, since it was my first time in Heaven. I was standing on a puffy white cloud. I strutted over to a giant golden gate, where this huge angel was guarding. He was decked out on gleaming silver and blue armor. His wings radiated a pale gold color. He smiled, and I recognized him.

“You’re Hiemdall, aren't you?” I said.

He nodded.

“Hello, James. Michael has told me about you. He says your speed is uncanny.”

“Yeah, a lot of people say that. So you're the gate guard, huh? How's that rollin' these days?”

“Satisfying. Seeing the good people of Earth every day. You are on leave?”

“Yes, sir.”

           Hiemdall nodded and smiled. The gates opened and I walked in. Heaven looked…remarkably like Midgard. It seemed like Heaven was like just one big small town, a town that went on forever. I saw my parents who were ecstatic to see me. I told them what I was doing on Midgard, and they were surprisingly accepting. Of course, I only told them I was like a “spirit police officer.” I didn’t tell them about the demons and chance that I could be incapacitated for a thousand years as a result of being killed in the Afrerlife. But it was nice staying with them at their house for a few days. They had this house that was set up for them in Heaven. I stayed in a guest room and we all hung out for the time I was there. It was time for me to leave, and on my way out of Heaven, I ran into Angela. She gave me a big bear hug and kissed me on the cheek. She thanked me for sending her to Heaven and wanted me to have lunch with her. But I had to get back to Midgard to start my next shift. It was true, yet I’m still kicking myself in the a*s about it. I told that beautiful…dead girl….that I’d be back in a month or two and then I’d see her.  

I was back on Midgard a minute later, and I resumed my duties. The part of my job that sucked the most was Reaping. I was the only Valkerie in my city, which happened to be a huge place. So a lot of people were dying. I was on Reaper duty every day, and I had to take, on average, seven people on a daily basis. I don’t know, I just didn’t like it. I saw a lot of grisly stuff. Not every day, but frequently. People who were murdered, criminals shot down by police, suicide cases, deaths from nasty diseases, stuff like that. Although, by that time I growing more and more detached from humanity. I was slowly being desensitized to death. I don’t know if that’s a good thing. What point was there in performing a service to people when you didn’t care about them? That’s mostly the only thing I did, though. Reap souls. No demons to kill, except that last one.

About a month after my trip to Heaven, I was meditating in my room. I felt someone open a window in my mind,  I got a telepathic message from Cromwell. He asked me to get to his office. So I travelled to Purgatory, and made it up to his blank office. Cromwell didn’t look up at me as usual and I sat down.

“Spectre, I’m sure you’re aware of the increase of demonic energy?”

“Yeah, I am. But I haven’t yet seen any demons or any murders or accidents that looked like they were caused by demons. I sense demon energy sometimes and I try to follow its trail, but it dissipates.”

That was true. For a couple weeks I was sensing demons. It was weird, since I never really sensed more than one in my area. Cromwell nodded.

“Right. Well, I have reason to believe that a well known demon gang called the Kaisers has immigrated into your city.”

“Demon gang?” I never heard of that.

“Yes. It’s like a gang of human criminals. For some reason they haven’t emerged fully. But they were heavy in New York and Chicago. They dealt mostly in illegal weapons being sold to other gangs or ghosts. They also manufactured a drug called Gildalit.”

“Gildalit? There’s drugs in the Afterlife?”

“Yes, Spectre. It’s a drug used from the happiness spell I’m sure Mephistos has shown you. But that spell can’t be used to much, otherwise it disrupts your natural ability to think happily. The more useage leads to joylessness and depression. Gildalit is a powder that amplifies the effects tenfold and discombobulates the user. Highly dangerous. It’s being sold to ghosts and other demons. I want this stopped, Spectre.”       

“By myself?”

 “I’m sending a few Valkeries to Tri City to assist you. See if you can find anything out.” He pulled out his desk drawer and pulled out a shoe box sized wooden box.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“You’re experienced enough to have this. These are some tools to help you.” He showed me a pair of handcuffs. “These hold demons, incapacitate them.” He took out a smaller box. “These are viles to contain interrogations. Read your Magic Book to get the details. Everything else is self explanatory.”

“Thank you, sir.”

 “You’re dismissed.”

I nodded and left. Thankfully, Cromwell’s little briefings were always really short. Straight to the point with that guy. So I went back to Earth, but before I did, I had a small chat with Grimm, who asked me how I was, all that. He heard I had been perfroming the job well, since he stopped training me. It turned out that he was going to Tri City to help out. He teleported with me to the city, and I met the other two Valkeries who would be assisting me. Well, I guess I’d be assisting them, since I was still a rookie. Besides Grimm, there was Officer Plage and Bonnes. Plague was a Valkerie for a hundred and two years, a nice older looking guy who could snap my head off my neck like a wine cork. Bonnes was a cool lady who was a Valkerie for fifty-six years, who could probably kill me with her belly button. All of us patrolled the city together for a few days to get to know each other better. Then we parted ways.

