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Karol began this morning like he did every morning, by literally rolling out of bed. He figures it helps wake him up, even though he’s also convinced himself that it kills brain cells, making him an idiot. Then again, you have to be an idiot to roll out of bed in the morning to wake yourself up.
As Karol lied on the floor, he felt the need to not get up.
“Hey, get your a** out of bed.” Said a voice.
“Brain? Is that you?” Karol said aloud.
“Yes. And I want you to wake up. Because we have work today.”
“We have work every day.”
“You get a partner today.”
“So? Unless it’s a girl with hug boobs, I don’t see what the rush is.”
“What if it is? You would have missed your chance to score with her and then live in shame of failing to get with her.”
“I think you’re over exaggerating.”
“I think I’m being realistic.”
“Why am I arguing with my brain?”
“Because you keep rolling out of bed.”
“Good point. I was bound to go crazy from this.”
“Get up and you can eat something for once.”
At this, Karol lifted himself off the floor and into a sitting position. Again, he then felt the need to not move. He reached up for his alarm clock which said “8:55”. Karol sighed, put it back and then stood up, only to realize that his legs did not wake up with the rest of his body and he fell over, crashing into his dresser. After giving his legs a few moments to wake up, he stood up and walked over to the kitchen.
As he entered his kitchen, he noticed that there was a bowl of cereal already prepared in the middle of his table. He looked around, thinking that someone may have broke into his apartment, but found no evidence of this. Confused, Karol then sniffs the bowl of cereal.
“It’s no poisoned.”
“Maybe that’s what you want me to think, Brain.”
“Why would I want to poison you? I’m a part of you.”
“Sure you are.”
After taking a few seconds to think about the pros and cons of eating the cereal, he dumps it and grabs some pop-tarts from the cabinet.
“STOP!”
“What is it now, Brain?”
“Those are 3 months expired!”
Karol looked at the side of the box and noticed that they were, indeed, 3 months expired. Karol then threw away the box and then looked around to find something to eat. To his dismay, he couldn’t find anything.
“Gah. I don’t have time to worry about food. Today is the day I get my partner. I need to go meet them.” Karol said, scratching his spiky blonde hair. Karol retreated to his room and put on a white dress shirt and black dress pants. He also put on black socks, but no shoes. He grabbed a briefcase that was sitting in the corner of the room and walked out of the door. With no shoes.

