Death, Chapter One

Ginger Jordan

Dash Pearson wasn’t lucky in life, and, according to his grandma, he never would be. His death would only serve to prove this. According to his grandma, his lack of luck was all thanks to the family curse. The shadowy being had haunted the youngest member of the family line for generations, a position Dash currently had the “honor” of holding.

For his whole life, he saw the curse that haunted his home as well as the ghosts that wandered the streets of southern Louisiana. Due to this sight, he lost many hours of sleep and all but one friend. As a young child, he often spoke about the curse, worrying his mother and repelling the other kids at school. No one wanted to be friends with the weird kid that saw ghosts. The only adult that didn’t treat him like a pariah was his grandma, who always told him tales of the supernatural.

She claimed that a member of their family stole from a voodoo queen many generations ago, and, in return, she cursed the family. Throughout the generations, the curse brought the family nothing but misfortune, and the youngest member always fared the worst. Many Pearsons of the past were said to have gone mad or died from mysterious or tragic deaths, and this included his sister. His immediate family felt the burden of the curse. His parents were consistently laid off from work, and unhappy accidents were commonplace in their home. The curse was confined to their house and it couldn’t touch him, but Dash knew it was only a matter of time before it found a way to end him, too.

Most days, he tried to avoid thinking about such matters, but, on this particular day, the subject of ghosts and hauntings was all the rave. It was Dash’s least favorite day of the year: Halloween. In the past years, he spent this day at his best friend’s house nestled comfortably on the couch watching cartoons, but this year was different. This year, he was stuck at school helping with the trunk-or-treat. It was the price he paid for his track scholarship.

His parents were thrilled when they read the letter inviting him to attend Laveau Private School, a prestigious private high school near his home. Only the richest, smartest, or most talented kids were accepted here, and he somehow made it without asking. At first, he wasn’t going to accept the scholarship, since that would mean leaving his only friend at the time, Walter, behind.

Knowing that Dash was going to refuse the scholarship on his account, Walter uncharacteristically studied hard and was accepted on an academic scholarship. No one in their eighth grade class believed it until he paraded the acceptance letter around. Walter’s acceptance sealed the deal, and they were both officially enrolled.

While Dash did make one friend from the track team, he hated the school. It was impossible to shake the feeling of being an outsider. The school was kept in immaculate condition and boasted Queen Anne Architecture. While Dash and Walter walked, the other students arrived in shiny new cars wearing their crisp, freshly pressed uniforms. Dash and Walter had purchased their uniforms from a secondhand store,

Death, Chapter One Ginger Jordan

and his family didn’t even own an iron. No one said anything to them about their disheveled appearance, but he caught their derogatory glances and whispers. It was obvious he didn’t belong.

“I think I actually did okay on the test,” Walter said, as they shuffled their way through the lunch line. This was good news, because the stress of keeping his grades high enough to qualify for the academic scholarship next year was making him pull his hair out. “Did you get ‘B’ for question four?” Walter asked, and Dash nodded absently in reply, prompting a sigh from his friend. “Halloween happens every year; you may as well get used to it,” he informed as he plopped onto a chair.

All the students, aside from Dash, were taking the opportunity to ditch their uniforms and wear costumes as authorized by the school. Attending school that day was nearly futile, since everyone was too excited about their evening plans to pay attention in class. Adding on to this excitement was the fact they were getting a half day so students participating in the trunk-or-treat could get ready.

Walter, who was dressed as a pirate, complete with a beard, eye patch, and parrot, removed his beard and began devouring his meal. Ryan, their only other friend, soon joined them. Like Dash, he was there on a track scholarship, so they had more in common economically than with the other students. Dash was enjoying the friendship while it lasted. It was only a matter of time until he let slip his dreaded ability to see ghosts or the family curse. Either way, once that information was out there, Ryan would drift away as numerous other potential friends had.

Dash looked up to see Ryan dressed as a zombie, and he quickly decided to focus on the cleanliness of the cafeteria instead. Ryan’s makeup was done too well for his liking. His skin appeared deathly pale, a visage he had seen too many times before, and the fake blood on Ryan's head and clothes made him uneasy.

“So, what are you going as for the trunk-or-treat?” Ryan asked Dash as he started on his meal.

“Just myself,” he informed, wishing he could end the conversation there but knowing that wasn’t going to happen. Every year, he was pestered by at least Walter about celebrating the holiday. If it was up to him, he wouldn’t even be there, but the members of the sport teams were required to help.

He and Ryan would be manning the track team’s candy booth, and Walter volunteered to help make beignets. Walter didn’t have the foggiest idea how to make beignets, but, according to him, he was eager to learn. Dash was sure his interest wasn’t so much sparked by the desire to master the dish as to flirt with a girl named Luna that he had been crushing on for weeks. She was working the beignet stand, too.

Just as Dash predicted, Ryan protested his lack of a costume, and, with Walter’s help, they barraged him with a list of last-minute costume ideas.

“The kids will love it,” Ryan said.

“Don’t be boring,” Walter pleaded.

All the while, Dash fought the urge to run home and curl up with his dog, Spot. The spooky scenery, the excited students, the frantic teachers, and the fear of demons and ghosts roaming freely in the night made his chest tight.

