I’ve been accused of doing lots of things before, just nobody actually did anything. It was a Sunday…I remember it. I was hanging out with my friends, yeah? And then out of nowhere this emo ginger came casually, just, sauntering up to us. “Raine.” The ginger immediately said in a cold tone, grabbing my wrist. Straight to the damn point. What’d I even do anyways? The worst i’ve ever done was wear a full camo outfit. Truly a crime. Hideous. Then the ginger snarled at me like he was a fucking dog, or something. Though, not going to lie, it was kinda hot.

“Whaddya want, Jackson..” I said. “We gotta talk..In private.” Jackson’s eyes narrowed as he responded. Now that I think about it, he did seem angry at me. And I did hear rumors going around about him…He surely doesn’t think I did it? No? Whatever, I really don’t care. Jackson started to walk, and I follow. Once we stop, I stare at this guy, trying to figure out what’s going through his thick skull. “Ray-“

“Raine.” I quickly correct him. I don’t fuck with him using my nickname. “Yeah, yeah. You heard of any rumors? Any? At all?” About me?” Jackson is clearly framing me for all this. I gave a subtle nod. No big deal. “You know who started it?” I shook my head no. I hate words, I try to use them as little as possible. Jackson spoke “Sounds like your lying, Ray.” Did he just use my nickname? Oh HELL no. “You know what I do to liars? Kill them.” Jackson said. “I’d just have to kill you before you can kill me, no?” I say. “Yes…But-“ I cut Jackson off mid-sentence, sighing. “Maaan…I honestly just wanted a lazy Sunday, but now I have to worry about killing you? Oh hell no. Im out of here.” Jackson was fully ready to yell at me, but before so, I walked away. Id still kill him, though. Just on another day.

“Kid, you awake?” A man’s voice said. God damn, that was a DEEP voice. I open my eyes, slowly gaining consciousness. Who fucked up? I did. I was currently tied to a chair. “Wuh-..What?” I mutter, looking around. Such a dark room…Emo. “Jace Dwyer Lovelock. Don’t play dumb with me. Don’t do it. I know what you did, you too.” The man said. “So, for the sake of both of us, don’t pretend.” He added on. I laugh, looking more closely at the man. Oh SHIT. I immediately stiffen up. “..Y-You. It’s you. You. Nick. I didn’t…I didn’t…Nick, you don’t really believe i did that, did you?..Sir.”

“Dwyer, you can’t save yourself from this one. I’ll let you off easy. Tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“EXPLAIN why you did it, hm?”

I laugh, quickly regretting my actions.

“Did you just…You just LAUGHED. You think this is funny, huh? All just a game to you, right? Right?” Nicks voice boomed as he grabbed my collar, rather harshly. “Don’t FUCK with me. Explain. You betrayed my trust, betrayed my friends…All for some money? Money, huh?…gets people to do anything nowadays.” Nick let go, scoffing. “If you don’t manage to explain, I’ll make sure you go through hell.” Nick added on, still staring at me. Damn why was this guy so creepy? Who kidnaps people in order to confront them?

“Right. We could be here all day, really. All week, even.” I say, rolling my eyes. Luckily Nick didn’t notice i rolled my eyes, or he just didn’t care at this point…

Nick just shook his head in response. What the fuck was THAT supposed to mean? I tried to come up with a good ‘story’ (a fake one, at that.) But i just couldn’t bring myself to actually say it. I can lie all right, im a ruthless liar. Social anxiety just hits different though. As I sat there constantly tripping over words and contemplating how i should lie, Nick grew impatient.

“Dwyer. Hurry up. I actually have a life, unlike you.”

I tried my hardest to not give him a dirty look.

“Alright, then…” I say. Nick rolled his eyes.

Another 2 minutes passed….Two minutes turned into four, and four minutes turned into seven. Eventually 25 minutes had passed.

“DWYER.” Nick yelled, grabbing my collar. I wasn’t intimidated one bit by this little wannabe tough guy. Nick sighed, and his demeanor changed. He got off of me and just stood there, with his hand behind his back smiling. Nick was acting hella weird, but then again, he always is. “Alright, Jace, er- Dwyer sounds better, right? Although it wouldn’t really matter, since…This would be the last time anyone’s called your name.” Now I knew i actually fucked up. “Listen, Dwyer. You probably guessed right?…So let me just state the obvious, Your times up, better run!—well, you can’t because…..Anyways, you know what’s gonna happen now?” I scoff and look down, nodding.

“Well, your fucking dead. Shouldn’t have done it!”

