Embodiment of Eternity

A search for answers that may have been better left alone.

Truths

I mustered the last remaining reserves of my courage and asked, “So, what exactly happened that night?” I had to know who it was attacking my friends. It couldn't have been anything else, eight of my friends. They all died in different, non violent ways, in different places, but all at the same time. I searched and searched for any and all correlations between them, but according to everyone, I was the only person that they all were close with. Most of them had never even met the others.

“Well, that depends. Are you sure that what you want is the truth? Telling you what you want to hear,” said the shaggy man, looking intently at me. He had contacted me earlier that day asking me too meet him, as he asserted to have information on whatever it was that had happened to my friends. The way he had contacted me was really what got my attention: I found a note in the locked safe of my alarm protected house, detailing the time and place for a meeting. The conditions of the meeting were that I was allowed to ask about that night, if I asked any other questions he asserted that he would leave with my questions unanswered.

“If I wasn't sure, then I wouldn't have come, and I wouldn't have asked when I got here,” I told him, impatiently.

“Fine. You and I killed them,” he told me, a serious look across his bearded countenance.

At that point I grabbed two fistfuls of his shirt, and used my larger size as leverage to lift him off the ground. “The f**k is the matter with you? You sick b*****d!”

“Not as sick as you are, after all it was your call,” he said, not fighting my grip.

“Stop f*****g with me,” I said, throwing my right hook into his jaw. A venture which backfired, as his jaw broke two of my knuckles without seeming to phase him.

“How did that work out for you?” he asked, a snide smile spreading across his shadowy wrinkles. “I offered you a deal, which you accepted. You were the one who should have died that night, after your car accident, you begged me not to take you. I obliged kindly, offering your life for eight others.”

“Bullshit!” Now, I was getting mad, but my punch had done me more harm than good, so I decided to simply leave this crazy old b*****d to his own devices.

He began calling after me once I had put him down and turned my back. “You should be dead. Your lack of amnesia has nothing to do with me it's self induced. If you looked deep enough you'll know I'm right.” I was ignoring him, with no intention of turning back when I heard him yell, “There is still time to save them.” At this I turned around, something in my gut was forcing me to listen, if there was a way to save them, then I would. “Well, seven of them at least. I'll still be taking one of their souls,' in addition to taking yours back.”

At this I simply left. When I arrived home that night, I went out to my garage to look for definitive proof of any accident, in the form of my car's condition. It wasn't there and the garage was closed. I began to remember small bits of the night before. A horn beeping, the whaling of sirens cutting across the night, and pain taking over my existence.

I had a decision to make: Do I trust the man claiming to be Death? Or do I take it in faith that he was crazy and I'm the victim of extreme circumstance? Well, if you're reading this then it means you've found it and that I've taken option A. If my friends are alive then I made the right choice and you probably think I'm crazy. If they're not and I'm dead then I'm a dumbass. I hope I made the right choice, please don't think I'm suicidal, just someone trying to do the right thing, after doing something evil that I can't remember. Now it's time for destiny to take its course. In terms of last words, I have but one thing to say: When it's your time, embrace it or others may pay for your moral failings.

Sincerly,

Craig

Author's Note

Any opinions welcome. Just finished this, haven't really read over it, so it's not the finished product.

Reviews

[Marie]

Okay; pretty good. You leave an interesting puzzle for the reader. There were some mistakes, but if this is a first draft you'll fix them. I see you've written some more stoies, and I'll check them out when I get time.

[NoblePariah]

This was just a side story I wrote in about a half hour, I hadn't looked it over yet but I plan on making the grammatical corrections on a second read through. As for the other stories, thank you, I appreciate your reviews, and the honesty behind them and I look forward to hearing what you have to say about them.

[Marie]

I haven't had much time today, but I'll keep on looking.