Flirting With Death

“Cora, RUN!”

I wasn’t sure who shouted her name, but the sound seemed to galvanize the woman into action. Between the roar of the flames consuming the building, the incessant shrieking of the fire alarm, and the general calamity of people trying to escape, I was surprised she’d heard it at all. 

I watched the shroud of slumber fall away from big hazel eyes in a spit second as she took in the scene, standing in her doorway in nothing but an oversized night shirt. Tendrils of brown hair escaped her messy sleep bun as she shoved her feet into Doc Martens she had left by the door. At the last moment, possibly out of habit, she grabbed her bag and keys and slung it over her shoulder, bolting into the hall. 

I blinked, trying to focus. I knew I should have been concerned with the other people fleeing for their lives. Normally I would be. I take my job pretty seriously. 

But something about this woman caught my attention. It wasn’t her beauty, although she was quite lovely. No, there was something else about her, something that called to me, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. It was an alien feeling, and it made me uncomfortable. 

Especially when she ran the wrong damn way down the hall.

What is she doing?  

I watched from the shadows as she fought against the surge of other residents to reach her neighbor’s door. It was only a few steps, but every moment, every movement, was critical at this point. 

Brave of her to chance it.

She was about to raise her hand to rattle the knob, but the door swung open before she had the chance. Mrs. Brixton came barreling through the doorway, rollers in her white hair, wrapped in a bathrobe that might have been older than the building itself. The formidable widow was probably in her late 70s. There was a tiny dog, a chiweenie, clutched to her chest. 

“Oh, Cora,” she rasped, hacking against the smoke. “We’ve got to go!” With surprising strength, the older woman gripped Cora’s arm with her other hand and hauled her towards the crowded stairwell.

The look on Cora’s face as she was pulled by a woman easily twice her age and built like a Keebler elf made me let loose a half-chuckle. It came out a little rusty from disuse. 

The retired teacher made quick work of the people bottlenecking the stairwell. Because of course, none of the fire escapes in the 5-story tenement were working properly. Indeed, I’d be shocked if there had been any updates made to this tinderbox since Nixon was in office. 

I fucking hate slumlords.

I made a mental note to find whoever owned this building and pay them a visit.

I trailed behind the other residents. As usual, people flowed around me, taking little to no notice of my presence. I preferred it that way, really. Most folks tended to freak out once they could actually see me. Fair enough, given the circumstances. 

As we all neared the second-floor landing, Cora’s head shot up, and before I knew it, she was racing back inside. Back into the blaze.

Strangely, my heart skipped a beat. Or it would have if I’d had a working circulatory system. 

I found myself plagued with curiosity over this one woman’s desire to risk her life. I’d seen hundreds, if not thousands of other people do it over the years. Noble spirits were surprisingly more common than most people would think. And unless I was very much mistaken, it looked like Cora was one of them. 

Why did it matter so much to me?

I veered away from the group to trail her down the hall. The fire was so much worse down here, the walls painted with black soot and vermillion flames. The thick smoke billowed, and I could hear the building groaning. This structure was not going to last much longer. 

And then I heard a plaintive cry coming from one of the middle apartments. Cora must have heard it from the stairs, and she’d come to try and save the source of the noise. 

Noble spirit, indeed.

She zeroed in on the noise, which was getting less and less frequent. Not a good sign.

Smoke poured out from beneath the door of apartment 2F. Instead of reaching for the doorknob this time, she paused and deliberated. She then administered a few kicks to the door just below the knob that would have impressed professional MMA fighters. None of that shoulder smashing bullshit that was so prevalent on TV. 

The cheap frame finally gave, the door splintering beneath her booted foot. Smoke leapt forth, choking her as she dashed inside. I was hot on her heels as she moved from room to room, calling out and searching for the source of the cries. But the flames were everywhere, consuming the apartment and its cheap furnishings with astonishing speed. 

The ceiling creaked and the building shuddered. This situation was about to get so much worse so very quickly. 

But I wasn’t supposed to interfere. 

So I stood by as Cora reached the bedroom, yelling frantically. I watched her drop to her knees and shoot under the bed, lightning quick. When she reemerged, there was a black and white tuxedo cat cradled in her arms yowling for dear life, ears flattened against its skull. 

Of course she came back to rescue someone else’s cat from a 5-alarm blaze. 

