When she applied she more or less did it just to see if she’d even receive a reply. It was a random notification that’d appeared on her Indeed app. Just the thought of actually picking up dead bodies for a living was an exciting one. She imagined getting the job, telling fascinating yet mortifying stories to friends at parties, and seeing the behind the scenes of funerals. 

“Have you ever seen a dead body?” The Russian woman who’d interviewed her asked. 

“Yes.” She answered honestly. “My Nana, when she passed away in the hospital and afterwards at the funeral.”

“Did you smell her?” The woman asked, lowering her glasses to meet Piper’s eyes.

“Did I…Did I smell her?” Piper repeated. 

“Yes. Did she pee on herself, release her bowels, vomit? Any of those things?” 

“No..Not that I know of.” She shook her head.

“Then what makes you so sure you can handle this job?” The Russian sat back in her chair, letting her glasses hang on her chest from their knitted lanyard. 

“I’m not sure. But, I’d most definitely like to try.” Piper said excitedly. 

Of course, she did not consider the fact that she may have to pick up bodies that were way beyond her weight lifting abilities nor did she consider just how bad a rotted human body could smell. It was only her third day and she was already discovering the ungodly fluids and gasses that emitted from a corpse that was left to its own devices for nearly a week. 

The first two days had been reasonably easy. Nursing homes with tiny hundred pound women who’d died in their sleep. Hospitals with people who’d died from heart attacks, but there was always a security staff to help her lower the body onto the cot from a pulley system specially installed in the morgue. But this. This was raw, hot, smelly, and absolutely stomach-churning. 

“Alright. So get the cot, bring it to the foot end of the recliner. 

Nichols had been the one at her side training her since the moment Piper had clocked in on her first day. She was odd and very eccentric, but Piper was fond of her. She was very patient and understanding, taking the time to explain everything Piper may need to know in things pertaining to the job.