Ash found himself outside of the Diver office, standing next to the signboard that had drink specials posted and scrawled in fresh chalk. A small amber bottle was resting in his right hand showcasing a winking cartoon aardvark, and it was still half full. The sky hanging above Broolhaven was a light cloud kissed orange, very slowly shifting closer towards a deep purple, and Ash couldn’t help but stare at it as he took another sip. Broolhaven didn’t have any laws on the books about public drinking, as long as you weren’t slamming a bottle back inside a moving car.

  Ash had seen a few drunks once or twice get stopped by some of the few officers Broolhaven had patrolling the streets, but unless they made a scene they weren’t going to get shoved into the back of a squad car.

  “This city never did have enough cops,” he took another small sip as he watched the orange tinted clouds sail past. “Not enough cops, not enough social workers, and probably not enough Divers either.”

  Ash recalled how many active Divers Broolhaven had, and how his addition brought the number all the way up to a staggering five.

  “Me, Gray, Abbey, Ren, not counting Forin or Vandal, doesn’t that leave one more I haven’t met yet?”

  Ash heard a bell go off behind him, making him casually look over his shoulder to see Gray peeking out from behind one of the double doors. When their eyes met, he smiled again and held up a much fuller bottle of sour aardvark up into the air. He slipped free of the door’s weight before coming to stand beside him, where Ash could see he had a blue can in his other hand, but still couldn’t make out the brand.

  “I know you came out here to be by yourself, but I figured you’d been gone long enough to need a refill.” Gray held up the amber junior to Ash’s senior, but Ash gave his bottle a slow shake to show how full it was still.

  “Thanks, but I’ve still got a bit more to go.” Ash gave him a small, and appreciative smile, but he couldn’t keep it on his face for long as he started looking at the clouds again.

  Gray held the bottle out for just a moment longer, waiting to see if he’d take it, but with his offer politely rebuffed, he just set it on the ground between them instead. “Well it’s not going anywhere, so crack it open when you want.” With Gray’s hand now free, his fingers found their way to the pulltab on his can, but he hesitated with a single finger rubbing the silver edge.

  “I’m not going anywhere either right now,” he lifted the tab just enough to make the can quietly hiss, but not break the seal. “I wanted some fresh air, and you look like you’ve still got a lot left on your mind.”

  “That obvious?” Ash brought the quickly emptying amber bottle to his lips.

  “It’s your first day,” Gray finally pulled the tab with a quick yank of his finger, sending a confident frothy crack down the alleyway. “And I’m at fault for making that first day a lot worse, so I figured I could help make it a little better.” Gray took a drink from his can, his fingers wrapped around the edge in such a way that let Ash finally see the label. There was a shouting cartoon badger plastered on the side of the can, covered in a yellow ring with the words “Blue Badger Brew” wrapped around it.

  Ash finished off the last sip of his older bottle of sour aardvark with a small laugh, barely audible, but Gray’s ears picked up on it.

  “What?” Gray asked with a half smile around the opening of his can.

  “I was just thinking that probably already makes you the best supervisor I’ve ever had.” Ash let the junior and senior have a brief reunion before he plucked the newer bottle off the ground.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “Seriously?” Gray wasn’t sure if that said more about him or Ash. “That bad?”

  Ash answered with a crack of the bottle’s cap. He placed the cap into his vest pocket where it joined the one there from earlier today before taking a fresh sip. “Bad enough for this kind of career change.”

  Gray stayed silent, leaving room for Ash to continue, or drop the line of conversation entirely with another drink.

  “Sure, why the hell not..,” Ash told himself first.

  “I was a social worker,” he led with, “probably one of the worst ones in this dump.” The grip on his bottle tightened as his hand blocked the aardvark from view. “I spent four years studying for it, only to barely survive 12 months and quit like a coward. So now all I’ve got is a sheet of paper that says I’m too overqualified for grunt work, and worthless at anything besides the job I didn’t have the stomach for.”

  A little time passed as Ash’s story hung in the air, twisting in the gentle breeze while he almost wished he could reach out and pull it back in.

  “I didn’t know you when you were alive, since we met when you were dead, but I bet you can still put that degree to work here too.”

  “I doubt that,” Ash continued looking at the sky, noticing that most of the orange had blended into the all consuming purple hue of the night sky now. A few clouds remained against the hungry purple mass, but slowly they were all fading from sight, growing smaller and smaller one by one.

  “I don’t,” Gray took a couple of steps forward before he stood in front of Ash now instead of beside him. “You did a good job with Betty today, and honestly…” he trailed off as Ash looked down towards him, away from the purple skies. “I think what you said made her soul a little happier.”

  “Were you listening?” Ash held his bottle with both hands but didn’t take another sip yet.

  “Maybe a little bit. I thought maybe it’d be easier for you to find the right words without your chaperone standing over your shoulder. It’s hard, you know, comforting the dead.”

  “I know, you were lucky I took it so well.” A small smile appeared on Ash’s face that Gray was eager to match.

  “I mean it though.” Gray reiterated. “Betty’s soul passed on, and it even left a gift behind for you.”

  Ash let go of the bottle with one hand as he stared at the back of it where the mark of the red pointed star used to show.

  “I may not know what drove you to pick your degree, and I don’t know what happened to make you join the dead,” Gray’s free hand fell on Ash’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. “I just know that you can still help troubled souls like you are now, maybe even better than you could before.”

  Ash clutched his bottle a little tighter with one hand, and after a moment or two, Gray let his hand retreat as he stood there, patiently waiting for whatever Ash had to say next, even if that was nothing at all.

  “If they’re dead already, does it really matter?” Ash stared at the bottle in his hand while he asked.

  “It’s when it matters the most.” Gray very quickly answered before looking up at the purple, now cloudless sky. “I was a little too harsh before,” Gray stuck his free remaining hand in one of his pockets, “maybe a little jaded too, but I think you’re the kind of Diver Broolhaven needs.” Gray started to walk around him, making gentle steps across the concrete that were barely audible before he reached the door that he came through and stopped. “I’ll come back to bug you tomorrow morning, around ten, so don’t stay up too late.” With one hand on the door, he turned back around to look at Ash with a warm and confident smile. “We’ll get you squared away before Vandal comes back with your Diver certification, if you’re still up for the job, that is.”

  “Well, it’s a lot harder to walk away after all that.” Ash turned around completely to meet Gray’s gaze. “So I’ll be ready.”

  “Great, I’ll see you then!” Gray’s smile was a little wider as he opened the door, sending the sound of the ringing bar bell throughout the alleyway. “Oh and make sure to be up on time, I know how to pick locks.” With his ominous message hanging in the air, the door to the dead’s office sealed shut with a wooden thump, and a metallic click, taking Gray along with it.

  As Ash looked at the door, and the last bottle in his hand, a single thought crossed his mind: “I probably should have asked if I could take a six pack home with me…”