*

A large building stood in front of Karol. It was about six stories tall and was made of bricks. There were two windows per floor on the façade of the building. At the top was a sign that said “Soul Phase, Advocates for the Next World”. The sign was black while the words were white with a blue outline. The “O” in “Soul” was a ying-yang symbol. Karol always felt the need to look at the sign for a moment before entering the building. He still has yet to determine why.
After his sign staring ritual, he walked into the building. Inside was a nice lobby, lots of wood furniture, fancy rugs, and a large golden chandler hanging from the ceiling. On the ceiling was a painting of various figures; Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Athena, Hera, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, and Hestia. In the corner also had the figure Erberus, whose appearance always sent a slight chill down Karol’s spine. After staring at the ceiling, Karol then proceeded up the staircase in the middle of the room. A receptionist greeted him as he started up the stairs. Karol was used to the routine. The staircase lead to another floor littered with rooms. However, the room he needed to go to was right at the top. A plaque was on the front of the door that said “Hermes”. Instead of opening the door and walking in, Karol kicked it and walked in as it swung open. He managed to get in right before it swung back and closed behind him.
This room was nice. More wood furniture, some vases, a painting of someone Karol has never been able to figure out, and a large window that has a view of the entire city. Karol was always confused by the window, as they were on the second floor of a not very tall building. But, when it was explained that “The Gods can do whatever they want.” Karol stopped questioning it.
Sitting at the large wood desk was a man who looked to be in his early 40’s. He had glasses, shoulder length white hair, a white coat with a purple vest underneath, and brown pants. He also was not wearing shoes. The sides of his hair stuck up, looking like little wings on the side of his head. He was frowning.
“Karol, why do you always feel the need to kick my door open? Someday you’re going to break it.”
“Maybe, but maybe someday I’ll open it and you’ll actually be on the second floor.”
“Maybe I already am.” The man smirked.
“Don’t play games with me. My brain is already doing that.”
“But it’s fun to pull your chain.”
“It’s also fun to pull out your intestines.”
“So violent.”
“So annoying.”
“I’m your boss. I’m supposed to be annoying.”
“You do your job too well.”
“Today is partner day.”
“Where is he or she?”
“Not here.”
“Clearly.”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t go out on a mission.”
“Gods dammit.”
“You know, when you say that you’re taking my name in vain, too.”
Karol slammed his hands on the man’s desk. “Shut up, Hermes! I don’t care if you’re a God, you look like you always have bed head with those stupid wing things!”
“They’re what makes me me.” Hermes said in a sad tone.
“I don’t give a damn! Give me this stupid mission.” Karol straightened his back and crossed his arms. Hermes slid a folder across the desk.
“This is your mission. A single woman by the name of Vanessa Cartwright.” Hermes leaned forward and put his hands together. He became very serious. “Her 6 year old daughter just died. We want you to help her get to the other side.”
Karol picked up the folder and opened it. There was a picture of Vanessa and a picture of her daughter, dead. Karol closed the folder and put it in his briefcase. “What’s the time limit?”
“Since it’s a 6 year old child, I’d say she has about 3 days before she vanishes. Remember that she died 2 days ago. So, probably about 12 hours before she vanishes.”
“Or eaten by the Furies.”
“Yes. Or that.”
“Guess I have no time to waste.” Karol slung his briefcase over his shoulder and began walking out of the door.
“Karol. About your partner.”
“Just tell him to wait. I’ll have this done in no time.” Karol walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. Hermes was still sitting at his desk.
“Oh well. I guess he’ll find out soon anyways.”

*

24 6th Street. That was the address of one Vanessa Cartwright. Karol walked up to the door and began to knock on the door. And ring the doorbell. And kick the door. There was a click, like the door was being unlocked. The door opened and there stood Vanessa. She was a pretty woman, shoulder length brown hair with brown eyes. She was about 5’7” and, if Karol, had to guess, about a B cup. Yes, Karol cared about these kinds of things.
“Get your mind out of the gutter.”
“Shut up brain.”
“Excuse me, can I help you?” Vanessa said in a shy voice. Karol was almost instantly attracted to her after this.
“Yes. My name is Karol Reinhart. You recently put in a request at our offices to help your daughter pass on. I’m the guy they sent.” Karol held out his hand and she took it. After a quick shake, Vanessa led Karol into the house.
It was a nice house. Decent furnishings. Almost standard living arrangements for a middle class American. The odd thing was, though, the house seemed more like it was suited for a small family to live in, not just a mother and her daughter. Karol sat down on a red sofa as Vanessa sat across from him.
“Can I get you anything, Mr. Reinhart?” she asked in an almost pleading tone.
“No. I’m fine. And, you can just call me Karol. I’m not used to people using formalities in my line of work.” Karol said, scratching his head.
“Okay then.” Vanessa looked down, legs together, hands gripping her skirt. Karol put his briefcase on the table.
“Alright. Well, can you tell me the details of your daughter’s death? Visiting the place of death would also be of great assistance for me.” At this, Vanessa nearly started crying. Karol realized that what he was doing was heartless, but he couldn’t do his job if he didn’t do this. He got up and sat next to her, putting his arm around her. “I know this is hard, but it’s imperative that I know this information. It’s actually something about my job I don’t like.” Vanessa looked up at him, tears starting to fall down her face, and nodded weakly. She stood up and began walking towards the door.
“It’s just a little ways away.” She said through her tears. Karol stood up, grabbed his briefcase and followed her out the door.
As she said, it was just a little ways away. Practically right down the street. There was a small park with a one way road running through it. Vanessa stood in the middle of the street. Part of the pavement was darkened. “This is where it happened…”

