Late Night Musings and Obsessions with Death

TAOJRAD: Prologue (tw)

THE ADVENTURES OF JAMIE RILEY AND DEATH

PROLOGUE

JAMIE
One year ago, I woke up in a hospital.

I was instantly reminded of what I'd done the previous night. The regret rushed into my veins and I was startled by an insistent, long beep. My gaze had been fixated on the off-white ceiling, and it ricocheted wildly to my bedside, where a heart rate monitor displayed a consistent flat line.

I was dead.

But how could that be, since my eyes were wide open? I moved my hand to my face, only to realize in horror that I was attached to an IV.

I'm terrified of needles.

A cough sounded from my bedside, and I turned to see a boy about my age standing there. He had striking features, with shaggy black hair and piercing, cold blue eyes that contrasted his deathly pale skin.

"Hi, Jamie," he said, running a hand through his already wild hair in a nervous gesture. "Hi," I rasped weakly. "Who are you?" He grinned for a fraction of a second, before schooling his features into impassiveness. "I'm Angelo Tristan de Thanos, but you can call me Death."

My constantly overthinking brain burst into a flurry of thoughts. The first thing that decided to push its way out of my mouth was, "So you know what I've done." Death's face fell gracefully into an expression which one can only describe as pure sorrow, and he glanced at my prone corpse of a body, his gaze burning through the thin blankets, before fixing his intense eyes on mine.

"Of course I do. I have seen cases like yours. But that does not mean that you are not special. Every death is carefully catalogued in my library, and every soul given a fair trial with the Council of Wraiths. But today" – he swallowed in a rare display of anxiety – "the Council and I decided on a different fate for a very special soul."

I glanced at the door, wondering why the nurses hadn't come in yet to take the damaged heart rate monitor away, or, if I was truly dead, my body. My eyes darted back to Death when he let out a sharp, humorless laugh.

"You are dead, my friend. No doubt about it. But, as I have said, the Council and I have decided on a different fate for you."

I glance at the floor, finding that Death cast no shadow. "W-why me?" In a flash, he was sitting beside me, running his fingers through my probably greasy hair. I resisted the urge to flinch away as he slid his hand down to caress my cheek.

"Because you, out of all the souls in this miserable town, deserved to die the least." A sad smile crept onto his face. "You should never have succumbed to this darkness. And therefore you shall un-succumb to it."

"Un-succumb?" I laughed lightly. His formal language had given way to a bit of childishness, and I saw a glint of humor in his cold eyes. Then the weight of his words fell upon me.

"Wait, you're going to resurrect me?" Death tilted his head. "Not so much resurrecting as not taking your soul." If I hadn't been so weak, I would have jumped up in anger. "You're going to release me back into this world? After all I've been through? Well, you and your council can suck it! You can take my soul and put it on trial. I can't stand this pain anymore." At that, my voice broke.

"Hush, friend. I have made arrangements for you. You will not be alone." Before I could respond, he leaned down and placed his lips on my forehead and everything went white.