The Underdog by Justin Carpenter

Author:Justin Carpenter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

The Reaper

Kat rolled in looking like she’d had a great time with the gods and past Balance Restorers. She was wobbling around and giggling, and obviously under the influence of something … or maybe a few somethings.

Leigh sent a half-grin her way, entertained by her antics, even though the enormity of the task he’d taken on had started to truly sink in. He rubbed the side of his face nervously, wondering for the first time if he was the right person for the job of saving the world. Well … a couple of worlds, to be more accurate. He sank down on a log, his hands hanging between his legs as he gazed disconsolately at the ground.

Leigh’s ponderings were interrupted by a still wobbling, woozy Kat.

‘Wow, I found out plenty of information about what happened in the past,’ she told her father and Leigh. ‘Chief Happy Smoke is truly amazing! Plus, he is the only Balance Restorer ever to travel to Cretonia. We talked about my mum and grandfather because he met them.’ A shadow passed over her face and her smile faltered.

Her dad gave her a comforting hug but didn’t let this memory derail their immediate purpose. ‘We need another player on our side,’ he said.

‘Oh really? Who?’ Leigh asked as he stood up.

Kat wandered over to him and leaned against him, unable to stand up on her own.

‘I’ve been considering the situation. I think I know how to stop a recurring issue,’ the Determinator said.

Kat perked up. ‘Sounds promising.’

‘We have to stop the Creation army completing the full circle and returning from the dead, just to start killing all over again. We require a soul collector to intervene and break the cycle, and I know who would fit this role perfectly.’

The Determinator pulled a bag of trinkets from his pocket and drew a pattern in the dirt, then threw the trinkets across the pattern and called out in a deep, commanding voice, ‘Grim, come to me!’ And he raised his face towards the empty sky, lifting both arms like a Messiah.

‘I think your dad’s lost it,’ Leigh whispered to Kat. ‘He’s talking to the sky.’ Kat didn’t respond. She looked a bit dreamy and vague. The effects of the peace pipe, no doubt, he thought. He shrugged and turned to face the sky.

Suddenly, at great speed but also with stealth, an old, ragged-looking spirit flew in, surfing on a cloud. He brandished a scythe aloft with a skinny arm that was covered by tatty, black cloth.

Leigh’s mouth dropped open in amazement. ‘Holy hell! I thought the Grim Reaper was a myth!’

‘Not exactly. I told him to make himself scarce when I took over my position as the Determinator here. The other gods wanted me to put him up for determination, but I knew he would never pass because of the way he’d lived his life on Earth. While his ethics were correct, his method for obtaining vengeance was frowned upon, and they feared his enormous power. But he was simply following his master’s orders and so didn’t deserve to be punished.

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