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Chapter 117
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2021-04-29 09:19:18“Didn’t Smokey the Bear teach you anything?” Ru heard Lyric’s voice behind her at about the same time a warm gust of air swept over her, making contact with the flames rising up off of the ignited branch, causing them to flicker and then whoosh out, as if they’d never existed. Ru absently wondered if that’s what it was like in the end for everyone. A moment of recognition and then—nothing.
Ru turned to see all four of her friends crossing the yard, headed in her direction. Three of them had concerned expressions on their faces; Rider still looked pissed. Ru would deal with him later. “Which one of you was it?” she asked, looking at each of them. “Who ratted out my mom?”
“It doesn’t matter, Ru,” Cutter said, stopping a few feet away from her. “What’s done is done. And just like Maggie said, it was better to tell them than to risk all five of us getting in trouble. Or worse. We’re no help to anyone if we are decommissioned.”
“Or dead.”
Ru turned and gla
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Reaper's Hollow Chapter 118
Four heads nodded up and down, and Ru wondered if they were just pacifying her. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go blow some shit up.” She took off at a brisk walk heading to the woods behind Angel Grove, which eventually led to the same tract of land she’d gone exploring with Kyle—who turned out to be Nat—not too long ago. There was good reason to think the portal to Hell that was allowing Reapers to go back and forth, conspiring with demons, was within easy walking distance of the house Keepers had built over two hundred years ago in an attempt to find said portal and stop the Reapers from congregating there. “Ru, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Cutter asked, falling into step beside her. “We’ve had a rough night. Maybe we should just call this off until tomorrow.” Without slowing her pace or turning to look at him, Ru replied, “Now is as good a time as ever. Probably better, in fact. The angrier I become, the less of a chance anyone who tries to stand in ou
Last Updated : 2021-04-29Reaper's Hollow Chapter 119
The sun had completely set by the time Ru reached the point in the woods where she believed the portal to be located, and darkness enveloped them. Cutter used his hand as a torch, which helped, but Ru was following something other than her line of sight. Memories of the time she’d spent here recently drew her back to the location where she’d been headed with Kyle the night she’d discovered the man she was ready to give her heart to was actually Thanatos. Her team had come out here one other time after that, before they traveled to Los Angeles, in an attempt to close the portal. That night, they had found the three trees that “Kyle” had told her he was looking for the evening he brought her out on a walk, which was really Nat’s attempt to trick her into joining his forces. He’d been planning to take her into the portal, but Ru had realized his plan and escaped, with the help of her friends. He’d mentioned the three trees, though, and Ru had wondered why she’d never heard of t
Last Updated : 2021-04-29Reaper's Hollow Chapter 120
The bottom of the ravine was getting closer to her head, and Ru braced herself for impact, realizing no matter how she landed, it was going to hurt. Just before the top layer of leaves and other debris careened into her face, she felt two sets of hands on her. One from above had ahold of her legs; the other, from below, took her by the shoulders. “Did you really think I’d let you fall?” Ivy asked as she and Lyric righted Ru and set her boots downs on the ground. As Ru formulated a response, a line of shadows cut through the darkness, making the places on the ground before the three girls where the shadows fell even more inky black than the rest of the ravine. Having extinguished her light as she was falling, Ru was tempted to relight it, but looking up to the precipice of the ravine across from her, she realized she didn’t need to. Despite the darkness and their black clothing, Nat and his ranks of Reapers were visible. “Oh, good, you brought them to me, Ru.
Last Updated : 2021-04-29Reaper's Hollow Chapter 121
Before she could even finish the first phrase, a blast of hot air hit her, sending her careening into the small space beneath the overhang. Her head connected with the rock, hard, and she felt a warm trickle of blood streaming down her face. She turned to see Raven approaching, fast, a triumphant look on her face. Her hair hadn’t recovered from the shock of earlier, and her outfit was also set askew, but her eyes were wild. Ru jumped to her feet. “I don’t have time for this shit,” she mumbled. “That’s right, Ruin. Payback is hell!” Raven raised her hands again, as if she was about to send Ru reeling into the rocks once more. With a sigh, Ru quickly opened both palms, sending a quick blast of blue light at Raven. For some reason, this shot seemed power packed, and Raven went flying backward again. This time, she was sucked up into one of Lyric’s twisters, which, though thin, was several stories high. Ru imagined she might come shooting out the top at s
Last Updated : 2021-04-29Reaper's Hollow Chapter 122
An unfamiliar smell invaded her senses as Ru tried to remember where she’d been and what she had been doing. The ringing in her ears was almost intolerable, matched only by the pain in her head. The smell of scorched earth was not a familiar one, but she recognized it as she slowly sat up. Everything came rushing back to her all at once. The portal. The demons. Her father. The Reapers. Her team. Ru turned, bracing herself for what she might see. Behind her, crumpled bodies littered the ground. No one was moving. Ru cried out in anguish, wondering if closing the portal had somehow caused her to kill everyone, including her friends. As tears poured down her cheeks, she managed to pull herself up off of the ground, digging at the earth with burned palms as she found her footing. She realized someone else was moving, however, and she wiped the tears from her eyes to assess the situation. At the top of the ravine, across the way, a figure stood. He,