“I know, sweetie. I can’t believe they left you either. We gotta get outta here, buddy,” she spoke to the feline, trying to comfort it while navigating her way back to the door, coughing and choking.

I couldn’t figure out how she was still moving. The heat had to be searing her lungs even as the smoke stole her breath.  

And then there was a crackling, a pop, and another groan, right before part of the apartment above us came crashing down, blocking the only way out.

I saw the look on her face. The finality. The light of hope draining from her eyes, replaced by tears of anger and frustration. I watched as she slid into unconsciousness, finally succumbing to the massive amounts of sooty smoke she’d inhaled. Her body fell awkwardly, hunching over the cat as if even now, she’d try and save the creature.

I sighed. I wasn’t supposed to interfere, that’s the rule. There have been a few exceptions in the past. But for the most part, it’s one of my hard and fast rules. I’m the cleanup guy. That’s my lot, and I’m well aware of it. 

But for some reason, I couldn’t bear treat this one like any other job. 

I passed easily through the fire and debris. The smoke didn’t bother me because I technically didn’t need to breathe. Distantly, I heard sirens and shouting and the sounds of water hitting the building. Emergency services had finally arrived. 

I carefully scooped up Cora, and snagged the cat, too. It stared at me with big green eyes, but it didn’t hiss or swat. Cats and I usually got along pretty well – we acknowledged each other as superior beings, and we went on about our days.

I walked all of us out of the apartment and down the rest of the stairs. No one paid us any mind, mostly because everyone was either watching the firefighters work or being treated by the EMTs. 

A few empty picnic tables huddled pitifully just outside the light cast by a nearby streetlamp. I set Cora down gently on one of the tables, careful to keep her nightshirt smoothed down. The cat hopped up to sit beside her while grooming the ash out of its whiskers. He didn’t seem keen to move away and find his owners, and I didn’t blame the little dude.

I waited quietly, watching people mill about in the chaos. After a few minutes of breathing in the night air, Cora stirred. 

She gasped and sat bolt upright, startling both me and the cat, who let out a brief hiss before settling back down by her side. She coughed and hacked, the smoke in her lungs making its presence known.

I patted her back gently. “Easy,” I rumbled. “Here, let’s get you over to the triage area by the ambulances. You should get checked out.” I was mad at myself for not thinking of it sooner. I forgot how fragile humans were sometimes. By the time they got to me, they were usually beyond needing help.

She turned to look at me and didn’t scream or shy away. That was refreshing. 

“What happened?” she asked. “The last thing I remember is being trapped…” She trailed off, eyes unfocused as she relived those last few moments in the blaze. “You were there. Did – did you save me?” 

She’d seen me inside? Now that really was interesting. 

“I got you out,” I said. “You did most of the saving.” I nodded to her new furry sidekick.

“Oh!” She grabbed up the cat and cuddled him close. He did not complain. In fact, I’m pretty sure he started purring as he leveled a smug gaze at me. “You saved us both! I don’t know how you managed, I thought we were goners. I can’t thank you enough…” She started coughing again as she trailed off. 

“Come on, miss, we really should get you to the medics.” I held out my hand to help her up, but she waved me away. 

“No, just give me a moment.” She looked a little shell-shocked, so I stood back a little to give her space. After she’d just basically lost her entire life, I thought it was the least I could give her.

She turned to look back at the building and gasped. Luckily, the fire had been extinguished before it’d spread to the rest of the block. But the building was decimated. There was going to be very little to salvage, from the looks of things. 

She took all of it in, sucked in a shaky breath, and gave a quiet little sob. But there were no tears, no wailing. She simply squared her shoulders and turned back to me. I gathered that this was not the first time that Cora had faced devastation. 

She studied me intently, her eyes looking a little large, a little wild. They roved up and down my body, taking me in. I didn’t think she was seeing the cloaked, hooded figure most people saw – preconceived notions, and all that. Which meant she was seeing my human male form. What was she looking for?

“Why did you save me?”

I stared back at her. It was the last question I was expecting. I didn’t know how to answer because I wasn’t exactly sure myself. I wasn’t sure why we were even having this conversation. I should have left already to start my work. 

“I… You needed help,” I said lamely. And then, since she’d opened this can of worms, “I saw you in the stairwell. Why did you go back for him?” I gestured at the cat still in her arms. “He’s not even yours.”

