Future’s Cold Hand

Waiting by a cliff, as the cold twilight wind blew around her, Licana Rose watched the light of a lonely house come on. Darkness surrounded her. Little did she know that Death was standing next to her.

“What do we have here?” asked Death. “Who is our target for the night?”

Licana could not hear Death’s words, nor was she aware of its presence. Her mission was simple. Her weakness had been developing a need to see the life leave the body of her victims.

Licana pushed herself off a tree and started walking toward the farmhouse in the distance. A shadow casted by Death surrounded her. All beings in their path moved to avoid being touched by that dark energy. She was used to having Death around her. In fact, she couldn’t remember the feeling of being far from Death.

Once Licana got to the house, she quickly walked in search of an entrance. It would have been too easy to use her weapon from a distance. She craved the fear of getting close to her victims.

There he was. The man she was hired to assassinate. Walking through the kitchen while his mistress prepares a meal for the both of them. Licana knew exactly who her target was. This was the first time she had to kill someone from the inner circle.

Two for the price of one, she thought.

“Make them suffer,” said Death.

Licana entered the house and slipped into the kitchen. The couple continued with their affairs until they saw her—a woman in a black suit hired to kill them.

“Don’t move,” said Licana.

The man took a knife from the counter… the first shot left everyone frozen in time. Finally, the pain traveled through his body. His immediate reaction was placing the hand on his chest, and pressing the wound to control the bleeding.

“Do you like to play with people’s lives?” asked Licana.

The man paused in shock. Then he opened his mouth but couldn’t formulate a response.

Death floated around the counter until it was behind the couple. Savoring the fear that came from the man holding his bleeding hand, and the confused woman trying to understand the situation.

Licana fired before the man had a chance to say a word. He closed his eyes and tensed his muscles. Nothing. He couldn’t feel the bullet in his body. Then, he heard his lover collapse with a bullet to the head.

“What have you done?” he pleaded. “Please…”

“Do not move!” Licana said, pointing her gun at him.

The man hid behind his outstretched arm, while Death savored every moment.

Licana paused, watching him tremble. Letting his fear reach its highest level before pulling the trigger.

Death enjoyed the sequence of events. It stood next to the corpses as eyes of fire blazed within its skull. Death opened its bony hand and dark smoke appeared, leaving an open book; there it saw her name “Licana Rose” printed on the page. Immediately, Death raised its head and saw a young man rapidly approaching her.

Licana was surprised with a dagger in her back.

The book of Death went up in smoke as its black rope appeared in the real world. The bony creature attacked with its scythe, severing the young man’s head. Then he went to Licana.

Licana felt the pain of pulling the dagger from her body and saw the rope of the creature beside her. Then the fire burned her body and the pain from her wound grew greater than she had ever imagined.

The bone hands of Death were covered in fire, using its powers to heal Licana’s wound.

Finally, the pain disappeared and Licana turned to look into her companion’s fiery eyes and saw the skull disappear. Leaving her alone on the kitchen floor.

Death stood next to her and opened its hand for the book to be repaired, then it noticed that Licana’s name disappeared from the page and closed it, turning it into smoke.