Salem's Noose

I'm not big on long write-ups, but it's part of our theme, so here we go:

STORY PREMISE

A soul in purgatory volunteers for "grim reaper" duty.

SUMMARY

SALEM, a jaded, misanthropic young woman, spends what seems like an eternity awaiting judgement in purgatory. She is finally given the chance to earn brownie points with St. Peter by taking up a century long duty of gathering the souls of the dead on Earth, which she happily accepts.

Unbeknownst to her, the spirit world on Earth is inhabited not only by wayward souls, but also by supernatural evils and lesser demons, all of whom prey on souls and soul collectors. These creatures attempt to steal souls from the land of the dead, and ferry them back to their own domains without allowing them to be judged. Salem must in turn fight and destroy these creatures and try to maintain the BALANCE OF SOULS.

Generally disdainful of other human beings, Salem relishes the opportunity to pass judgement on others, but discovers through her travels the nobler nature of people that she had never known in life.

As the story unfolds, Salem's duty as a reaper becomes more and more difficult for her to complete, and she must reconcile this along with her past and the secret of how she originally lost her life. This will be an epic tale of one soul finding its way back to the light.

All of this will be set to a soundtrack scored by John Williams.

POWERS AND ABILITIES

Although she is not a "superhero" in the common sense, Salem is tasked to preserve a certain sense of justice and balance by her heavenly employers.

She carries a large scythe, which she uses to sunder both enemies and the mortal shells of humans alike.

She can also open voids to the nether through a large hourglass tucked in her robes, temporarily imprisoning particularly troublesome souls.