The Curse of Strings

Chapter 15

The Cold Embrace

The long red hair of the stranger billowed in the cold winter breeze atop the steeple on the very top of the manor. He held on to the weather vain and looked to see if the man that was on his way here from earlier was going to appear. To him, this game of cat and mouse was something that he enjoyed since it was his job to take away souls. As a grim reaper, his job was fairly simple. He can smell someone dying with his eyes closed and London was a hot spot. A book appeared in his hands which he in turn puts it under his arm and leaped off from the steeple that was nearly a hundred feet high. The red haired man landed on the ground in front of the horse that carried the man that was coming to visit the dying man.

"Ahh, I see that you're right on time." The red haired man chuckled.

"Who are you?" David asked coldly.

"Oh my, my. It's true then that the strong ones always ask such bold questions. I feel so giddy!" The red haired man laughed. "My name is Griel Sutcliff and I have come to take little Drozell home. It seems that he's been very lonely so I'm going to give him some company before he departs."

"Don't you lay a hand on him!" David sneered.

"Oh no, you don't understand. I'm not here for him. I'm here for his soul. Hee Hee, he's been on my list for months and he's alluded me. You lead me straight to him." Griel leaned forward and pinched David's cheek. "Such a good friend you are. I'm sure that you would want to end his suffering, no?"

"Get your hands off me." David slapped Griel's hand away.

"Oh, so cold." Griel pouted. "I suppose it can't be helped." Griel shrugged and chuckled which irritated David immensely.

"I'm going to see him." David began to walk passed the tall and thin red head.

Griel stopped David with his red chainsaw and smirked. "Oh, I don't think you understand. If I am here, there is a reason for it. You see, if you enter, he won't die easily and his death will be very messy. I'm sure you wouldn't want that to happen now would you? He sent out letters to you saying that he's ready, right? Most that are ready generally do. He accepted his death a long time ago. He's going to finish that doll and he'll want to leave in peace. If you're any friend to him, you'll let him die in peace and not in pieces." Griel sneered his final words.
David was torn between seeing Drozell while he was still alive or let him pass in peace like the reaper had asked him to do. He chose to do that latter. "Will I get to see him after you take him?" David asked solemnly.

"Of course. I'll leave his body intact. He's not destined to die through murder so I'll let you take him to the Undertaker when I am finished." Griel giggled and wiggled. "You strong men are so fun!" Griel sauntered into the manor, leaving David outside.

David had entered the manor and looked at the empty parlor. His heart sank at the thought that Drozell was living here alone in this place with no one to care for him and no one to talk to. He felt Drozell's despair in the halls as he explored. He ventured into the room where Drozell had described as his master's favorite place to be. The windows were now uncovered and he could see the street ahead. He looked down to see the desolate garden now covered in snow and ice. "Drozell......" David bit back his anger and sadness. His fists were now clinched to his sides.

OoO

Drozell had finished dressing the doll and smiled sadly. "My time has now ended here." He lifted his hand and touched the doll's face with sadness in his eyes. "You're my greatest and I'm sorry that I can't see you to Maggie. If you get to her, take care of her."

"How touching!" Griel giggled. "It's so cute to see the creator of such wonderful things take such care in making certain that his creation goes to a good home. Oh, how rude of me! I can't court a man without giving my name first. How cheap of me. I'm Griel Sutcliff and I have come to take your soul.

Drozell snapped his head to see the tall red haired man that had in his hands a red chainsaw. He gripped his chest and inhaled deeply. "So you have come."

Griel shrugged. "Well, I was sent to take you to Heaven. Looks like the ones that left you here will die most violently." Griel sneered. "I'll be happy to judge them too. Ahh, but I'm forbidden to make their world spin without permission. Ah well." Griel shrugged. "I love a man that knows how to work with his hands." Griel sauntered over and peered at the doll, taking a thinking pose. "He's not exactly all that appealing to me. He's kinda small and scrawny looking. Certainly not my idea of the perfect man. You could have made him, you know, bigger?"

Drozell didn't know what to make of this guy before him. "Well, you're here for a reason and I'm ready." Drozell didn't like the idea of his creation being insulted in such ways.
"Ooh, sorry. I hit a soft spot. Let me kiss it and make it better." Griel leaned in closer to the ailing man and grinned. "Would you like me to kiss you first before I take your soul?"

Drozell's eyes widened. "Not really. I don't kiss men."

