The First Arrivals

Greta didn't realize how big of success her radio message was going to be until she finally got the first arrivals. The first arrivals had been made of younger families that found her message as an inspiration of hope. She allowed them to stay in her home while they worked on building their own. The surrounding area was covered in dense woodland in every direction aside from a singular road that connected the farm to the highway. Her mind was set on the idea that achieving Death's plan for her shouldn't be an issue.

"I would like to make a toast to everyone here!" She announced to the people sitting around the dinner table as she raised her glass. "Here is to the first arrivals!"

This caused the house to erupt in a cheer of pure excitement. This was all that she needed to hear to give her the assurance that it was all to plan. After everyone finished their meals, the men took to building homes. Everything was starting to fall into place for what she wanted. The men worked day and night for two months finishing two houses. The families slowly began moving their belongings into their new homes under the approval of Greta.

"I am so glad to see that people are starting to come to live with us, Apollo." Greta said as she scooped him up into her arms for a hug.

Her smile faded as a shadow appeared in front of her causing the room to go cold. Slowly her smile returned as the shadow began to gain detail revealing it to be death. He had a smile stretched across his face, but it was one predatory. She felt a sense of fear creep up her arm as the smile grew in size. She stood strong as he approached her stopping just short of arm's length.

"It is all coming together Greta." His voice had a laugh to it as he talked.

"I'm trying to do the best I can." She let out a small laugh as she met his eyes.

"Well, so far everything is how it is supposed to be." Death gave her a kiss on each of her cheeks in a ceremonial style.

"I am glad that everything is to your liking. I want to make you happy with the development." Greta's smile grew wider as she spoke.

"Please continue with the way you're doing everything and it will be fine." Slowly Death vanished into a fading smoke as the room began to warm again.

"Always so dramatic." Greta said as she rolled her eyes.

Slowly she put Apollo in his crib before walking to her room. In slow motion she shut the door and undressed on her way to take a shower. As her shower roared to life steam seemed to hug against her skin causing the chill to finish leaving her body. In a moment of peace she sat lost in her thoughts about moving her mission forward. As the heat continued to rise her thoughts began to become more vivid causing her get further lost in them.

"I will take my throne by yourside." She whispered to herself before taking a look into the mist filled bathroom for Death.

She felt like a little school girl again as she kept thinking about leading all of the people that had come to join her. The thought of the radio needing repairs in the future crossed her mind. She started to wonder who will continue to fix it as the village would continue to grow around her. As she sat under the now cooling water, her thoughts moved to what her queen like outfit would look like.

"Queen Greta." She let out a small giggle at the way it all sounded.

The cold of the water hit her dragging the world of fantasy from her mind. Quickly she exited the shower drying off as fast as she could. She caught sight of herself in the foggy mirror bringing the hate she felt for herself to surface. Even as a slim woman she felt too big. She hated the woman in the mirror and with the excitement of the world as it was faded away she saw what everyone said she was. They pulled from her past like a flooding leevee that is hit by tropical storms in the summer.

"You will be everything that people want soon." She said to herself as she exited to her room.

Slowly she drifted off to sleep feeling the exhaustion that was hidden throughout the day till now. As her head made contact with her pillow she felt like she began to float away into an unending void. Nothing alive was around her beside an echoing sound that seemed like whales circling around her. It was a loud and concussive screeching that had no source to be found within the void.

"Why do I always return to this void." The words came from her mind instead of her mouth as it seemed to be non-existant.

No answers would come through her visit in void. Slowly light began to break through the void around her as the feeling of her bed returned. It felt as if she was being sat gently back into her body. Her eyes struggled to open as she found herself back in her room surrounded by the light of the sun which seemed stronger than the day before. A sigh escaped her body as she sat up in her bed still stiff from sleeping through the night.

"It feels like I didn't get any sleep last night." She whispered to herself before leaving her room.

A loud knock echoed through the halls and seemed to slam into her ears. Each knock made her move faster to silence the source of the noise. As if in the blink of an eye she found herself standing before her front door. in one hand she had her mask and in the other she held the old man's gun. She looked at it caught in what seemed to be a trance as if the weapon was talking to her in a voice she couldn't hear.

"I thought I had gotten rid of this thing." Her voice was barely about a whisper.

"You will need me if you open that door." A voice seemed to claw from the back of her mind.

"Why would I need you?" She found the question to go straight for the gun.

"Because the creature on the other side of that door wants to kill you." The voice seemed to be telling the truth as she put her mask on.

"Then we need to kill the threat." Greta whispered before opening the door and being met with a nightmare.