Summary: Yugi is a reaper, one who separates the souls from the body at the moment of death. Yami is a man who can see and talk to ghosts. Yugi is sent to the town of Fairwater to investigate a recent increase in deaths and find out more than he ever wanted to. Based on the movie the Frighteners.

Author's Note: I'm considering this one my Halloween fic even though it's late…very late. Still, I hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, Dead Like Me or the Frighteners.

Warnings: violence, blood, cursing, character death

Dedicated to Shamise, who let me adopt this plot bunny.

Don't Fear the Reaper

Prologue: All Our Times Have Come

The woman clutched her son and wailed, rocking back and forth as she held his limp body close to hers. The men of the group looked around nervously, glancing between the woman and the shallow hole that they had dug in the ground, waiting for the moment when the woman would relinquish her hold on her offspring. They had to move quickly if they wanted the spirit of the young man to remain behind and not follow them to their next camp. If it did, then the hunting would be bad, disease would follow them everywhere because the spirit would get angry. They looked to their leader, the man hesitating for a moment before giving a slight flick of his fingers, the motion enough to settle the rest of the clan.

They could wait, if just a little longer.

After all, this woman more than most needed time to morn. This had been her last living son, and then he had met with misfortune on the hunt; the deer had been dead, but had jerked at the last moment, driving the point of one of its antlers right into the young man's stomach. He had lived long enough to be brought home and die in his mother's arms. It was better than his two brothers had gotten; one trampled in a stampede and the other lost to disease. It seemed like the woman was cursed to lose all of her children.

The leader of the clan looked over at their wise woman, the elderly lady glancing around before nodding. The woman's period of mourning was over, they had to bury the body before the spirit started to wander. The men looked at each other before moving aside, the message evident. The chief was going to have to be the one to pull the body of the young man away from his mother; they would have nothing to do with it.

He looked at the rest of his clan before nodding, walking over and resting his hand on the mother's shoulder, the woman having the time to look up at him before he was pulling the body of her son away. She cried out, reaching out for him, but the other men rushed forward, eager to prevent themselves from being cursed for not taking care of their fellow hunter. They carried him to the shallow pit, laying him down at the mother writhed in the hold of the leader, screaming for her son.

The men of the clan quickly lowered the young man's belongings into the pit, arranging them around his body before piling stones over him. The mother's wails grew louder at that, her struggling stopping as she turned to cling to the chief, finally seeming to accept that her son was dead. The chief patted her head before stepping away, motioning for the tribe to begin to move out and pack up, waiting until the woman moved to join the rest of them before relaxing. If she came along with them then they were safe, she wouldn't stay behind to try and dig up her son. It was best if they just left this place behind and found somewhere else for a few years. He was afraid that they had allowed the body to linger too long in the open air.

He gave the signal to move out, the tribe rushing around to pick up their last minute things, rushing to assemble into their usual group, but most of them stopping at one point or another to give a word of comfort to the mother of the deceased young man, the woman just nodding as she adjusted her own belongings across her back. She gave the pile of rocks in the depression one last look before beginning to trudge off, not feeling the slender fingers that were plucking desperately at her arm.

"Mom! Mom, wait! I'm still here, Mom! Don't let them leave!" The young man tried to pull her back, gasping when she continued to ignore him, feeling tears run down his cheeks. "Mom, I'm still here! I'm still here! Don't leave without me!"

The clan continued to walk away, the young man falling to his knees, staring after them. "Please, don't leave me! I'm scared. I'm scared."

He fell onto his hands, choking back sobs as they walked further away, still ignoring him. He looked up, his vision blurred by his tears. "What did I do?"

No one answered, the young man sniffing and standing up. He stared after his family for a while before finding a place to curl up, pressing his back against the rocks and settling down there. It was obvious that he was being punished for something, what he had done still a mystery to him. But he knew where they were heading and, in a few days, he would join back up with them and demand to know why they had left him behind. He wiped the tears from his eyes, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself down.

Maybe he hadn't done anything wrong, and they had just been in a hurry to get out of here. There were plenty of rival clans who could have threatened them this afternoon. He frowned, staring at the ground. He didn't remember a threat though. He just remembered that he had been part of a hunting party that had gone out earlier. And he remembered bringing down the deer but nothing after that, nothing until now. He shifted in his spot, glancing around nervously. Why couldn't he remember?

Or, the more important question, what had happened in that span of time when he didn't remember anything? Could he have done something then to make his family leave him? Had a spirit possessed him and forced him to do something?

He didn't know the answers, couldn't know them. The only ones that knew them were walking away from him without a care in the world. And they would be glad to leave him behind for a while. It was a well known fact that those who had been invaded by a spirit would be again. The shamans could control the spirits, but he wasn't trained, which meant that he was the victim. But, even then, they should have taken him to a shaman so he could have gotten trained. He needed to know how to defend himself now that it had happened one.

