…And fell…

  …and fell…

  …and fell.

  It had been months since reaping Peter at Mount Kragg, where he’d decided on a whim to also change into human form while climbing the summit. Just like that time, he tried desperately to keep his eyes on the ground but failed. He was completely at the whims of gravity and air resistance, tossing and turning him like a plaything.

  Every few seconds, he’d see the blue rectangle roaring closer and closer. Was that what he was meant to be aiming for? He would veer off course, then somehow be steered back towards it. He was moments from impact.

  Now! His mentor shouted into his mind.

  The impact slammed the wind out of him; his whole body became instantaneously wet as well. It was like being slapped with the full might of Poseidon. The whole experience lasted less than a second as he then went into reaper mode, completely dampening the shock. As Ever blinked, shaking off the remnants of human sensation, he realized that he was underwater…

  …and looking right into the face of a soul.

  “Hello,” the soul said. She was floating in place underwater, wearing a black one piece swimsuit, goggles on her forehead as well as a swim cap. “Did you want to race?”

  Ever twisted around so that he wasn’t upside down.

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  “Race?”

  “Mm-hmm,” the soul nodded. “That’s why you’ve come to this swimming pool, right?”

  “No,” Ever said, shaking his head. Nearly every other soul had noticed the scythe within moments of seeing him. This soul however looked unblinkingly at Ever.

  “Oh,” she said, clearly disappointed. “Oh well. Back to it then.”

  With that, she turned and began swimming away from Ever. Of course being a ghost, there was no need for this; she could simply float. However, as Ever followed her, he could see that she very much was going through the motions of swimming in earnest. Her feet kicked, her arms turned in wide circles and her body tilted left and right as if there was an axle through her center.

  Her name’s Jennifer, Death said. As you can probably tell, she’s really into swimming. It was her whole life, she died in this very pool. Staff found her face down one morning. There was some riffling of papers. Cause of death: overtraining.

  Ever sent the scythe away, floating parallel to the surface of the completely still pool.

  “I’ve never swam before, can you teach me? Then I might be able to race you.”

  “Sorry,” Jennifer said, as she pointlessly turned her head for air mid-stroke. “I’m in the middle of another round.” Ever floated along with her as she completed another lap. “Never know when a suitable competitor is going to appear.”

  Ever floated up and out of the water, settling by the side of the pool.

  “She’s not even really swimming, Mentor.” He said, watching the ghost glide silently through the water.

  Thought you would have realized by now that humans are experts at doing things that don’t matter in the long run, Death said. We just have to find her an Olympic level swimmer who’s also looking for a worthy adversary stuck in this world. Then it’d be a match made in the Underworld.