The Taste of Death

Chapter 1

It was a long workday. I went through the list of clients, checking them off one by one. You would not believe how many Jessicas there are in this world. I've gone through so many clients named Jessica, seeing that name makes my head hurt. Did I mention David? Holy shit, there are so many Davids. You would not believe how many people have the same name in this world. But of course, encountering the same names constantly is inevitable in my line of business. I collect souls for a living. I've been doing this ever since I lost my life at 16. I was a stupid kid. One night thought it would be absolutely hilarious to sneak into my neighbor's backyard with a few friends and fuck with his dog. Mr. Johnson came outside with a 22. My friends got away, or more of accurately left me, and I got a fatal wound to my skull. I thought it was the end until I saw this dark figure walk up to me. He told me I could either pass on or work as a reaper. I didn't want that to be the end of my story, that and me being the foolish teenager I was thought it would be cool to collect souls. Anyways, I work for the Souls Collection Center, or SCC for short. And that dark figure is my dickhead boss. The work is more mind-numbing than I originally thought. I get my list, find the people, ask for their regrets (as if they would even get around to doing some of those things), take their souls, and move on to the next person. Work is pretty disinteresting.

My break just ended, so I set down my game controller to get back to work. First on the list is some dude named Vin. Done. Scott, done. Vikki, done. Alaina, done. The next on the list was a girl named Jillian. I walked up to her apartment building. I knocked on the door. A woman with shoulder-length brunette hair and blue eyes opened it. She was tall and sturdy looking.
"What is it?" She answered.
"Jillian Roberts?"
"Yes, how do you know my name?"
"I've come to retrieve your soul."
Her face went pale as I said that, as expected from anyone going to lose their life. "I-I can't." She stuttered
"Yes yes, you can't. I've heard it before. You have been suffering from skin cancer for some time now. It is your time to leave."
"You don't understand, I have a son."
"I apologize, but I'm sure there are others your son can stay with."
A little boy, looking around the age of 5, walks right up to her.
"Mommy, who's this man?"
"No one, Mikie. Just leave us two to talk and watch some cartoons."
The 5-year-old waddled out of sight.
I sighed.
"I don't have any other family members and his dad is out of the picture. Doesn't want anything to do with us."
I felt a sharp pain of guilt strike my chest. "I'm..sorry. This is my job, I have to retrieve your soul."
"Please. Give me some time. I'll find someone to take care of my boy. I just need time!" She pleaded.
"Okay...I'll give you 10 months."
"Thank you."
"But, I'll need to check on you to make sure you're trying to find a guardian for him. It's not that I think you're lying, its just protocol."
"Okay, thank you! I'm sure I can manage to find Mikie a guardian in 10 months."
"I'll see you every 2 weeks then."
She nods firmly. "Two weeks."
I leave the building.

Author's Note
Thank you for reading my story. If you like it, feel free to vote. If you have any questions about this story or where its headed, feel free to comment. Although I might not answer all of the questions due to not spoiling the story, I'll be sure to respond.