An Original Story
By: Mitchell Shepard
My small town was exactly what everyone thought it was or seemed. That was until my eighteenth year there, I was to graduate in just a year. It was a perfectly normal year until my mother and I had a fight. It was simple argument over nothing yet it was still always on my mind, especially my hate for what she had said. Words were said that I have learned to regret but alas it was all too late. While I was at school I was having a perfectly normal day until the familiar crackle of the overhead speaker turned on with a click and the watery voice of our counselor asked the teacher for someone to come to the office without paying attention I went back to my drawing that’s when my best friend shook my arm, I was to go to the office. When I arrived there was a note on the front counter for and it read, “Your mother passed away today of a heart attack, Dad.”
I was forced to stifle a sob as the enormity of what had happened settled upon my shoulders. My mother was dead. After stilling my emotions, making myself calm and emotionless, I slipped back to class before anyone noticed deciding to continue my normal year and say nothing. Time passed rapidly and soon it was my eighteenth birthday but it wasn’t really celebrated because my brothers and I got into an accident they both died from their wounds yet somehow I made it out completely unscathed, the nurses said it was a miracle I said it was curse. I had been mad at them at the time, sad to say I never did give them a proper apology. I still continued my life like I had since my mother died yet somehow it was different, I was different. Time started to fly again soon the annual band trip had ended and we all came back for school. After time passed I saw my sister’s obituary in the newspaper, we had lost contact for a while and I had wondered why. Now I know. She had always been a druggie, I had warned her about the consequences but she never listened. My apology letter was laying in the garbage distress had torn it from my hands and it would never be seen.
Life seemed to go on and I tried to go with it but death seems to follow my anger. I was with my friends when I got the call from the police, they told me that my father had committed suicide but didn’t leave a note. They asked my age and if I had a stable income, I simply said yes for both. Ending the call I turned to one of my best friends in the entire world, Gabby. We talked for what seemed like hours but were in reality minutes. Leaving our friends we went home, to Gabby’s apartment. Later that week I moved in. Time crawled by until it was May. I had anticipated this May since my ninth grade year but I never pictured this much death following me everywhere I went. Gabby and I had been living together almost a month when I discovered what was happening. Gabby was purposely making people jealous and angry with me. Upon uncovering this knowledge I became angry and bitter towards Gabby but never lashed out until three days before I was supposed to graduate, Gabby had pushed the final button for me. Cornering the offender I interrogated but not getting what I wanted I started yelling, words poured out my mouth like a waterfall down a cliff. I saw in the corner of my eye as animals and plants alike curled up and died from the anger my body was releasing in waves. I saw blood spray towards me, crimson spattering my white shirt red. I continued my raucous yelling even as I saw Gabby fall towards the ground blood spraying from cuts across the beaten and worn body. Crouching, I leered in the face of my victim growling at the whimpers that escaped it. Then I said the one thing that released all m pent up emotion, or so I thought, “You think you know people, you don’t. I know people and they hate you, we all hate you. Why won’t you just die?” My volume was rising from quiet to yelling at the top of my lungs. I watched as a line of red rapidly appeared on the body’s throat as blood welled to the surface. Then Gabby started the coughing, all I did was watch as my best friend coughed blood up and then choked on it. This would be sickening to most but to me it was fascinating just like a good book. Gabby’s eyes soon glazed over as the last gasp of air rushed out along with the remainder of blood in the body. My best friend was dead. Regaining my thoughts I saw the blood and the body and screamed, I screamed louder than the sirens of police cars, louder than any sound I had ever heard before I heard a voice like soft wind tell me to run, so I did.
I ran, ghosts seemed to chase me as I did so; ghosts of my family, of my life. It dawned on me that everyone I love dies: my mother, father, sister, brothers, and even my friends. They were all I had and now they were gone, forever. I must find somewhere else, find a job and begin a new life. I had to go to a new city where I would be completely unknown to everyone, where my curse wouldn’t find me, where they wouldn’t find me. Yet my ceaseless running came to a screeching halt and the ghosts caught me and told me. They told me who I am, they confirmed my worst nightmares. I, Michael, am the grim reaper, I am Death.
