The Men Who Died

The Men Who Died: XIX (Part 1)

Somewhere Else, Sometime Later

The Young Man stood upright for the Driver would arrive soon. His Stance was proper but relaxed, for him this was routine, but the Driver was acting unusually eager to get the latest drive underway. It was strange behavior for the Driver to seem excited about anything, since it greatly contrasts the persona he established so long ago when he first enlisted the Young Man to aid him in his deliveries. It as well went against the first piece of advice the Driver shared with the Young Man when he arrived here.

Despite his curious assumptions, the Young Man withheld any questions pertaining to anything of personal nature about the Driver, and would not be asked any as it was settled between the two that this job is purely business. Therefore no inquiries about each other's past would be made as it was essential that the two focus on the work at hand. It was also for the best that the two did not dwell on emotions of ever distancing pasts and tend to the job they both appreciatively took seriously. This all was a policy the Young Man found easy to agree to.

Looking over his left shoulder, then right, the Young Man gazed about the Yard. His depth of view was limited by a barrier of Fog that obstructed the appearance of anything physical it enveloped. It was a lingering moisture that allowed a dozen yards of vision or so before swallowing the Headstones in its dense shroud. As far as he knew, the Yard was a vast expanse of disconnected grass patches sliced apart by endlessly paved roads that reached and crossed no border. Yet it somehow felt so enclosed, so isolated that any living would only find dreadful discomfort as their company.

His eyes returned to the crude but maintained road that lay horizontally a few feet before him, stretching an infinite distance, seemingly. After a moment the Young Man contemplated whether he should remain where he stood or pace for a minute to his left, the direction the Hearse always arrived from. The instant he considered the notion, a pair of faint but distinct square shaped lights formed and pierced the Fog, that enlarged as the Hearse approached. He turned his head to face them and held their gaze, or perhaps they held his, as the Hearse idled alongside the curb at a suspenseful crawl.

It emerged from the misty depth and rendered into view as a typical hearse, with the only true difference between It and others was the cargo which It delivers. Pulling within a few feet of the Young Man against the edge of the street where the risen curb met the grass, It halted silently. No moist residue was present across the pane of the pitch black windshield or any of the identically shaded windows (a first), nor were any blemishes or signs of age and use visible at first glance, for there were none.

Examining the large vehicle, at least what he could see of it from the angle he stood at, the Young Man couldn't resist but give into that internalized feeling that always grew within him the instant the Driver arrived. It was something that was revived after being provoked by the appearance of the Hearse. It felt so broad and undeniable the Young Man always wondered if it was portrayed through him physically, but doubted it. For if it did, the Driver would have pointed it out, he would have long ago.

The door opened on the Driver's side and a large top hat appeared, held firmly by a gloved hand. It remained hovering for a few seconds, steady and unwavering. The Driver emerged from the opening a moment later, coming into full view as his lengthy figure rose from beneath the roof of the Hearse. Standing upright with his back to the Young Man, he placed the hat over the swirl of black curls he had for hair, straightened up his posture, and cycled a refreshing breath in through his nose and out his mouth.

The Young Man observed him and began to approach when, spinning one hundred and eighty degrees on his right heel and left toe (about face), the Driver acknowledged his assistant with an expression unseen by the Young Man in all the time he'd been at his service. A wide spread in his cheeks parted his lips to expose glistening white teeth, UN-aged, much like the two men and vehicle, the latter of the three that bounded them to this occupation.

"My friend,' he spoke while retaining his broad smile, 'it's been to long for us." Stepping backward, swinging the door closed and starting towards the Young Man, he extended his arms, expecting to embrace the confused but nevertheless loyal companion of his. The Young Man's initial reaction was provided through a foreign expression of his own. His eyes widened and jaw fell slightly ajar, and he stopped himself in front of the parked Hearse. But not to frustrate the Driver, he responded in kind by parting his arms from his sides to show acceptance of the Driver's peculiar state of arrival.

The two embraced with the Young Man further caught off guard by the firm, securing assurance from the Drivers hug. It awoke a tinge of sincerity the Young Man was unaware he had been longing for for so long. Releasing each other simultaneously, the Young Man and Driver stood hardly a foot apart. Both seemed to have difficulty in finding the words appropriate for this kind of encounter which they'd never shared before.

"Let's not keep our newest inductee waiting any longer, she's highly anticipated meeting you, and her maker." The Driver exclaimed with a boastful cheeriness the Young Man was continuing to adapt to. The Driver gestured with his right hand to the passenger side door. Without hesitation, the Young Man backed up onto the curb, walked to his left and swiftly opened the door in the manner a chauffeur would for their side riding passenger.

He turned his back to the section of the Hearse where the cab met the hood, planted his feet shoulders width apart and held his left arm against the small of his back (parade rest). Giving the handle a swift yank with his extended right arm, the weight of the Hearse seemed to shift in his direction, and what spilled from its interior chopped the Young Man's concentration so startlingly he almost broke formation.

A blasting ray of light was ignited the moment the door and vehicle parted, and rose in intensity the further it did so. Wincing and turning to his left, the Young Man sealed his eyes and grimaced but remained at his post, though his torso had now shifted a little.

"Ah, beautiful,' he heard the Driver say from in front of him and not of the Hearse where he stood a second ago, 'such a majesty of light you shine. I'd say we are more or less overdo for a proper addition to our Yard." The Young Man carefully separated his eyelids to ease into looking at the brilliant beam when, to his relief, it had subsided almost entirely. All that remained besides the after image of bright flares every time he blinked, was a shimmering but dim glow along the outline of the door.

His disbelief of how this delivery was shaping up was only enhanced when he watched the Driver step onto the curb's edge, bend at the waist, head first into the opening of the Hearse, and chuckle. He re-emerged and backed a few steps up the slight slope of grass, and along with him, followed a young girl, clutching the Drivers gloved hands with her own. He walked her up the curb until they stood on the even surface together, two feet in front of a Headstone.