Chapter I

Chapter 1 of the novel Reapers

The darkness slowly faded to light as the first signs of life began to stir in the small town of Angel's Crossing, Louisiana. It was by no means a bustling city. Townsfolk even made jokes about the name. It sounded like a warning sign that should be posted on the streets of Heaven to avoid collision. With a population of only 490 people, everyone knew everyone and to the outside world, the close-knit area seemed like the perfect place to live, but to November Brooks, twenty-two years in Angel's Crossing was twenty-two too many.

For local girl, November, being able to leave Angel's Crossing in the ruby glow of her tail lights and saying good-bye to small town life would be pure heaven. Most girls her age spend their time chasing boys, trying to keep up with the latest fashion trends, and trying to remember that one weekend out with the girls, but life for November was different. November's reality was far from the fairytale and the only good-bye in her future would be one she dreaded. It made her heart ache morning and night thinking about it, but no matter what she did, it was inevitable, because death was something no one could avoid-no matter how many days you spend denying it, the day would come when she would have to say good-bye to the one person she loved more than life itself, her younger brother, Nathaniel, and that day was coming soon.

Nathaniel was diagnosed with Leukemia when he was fourteen years old. Now sixteen, the doctors were baffled at Nathaniel's ability to continue to hold on and fight the disease that is determined to take his life. So for November, everyday, every moment with her brother was precious. She cared for her brother in the absence of their mother, Lisa, who worked day and night at the local hospital to help provide for her children and pay for the mounting medical bills. Shortly after Nathaniel was diagnosed with Leukemia, November and Nathaniel's father, Nicholas Brooks disappeared from his family's life without a word, leaving the weight of the world on their mother's shoulders. When November wasn't caring for her brother, her time was spent mainly with highlighters and text books because those grades in nursing school weren't going to earn themselves. When and if the occasional free moment did come around, she could be found down at the local bar and grill, Scottie's, waiting on the never satisfied patrons to earn a dollar here and there.

"Great, I'm gonna be late...again!" November huffed as she snatched her freshly washed apron from the arm of the couch. "He's going to fire me one of these days."

"Scott owns the place and is Marielle's step-dad, who's like your bff, so I doubt it," Nathaniel teased as he adjusted himself on the couch to avoid November's fury. "Maybe if you'd stop worrying about me for two seconds, you might be in control of your own life for once." He added, glancing over at their mother, Lisa, who sat silently in an arm chair next to the couch, smirking slyly as she hid behind the People magazine she was flipping through.

"Sue me for caring! Do you need anything before I go? Or want me to pick up anything on the way home?" November asked cautiously.

"Please, just go. I've got everything under control on this end. I am the mother, after all," Lisa snipped, waving November off and flashing her an amused grin.

"Fine. See you guys later!" November finally caved, hastily exiting and pulling the door closed behind her.

November rushed down the driveway to a beige 2002 Honda Accord. While it wasn't the prettiest or most exciting thing on the road, it got her from point A to point B without any problems, so she couldn't really complain. A new car wasn't really on the top of November's list anyway, what with all that was going on in her life. Plunking the car in reverse, she headed out of her driveway and down the highway in the direction of Scottie's. Scottie's was one of the only places in the area with actual social activity.

Tonight was rare. Lisa, being a registered nurse and with piles of medical bills, usually worked long hours at the nearby hospital. While they had insurance, it only covered so much when it came to Nathaniel's treatments. They didn't live in the biggest house in the neighborhood or drive the nicest cars, but they had each other for now, and that's all that really mattered to them. Lisa and November would sacrifice what they could to keep him comfortable. On the nights that Nathaniel felt better, November would work at Scottie's and keep her phone nearby in case he needed her. On the not-so-good nights, she would spend her time at home with him, unless her mother was home to watch over him, which was almost never. Scott went easy on November's scheduling because he understood her situation. Tonight was one of the easier nights.

Scottie's was located on the opposite side of town, overlooking the Mississippi River that ran through the small Louisiana town, leaving November to find her way down eerie, winding backroads to get there. While Scottie's and the small area of downtown Angel's Crossing may have been approaching the facade of what a small town should be, much of the town remained undeveloped woodlands and homes were spaced few, and far between leaving much of the roadways to be surrounded by towering, twisted pines and oaks. Luckily for November, there were probably mall parking lots out there bigger than her entire town, so it wasn't that long of a drive. At night it was hard not to imagine a serial killer stomping out from behind one of the thick trees with a freshly sharpened axe in hand, but since November's drive was only a brisk ten minutes, she didn't have much time to give in to those kinds of thoughts.

November twisted her keys in the ignition and pulled them from the steering column as she arrived at the bar. Grabbing her apron from the passenger seat with the accompanying ticketbooks, she shuffled out of her car and pushed the door closed behind her. November wasn't really concerned with locking her car because around there, those types of things just didn't happen. Everybody knew everybody here and if anything out of the ordinary happened, you could bet it would spread through the town like wildfire in a matter of days. As she made her way hastily across the parking lot, November yanked her hair up into a messy ponytail to save herself a little aggravation later. Nothing could drive November to the brink of insanity faster than trying to take care of a restaurant full of hungry country folks than the incessant need to tuck a long, dangling strand of hair away and out of her face.

"Oh, look, Miss America has decided to join us!" a loud, playful female voice shouted from across the bar as November pulled the door open. It was Marielle, Scottie's step-daughter who also happened to be the bartender and one of November's best friends. "Honey, you don't have to get so dolled up to come wait tables. This ain't a pageant," She mocked, raking her eyes over November's hurried and disheleved appearance. It was pure irony because out of everyone in town, Marielle was the one to always show up looking her best, with her hair perfectly curled and her make-up just so. Tonight it seemed she had decided to go with a blindingly bright shade of hot pink lip gloss.

"Well, you know, it would probably only take me half the time to get ready if I only had half a head of hair, like some people around here," November shot back, smirking.

"Girl, my hair, like every other part of me, is fabulous. Thank you," Marielle teased, flipping her dark, a-symmetrical bob with her hand so that it bounced lightly against her mocha skin.

Scottie, the restaurant's owner and local celebrity, had just finished making his rounds through the tables, patting people on the shoulder and laughing with them. He basically knew everyone and their mother, which was probably the reason why the place stayed packed to capacity on most nights.

"Oh, here we go. If I stand around waiting for you to tell me all the wonderful things about yourself, the people in this restaurant would starve to death," November complained, rolling her eyes at the thought of having to stand here and listen to Marielle's narcissism for hours on end. She tied the apron swiftly around her waist and headed to the back of the restaurant to get her night started. "Okay, Scottie, what do you have for me?"

Author's Note

The chapters are short for the most part.