*

We were playing here at the park a few days ago. Her father was coming to pick us up and she was playing on some of the equipment. She then ran into the street.
“Mommy, Mommy! Look what I can do!” she said as she started dancing in the street. There was a light fog over the area.
“Be careful out there.” I said, sitting on the nearby bench. Suddenly, there was a light and then a screech. I heard the sound of bones snapping and flesh being torn. I ran into the street and found her, torn in half by the car. I held part of her, she was pour blood everywhere and some of her organs were spilling out. I was crying so hard, I didn’t know what to do.
“…Mommy….why….why are….you…crying….?” At this, I screamed towards the sky. I looked over to see my husband walking out of the car that hit her. The look of horror in his eyes I had never seen before. The next day, I woke up and found him hanging from the ceiling in the kitchen.

*
After finishing her story, Vanessa started crying again as she fell to the ground. Karol put his hand on her back and then kneeled beside her, putting his free hand on the darkened pavement. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. To anyone who looked, it just appeared that he was trying to comfort her. However, Karol was using her spirit as well as the girl’s remaining traces in the location to try and find her soul.
He opened his eyes, stood up, and stared at a swing set that suddenly began swinging by itself. Vanessa looked up at it and noticed it swinging as well. The temperature dropped and a fog began to settle.
“What was your daughter’s name?” Karol said in a stern voice.
“Cynthia.” Vanessa said weakly. Karol began walking towards the swing set.
“Cynthia, my name is Karol. I’m here to help you pass on. I’m not here to hurt you.” There was silence. Karol got to the swing set and it stopped. A small blue ball began to phase into existence. Karol touched the ball and it manifested into the shape of Cynthia. She was small, as one would expect for a child. She has short brown hair that was in pigtails. She had a white shirt with pink overalls and was wearing white knee length socks. She did not have shoes.
“Cynthia?” Vanessa said, seeing the spirit before her. She started to stand up. “Cynthia, is that you?” The little girl looked from Karol to Vanessa.
“Mommy?” she said in a confused voice.
“Cynthia!” Vanessa cried, tears still streaming from her face. She rushed up to the spirit and hugged it. Karol took a step back allowing them to have a moment. “Cynthia, I’m so sorry. I never meant for this to happen. I love you so much. Mommy loves you so very much.” She was speaking through her tears. The spirit hugged Vanessa.
“I love you too, Mommy.” She said in a chipper voice, as if nothing had happened. Karol felt tears beginning to well up in his eyes as well.
“FOOL! Look out!”
Karol spun around and lifted his briefcase just in time to block a skeletal hand. Karol managed to push it back and the creature began to waver slightly.
“A Fury? How the hell did it sneak up on us?” Vanessa held the spirit tightly, as the spirit tired to look for comfort in her former mother.
“Karol, what is that?”
The creature was large and black. It has no feet and hovered above the ground. It had large skeletal hands and the lower half of its face was skeletal. However, there was very long flowing black hair that seemed to engulf its entire body. It let out a howl that sent chills down Karol’s spine. Vanessa was also scared to death by the creature.
“This thing is called a Fury. We’re not sure where it came from, but we do know that it hunts down the souls of the deceased. It then consumes them to increase its own life span. However, we do know how to kill them.” Karol said as gripped the handle of his briefcase. Suddenly, the briefcase began to unfold into a large black pole. At one end of the pole was a ying-yang token. Karol spun it and then reeled it back as a large blade shot out from the opposite end. The scythe blade had a ying-yang symbol in the middle of it that had a blue outline.
“This thing should be able to take care of it.” Karol said. The Fury dived forward in an almost serpentine fashion. Karol also rushed forward and swung, slicing it in two. The creature fell down and then began crawling at an inhuman speed towards Vanessa and the spirit. Karol hit the creature with the end of the scythe with the token in it.
“Release!
A light shined and blasted the creature into pieces, it’s head rolling off to the side. Vanessa and the spirit sat in awe as Karol stood up and put the scythe over his shoulder. Suddenly, the head began moving and it’s hair started growing out, forming it’s body again. “The one bad thing about Furies, if you don’t destroy the head, it’s not dead.” Karol reeled back the scythe and the blade began to turn red. Karol rushed forward, stopped right in front of the creature, and jumped while spinning.
“Crimson Lotus!!!” Karol said as he span. A red trail followed where ever the blade went, making a red spiral as Karol sliced through the Fury multiple times. Once Karol reached the top, he swung and cut the head in half. At this, the trail disappeared, along with the creature who disappeared in what looked like black mist. Karol fell to the ground, bracing himself for the impact by spreading his legs and holding out his hand that didn’t have the scythe in it. Karol stood up, put the scythe on his shoulder again and turned to Vanessa and the spirit. “Now it’s dead.”
The spirit then started becoming incorporeal.
“Karol! What’s happening?” Karol walked over to Vanessa.
“I’m running out of time. Say your goodbyes now!” Vanessa turned to the spirit.
“Remember that Mommy always loves you. I’m always with you and I always think about you.” Vanessa began crying again.
Karol put his hand on the spirit’s shoulder and led her a short distance away from Vanessa. He then put his hand on Vanessa and on the spirit, closed his eyes, put his head down, and began speaking.
“Ever flowing river Styx, please accept this soul into your currents and lead her to the Underworld, where she can someday be reunited with her mother and father.”
At this, the spirit began to shine and light began to shoot into the sky from her. Karol took his hands off of them and Vanessa embraced the spirit one last time.
“Mommy. I love you, and I’ll always be with you, too.” The spirit said in a chipper voice. Vanessa looked at the smiling face of her daughter’s spirit through her tears, kissed the daughter on the forehead, and then embraced her again. After a few moments, the spirit disappeared and the fog lifted, almost like an omen.
Karol looked up to the sky. “I’m positive she got to Styx. There isn’t anything to worry about.” Karol put his arm around Vanessa again and held her till she finished crying.