I woke up feeling off, like I wasn’t myself. I opened my eyes and looked around. This wasn’t my room. I slowly got up and walked to the door, opened it. The door made a loud creak, which was…Unsettling to say the least. I walk to the bathroom and turn on the light, it was flickering for a bit, but then stopped. My reflection on the mirror wasn’t the same. That wasn’t me. It was recognizable though. I put two and two together, I’d realized I’d turned into a philosopher I’d heard about in the newspapers. This was crazy, it had to not’ve been happening…..No, it was real. I slapped myself, purely trying to wake up…Well, to see if it was real. I was dumbfounded when I figured it out. I walk around and find a computer…It was unlocked, that’s weird….It had been open to a email that said something like:

**_Professor Eugene, you have been invited to speak at an event. Come at 6:00 ****sharp. ****

_**I heavily sighed, knowing I’d have to speak about some boring, intellectual nonsense…..Im not a good speaker, really. I then checked the time: 5:30. I groaned and went to get ready. After that, I got a text message saying where it was. I went to get my keys and drove to the party. I arrived and opened the door, everyone gasped and cleared a path for me. I walked in the building and then was greeted by two friendly men. I sat down and talked to people for a bit…I think they knew I wasn’t really Professor Eugene, they knew something was up. Soon, the two men came up to the stage and announced my speech. I slowly, hesitantly got up and walked up the stairs. Once I was infront of the microphone, I felt like my knees would buckle in and give out any moment now. I looked around, my eyes widening and my heart beating faster and faster every second. “H-Hello peo-“ I choked on my words halfway through. I shook my head. “Sorry guys…” The crowd was ready to boo and throw stuff. “I have a….Theory??? Uh…Death is a beautiful thing, but life may be even better but more violent. Life is…Sweet but psycho.” The crowd settled down. “Am i a psychologist?….Nevermind, thats a stupid question. But can someone explain how Life works……” Silence and a bunch of glares. “E-Exactly! You can’t explain that. That’s why people gravitate towards death more…The thought of what happens after death is a contributor too, they just don’t know. Meanwhile, with life, they know they’re just going to keep on living.” The people nodded. “I-I ummm…..There’s no meaning. Literally….Alright, I’m done.” I finally end. The crowd clapped. Then I saw myself in the crowd, confused. Myself! I stared straight into my eyes…….Well, what used to be my eyes. My own body, in the crowd. It was like I was spectating myself in third person. I reached out to touch my own hand and I could tell the other person in my body was just as confused as I was. What caused this situation? The last thing I remember doing before I turned into a philosopher was…Spilling some chemical on me. I was a scientist. I was working for a cure for something, and then i spilled something, elbow hit the container with the liquid in it. I raised my eyebrows and realized why I’d been here. That was interrupted by a sensation, like my soul leaving my body….Next thing I know, im in the crowd. I switched back into myself.

“So, who’s going to die today?” Nadia said, grinning. That’s the question. That’s the question every day. It’s almost a challenge, really. Just don’t die. That’s the way we know it, maybe always will. The government sent us on a mission, more like sent us to get tortured…..A death game, that’s what it is. Dylan spoke up “Soooooooooooooo optimistic, huh?” Dylan giggled and let out a heavy groan….It felt like an eternity had passed by of waiting to see who’d be offed and who wouldn’t. Nadia glared at Dylan. “Hey, be happy….That—“ Mike said. “We’re dead?…We have nothing to be happy for in this desolate void….” Dylan said. Yes, we were ghosts….Were?…Oh, was i supposed to say that yet…Nevermind, forget about what i just said. At the time, Mike just had died. “We’re dead. Stop trying to ignore it.” Nadia said to Mike, looking dead in his eyes. Nadia’s eyes were pure white, like any other ghost…It just looked like she hadn’t slept in months. “So……sigh….If not life…….Death?” Mike asked. Nobody answered….Nobody moved. Back then, i guess it really was death.

Hello, my name is Zander Blaine, and i am a firefighter—despite being awfully tall and shy, also not a very courageous person. I didn’t ask for this job, it just happened. It all started with a stilletto, the knife, not the shoe—And i hope to never be put in a situation where I have to wear that. A teapot, and a…..bulldozer. I know, as crazy as it sounds, i got a job with that!

It happened on May 4th, 2020. I was walking around in the city, when I see a apartment on fire, being the kind man I am I rushed to save them. I went to the nearest Starbucks and asked for a teapot, they gave it to me. I rushed back to the building and started pouring water to hopefully put out the fire. Then I figured that it wouldn’t work, so I tried to use a stiletto to carve out an exit, when I saw that didn’t work, my original plan was to give up. That was until I saw a bulldozer. Now, you may be thinking: what is he going to do with that? this guy is a maniac! Just wait, you’ll see. So I yelled to the family to look out their window, then I started the machine and put the bulldozer part right at the window, then I asked them to trust me and hang on to the bulldozer. I lowered it down to the ground and I had saved them! The firefighters saw that, so they hired me!

And now im here. What a story right?

I see Mr. Grim all the time. I see him in my eyes. I see him next to me. I even see him while I’m asleep. He says he is Death. He’s always wearing a black cloak. So if you see him, do me a favor— Say hi to Mr. Grim.

