Never Ending

Back to Work

Kostas put on an overly happy face as he stepped into the restaurant for his shift. He had to kill himself right before he changed and left the house; the hellions had been attacking him with a new vigor. 'There has got to be a better method than slicing myself.' He thought idly as he clocked in and got to work. 'It's so messy; maybe I should look into poison--that could be easier. But, what if Korbin somehow gets in it?' Kostas shook his head as he tried to refute the thought. "No, there is no way I can use poison. There must be a better way to kill myself."

His co-worker stiffened at Kostas's statement. Without losing a second, he rushed over to Kostas's side. "Hey, I know life gets tough, but you're going to get through this."

Kostas furrowed his brows as his middle-aged friend wrapped his arms around him. "John, what are you doing?" He asked as he awkwardly patted his back.

"Look," John stared at him solemnly. "suicide is not the answer. I've known you for awhile--before you disappeared; you bounced back then, you can now too."

"John, what are you talking about? I am not suicidal." Kostas said as he tried to push the older man away.

"You were just talking about killing yourself. You don't need to hide your pain; we can go get a drink and talk after our shifts." John replied, refusing to release his grip.

Kostas froze up for a moment. 'I must have accidentally said that out loud; I need to be more careful. It was easier in Hell when I could just talk to myself. But, is he right--am I suicidal? I mean, I am thinking about killing myself, but it's not like I get a say in the matter.'

"It was a videogame." He lied. "I'm stuck on a level and I'm pretty sure I have to kill my character to get into the realm of souls to fight Satan so I can get the key to open the door so I can--"

John held up his hand. "Okay, I get it. I don't need to know all the details." He chuckled before giving Kostas a hearty slap on the back. "Still, it's good to know my friend isn't planning on killing himself."

"Yeah." Kostas laughed nervously. "Anyways, thanks for checking on me."

"Yeah, no problem, Kid." John replied, hurrying back to work.

Just then, Kostas felt a sharp jab to his right shoulder--nearly causing him to drop the tray of food he was carrying. "Hey, watch out, John. I almost dropped the food." He turned only to find John already on the other side of the restaurant serving customers.

'Okay, calm down; you imagined it.' Kostas thought as he went back to work. 'There is no way the hellions are back already; I just died.' Still, in the back of his mind he knew only the hellions could be causing the pain he was feeling. He continued working even as the biting and scratching worsened. Though he was wearing underclothing, he was still worried about the blood seeping through his clothes--even if they were dark. 'I ask for forgiveness to every girl I made fun of in middle school--this is worse than Hell.' He thought apologetically. 

As the night wore on, Kostas' s condition only got worse. The hellions were being relentless with their attacks and, unlike in Hell, Kostas was forced to only smile. He could feel his body beginning to give out as the oncoming of death approached him once again. Finally, the inevitable happened. As Kostas was carrying a trayful of dirty dishes back to the kitchen, his tired body gave out beneath him.

People gasped and screamed when they saw the young man fall forward--landing directly on top of the dishes. The entire restaurant was eerily silent for a moment as everyone held their breath and waited for him to get up or even make a sound. When no movement was made, panic took hold of many of the attendants.

"Everyone, stay calm!" John shouted above the chaos as he rushed to Kostas's side. He rolled Kostas over gently so that he was no longer on top of the dishes. Expectedly, pieces of glass clung to the young man; however, the glass was not what worried John. The man grimaced as he saw the knife sticking out of Kostas's chest.

Quickly, he checked for a pulse--nothing. John stood up and looked at the customers and staff who waited expectantly for the verdict. "Someone call an ambulance." He said grimly, hoping his friend was somehow still alive.

"We already did." Several of the costumers replied.

"Good." John said with a heavy sigh. "I need all of you to please exit the building for now or at least get on the other side of the restaurant."

John's heart leapt when he heard a groan from behind him. Kostas came to and began to slowly sit up. John rushed back down to him. "Hey, hey; don't get up. You're really hurt--just lie down and relax."

Growing more coherent, Kostas looked down at his chest and flinched when he saw the utensil jutting out of him. Ever since he had to push his heart back inside of himself, Kostas had refused to willingly kill himself that way. However, his heart was now trying to beat properly and the knife was only making the palpitations more painful. He grabbed the handle and began to work the blade out of himself.

"Whoa, stop it." John said as he forced Kostas's wrist away from the knife. "Wait until the ambulance arrives; if we remove it now, you're going to bleed out. I don't even know how you're alive right now, though." He added quietly.

Kostas widened his eyes and moved his arm defiantly. "I am not waiting that long. Now let me go so I can get this thing out of me."

"How are you this strong?" John grunted as he used more force to hold Kostas down. "You should be on death's doorstep right now."

'I ding-dong ditch death daily.' Kostas thought to himself as he stop resisting his co-worker. Though it had been years since John was in the Army, he was still strong. 'All the exertion is making my heart beat faster anyways.' He thought sourly.

Noticing the younger man had relaxed again, John let go of him. "Look, I just need you to stay with me right now." He said loudly and deliberately.

"Yeah, okay." Kostas flinched. "I'm not deaf; I get it, sit here and do nothing."

John shook his head. "Stop being so sarcastic; you're supposed to be in shock right now."

Kostas closed his eyes as he waited. The whole night just served as a reminder that he had forgotten what was normal for a person to endure and what would kill an average individual. 'This is not going to work.' He thought forlornly as he was loaded into the ambulance. 'This is harder to deal with than when I was in Hell.'