Death date

Is This How I Die?

I woke up with a gun to my head, and a boy holding it.

"I-I'm so-so so-sor-sorry."

As my vision came back into focus I saw a tall, thin boy about my age standing over me. The boy had a soft face, with gentle features, with an aura of kindness and innocence. I would think he had a clear conscience, except for the fact that he was holding a gun to my head.

He looked uncomfortable holding the gun, he held it as if it was going to turn around and attack him. It was obvious that this was his first time doing this, and we both knew it.

"A-are you Aline, u-uh, Ca-ca"

He lowered the gun to reach in his pocket, then realized what he had done and raised it to sit at my forehead, then grabbed a piece of crumpled paper from his pocket, and, without taking the gun away from my head, smoothed it out and read off of it.

"Are y-you Aline Car-Cartez?"

"Its Carstes, but ya, in the flesh. God, and here I was, hoping I would go out either in my sleep, or with a bang. But no, I get you, a scrawny kid who obviously hasn't held a gun before and probably still hasn't even lo-"

"Shut-Shut up!"

"Ahhhhh, looks like I hit a soft spot."

"Shut up or I'll-I'll kill you."

"Come on, we both know you wont, somebody is putting you up to this. You've obviously never shot a person, much less killed one." Of course, i couldn't be so sure.

He shyed away when i called him out. "I-I have t-to though." He said this and i realized jest how much he had been shaking. He swallowed and resumed speaking. "I-if I dont ki-kill you th-then they w-would k-kill me." He said 'they' as if I knew who 'they' are.

"They? Who the hell are they? And why would they kill you? And why do you have to kill me?" I asked beginning to hear the actual fear in my voice.

"I-I don't know. Th-they contacted us and said that they needed us to kill you to keep up with the machine, th-they offered us so much money, an-and-"I cut him off.

"Us? Who is us? And what about keeping up with the machine?" I asked. If there was something wrong with the machine, then i still had a chance.

"Th-the machine, it can be-it has been-it was wrong about you, it has been wrong before, and my partner and I, we're two of the people who are called to make sure that the people really die. I know it is wrong, but I-I have to do it or else-something bad would happen. But I can't do this anymore. Im done, im ready to shut down the machine."He said, it was beginning to make sense, whoever was making him do this must be holding something over his head.

"So that must be what this is about" I held up the note i had found. "I found this when i came home."

"T.D.D.A.W. I have heard of them before."

"So you know who they are? Where I can find them?" I was excited, ecstatic.

"No." My heart dropped. "But i know someone who might .