Lia had been a loyal friend, she never went behind someone’s back or abandoned anybody. Dylan, on the other hand, didn’t quite care. Lia and Dylan were opposites. In fact, surprisingly, Lia and Dylan had been best friends for a long, long time. So long that Dylan would prioritize Lia over everything, despite that not being in the nature of Dylan to do that. Lia prioritized Dylan over everything also. Dylan had been so emotionally attached to Lia, so was Lia that had been emotionally attached to Dylan. There had been some type of death game that they got dragged into, started from a letter by the law, now they’re here. The current situation was quite dire. Lia had a choice for her to sacrifice herself or to sacrifice Dylan, this had not been on her mind about what to do in this situation. Lia stepped back, she took a breath and started crying. She had to sacrifice Dylan. You see, this game has a prize, whoever wins…You can tell where I’m going, don’t you? The grand prize….Was money, and unfortunately, Lia needed that money for her parents. Lia reached out to hold Dylans hand while tears were flowing out of her eyes. “…D-Dylan?” She asked. Dylan let out a heavy sigh “Your going to eliminate me, aren’t you?” He said, smiling softly as he looked at her, it was obvious he was blushing, but he didn’t care. “Well, i mean…Yes I’m going to.” Lia replied. Dylan reached over to move Lia’s hair out of her face. “…I guess this is goodbye.” Dylan said. “Say hi to Zane for me.” Lia said, chuckling. “…Love you?” Dylan said. “Love you.” Lia repeated. Lia took a few steps back and a loud noise was heard: BANG! The guards had shot Dylan. All that was left was a corpse on the ground. Lia smiled, thinking about all the times that Dylan stopped by to bring her flowers, all the times they’d laughed together, every time Dylan would joke about how much he ‘loved’ her. That was all just a misty memory now, Dylan was nothing more than a small moment of her life. A memory.

There’s this group of people, not any people—they have powers….Crazy, right? And there’s another group, they are the rivals of the other group. One day, one of the groups members, Raine, met someone from the rival group, Jay. “Hello…Jay, is it?” Raine said. “Yes it is!” Jay replied. “You know, your not so bad! I don’t know why the others loathe you.” Raine said. “Yeah, I don’t know why. Well we could talk, if you’re free?” Jay said. So they went to the ice cream shop and sat down at a bench. They started talking peacefully, until someone from Raine’s group, Allan, saw him. “Hey! You can’t hang out with him, he’s from the other side—“ Raine got up and pushed Allan. “I don’t know why your making it a big deal, but to be honest, you should stop being bossy. This happens every time too!” Allan smiled “Alright, well, if you wanna pick a fight- then I’ll just have to—“ Allan used his telekinesis to throw Raine on the ground. “I didn’t say anything about that! I’m not trying to fight, your just over exaggerating…Like with everything you do. But you’ve left me no choice but to fight back because I, for a fact, KNOW you won’t try and listen to me” Raine said and then struck lightning on Allan. Allan flinched and then shook it off. “Oh, so you’re— YOUR FIGHTING…ME? ME? MOI? JUST GIVE IT UP. YOU KNOW YOU CAN’T BEAT ME!” Allan yelled and then punched Raine right in the nose. Jay was unsure what to do, he wasn’t even sure if he should be watching this. Jay tried to separate the fight. “Stop it!” Jay said, pushing Allan and Raine away from eachother. “SHUT UP, ITS YOUR FAULT IM FIGHTING HIM!” Allan said and punched Jay, almost knocking him out. Raine pulled Allan’s hair. Allan slapped Raine, making Raine fall down and scream. “A-Are you okay?” Jay asked. “Does it look like it?” Allan said, then chuckled.

There was this eerie feeling about this man i was in an elevator with…Like he wanted to kill me but didn’t have a reason to. The elevators lights were dim and the air was cold. Then he spoke “Hello, I can tell you’re scared…” I looked away and pretended to not hear him. “I know you heard me!” The man said. Then he chuckled. I turned to face him “What do you want?” I said.

“Its simple, really. Give me a reason to not kill you. If you do, that’s great! If you don’t, oh well—you’ll die either way. Five minutes…”The man said.

I went into a frenzied panic knowing that if i didn’t come up with a good solidified reason, I’d die. I thought, and thought, and thought. I just couldn’t think of anything. Time went by, so did the man’s patience. 4 minutes….2 minutes…..59 seconds….Wait, what? The feeling of knowing that in 58 seconds you could possibly die. I was desperately panicking, who was this man? The man stepped closer, and closer. I stumbled back and said “I-I…I’ve got so much to live for! I-I don’t even have a family yet- and I need to….” I trailed off, pondering while trembling. “I’ve got to pay my taxes!” I said, after a while. The man rolled his eyes. “Times up. Those reasons were nothing but lies.” He drew closer, and closer, until everything went silent.