Come to Collect by Mary MacGillivray

Faeryn glanced around the darkened alley, hoping to see what followed her, but knew it wouldn't happen until her shadow willed it so. She shivered and continued walking through the ankle deep snow. Her boots made a pleasant crunching sound until she reached the back door of her small apartment. A shadow slid past her feet and toward a chair, becoming a handsome young man. He stared at her from his seat, smiling an all too familiar smile.

"Evening Faeryn, how's life treating you? Good I expect?"

"What did you come for Arath? To kill me?"

He smiled, "Of course not, I don't do that. Thought if you'd like I could call Azriel or Morrigan. They do the killing, I just collect debts," She rolled her eyes, "But you don't like to think of the debt you owe, do you? Have you forgotten?"How could she forget? It had been seven years since that night, the night she'd lost her future.

The night had started out normal enough, she went out with two of her cousins and her twin brother. They just wanted to go out, have some drinks, dance a bit, and go back to the hotel. But plans change, unexpected complications arise. The trouble started when her cousin Arin started feeling sick. She was feeling nauseous and dizzy, so her sister Rhea volunteered to take her home.

"Are you sure, Fae? I don't want to leave you and Will alone here. Your mom would murder me if something happened." Rhea glanced at her sister, "I could come back after I drop her at the hotel?"

Faeryn shook her head, "No, it's fine! Take care of her, we'll meet you back at the hotel later. I just need to get out for a bit, it's our first night here. Don't worry, I'll pass out your number to some cute guys before I go." Rhea rolled her eyes and left to take her sister to the hotel.

Will stayed at the bar for the most part, not drinking much. Just keeping a close, but not suffocating, eye on his sister. She had her auburn hair up in little curls and braids, accentuating her her slender neck. She wore a studded leather choker, wristbands, and thick soled black boots. Her ultra-violet tank top was cut to just below her ribs, showing off a slender stomach covered in black fishnet. On her back she wore pair of violet and black fairy wings, from her Halloween costume and her short, black, leather mini covered enough to keep her looking decent, leaving her striped black and violet thigh-high stockings to cover most of her legs. People stared at her like some kind of alien, but since it was the nearest club to their hotel she didn't care. Let them stare. She glanced at her brother, who smiled and motioned her over.

He handed her a drink and grinned at her, "You don't seem to fit in, my dear Fairy. I don't think they've ever seen that much black leather on one person." She rolled her eyes, laughing.

"And you fit in so much better?"

He shrugged and took a drink. He did look slightly more normal than she did. His shaggy, dark auburn hair fell in pieces across his forehead and brushed the collar of his black band hoodie. His black pants hung loosely just below his prominent hip bones and his black Vans boasted neon-green laces.

"You know, there are girls out there who would love to be dancing with you right now. Come on! Loosen up, have some fun!" She took a last drink and pulled him onto the dancefloor with her, pushing him toward a group of unsuspecting girls. She resumed dancing with herself to the pulsating music.

For awhile she was enjoying herself, watching her brother try to dance and moving her hips with the hypnotic bass. As Will was starting to loosen up and talk with the girls he'd been shoved into, their male companions appeared. Big, muscular, scary looking men surrounded her twin and started pushing him. Faeryn stopped dancing and started shoving her way toward her brother, ruffling quite a few feathers along the way.

When they pushed him, Will shoved back at them and that's when it turned ugly. One of the bigger ones grabbed him around the neck and dragged him toward the nearest door. At that point Faeryn didn't care who blocked her, getting to her brother consumed her mind. Nothing else mattered. She reached the door, but it refused to open. She pushed, pulled, and pounded on it until her fists hurt. Whatever they were doing, they obviously didn't want to be interrupted. She started screaming and yelling and kicking dents into the door until security pulled her away and forcibly removed her. She told them her brother was being beaten out back, but her cries fell on deaf ears. She was just some weird looking girl from out of town, screaming and probably high on something.

As soon as she was outside she ran around the building and toward the alley behind the club. She skidded on the loose gravel going around the corner and ran right into one of the thugs. She fell flat on her behind and for a second was too shocked to speak. She stared blankly at them and then realized who they were and jumped to her feet. Before she could stop herself she had shoved the one she ran into aside and tried to get past them, but a strong fist gripped her upper arm and halted her advance, "Nothing a little girl should see back there," She clamped her teeth down on his arm and he dropped her, clutching his bleeding wound, "Little bitch!" He made an attempt to strike her but she dodged and made her way to her brother, around the fleeing thugs.

"Will! Will, what did thy do to you? Look at me!" His head rolled to one side and she saw bruises darkening his throat and eyes. Blood was oozing from the corners of his mouth and dried blood was caked in a path from his nose off the side of his face. She saw that his hoodie had been ripped away and thrown aside, leaving him in a black, now nearly shredded, muscle shirt. She saw more bruising on his torso and stomach, he was bleeding badly from cuts all over his abdomen and arms.

She tapped his face a few times, hoping to bring him around. She felt an intense pain in her chest, she couldn't breathe, her twin was lying in front of her bleeding to death and she couldn't do anything. He was too heavy for her, and even if she could move him, what then? Her eyes filled with tears when she thought about why this had happened.

I just wanted you to have fun, Will. Just some harmless fun.

But it wasn't harmless and it had stopped being fun the minute someone put their hands on him. She was only half of a person without him. They had been together since before they were born, they shared life in the womb, and hadn't been apart since. Now he was dying before her eyes and all she could do was sit and blame herself. There was a sound close behind her, and she jumped. She glanced behind her and saw an attractive young man standing there, fixing the cuffs of his fine suit. She stared in disbelief.