*

Back at Vanessa’s house, Karol and Vanessa were sitting on her couch. She was drinking some hot chocolate. Karol then got up.
“Well, now that the mission is complete, I think it’s time for me to leave.” Vanessa grabbed his hand.
“Do you have to leave?” she said. Karol turned to her, then turned away.
“I’m sorry, but there are other souls for me to assist.” He said in an over dramatic way.
“You know you want to get into her pants.”
“Shut up, you.”
Vanessa looked confused as Karol began to speak to himself. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Vanessa got up and went to the door.
“Hello?” Standing in the door way was a man with almost shoulder length white hair. He was wearing a burgundy shirt with a black tie. He also wore black pants and black socks. Like Karol, he wore no shoes.
“The name is Atticus Walker. I was just coming to say that I completed your request to find your husband’s soul and send it to the afterlife.”
“Oh, thank you.” Vanessa said. Karol was staring at Atticus dumbfound.
“Wait, why are you dealing with her husband?”
“Because you can only set up one request at a time. I decided to deal with that since you were busy with the kid.”
“You’re a d**k.” Karol walked over to Atticus and started pushing him out the door.
“It was nice meeting you, ma’am.” Karol started walking, stopped, then turned. “Call me.” Karol then walked out with Atticus.
Outside, Karol and Atticus started walking back to the Soul Phase building.
“So, Atticus, I find it to be a very big coincidence that you ended up taking the other side of this case and my new partner never showed up.”
“Probably because I am your new partner.” Atticus said with a friendly smile.
“Why the hell didn’t join me today!? And why didn’t Hermes tell me!?”
“He said you ran out before he could tell you.”
“Bull!”
“Judging from the way you’re acting, I’d say you didn’t let Hermes tell you.”
“Shut up!”
“And so began the partnership of Karol and Atticus.”
“SHUT THE HELL UP, BRAIN!!!!!”