Bones and Cogsworth

Time stopped outside the alley way and looked around. In front of him, cars were halted on the road; they’re drivers frozen in the middle of yelling, honking their horns, or talking on their cell phones. Across the street a girl with a tight shirt and shorts was on one foot, trying to pull a small yappy- looking dog behind her.  The dog’s mouth was wide open in mid- bark.  Time smiled, he loved it when he caught people looking stupid.

There was a rustling behind him, and Death came stumbling out of the alley, shaking the vestiges of someone’s trash off his shoe. “Dammit, Cogsworth,” he said acidly, his voice deep and harsh.  “Why cant you every drop us somewhere nice, like in Paris, in a Hilton?  Or in Paris Hilton?  Anything would be better than this.”
Time rolled his eyes and sniffed the air.  She was here, he could smell Her.  “I don’t think Paris Hilton would be too happy with a visit from you, Bones.  Most people aren’t.”

“I haven’t a clue why that would be,” Death shrugged, a string tugging at the corner of his lips. He nodded at the girl across the street, “That dog has rabies,” he said excitedly, “I’ll be seeing her tomorrow night.”

Time snapped his fingers, and the world started up again.  Immediately the air was filled with shouting and honking, the occasional high- pitched bark from the yappy- looking dog.  “Maybe that’s why,” he mused, turning and starting off down the street.
They walked for a while in silence, stopping every now and then to listen for Her.  With every step they took the smell of her, the feel of her in the air grew stronger.  They were close, finally, after so many years, they were close.

         Death sighed and looked around, at the shops, the people, the trees.  This was his favorite time of year, summer was dying and all the plants and leaves were going with it. The air was thick with the coming winter, and a cold breeze swept through everything like an open door.  People walked past them with their jackets held tight against them, heads bowed, trying to force there way through the wind, leaves crunching under them as they walked. A woman sneezed as she walked by and his step faltered, “Pneumonia,” he said quietly to Time, “Immune system is depressed. She’s got a month.”

“Would you stop being so…” Time fought for a word, “…morbid?  It’s horridly depressing.”  As he walked, the concrete under his feet cracked and twisted plants grew up from underneath, only to seal back up again as he moved away. 

Death laughed, “Me, depressing; that’s funny.  You are a funny man.” He looked down at his own feet and smiled as the leaves shriveled up and turned to dust under his shoes.  A thought struck him and he looked up again sharply, “Hey, do you think She knows we’re here?”

Time shrugged, “Probably. She hasn’t lived this long for being stupid. No, my bet is she knows we’re here, and that we’ve come for her.”

“Then all she’ll do is run away again,” Death put his arms up in frustration. “You know that don’t you?”

Time sighed a patient sigh, his shoulders drooping and his head low, “You know Bones, I haven’t been around this long for being stupid either.  I get her game by now, just like you do.” He looked up, “But she isn’t going to run away this time.”

A small child was running along the opposite sidewalk, a Super Man action figure clutched tightly in his gloved hand.  Death watched eagerly as his mother ran after him, calling out for him to stop and to be careful, but the child wouldn’t listen.  “And what, Cogsey, makes you think that?”

“We’re going to change the game,” said Time distractedly, he too had stopped to watch the child’s progress as he tore down the street “We’re going to make her a deal, pure and simple,” The boy looked behind him, saw his mother running after him, and laughed, like they were playing tag. He stuck his tongue out at her in a playful way and veered suddenly to the right, into the street. “Either she hands herself over to us, or something bad happens” Time continued slowly, as a car in the street stopped suddenly, honking.  There was a terrible thud. “Easy as that.”

A scream rang out, louder than anything other noise, and echoed back several times, the same agonized sound, over and over.  The boy’s mother ran out into the street her arms stretched out to the limp form of her son lying on the pavement.

The two men shared a weary glance, the only ones who are not looking in shock at the accident. “You’d better tend to that.” Time said, turning around and walking away, against the flow of people who were rushing toward the terrible scene.
“Yeah,” Death replied to no one in particular, “I’ll get right on that.”