Cora shrugged and cocked her head to the side. “Because he needed help,” she replied with a small, cheeky smile. “Because it was the right thing to do.” Then her face got angry. “Those assholes left him to die in there. “

“Some people don’t deserve pets,” I offered. And I meant it, because I’d ferried away far too many tiny souls who’d perished at the hands of the people who were meant to love and protect them.

It seemed to placate her. “Well, we both would have died if you hadn’t been there,” she said. “I’m not sure how I’m ever going to be able to repay you.” She blinked up at me through her eyelashes. “I don’t even know your name. I’ve never seen you around here.”

She wouldn’t have. Although tonight, I was supposed to have been here for her.

I paused. In all the millennia I’d been reaping souls, I could count on one hand the number of folks who’d asked for my name. “Than,” I said. “You can call me Than.”

Her eyebrows shot up before she caught herself. “Than,” she tested my name in her mouth. I liked the sound of it coming from her lips more than I’d ever admit aloud. “That’s…unusual. Hi, Than. I’m Cora.” She stuck out one hand while the other one held the cat. He glared at me as she shifted his weight, as if he knew it was my fault she’d moved him. 

I took her hand and shook it. She had a nice handshake: not delicate, but firm with just the right amount of pressure. I bet she killed it at job interviews. 

“Hi Cora. It’s nice to meet you, although I wish the circumstances were better.”

Look at me, remembering my manners and shit. 

“Cora.” I liked the way her name tasted. “I’m serious, we really should get you looked over. You were out for several minutes, and I’d feel much better if the docs cleared you.” 

She stood carefully, placing the cat on her shoulder like an oversized parrot. And he sat there like it was the most natural place in the world for him to be. “We should both get checked out, then. You risked your own life to get me to safety. You could have injuries you don’t feel yet because the adrenaline hasn’t worn off.”

Well, no, it hadn’t, but not for the reasons she thought. 

I had absolutely no intentions of letting the EMTs anywhere near me if I could help it. My lack of heartbeat would send most of them into their own cardiac episodes. But if it would help get Cora over there…

“A date,” she blurted suddenly. “Let me take you out to repay you for saving my life. Our lives,” she amended as the cat gave a little mew. She lifted her lips in another smile, this one sweet and genuine. 

My dumb ass just stared down at her in amazement. Was…was she flirting with me?

My romance skills were more than a little rusty with disuse, so I must have waited too long to reply because her face fell. 

“It’s okay if you don’t want to,” she said. “I just thought maybe…” She bit her lip and trailed off. “Never mind –“

I grabbed her hand. “I would love to go out with you, Cora,” I said, “as long as you get checked out first.”

She sighed. “So bossy.” Her eyes lit with humor, and if not for her (lack of) clothing and the grime streaked over her body, you’d never know she’d just survived a towering inferno. “Fine, let’s go get me looked at. But I’m going to consider that our first date.”

I laughed. “Does that mean I’m in charge of planning the second date?” She let me keep her hand as we walked towards the flashing red and blue lights.

“Absolutely not. You get the third one. How do you feel about volunteer work?” 

“You’re assuming the second one is going to go well enough for there to be a third date? Presumptuous of you.”

She grinned. “I have a good feeling about it, Than.” She gave me another look. “Somehow, I get the sense that I’m safe with you.”

She wasn’t wrong. 

Cora let the paramedics look her over. They gave both her and the cat some oxygen and treated a few scrapes she’d gotten while trying to escape. They released her after they got her to promise to follow up with her doctor. And a vet, in her new friend’s case.

Then she gave me her number and made me promise I’d call her to set up our date after she’d had a few days to deal with the aftermath of losing her home and all her belongings. Fortunately, her best friend lived nearby and would be letting her stay. She was on her way to pick Cora up.

I guessed now I’d have to get a phone. 

A compact sedan pulled up to the curb. I glimpsed a red-haired woman looking at me curiously from behind the wheel when I opened the car door for Cora. Penguin, as she’d taken to calling the tuxedo cat, leapt into the backseat as if he owned the whole vehicle. 

Cora beamed up at me from the passenger seat. “See you soon. And Than?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

I smiled back. “You’re welcome.” I closed the door and watched them speed away as the sun started to crest just over the horizon. 

Then I turned my attention back to the building. I had work to do. Not everyone had made it out of the inferno while I’d been occupied with Cora. I spotted a few souls wandering and headed over to collect them.

I shook my head. I had a date. 

Death had a date. With a mortal woman. A mortal woman whose life I’d just saved.

The Fates were going to love this.