He ran a hand over his face, shivering and wrapping his arms around himself, staring at the rock face that he was leaning against. Even now he wasn't sure that they were coming back, not with the way they packed up so quickly and ignored him. And that was a sure sign of abandonment. They were leaving him to die here on his own for something that he didn't remember doing. "What did I do?"

"Nothing." He jumped at the answer, not expecting one. He clambered to his feet, staring in awe at the person who towered over him even as he leaned against the rock face. The newcomer raised an eyebrow before he shrugged. "You did nothing, they just can't see you."

"Of course they can see me. The only things that are invisible are dead."

The other man nodded slowly, waiting on him for a moment before rolling his eyes. "And I thought you were smart."

"No, I can't be dead! I'm here! I can talk, I can walk. I'm alive!" He shook his head. "I remember things! And…and I'm not filled with hate-"

"Not all of us are."

He stared at the other man for a moment before shaking his head. "Don't talk like that. I'm not a part of whatever group you are in."

The man just smirked, shaking his head as he pushed away from the rock face. "Listen, I don't like to waste my time on fools. When you have it figured it out, come and find me."

"Even if I do 'figure it out', how am I supposed to find you." He gestured towards the plains. "It's a big world out there."

"You will."

He stared at the man before waving him away. "Don't bother waiting for me. I'll be back with my family in a few days."

"And then they'll just get a shaman to drive you out."

"Drive me… Why would they want to do that?"

The other man sighed, glancing up towards the sun before walking over to the pile of stones, bending over to begin to move the stones.

"What are you doing?" He rushed over to the man, trying to pull him away. "Do you want to let the spirit out?"

"It's already out." The man gave him a long look before gesturing towards the body in the shallow pit.

For a moment, he was tempted to just walk away. This man was crazy, inferring things that he didn't want to think about. And that blank spot in his memory was bothering him. Why couldn't he remember what had happened? If he had done nothing then what had happened to him during that blank time. Torn between choices, he gave in and looked into the pit, his stomach dropping as he stared at the face below him, his own face.

Shocked, he stumbled backwards, tripping and falling onto the ground. The man looked at him before carefully placing the rocks back over the body. "T-that's…"

"It's you."

"That's impossible."

"No it's not." The man straightened up, dusting off his hands. "They can't see you and only spirits are invisible. Logically, it makes sense."

"But I feel alive."

"And that's why I'm here." He looked up at the man. "I may have a place for you."

"But…my family…"

"They won't know you're there. And, if they do, you'll be sent out as a spirit. There's no going back."

He tensed. "Says who?"

"Says me. And that's all the matters." The man glared at him before shrugging. "Or, I could leave you here to fend for yourself."

"I could do that!"

"Really? You could just follow your family and deal with the fact that you lose a bit of yourself everyday until you are nothing more than a lesser spirit roaming around. Could you deal with that?" He jumped at that, the man shaking his head. "You won't feel alive forever, not unless you come with me."

"But what about-"

"You're dead. They left you behind so now you leave them behind."

He looked towards where his family had left, his hand rising to clutch the crude triangular pendant on the necklace that his mother had made for him when he had become a hunter. He couldn't imagine just walking away from everything that he had known and starting over; his life had been about his tribe, keeping himself and them alive in the harsh world. He ducked his head, feeling tears come to his eyes as he nodded; there was no other choice. He didn't want to waste away into nothing and be forgotten. At least like this he could still remember them clearly.

"Good. At least there are some smart ones in this batch." The man chuckled to himself before turning and walking away.

He hesitated a bit longer at the sight of his grave, the last place that he had seen his family before standing up, his hand still wrapped around the triangle necklace. For a moment, he considered ignoring the agreement that he had just made and running for his family, wanting to be told that this was all a lie. But a glance at the pile of rocks reminded him of who they had buried and left behind. His spirit wouldn't be welcome with them.

With a long sigh he turned around, following after the tall man as he walked away from his family's camp site, heading out into the plains.

Joey Wheeler braked slowly as he turned the police cruiser around the sharp curve, the last one on the residential street before it widened and turned into the main road. He smiled to himself, reaching over with one hand to turn up the radio, humming along with the music. His fingers tapped out a beat on the steering wheel, Joey staring out into the night.

Even with the street lights and the lights from his car, this stretch of road was always dark. He frowned and turned on his brights, braking again as he came to the bottom of the gentle slope. He took the moment to glance at the clock on the dashboard. He had enough time left in his shift to drive back to the police station after checking out on the new neighborhood that they were building on the other side of Holloway Road. Of course, that was if he decided to drive the curving road.

