• Death Life

    Chapter 1

    tab It's cold. It's always cold. I pull my hood over my ethereal eyes. Now they and I have something in common. we can't see each other. Even though we're both there, clear as day, neither of us are known. That is, being the unseen is just part of my job. The others, everyone else, live their lives. Until, it's time for them to leave. Time for me to work. They die, and for a split second, they see me. Their stare, it's so cold.

    tab It was another day. I pulled my scythe as I walked along the road. It was a beautiful weapon; black handle, the wicked curve, and the blade so sharp and curved, you'd never see anything like it again. That's actually quite fitting, because it is the last thing you ever see. That, and my ragged, draped robes. Pitch black, darker than the night's sky, it drags along my feet. Tattered and torn, it's definitely in need of a fix. But with the little spare time I have, I don't even have enough time to pull out a sewing kit. Not that it bothers me, I'm quite fine with it. It's my eyes that bother people. I've never seen myself in a mirror lately, but I hear I'm quite gruesome. How this can be, I'll never know. I'm so sophisticated, it's almost funny. But, alas, enough about me. Everyone knows me. I'm there to take you away.

    tab One day, I had finished with an assignment in a mobile home. Someone should have told him to chew his food properly...
    "Damn... That was nasty." I sigh, 'So fat and gross, you'd wonder why the scythe DIDN'T get stuck in him...' I move outside, not bothering to close the flimsy door. 'A heart attack is simple. There's a lot of technique involved, but the point gets across just fine.' I think to myself. I never feel accomplished in my line of work. I have to move to the next client. The centuries have taken their toll, I'm extremely bored. Almost to insanity, if I had that feeling. If I had any feeling, it would have to be nausea.
    "Alright, Mr.Robbinson. Head of the town church. Age:85, Caucasian male, of course. Skin and bone, no internal damage, perfect mental stability." I laugh. "Cause of death... Ah, let's make it a nice one." It wasn't my choice to send them to Heaven or Hell. My job was simply death. I didn't care where they went, they'd give me emotions for that.
    "Louisiana. That's a way away from Spain. Eh, he better be doing something useful."

    tab A nice one usually meant 'falling asleep and never ever waking up.' I found him laying in his bed, most likely for a nap. Well, it just became permanent. I hovered beside him, his hands held together and a slight smile across his face made him look so peaceful. I picked up my scythe, and held it hand in hand. I put the tip of the blade above his head, then let it inside his mind. Pulling his soul to where I stand, he instantly woke up.
    "Wh-Where am I?!" He gasped.
    "Calm yourself." I command, holding out my bony hand.
    "Who are you?!!" He glanced at his own body, it's smile gone.
    "Is that- is that me?" Those where his last words in the spirit realm. His soul was taken, in a quick flash. I looked up to see where it left a neat trail of blue sparks.
    "So he went to Heaven after all. Next is North Dakota." I say to myself.

    tab The woman I was sent to get was an interesting one. Tanned skin, blue eyes, black hair, fifty-four years old. Seems slightly young to die, but my cause of death said Terminal Disease. I flew to her house. Phasing inside, I saw that the house was very untidy. Clothes everywhere, trash on the round, black table. White carpet could barely be seen. I passed through the walls to find the woman. She had been laying in bed, coughing in her sleep. I blinked, or my equivalent of such, and pulled up my scythe. Sickness was a bit worse than that of a peaceful slumber. I had to actually disable the body from the inside out, then they die naturally. My hand rested on her stomach, her body failing her by the second. Soon enough, it was time. She let out a final breath, and I let my scythe into her mind. Her soul was so weak, it gave no sign of emotion. It just sank into the floors below.
    "Hell awaits... poor creature." Seeing her face gave me her life's story. She had been a prostitute, selling herself for food. Eventually, she became a mother and settled down with a vicious, abusive husband. She eventually starts to not appreciate anything, but her disease had been conceived when her frivolous activities came to a close. The cause for going below: neglect towards her daughter, thinking this creature ruined her life when it was her own doing. I open my eyes, to see her beaten spirit gone, her body rested. I turned to leave, but saw the daughter enter the room. 'sixteen years of age', rang in my head. She went to her mother, and realized what had been done. She just cried. I turned away, and left the house altogether. It started raining, and it was ever so cold. I need a vacation, it seems.

    tab I went to the two people who would allow such a thing. The rulers of Heaven and Hell, respectively. They each have many names, as I do. Since English was so common, I prefer to call them God and Diablo, respectively. I took a break and visited God. He was working on his newest project when I entered his sanctum.
    "Hmm, what's this? An entity sent to me? By whom?" God asked.
    "It was by me, and my will alone, sir. I come to ask a humble request." I stand before his massive stature. Everyone has their views of him, but no one has actually met him before. They have an idea of which, but it's really complicated. I usually say, 'meet him yourself.'
    "That is all? Well, my time is abundant. Go ahead, fine sir."
    "I'd like to ask for some time off. You receive the souls first-hand, and I'd like to offer a little break." I looked up to see his eye twitch. The notion made me feel sick.
    " And why would you need, this, break? You've been doing fine so far."
    "I-I just need to get myself back together. It's been centuries, sir. They've taken their course, and I feel I'm not as motivated since last Armageddon. It can be a break for you as well; without souls, you can go back to your work, uninterrupted." He thought very hard. This was not a simple situation. Without death, people still live. This is how we have humans living over 100 years, which by the way, I skipped that one and you saw what happened. I just had to hope he'd consider my offer reasonable.
    "You say, that this will help you?"
    "It could, sir. Minutes, if not seconds would do just as well as a year would."
    "Seconds? Well, let me think..." It seemed like forever until he perked up.
    "I guess you can have some time off. I'll allow you up to twenty years, if so and so from below would allow this as well." he chuckled. Me, I was exasperated. Twenty years? Tops? It was staggering to consider. People die everyday, but letting them live for twenty more years? It was amazing, if not absolutely terrifying.
    "There is one catch though, " God spoke up, "Be sure to get information on the people down there. I'd like for you to make a journal of how people act in a certain environment. Simply make an entry once every so often, and that will be all." I smile widely as I receive a black notebook. It's pages were almost divine.
    "Thank you very much, sir. Thank you, oh, so very much." I manage. Standing in gratitude, I make my leave towards Hell. Upon entering, I go into Diablo's office. There, I find him toying around with the new soul I sent him. I feel disgusted, and soon leave, without getting his consent. I wouldn't need it, I'm only an entity. So to take my leave of absence, I'd have to let people live for twenty years more, and write a journal explaining human behavior. But this is a vacation, so where would the most human action be? I went back to the human world. I saw a building, a place where young adolescents would gather for their duties. I now knew where I would be going. High School. The place where humans are at their wildest.