Death, Chapter One Ginger Jordan

It was easy for others to find the holiday fun; they didn’t have to see what he saw. They didn’t know of the dangers he did. Since he was a child, his grandma warned him about Halloween. It was the most dangerous time of year, when demons could masquerade as human spirits. Running into a demon could mean death or the consumption of his soul, a fate worse than death. Dash didn’t dare take such a risk, so he took a practical approach. Since there was no way to tell which specters were demons and which were wandering lost souls, he didn’t take any chances with the supernatural−demons, ghosts, or otherwise.

Noticing Dash’s distress, Walter knew he had reached his limit on teasing and smoothly changed the subject. Seemingly in an instant, the conversation turned from Dash’s lack of Halloween spirit to which pizza joint in town was the best. Dash wished he possessed Walter’s social finesse. He couldn’t command, let alone steer, a conversation if he took a sledgehammer to it. Walter, however, could manipulate a discussion with the lightest touch.

As Ryan and Walter debated whether grease on a pizza was a pro or con, the bell tolled, signaling the end of the half day.

“It’s time to set up,” Ryan said with a broad grin, and the three cleared their trays. Walter headed to the front of the building to set up the food truck, and Ryan and Dash entered the gym.

They were immediately greeted by another student named Valerie. She shoved a schedule into their hands with a bright smile. “Don’t forget to follow this!”

Dash stiffly nodded and forced an awkward smile back. His heart pounded in his chest as he made a beeline for the track team’s booth. Ryan was beside him, taking in the scenery around them. “It really does look great in here,” he commented. “Valerie did a great job.”

Dash agreed as he stole a glance back to her. She was currently chatting with more students who had entered the gym as she handed them a schedule, and he took a moment to admire her costume.

She was dressed as a fairy, complete with a sparkly skirt that emphasized her long, muscular legs. Her black hair was pleated, reaching the small of her back, and the electric blue ends of her hair matched her outfit. Everywhere she walked, she left a small trail of glitter behind her. She looked magical, and he had to rip his eyes away from her.

Despite not being part of a sports team, Valerie volunteered to help with decorating the gym for the event, and, even though she was a freshman like Dash, her enthusiasm for the event got her placed in charge. Dash wasn’t the least bit surprised by her appointment. She always wore a smile and had enthusiasm for all of life’s activities. They had several classes together, and her cheerfulness was always a relief to be around. He never wanted to leave her presence.

She and the sport teams stayed late the day before decorating, but she kicked everyone out to complete the final touches on her own. Even Dash had to admit that the decorations were beyond expectations. The gym was a Halloween wonderland, and, to Dash’s relief, it was kid friendly. Dash was sure that their guests from the local elementary school would enjoy the festivities.

The several hours that passed were busy, and Dash found that his constant movement distracted him

Death, Chapter One Ginger Jordan

from his Halloween dread. After several runs to refill their booth on candy, he didn’t mind the fake blood staining Ryan’s clothes or the look of death on his visage.

At 8:30, the trunk-or-treat booths closed, and Ryan and Dash made their way to the front of the school, where the food trucks were still open. Their feet were tired and achy, so they took their time walking. Most of the children and their parents were now gone, leaving their trash strewn over the usually clean lawn. Only a few stragglers remained. These people were buying beignets, caramel apples, and cotton candy or lounging on the school’s fountain, examining their candy hoards. Some of the teachers and parents walked with a noticeable stagger and sloshing plastic cups, signaling that they may have had too much fun at the school event.

Ryan and Dash found their place at the back of the beignet line. Walter and Luna were working at full speed taking and making orders, but this didn’t stop them from noticeably flirting. Dash wished he could be as at ease when socializing as his friend.

“What are you doing after this?” Ryan asked Dash.

“Just going home,” he replied with a forced yawn to signal that he was tired.

“Oh, well, if you feel like it, some of us from the track team are going to a haunted house nearby. It’s supposed to be good.”

“Maybe,” Dash replied, knowing full well that he had no intention of joining them.

As the line inched forward, erratic movement from the corner of Dash’s eye caught his attention. He turned in time to see a man dressed as a grim reaper stumbling toward them. The heavy hood and downcast gaze clouded the man’s expression, but something about his posture didn’t seem right. He moved aimlessly and stumbled toward the middle of the line with no sign of stopping. When he was an arm’s length from Dash, he asked the stranger hesitantly, “Are you okay?”

The man froze before his face shot up. His wide, sunken eyes bore straight into Dash’s, appearing almost frantic.

“You-You can see me?” the man, clutching a well-made scythe tightly, exclaimed in relief as he looked Dash up and down. Dash winced at the smell of his booze-soaked breath.

Before Dash could reply, the man began frantically digging in the inside pocket of his robe. “Are you okay?” Dash repeated. Ryan, who had been talking to a friend behind them, glanced over at Dash to see who he was talking to.

Before anyone could move or speak, the man removed a pistol from within his robes. Dash froze before the man’s weighty scythe was shoved into his hands.

“Thank you!” the man shouted ecstatically before pointing the gun at Dash’s chest and firing twice. White-hot pain exploded in his chest as he was propelled backward and slammed into the grass. He was only aware of faint screams before the world whirled out of sight.

Death, Chapter One Ginger Jordan

Author’s Note

Above is the first chapter in my urban fantasy novel Death. It is the first book in a planned series of novels. Don’t worry, Dash doesn’t die—well, not exactly. He becomes a junior death manager, a.k.a. a soul reaper in training. He’s assigned as a member of Team 42, and together they reap souls while also fighting occasional demons and necromancers.