He shuddered at the thought, hands tightening on the steering wheel. While he had been taught to drive on that road, just like any other kid who grew up in Fairwater, he was still scared of driving it at night. Holloway twisted and turned, nearly doubling back on itself a couple of times as it stuck close to the hill that loomed above it. On the other side, the road ended abruptly as the hill sloped sharply down into the forest, down through the trees to where the creek flowed. One mistake and you were dead.

One of his first days as a cop had been him standing on the edge of that road, watching the police officers rig a pulley system to haul a car back up, since a tow truck was too bit to fit on the small back road. He remembered rushing to the side of the road to throw up his lunch, horrified by the carnage that the wreck had caused. One of the girls had nearly been torn in half from the crash. It was a death trap for any driver, which was why they had build the main road that went around, no one wanted to drive on Holloway Road anymore, not if it was an emergency.

Joey could already imagine the horrific accidents that would happen now that there was something to get to on the other side of the road instead of it just being a short cut into town. If traffic was backed up, people would cut through Holloway, and he would be called out to witness more cars being hauled up from the creek and there would be more graves in the graveyard. The worst part would be making the house calls.

He shivered at that, shaking his head before focusing on the road in front of him, his gaze drifting to the sign that marked the intersection. Joey didn't understand why they didn't just close the road off to traffic now, since it had proven to be so dangerous. But, then again, he didn't involve himself in the affairs of the government; it just got too complicated. He was content to be a police officer and help protect the people.

His radio crackled for a moment, Joey glancing down at it before pulling over to the side, reaching over to smack the box. Sure enough, it started to work again, Joey smiling as he heard Mai over the speakers. "Over by Holloway."

"How did you know?"

"It's the only place where there is no reception. Can't we just declare it haunted and shut it down?"

"Nah." Joey leaned back in his seat with a smile. "Then we'd get more kids."

"More corpses." He could almost see Mai roll her eyes, smiling as he leaned forward onto the steering wheel. "Well, just checking in, you were gone a while longer than I thought."

"Mrs. Madison was having trouble with her security system again. It was a quick enough fix, but I'm back on schedule. I'm just doing a round of the construction site to scare away the kids and then I'll be back."

"Alright. Take your time. You've got nothing but paperwork waiting for you here."

Joey smirked. "Well, I've got you."

"I've turned you down twice, Joseph. What makes you think I'll accept the third time?"

"Third times the charm?"

Mai laughed. "Yeah, you keep believing that sweetie."

"Come on, Mai, I'm bound to wear you down eventually. Besides, do you know any other good looking cops in this town?"

"No. But I'll keep looking." Joey smiled as he heard her fight back a laugh, leaning back in his seat with a grin. He knew better than to take Mai's teasing comments to heart; they had built up this friendship on teasing each other and making the other laugh. Besides, she had already gone out with him to lunch or an early breakfast when their shift was over, but Mai insisted that they weren't formal dates. It was still enough to give Joey hope. Mai just loved the thrill of the chase and watching Joey try to catch her, and he was willing to put forth the effort to do so.

"Alright Mai, I'll see you in about half an hour." He glanced down at his watch, resettling it on his wrist before looking back up. "Want me to pick up anything?"

"No. I'll take you out for pancakes, my treat."

"Are you asking me out?"

"Maybe. Get back here and see."

"Right then." Joey sat up in his seat, reaching up to put the car back in drive, his gaze automatically scanning the empty road in front of him as well as the turn off to Holloway Road as he got ready to move off again. "I'll see you th-"

He cut himself off abruptly, spotting something rise from the sharp incline on Holloway and drop to the pavement. Joey stared the space, ignoring Mai's frantic voice over the radio as he scrambled at his belt for the flashlight, pulling it out and focusing the beam on the object. He relaxed as he realized that it was just a stick, tensing again as another one clattered onto the pavement. Joey stared at it before reaching down for the radio. "I'm going to be a little late, Mai."

"What? Why?"

"There's something going on here. I'll call you when I figure out what." There was silence on the other end, Joey reaching over to turn off the car before pulling the keys out of the ignition and stepping out of the car. He swung the beam of the flashlight around, taking in his surroundings before he reached back to touch his handheld radio, making sure it was there before his fingers drifted over to his gun. Sure that he was ready, Joey walked around the front of the car, staring at the edge of the road where the pavement stopped.

He glanced once at the sticks before leaning over the edge of the road, shining his beam down the slope. "Hello?"

At first, he didn't hear anything, Joey frowning. Of course, it could just be some kids playing a prank; they loved to do that this time of year. But it was still too early for Halloween, that was weeks from now. Joey frowned, rubbing his chin. He was about to turn back to the car when he heard a faint grunt, watching as a stick came flying up again only to fall short. He leaned forward, shining the beam further down the slope. "Anyone down there?"

