Kathrine stood in the silence. One lone candle flickered near the edge of the bar, making long eerie shadows dance and bounce off the walls. She could hear the mechanical click of a pocket watch that she held behind the counter. Finding actual, working, wall clocks was rare for Omega businesses, but pocket watches were common so long as you could keep them running. The floors, tables, counters, even chairs were all wiped clean, and all the mugs Kathrine used that night were soaking in a warm bath of bubbles to get the grime off. It was rather peaceful. 

Checking her watch she noticed that it was getting into the early hours of the morning. Her coworker had long gone, and she had simply been passing the time doing meaningless chores to keep from going to her home. With a sigh she pushed herself off of the counter and was about to open the front door to leave when she saw something that made her very, very nervous. 

A man, by the looks of it a Beta, was talking to someone who was obviously a Reaper. [i] What is a Reaper doing here? What is a Beta doing here?! [/i] She thought to herself. Kathrine slowly eased herself away from the window, which was in such a position that, if the Reaper had turned around, he could blatantly see directly inside her store. The Beta was facing her direction, but she was unsure of where the man was looking and if he had seen her. 

Moving slowly, Kathrine licked one finger and pressed it into the candle, putting out the flame. She grabbed a mug out of the tub it was laying in and shook off the water. Calmly, she edged behind the dark counter and poured herself a glass of the first bottle she grabbed. She wasn’t going anywhere just yet.