Last Updated : 2021-04-29Reaper's Hollow Chapter 123
Ru heard someone calling her name from a distance, but she couldn’t open her eyes to see who it was. The voice sounded faintly familiar, though she couldn’t place it. It wasn’t Liddy Brown, of that she was sure. How many times had she been startled out of a sound sleep by the sound of her adoptive mother’s voice ricocheting off of her brain? Bedroom lights flipped on, blankets torn off. Or better yet, a slap to the face for some transgression she hadn’t even known she’d been guilty of when she’d gone to bed the night before. Ru settled into the relief that whoever was calling for her, it wasn’t the wretched Liddy Brown. Now, there was shaking, though, and the voice’s persistence intensified, as if the person could annoy her awake. Reluctantly, Ru strained to open her eyes, pushing up with her hands as she did so and making contact with the shaker. Her muscles felt stiff, and as her eyes flickered, she realized the bed she was sleeping in was unbelievably uncomfortabl
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Ru's eyes flew up to meet Cutter's. “What do you mean? The man trying to get through the portal?” He nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t think so either. I mean, not after a few minutes anyway. But who… what was it?” “It was a demon trying to trick you. Demons feel different than Reapers. I’m sure you sensed that.” Ru nodded. Last night had been her first experience with demons, that she had recognized anyway, and she distinctly remembered the sensations coming from the bull and bird-creature being different than the Reapers. “Why was it easier for me to send the demons back to Hell than the Reapers?” “Because the Reapers were ready to fight. Those low-level demons weren’t aware of what was happening. They just saw an opportunity to escape.” “Those were low-level demons?” Ru asked, surprised. Cutter nodded. “The more powerful ones will be more difficult to capture and destroy.” Ru shook her head in disbelief. She hoped she would never come face to
Last Updated : 2021-04-29Reaper's Hollow Chapter 125
Accessing Hell from a portal wasn’t quite possible from Nat’s current location, so when his father had summoned him, he’d had to comply through other means. Meeting Azrael, even in another realm, could be both uncomfortable and dangerous, so as Nat waited in what appeared to be an antechamber in a palace he’d never visited before, he paced the floor. The room was poorly lit, with black marble flooring which transitioned to dark stone where it met the walls. There were no windows, and even the ceiling, with its ornate flying buttresses, was ominous. The gloominess matched his mood, and he feared, would fit his father’s disposition as well. Failing at holding Ru off under the circumstances was almost inevitable. He’d been demanding more assistance from other realms for weeks as she grew stronger. It seemed those who commanded the demons felt there was little use in wasting their resources on an elementary school teacher who didn’t even know how to levitate, but they we
Last Updated : 2021-04-29
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Reaper's Hollow Chapter 158: Epilogue
One year later… “All right, boys and girls. That is enough for today. We will pick up with Ramona’s story tomorrow afternoon. For now, go ahead and get your backpacks on, and let’s line up at the door.” Groans filled the air as twenty-two fourth graders followed their teacher’s directions despite wanting to hear what happened next in the story. They stood and walked to the cubbies where their backpacks were hung and politely took turns getting their belongings before making an orderly line at the door. Ru took a deep breath and looked lovingly at her students. Even though she’d made the same prediction every year since she started teaching, she had had a feeling about this group of kids from the very beginning. And she was right. They were the best group of fourth graders she’d ever taught. The bell rang and she wished them all a good weekend, gathering up the four students who went to daycare and walking with th
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 157
“I need to face him,” Cutter said. “And you need to get to the portal.” Ru craned her neck around the tree. While there were still some Reapers near the entryway, for the most part, the Keepers were able to set up a perimeter around the portal. If she was going to go, now was the time. “Okay. Be careful,” she said. Realizing that Cutter was about to take on one of her assignments made Ru feel uncomfortable, particularly since she knew what the end result would be, and despite the bargain she’d almost just made with the devil, she still didn’t want to see Nat destroyed. But she had to push those thoughts out of her head. She quickly kissed Cutter’s cheek and scurried off to the next tree closest to the portal. Nat saw her now, and he began to move in her direction, using his scythe to cut down an attacking Keeper as if he were nothing. Ru swallowed hard and steeled herself, looking for the next place to hide. If she used her powers on Nat, there was a chance she would
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 156
A Reaper stepped through the portal opening. Tall, with ebony hair, he wore the long black cloak she expected to see, a scythe in his hand. The man quickly ran to the left of the portal, and then another Reaper appeared on his heels. Dressed identically, with the same weapon, he ran to the right. Then, another sprang forth, and another. Ru watched, her eyes wide as the Reapers continued to pour out of the portal, as if Hell had spilled an inkwell and the thick, black substance was covering the entire earth. “Holy Hell.” It was hard to pull her eyes off of the sight, but she turned to see Cutter standing next to her. “We’ll never be able to take all of them.” It was Ivy, and Ru glimpsed a look of defeat on her face as she came to a stop behind Cutter. “We have to try,” he said. Ru could see the resolve in his face and noticed his hands clenched into fists at his sides. “Ivy and I will hold them off while you concentrate on the portal.” There ha
