Contractor: Chapter - 24

A chapter with a view.

            “Tell me a story.”

            “Okay, what kind of story?”

            “Tell me… a love story.”

            “Let me think… how about this. Once upon a time, in a city like most, there lived a boy. And although he was young, the boy had all the ability in the world to do whatever it was his heart desired. But sadly, his heart did not desire anything. Though others desired things for him, intelligence, money, fame, responsibility, he had no desires of his own and he lamented his emptiness. So one day, at the height of his despair, he ventured into the neighboring city of the lost. It was a dark and dangerous place inhabited only by those who were searching for what they once had, nonetheless, he ventured alone among its streets. The boy thought that surely by being in a place filled with desire, he could find something to truly yearn for; but all the wants of all the wandering could not inspire him. And so, he drifted among the people in that place as more a stranger than any one of them, never having had something in his heart to begin with.”

            “I told you to tell me a love story, not a tragedy.”

            “I’m getting there, just hold on for a bit longer.”

            “Fine…”

            “So the boy wandered, until he entered the house of the king of the lost. Now the king was the only one in the whole city who knew what he wanted, though no one was entirely sure what that was, and so he was the only one qualified to lead them. In the employment of the king was a powerful noble lord that served as an adviser. This advisers only desire was to fill the loneliness in his heart, and although he had a beautiful daughter that he cared for deeply, her loneliness was his loneliness. The king, wearied by his advisers woes, saw the boy and at once introduced him to that beautiful daughter knowing that the two could find happiness together. The instant that the boy saw that nobleman’s daughter, he fell in love, and knew his only purpose in life could only ever be to love her and bring her joy.”

            “And they fell in love, married, and lived happily ever after. That was a good story.”

            “That isn’t how it ends though.”

            “Don’t ruin this, the boy fell in love, let him be happy. Let the ending be happy. Let me be happy.”

            “I didn’t say the ending wasn’t happy, I just said that that wasn’t how it ended.”

            “Then hurry up, I asked for a story, not an epic.”

            “Fine. The daughter. The nobleman’s daughter, she was not as lost as everyone thought. Her desire was the freedom of the people that wandered in the city. And though she knew what she wanted, she had no power to accomplish it. That is what she told the boy as he professed his love for her, and as he made it his goal to bring her happiness, her purpose became his purpose. The boy would help the lost citizens regain their purpose. This task was not as easy as it sounded though, not that it sounded easy to begin with. The people that lived in the city were not truly lost in life, but robbed of their purposes by that king. For the king was no king at all, but a thief who ruled over his people and controlled them by stealing the purpose in their lives.”

            “So he kills the king, right?”

            “You just want the abridged version, don’t you?”

            “Maybe…”

            “Okay, he kills the king. The people regain their purpose, and the boy and the girl find purpose in each other and live happily ever after.”

            “What about the nobleman?”

            “That’s only available in the unabridged edition.”

            “Fine… I still like that story though. Thank you.”

            “I thought you would, so you’re welcome.”

 

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“Hey, you there.” A voice whispered from the darkness. It wasn’t exactly darkness though, it was like a black cloud so thick it made all my senses numb. “Stand up.”

I found myself moving at the voices command. I could tell I was back on my feet again, but the black cloud was still so thick I couldn’t even see.

“Wake up.” My eyes flew open and the cloud disappeared immediately. It was odd because I’d already felt like my eyes were open, but I guess I had been asleep the whole time.

I was face to face with someone I had never seen before. Bright blue eyes, almost glowing, that was the first thing I saw. They were beautiful, but the glow slowly withdrew behind a curtain of straight long black hair as the person stepped back. While their figure was slim and their hair was long I got the distinct feeling that it was a man, or at least that they were male. He was taller and his voice was so commanding, yet gentle, there were manly qualities present, but I definitely felt youth. It was hard to tell anything definitive about him with his hair hiding his face though.

“Do you know where you are?” I hesitated for a moment, the question didn’t sound right.

“Where am I?” My sense of location was confused, it felt like I wasn’t anywhere. “Am I somewhere?”

“As confused as you might feel, that is the correct answer. You are nowhere.” His voice sounded like it was humming off the walls of the small room we were in, but it was so soft it was like a whisper that came from everywhere. “Do you remember why you aren’t here?”

My mind was blank for a second as I tried to force it to work. My name was Samantha King, I did odd jobs to stay alive… I regretted remembering immediately. The scene in the apartment played backwards in my head. A girl stood over me, then walked over to a dead boy’s body and cried over it. The boy stood up, a loud noise echoed through the room, and then I saw the gun in my own hands. I’d killed someone, but was that really why I was here?

“Am I… being punished?” I looked around the room again. The room was illuminated by an old lantern and was nearly empty except for a desk and an old and grimy looking cot. It hardly looked like a prison, but it certainly wasn’t welcoming.

“In a way.” The man answered, leaning in even closer, the glow of his blue eyes returning. “You see, you wronged me. What you did was so terrible that the debt you now owe will likely never be repaid for all eternity, an eternity you will be forced to live out.”

“Who are you?” I’d never seen him before in my life, even at the apartment which I hardly remembered at all in the haze of rapid events. Was the boy I killed his brother or something?

“I am Death.”

“What did I do to get on your bad side? People die every day, what was so special about that boy? Were you two close or something?”

“Yes, and no.” He backed away this time taking a full step back, his eyes disappearing from view again. “While people do die every day and I do mostly nothing about it, and while that boy was not particularly significant, his death was. That does not pertain to you, however, so do not ask about him.” That was ridiculous, how did a murder I committed not pertain to me? As much as I wanted to protest and find out more, I couldn’t seem to make the words come out.

“What is your name?” I still wanted to ask more questions but nothing would come out. “Come on now, tell me.”

    “Samantha King.” The words came out so easily, but I hadn’t really wanted to share them.

“Leaving you to figure it out on your own would be cruel, which I am not. If you haven’t noticed already, you cannot refuse me.” I opened my mouth to protest but he interrupted me. “This is because of what you did and there is no way around it, your soul belongs to me and as long as I possess it you have no choice but to do as I say.” Something about the way he’d said that lit a spark of rage in me.

“You sick freak, you think you can just waltz right in and...”

    “Be quiet.” My jaw locked and my throat tensed up. All I could manage was a choking noise. “I think you may have misunderstood me. There is no possible way for you to not do as I say. If, no, when I order you to do something you will be forced by powers above your control to obey me.” I hadn’t stopped trying to prove him wrong, although all I’d managed to do was cough up a little blood. “However, as I have said, I am not a cruel man. I don’t like inflicting pain upon others, so I would prefer if you listen before I have to force you to do anything.” I glared at him. “You may speak now, but please try to restrain yourself from saying anything you might regret later.”

“What did you do to me?” I hissed.

“You did most of the work actually, murder is a terrible thing. All I did was accept your living soul to my eternal service.”

“Excuse me if I call you the most disgusting, despicable, vile, evil man I have ever laid eyes on.” There was no real come back after being told that someone owns you and that it’s impossible to deny them. I had to settle with insulting him.

“You’re excused.” I guess insults couldn’t really phase you if you had complete control over the person saying them. “Now, there is a silver lining to this, if you’d care to listen, that is.”

“I’ll listen, but don’t expect me to react kindly.”

“Very well, the benefit is very simply that due to the nature of our little… unspoken contract, you won’t die as long as I have your soul. You won’t age, you can sustain wounds but they will heal quickly. You’re effectively immortal.”

“So I get to be your little slave forever, doesn’t that just sound wonderful.”