The Day Death Died

Prologue

No one knew the exact time when Death left the human race. Although, the first documentation of a human being unable to die confirmed that the date was not Halloween, nor even on the thirteenth of a Friday. Instead, the day Death died was on a seemingly average mid autumn Tuesday when a half dozen teenagers decided to go train hopping as the sun set in southern California.

The documentation came from a smartphone that seemed to be on its last legs. The footage was grainy, the audio was horrendous, and the slang the teenagers used was baffling. Nonetheless, it became a relic for humanity at exactly the five minute mark:

0:00 - 0:30: A shaky hand held the smart phone as the owner moved the device's camera to each of his friends' faces. There were smiles, jeers, and many gestures towards the camera as the sound of gravel being kicked up by trudging feet deafened the weak speakers.

0:30 - 0:56: The rowdy group of teenagers past by a few motionless trains. The towering manmade machines silently watched the humans as they made their way to a platform with a single flickering light. There were two concrete pillars holding the lightbulb above while the light was wired to a concrete roof above the platform. The bulb helped illuminate a few of the teens, the excitement evident on their pubescent faces as one leaped on top of the roof of the platform.

0:56 - 2:00: The individual that first climbed up on the roof of the platform offered his hand to those down below. One by one, they slowly get on top of the roof, each with varying degrees of struggle until only the owner of the smart phone was left.

2:00 - 2:45: The phone was carelessly thrown on top of the roof and flipped over so that the camera was facedown on the concrete roof. There were sounds of struggle as the teenagers clamored amongst each other, the sounds of grunting and cursing filed the speakers as the last individual is heaved up onto the platform's roof.

2:45 - 3:06: The smartphone was abruptly picked up, showing the owner's freckled face before the camera was turned towards the main event: an incoming train.

3:06 - 3:48: All of the delinquents crowded around the edge of the platform's roof, the camera fixated on a growing light as the train approached the platform. The event must have been calculated, for the train was going to directly pass in front of the teenagers.

3:48 - 4:20: As the train got ever closer to the platform many of the teenagers readied themselves to jump. The owner of the smartphone stood back a few feet from the group. There were some jeers and slurs directed his way, but the individual seemed content with only documenting the event instead of participating in it.

4:20 - 4:34: The train, although just passing through the station instead of stopping, was still chugging at an uncomfortable speed. But, as was usual for teenagers, the sense of danger was suffocated by exhilaration as everyone prepared to jump.

4:34 - 4:40: The group leaped at the exact time the train passed underneath them. For many the jump seemed almost trivial. Their bodies softly hit the top of the train carts as they were swept away from view. Unfortunately, one boy was not so lucky. Perhaps it was the way he hesitated before the jump, or that his position on the roof was unfavorable. Whatever the case, the poor teen leaped right in the gap between two train cars.

4:40 - 4:50: The sound of flesh and bones snapping was almost as loud as the boy's screams as the train's wheels crushed him. The owner of the smartphone tried to get a view of his friend as the train battered the helpless boy.

4:50 - 4:57: The train finally left the station. The smartphone's zoom function was used as the dim lightbulb vaguely illuminated the remains of the boy. A mesh of torn clothes, fractured bones, and tangled bloodied limbs. For anyone the wounds were fatal. A swift death. And yet, the screams of the boy said otherwise.

4:57 - 5:00: Between the moans of unfathomable pain, the teenager wept as the video abruptly ended. The final frame however was frozen on the mangled boy. The light of life still evident in what was left of his eyes as his mouth contorted in a cry for death to come.

Unbeknownst to him, and everyone else on the planet, Death was already dead.