"Hey!" Joey jumped, nearly falling down the slope himself. He quickly turned, trying to spot the person who had spoken, nearly missing him the first time.

His light moved over the person leaning against a tree before Joey realized what he had done, quickly bringing the beam back to rest on the person. His mouth dropped open as he stared, his hand immediately going to his radio and flicking it on. "Mai, I've got Yami down at Holloway Road, and he's in bad shape."

"Should I call for help?"

"Go for it, I'm checking it out."

"Be careful, Joey."

He smiled at that before pulling the radio back, getting a better hold on his flashlight before carefully easing his way down the slope, trying to control the slide. He kept his beam off to the side of where Yami was, smiling as he slid close to his friend. "Hey."

"Hey." Yami's voice cracked over the word, the man trying to push away from the tree only to fall back with a curse, reaching down with one arm to hold onto his ankle. "That's twisted."

"And your arm?"

"Broken. Has to be." Yami hissed and sat back, Joey staring at the makeshift sling that Yami had made out of his jacket, nodding to himself.

"Listen, the paramedics are on their way. They know you're down here." Joey tucked his flashlight into his armpit, reaching for Yami's pockets, searching through them. "If you give me your pocket knife, I can cut something for you to use as a walking stick so you'll be standing."

Yami shook his head, groaning and letting his head fall back against the tree, Joey pulling back a moment later. "Where is it?"

"Don't know. Not important." He shifted, staring at Joey, the police officer only then noticing the tear streaks on Yami's face. "Tèa…"

Joey tensed at that. "What happened to her, Yami? What happened to Tèa?"

Yami shook his head and just pointed down the slope, Joey letting out a curse and standing up. He glanced up at the slope before leaning over to rest a hand on Yami's good shoulder. "Stay here. I'll go."

He slipped down the slope before Yami could even agree, moving as quickly as he could. It wasn't too far from where Yami was that he found the car, Joey surprised that Yami had even made it that far with a broken arm and a twisted ankle. He smiled at that before carefully walking over to the car, staring at the overturned vehicle and shining the flashlight inside.

Thankfully no one was in the car anymore, which meant that they had been alive when the car crashed. It was also one less job for the paramedics, considering the cramped confines of the forest. Joey swallowed and edged around the car and the tree that it had run into, ducking a bit to get under the bent trunk. He scanned the area, stepping carefully on the grass as he worked his way through the small space in the trees.

Joey frowned as a sweep of the beam picked out a trail of blood, following it away from the car and towards the creek. Why would Tèa have crawled off in a different direction if Yami was going to get help? It didn't make sense, especially if they had both survive the crash itself. Joey hummed to himself, trying to keep himself from jumping at shadows. Knowing how many people had died on this road wasn't helping him at all, he could just imagine ghostly faces peering out at him as he walked, all the people who hadn't survived such a plunge.

He let out a breath of relief when he saw a shoe emerge out of the darkness, about to walk closer when he eye caught a trail of blood leading away from the body. Joey frowned and turned around, mentally mapping out where the trail that he had followed had come from, ending up staring at the driver's side of the car. Joey tipped his head to the side, sucking in a deep breath. Why would Yami crawl all the way over here before going towards the road?

An uneasy feeling settled in his gut, Joey spinning around. The beam from his flashlight illuminated the body that was sprawled out on the ground, Joey sucking in a deep breath and stumbling backwards. He gathered himself back together, quickly walking over to Tèa's side and kneeling down, pressing his fingers against her neck. He stayed there for a while, mouth gaping open in shock when he realized that there was no pulse. Joey jerked backwards, staring at the dead body of his friend, looking over her with his flashlight to see if there were any indications of wounds to show that she had died from them. But there was nothing. Nothing except… Joey nearly dropped his flashlight.

Carved into Tèa's head was the number thirteen.

He took three quick steps backward, staring at the look of surprise and horror on her face before abruptly turning away, feeling his stomach churn. This didn't make sense. She had survived the crash to get over here, Joey knew that. If Yami had been carrying her than the blood trail would be more substantial from the extra weight. Besides, Yami's arm was broken; he wouldn't be able to carry someone away from the car. Nothing explained how Tèa had gotten here, or how the number had come to be carved in her forehead.

Joey turned his head away and began to trek back up to where he left Yami, breathing a sigh of relief when he heard the ambulance coming. He would get Yami out of here and to the hospital before he sent a stretcher down for Tèa. He would keep his suspicions to himself until they had discerned the cause of death. But it still wouldn't explain the number carved into Tèa's head.

Or the fact that Yami's pocket knife was missing.

Please read and review. Constructive criticism is welcome.