Deviation Actions
Literature Text
Will had taken Theresa all the way back to dispatch and into his office. “Theresa, it has come to my attention that you have recently acted without orders.”
“What?”
“You reaped a soul without proper authorization.”
“Only because you never bothered to give me authorization, even though I am completely qualified!” Theresa shouted back. “And it wasn’t like I just killed a random civilian. He was a serial killer who was bound to receive judgment anyway.”
“Regardless of who the human was, you still acted without orders, which means you will have to be dealt disciplinary action.” Will said flatly. Theresa was furious; she had done everything by the book, minus the whole getting the name from the ‘To Die’ list thing, and she was going to get punished for it.
“Don’t even bother Will,” she said through gritted teeth. She undid the ribbons from her hair and set them on Will’s desk. “I quit.”
“Theresa don’t act so rashly; you can’t just quit.”
“Watch me.” With that Theresa stormed out of Will’s office. She was brimming with anger, and she didn’t care who she bumped into on the way out. She was pretty sure she pushed Grell over, but she didn’t bother to check or apologize. Theresa was almost to the door when she collided with somebody and fell to the ground. “Hey, watch where you’re going!” She looked up and saw she had run into… “Undertaker? What are you doing here?”
He smiled and helped Theresa to her feet. “I was looking for you.”
“Why- Wait that doesn’t matter. How did you get here? How did you know this place existed?”
“I used to work here.”
“You used to be a reaper?” Undertaker nodded. Theresa was surprised; she didn’t think her suspicion of him would be correct.
“So, what did Will have to say to you?”
“He was going to punish me for reaping a soul, so I quit.” Undertaker looked surprised, but he didn’t say anything else so Theresa moved past him and left dispatch. What she didn’t see was Undertaker briskly walking to Will’s office and, not bothering to knock, entered the room and slammed his hands on his desk.
“You made Theresa quit!?” Will looked up at Undertaker unfazed.
“I didn’t force her to quit, she did so of her own free will.”
“She wouldn’t have felt the need to if you had treated her as an equal.”
“That is not an area of your concern.”
“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re being unfair towards your employees.”
“She wouldn’t have been able to do her job efficiently. Women get too emotional over everything. They become attached, and aren’t capable of ending people’s lives. Giving her a register would have meant nothing would get done, which means more overtime for reapers like me.”
“Oh, it’s all about overtime for you. Well guess what? I examined the serial killer’s body after she reaped his soul. She was clean and efficient. Theresa could be one of your most valuable assets if you would just give her a chance.”
“Mr. Undertaker, I’m not going to allow your personal feelings for one female alter how I do my job. Now if you’ll excuse me I have things I must attend to.” With that Will stood up and left the office. Undertaker left as well, heading back to his shop. After disposing of Robert’s body, he decided he should find Theresa. He had a feeling that she would be in need of a new job since she just lost her previous one. But where could he find her?
After some thought, Undertaker figured he should start his search on the rooftops. Most reapers travelled across the roofs. He also sensed something of a kindred spirit between himself and Theresa, and he would often go to the rooftops when he was upset. So he put up a closed sign in the window and left his shop through the back door. He jumped up to the rooftops and began searching for Theresa. He looked for almost an hour before he found her on the roof of a candy store. She was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest next to one of the chimneys. “Aren’t you a little old for candy?” he asked. Theresa looked up at him.
“I just like the way it smells.” Undertaker walked over to her and held a hand out to her. “What do you want?” she asked, trying to sound confident and not upset but failing slightly.
“I want to help you. You don’t have a job and I’m guessing no place to live. And seeing as I’m your only acquaintance outside of the reaper society, I’d say I’m your best option.” Theresa hesitated, but she knew he was right. She took his hand and stood up. He led her back to her shop and took her to one of the spare bedrooms upstairs. “It’s late. In the morning I’ll take you to your new employer. For now just get some rest.” He left her to explore the room, not that there was much to look at. It had a dresser by the window, a desk, and a simple bed on the opposite wall. Everything looked in surprisingly good condition. Theresa took off her vest and shoes and set them on top of the dresser before laying down on the bed. It was really soft, and it was making Theresa drowsy. As she drifted off to sleep she thought about all that had happened recently. Why was Undertaker willing to help her? They had just met that day, and she was nothing special. Maybe it had something to do with his past, or maybe he liked her, but she doubted that was possible. Either way he was a very interesting person, or reaper rather. Theresa’s eyes closed, and she felt a sudden and strange sense of relief.