Being Valkeries, we liked working alone. Maybe that was why we were all loners as Livies. We got used to being alone and isolated. At school, I was the guy who sat by himself in the lunchroom while everyone else was talking to their friends. On weekend nights, I was always at home. I’d workout, read, or whatever. Eventually when I got old enough I got a job just so I wouldn’t feel like such a loser. But by the time I died, I was used to isolation and found that people freaked me out a little. About a week before the demon killed me, a girl actually came up to me. She flirted and seemed to take a bit of a fancy to me. Being new to this new attention I of course got all shy and screwed it up. I will spare the details of that venture, on a count of my mental trauma concerning that incident. I’m not entirely sure why were are made to be loners. Maybe it’s because it’s easier to work alone as a Valkerie. My kind are physically powerful, magically adept, and pretty clever. I never got straight A’s in school…mostly because I never did my homework. Or studied. Or pay attention in class. But I always browse the text book once before the test and score at least a C. Out of 2400, I got a 1789 on the SAT. So my people are street smart, naturally clever, and good at problem solving. So I guess the need to work with a partner is out. Plus, we’re all separated from each other, can only see loved ones in Heaven every once in a while, and have barely any contact with Living humans. So we get lonely. A person used to a bunch of friends would be driven insane by the loneliness. But we Valkeries are used to it, so it wasn’t really a change for us. Running around the city, collecting dead souls, and fighting demons was actually a better change from my previous life, since I was constantly preoccupied with my work. Then I’d go meditate and practice magic. I didn’t have time for friends anyway. After all, I had ghosts and recently-dead-about-to-be-reaped souls to talk to every now and then. I was getting bored pretty quickly, though. Even after Cromwell informed me of increased demon energy in my city. I went two weeks without seeing one or detecting a demon. My watch never ticked passed Livy. I was close to resigning as a Valkerie and just going to Heaven like a normal person. Maybe I’d hook up with Angela or something. At least she liked me.

One day, I was on daily patrol. Since there were three more Valkeries, we divided up reaping duty. It was my day and I was running around. I remember that I was daydreaming. I was imagining myself in Cromwell’s office, giving him my resignation speech. But in real life, I felt the pull of a person dying, and I followed it. It took me to the mayor’s office. I didn’t know his name. There was an ambulance and cops everywhere. They didn’t see me walk right into the crime scene. Paramedics surrounded the mayor, who was on the floor in a pool of his own blood. He was barely breathing and I strolled up to his side. They were trying to resuscitate him and stabilize him. But I knew he wouldn’t make it. It was his time. I walked up and slashed his chest open with my sword. His skin didn’t split open and no blood gushed out. The slash cut a steam of light, and his soul rose up from his body. I looked down at the oblivious paramedics, who lost his pulse. They tried to bring him back, but I already took him. The mayor’s soul looked at me with horrified eyes.

“You…you…you killed me!”

“No, I just collected you,” I responding. “Why aren’t you leaving? That light right above you is the path to your Judgment.”

He was scared. I already knew why he wasn’t going.

“I’m the mayor for God’s sake! I have a city to take care of!”

“I’m sorry, but…Someone Else has another plan for you. Trust me, you’re better off leaving.”

“I…but…No! Just because some punk shoots me, I have to die!”

“You were murdered?” I asked.

I looked around. Duh. His body had a gunshot in the head and there was blood everywhere. Wow, I must have really been getting out of touch with Livies to not notice a murder. I couldn’t help but wonder how much other stuff I overlooked in the past reaping I’d done. I took a few more looks around. How did he get shot? There weren’t any windows in his office, and there wasn’t any sign of a struggle. His guards were outside as well, so how’d the murderer get in? The paramedics took his body away and he went nuts.

“No, bring that back!”

“They can’t hear you, you’re dead,” I said plainly, without even looking at him.

“Well…bring me back! You can do that!”

“I can” I turned back to him. “That light will fade in a minute so I suggest you go or you’ll be stuck here.” Then it hit me. “Wait, how did you die?”

“I was shot, you idiot!”

“What was the last thing you remember?”

“I was sitting at my desk, then I saw this man appear out of nowhere. A biker looking guy. He shot me. Then the next thing I knew I was standing in front of you.”

I checked my watch, the mayor was a ghost. I moved my wrist around to gather energy in the air. I had a hunch. My watch spun Demon. The mayor was killed by a demon, a one strong if it could show itself to Livies. I looked around and took a deep sniff of the air. As I concentrated, I could smell the trail it took.

“You’d better get into the light,” I told the mayor. “If you don’t…I really don’t care either way.”

I started following the scent, then I had a good hold of it. I sprinted down the trail and could almost see the pattern it took. Like a yellow smoke trail. I ran after the scent at my abnormal speed. Then I saw it. Ahead of me was a monster riding a monstrous motorcycle. I ran alongside it to get a better look. The demon had cracked skin, like it was made of the ground of a desert. He had five arms, and wore a leather vest. He was wearing a World War I era German Kaiser helmet with the point on top. I began to slide my katana from my jacket.

“Yo! Handsome! Valkerie Officer Jim Spectre! You’re under…”

He grinned at me with green and purple teeth, then revved his bike. He accelerated forward so fast and was gone. His scent dissipated and I stopped running.

“…Arrest.”

I chuckled. Uh oh, I thought. I put the sword away, and shrugged. I jumped up onto a roof, and decided to get some help from my colleagues.