Griel sighed. "I was certainly born in the wrong body. I think the cherubs really messed up or were playing a cruel joke and switched my body with someone else. Pity really. I prefer the strong silent types myself. You're not my type anyway." Griel places his hand on Drozell's forehead and closed his golden eyes. "This won't hurt as long as you don't struggle."

With a deep breath, Drozell felt his life being sucked away from him. The flickering images of his life from birth to death played in front of him. Drozell didn't struggle as his body slowly lost what little strength it had left. What seemed like a slow motion reel, his body slipped down onto the cold stone floor. He saw images of the Blunt Family and Linda. With tears in his eyes, he let out his final breath and succumbed to his fate.

"For someone that seemed so uninteresting, you certainly did have a lot to entertain me with." Griel lifted his hand off of Drozell's head and sighed with his hand on his chest. "Such dramatic footage! Such flair! Oh, I don't think I have ever seen such a life! You have the dramatic interests of Shakespeare himself! I'm so moved! To think that I didn't have to use my tool against you! Oh, I'm going to have a while finding someone so, so, so....ah, lovely!" Griel walked out of the room, leaving behind the fallen body of Drozell on the floor.

OoO

Griel found David in the hall and smiled. "I'm done here. You can see him now. I'll be leaving with this now." He held out a small round, blue orb in his hands. "It's strange though. Most souls are either white, red or yellow, but this is the first time that I ever got a blue on of this color."

David blinked and looked at the shining orb. "Is that.....Drozell?"

Griel looked up from the soul to David and smirked. "Yes it is. It's so big too! For such a little guy, he sure had a lot of power left in his punch. I suppose he simply gave up."

David's mouth dropped open. "You tricked him!"

"Not at all. He was ready to die. I just gave him an easy way out, that's all." Griel laughed and vanished.

"BASTARD!!" David cried out and ran to find Drozell. He searched every room in the manor and found no sign of the body. Calling out to him was out of the question since there would be no way for him to respond.

OoO

In the workshop, the doll twitched and turned its head. It sat up and turned its body to where its legs were hanging off the side of the table. With a thump and clatter of wood dropping on stone, its legs were still wobbly. It fell to the floor with a clatter on to its side. It looked directly into the closed eyes of its creator and tilted its head. It sat up once more and stood up to its feet. With its still clumsy hands, it grabbed the cloth from the table and covered up the body. With lumbering steps, it exited the workshop and down the hall.

David had turned the corner to the kitchen and saw a figure moving in the shadows. It had the same shape as Drozell and he sighed in relief. "Drozell! Oh thank God you're still ali-"

The doll turned it's head ninety degrees and looked coldly at David. "You are Dav-id." Its words were chopped and flat. No emotion was heard in the tone.

David swallowed. "Dear God." His heart rose to his throat in fear. "You're.."

"I am his son. Are you here to take...", it tilted its head with a click, "my father?"

David didn't know what to make of what was going on. Too many strange things had happened in such a short period of time that he didn't know what to do. He decided that it was best to let the doll take him to Drozell. In the shadows, the doll resembled Drozell if he were standing still. The doll's steps were not as fluid as Drozell's and its manner of speech was too cold to be human. Other than that, it resembled Drozell in every way. "I'm here for him."

The doll turned down the hall in a silent gesture to have David follow it. The steps of the two figures echoed in the stone halls which sent a chill down David's spine. He never dreamed that his last moments with Drozell would be to take him to the Undertaker for burial. David felt so empty until the door was opened to reveal the fallen Drozell.

Drozell's closed eyes made him appear that he had fallen asleep. His body was now cold and limp and covered in a tablecloth. No life was present at all. His skin tone looked far worse than he remembered his friend to look the last time he had seen him. David couldn't fight back the tears as he lifted the small, thin and light body from the cold floor. "I'm too late. I'm so sorry."
"He would not want you to cry. He would want you to smile for him instead. He told me this himself." The doll spoke.

David nodded and walked silently out of the manor, carrying the body of Drozell Keinz in his arms, followed by the doll. "Drozell's wish was that I was to take you back with me."
"I understand. I will go with you." The doll closed the door and left with David.

OoO

Inside the steeple atop the Mandalay Manor, violet eyes watched the doll and David leave with the body of Drozell Keinz. A wicked grin was all that can be seen in the pale moonlight and sliver locks framed a feminine jawline. "You'll come back, Puppeteer."

A/N Yes, it's a cliffy. I'm going to be working on a trilogy so you don't have to worry about Drozell being left in the dark. ^__^ I hope you had enjoyed reading it as much as I had writing it.