"Hey! My brother's hurt, he needs help! Please, call the police or do something!" The young man smiled at her, and she felt cold chills running up and down her spine. His smile terrified her. He approached her slowly, ignoring the fact that there was a boy dying in front of them. With every step he took, she felt herself shrinking back and she felt for her brother's hand, squeezing it when she found it.

"Little girl, there's no a doctor on Earth can save him now. They stabbed from behind. Rather cowardly if you ask me, not that anyone did, but they couldn't even look him in the eye when they did it," His eyes swept over the scene before him, taking it in as nothing important, "He isn't dead just yet, but he won't be here much longer." She glared at him, tears spiling over, and squeezed Will's hand harder.

"Please! Don't just let him die! I'll do anything to save him, name it! Just do something... Anything... Will.." She sobbed, pleading with him with her eyes and her voice, he barely seemed to hear her.

"You know, I could fix this all with little effort. I just require a little something in return. Nothing really, especially to save the life of a loved one. A twin." His cold eyes fixed on hers and she felt the chill again, but it was different. Colder.

"All I ask is that, upon your death, I get your soul. That simple."

"It's yours! Just don't let him die.."

"Move aside."

Faeryn scrambled aside and the young man slowly waved a hand over the wounds that were killing Will. After a minute or so he smiled that cold smile at her, then took a few steps back.

Will's eyes fluttered open and he glanced at his sister, "Fairy.. are you alright?" Her eyes lit up and she sobbed his name quietly, not believing her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm okay Will. There's an ambulance coming for you, just try not to move."

He smiled and his head sank back onto whatever garbage he happened to be leaning back on. She turned and glanced at the young man, smiling his bone chilling smile at her. He nodded to her brother once, and turned away from them.

Seven years later, sitting in the cold darkness of her living room was Arath, the creature that had tricked her out of any hope for a future. She glared at him through the gloom, meeting his ice-cold eyes with her own equally cold gaze. He stood slowly, appraching her carefully.

"You don't have long. When was the last time you spoke to that delightful brother of yours? Perhaps you should call him."

She eyed him carefully, taking out her cell phone, "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing, I've told you that isn't my job. I assure you he's fine, but like I said, you don't have long." He smiled his icy smile and disappeared. She dialed her twin's number and anxiously waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?" His groggy voice on the other end surprised her for a moment, then she smiled softly.

"Hi Will. Sorry if I woke you, I just wanted to call to see how you're doing. I haven't seen you in months." She felt him smile on the other end, and she felt tears forming in her eyes. She would give anything to never hurt her brother, but it was unavoidable, "Will.. I can't stay on the phone long. I just wanted to tell you that I love you, you are one of the few reasons I'm still alive. You really are the other half of me, and not just because we're twins. You mean more to me than any other person ever has," She paused and sighed heavily, "This may be my last call for a long time, and I just need you to understand all of that."

"Faeryn, what's going on? Why can't you call again? Are you alright? Fairy?" He sounded scared, and that was the last thing she'd wanted, but she had to make her message clear.

"I have to go soon, Will," She paused, "Hold on a minute, I think I heard something.." She put the phone down and he could hear her walking away. There was an eerie silence for about a minute, then he heard a shout. He heard someone approaching the phone again, then the out of breath voice of his sister.

"Will.. Someone's in my house.. He came in and I surprised him.. I'm bleeding real bad, Will.. Oh god.. It hurts! I love you.. don't forget that.. Back off!" He heard her scream and the phone dropped.

"That's not funny Fairy! Get back on the phone, please! I need you.." He stared at the screen and saw that she had hung up. The screen flashed 'Call Ended'. He redialed the phone, praying for her to answer, and when she didn't he called the police.

By the time the police reached Faeryn's small apartment, her attacker was long gone and she was lying on her side in a puddle of her own blood. Her eyes gazed forward at nothing and her blood had stopped flowing. In her hand was a picture of herself and her twin brother, smiling like fools. Will recieved the call a few hours later, but by that time he already knew she was dead. He had known for hours.

There was an intense pain in his chest and heart, then numbness. The unseen bond connecting them has dissolved, that was when he knew.

Faeryn sat on a table staring at her brother, he was curled up on the floor sobbing uncontrollably. She felt the urge to throw herself down beside him and comfort him. She wanted to hold him and tell him that everything was fine, they'd get through it together. She knew he was right there, she could do it, but he would never know. Her soul lacked the ability to affect the physical world.

"You must have really loved him. You made a huge sacrifice to save his life, and you took his place in death. It hurts a lot now, but eventually it becomes a dull ache and he'll move on. They always do. You, however, can't do that." She turned her head to face an unfamiliar being, a tall man with dark, golden brown hair and radiant golden eyes. He smiled warmly at her, but she remained wary.

"I thought my soul was forfeit to Arath.. I exchanged it to save my brother," She gestured to the sobbing mass on the ground, "And for the last seven years I never once regretted it. I would have died without him, but he's a lot stronger than I ever was."

The man touched her arm softly, "Yes, I know all of that already. But I also know that your deal with him is invalid. Of course it is the reason you're no longer living, but that's part of why it's invalid," She narrowed her eyes, "First of all, you gave your soul away to save someone else. Secondly, Arath got impatient and arranged with a human to kill you. Last, and most important, you never once regretted your choice to save your brother and you made the most of the time you had with him. You didn't resent him for living while knowing you would die for it. Your soul is free, Faeryn."

She smiled sadly at the mysterious man, assuming he was some kind of angel, "No, it's not. Arath never had my soul, it was always Will's. He's my other half, and I can't move on without him. Is there any way I can stay?" "You can't stay with him, but you can watch. You can be there when he crosses over, but that's all I can do."

"Thank you," She moved over to her brother and touched him softly, "I'll be seeing you, Will. I love you." For a moment he calmed down and she felt like he was staring at her, she ignored it and followed the angel.

"I love you too, Fairy..."