Dear Creepypasta [#Wattys2016]

Dead man's right

Mr. Cadson had been sitting up at the bar for some time. The lights and the music were both very low, casting a sort of malaise over the entire half-empty room. A group of men in the corner were watching a baseball game on the television on the wall. A few small groups of people murmured among themselves at the tables. Cadson had been staring into several glasses of bourbon for the past two hours, the room around him slowly fading into a dull blur of colors and sounds. The girl tending bar just replaced his glass when it ran dry and the cycle continued. It was around midnight when the stranger approached him.

Cadson turned to see a middle aged man sitting in the stool to the left of him. The man seemed to be the only thing in the room not covered in the haze of inebriation. He didn't wave to the bartender, nor did the bartender seem to see him. He merely turned and looked directly into Cadson's eyes. The stranger was nondescript for the most part, except for the eyes. They were bright gold, shining in the dim light. Cadson had never seen anything quite like them. When the man talked, his voice was low and smooth, like a storm in the distance.

"Hello, Mr. Cadson," said the man. "I'm Death." Cadson believed him. No amount of liquor led him to that belief. It was more of an instinct, that a man should know Death when it stood before him.

"Pleasure to meet you," said Cadson, deciding that being polite was the correct option. "Can I buy you a round?" Death laughed. It was a fake laugh, although a very good one. It sounded like someone that has already heard every joke in the world a thousand times, but is still trying to be polite.

"I don't drink, I'm afraid," said Death. "I'm just here to tell you that you'll be throwing in the towel somewhat earlier that you would expect."

"And why do I get the head's up?" asked Cadson. He grabbed several nuts out of a bowl in front of him. They had been the only things he'd eaten in half a day. Death leaned up onto the bar, folding his hands under his chin. Death sighed deeply, as if he didn't want to hear that question.

"Because, Mr. Cadson," said Death. "I've begun doing contract work."

"Successful guy like you?" asked Cadson. "Didn't think you'd need the extra cash." He looked over at Death, only to find the seat empty. He considered for the first time that he was merely hallucinating. Someone to his right coughed lightly. Cadson turned to find an old woman looking at him with the same pair of gold eyes.

"I merely take a small something from the people that require my services," said the more elderly Death. "Although I can't say it's all for that. What do I need with a memory or a sliver of a man's soul? After sticking to the script for millions of years, it's mainly about the thrill. And I enjoy the conversation." Death smiled, showing a mouthful of yellowed dentures.

"You still didn't really answer the question," said Cadson. Death stopped smiling quite so broadly.

"Very perceptive for someone on their sixth drink," said Death. "Which makes this all the more fun." Death disappeared from the seat. Cadson swung around to find an athletic looking young man to his left. The gold eyes seemed to pierce him even deeper. "A question is an amazing thing, Mr. Cadson. The first thing a mortal does upon being born is wonder. Upon waking up, entering a room, meeting someone, or even looking up into the sky, the first thing you do is wonder. Immortals don't wonder. They know." The longing in Death's voice was half heartbreaking and half terrifying.

"If you're going off the script, they don't know, do they?" asked Cadson. His head was beginning to clear, as adrenaline and fear began to sweep away the haze. Death chuckled.

"No, they don't," said Death. "And that terrifies them."

"Who's 'them'?"

"That's something I can't answer," said Death. "There are rules, you see. I can do this as long as everyone follows the rules. The rules you have to worry about say that dead men have certain rights. Most come by them naturally, but when I take a more active role, I'm required to tell you those rights. Hence, my presence here." Death gestured back at the darkened, half-empty bar.