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 155
The demons were up again, too, and the battles picked up where they had left off. Everyone else was engaged, which left Ru to face this Goliath all by herself. “Kill it! Kill it!” Rider shouted at her as streaks of blue wrapped around the snake’s midsection. He seemed to be closing in on his prey, and Ru tried not to let the sight distract her. He was right. It would be best to take out the giant before he was fully formed. With a deep breath, Ru drew upon all of the strength she had inside of her and aimed her blue light at the giant. It was difficult to figure out where to aim since he was only out of the portal up to his shins. Still, she hoped it would be enough. Perhaps it was because of his size, but she felt the need to shout even louder this time as she recited the incantation almost word for word along with Rider who was also sending the snake into oblivion. “Infernus et perdere faciam te in nomine Domini!” This time, Ru didn’t feel as confi
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 154
There it was, right in front of her, the portal. The final one. And all she had to do was raise her hands and say the incantation. All of this would be over. If Thanatos wasn’t here, she couldn’t kill him. Surely, Raphael would understand that. She’d just close the portal and sneak away, leaving that confrontation for another day. Except she knew it wasn’t that easy. Just because she didn’t see him didn’t mean he wasn’t there. And even before she could raise her hands, the pull from inside of her became overwhelming, causing Ru to double over. The air between the edges of the portal continued to ripple and wave, and Ru recognized the sensation from both of the previous portals. Something was coming. She looked at Cutter and for the first time she could remember, she saw fear in his eyes. “They’re coming,” she whispered. He opened his mouth to say something, but before anything came out, a rush of heat shot out of the portal opening. Both of them instinctively
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 153
“Well, that doesn’t even make sense.” Lyric rolled her eyes. “If you’re in charge, then why do you have to do what someone else told you?” Flint launched into a defense of his decision, but Ru shouted over him. “Flint! Look, the reason their numbers were so low at the beginning of the battle is obvious, isn’t it? It’s not because this portal doesn’t mean anything to them—it’s because it means everything to them. They’re not on the battlefield yet. They will come through the portal!” She had him by the shoulders, which caused him to jump backward, shaking himself free, and once Ru finished her statement she took a step back as well. “What? No,” Flint argued. “They’re not going to send them through the portal. That would be suicide. They’d have to come through a small opening into enemy controlled territory.” “Yeah, into a stream of five whole enemy fighters who cannot possibly hold them all off,” Rider reminded him. “You have to close in behind us.” Ru
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 152
Aokigahara sprawled in front of her like the untamed wild it was, trees encroaching into the neighboring farmlands and open spaces as if the forest insisted on reclaiming what used to be hers. From this direction, it was difficult to tell where the forest began and civilization ended, though Ru thought for certain she’d know when she crossed the line. She stifled a yawn and kept moving forward, one boot at a time, toward what might be her very last mission, if she had her way. Though she had fallen asleep for a few hours, for the most part, she’d gotten her wish and was able to stay up most of the night, with Cutter’s help, and the activity he’d chosen to occupy her certainly didn’t make her feel less worn out. The few hours she had spent in oblivion had been dreamless, as far as she knew. At least, if there had been dreams, they had been unmemorable. Her friends surrounded her as they made their way into the forest. Cutter was in front of her, Rider b
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 151
Navigating airports was hard enough for Ru when she was in countries where most everyone spoke English. Flying to Japan would’ve been completely overwhelming if Ivy wasn’t fluent in Japanese and Mandarin, especially when they had to switch planes in Shanghai. Luckily, the gentle-natured Keeper had managed to keep all of them in line and they’d made their way to Shizuoka Airport with little incident, though Rider complained about the lack of legroom on the commuter jet nearly the whole flight. Thank goodness for headphones, Ru had thought to herself. The entire van ride from the airport to their hotel, a place Ru hadn’t even attempted to try to pronounce for fear she’d embarrass herself, her eyes were glued out the window. From the buildings, to the natural surroundings off in the distance, to the smiling faces of those they passed along the streets, Ru was fascinated. By the looks she was getting, so were the people staring back at her. Five tall blondes with blue e
Reaper's Hollow Chapter 150
Cutter squeezed her leg, and Ru realized it must be apparent she wasn’t paying attention. She tuned back in to hear Sky say, “Now, the team we are meant to protect so that they can get in and close the portal will be given the code name Alfred. This will allow us to be briefer in our communications about the team.” Sky continued to talk, and she knew it was important that she listen, since Ru would be involved in whatever the blue-haired Keeper was discussing presently, but curiosity got the better of her. “Why Alfred?” she whispered to Cutter. Without turning his head, he replied, “Alfred Nobel.” “Huh?” Ru was still confused. “The inventor of dynamite.” “Oh.” Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to Sky, who was giving her the same look Ru might give a student who wasn’t paying attention. Ru swallowed hard and made herself concentrate. “Alfred will be dispatched from here, a break in the forest away from the typical entrance
