A touch of Death

Apprentice

The chimes of the grandfather clock rung throughout the building. Twelve chimes, it was midnight which meant that Death’s puppet would soon get acquainted with his new lifestyle.

“Wake up puppet~ it’s time to train.” Death, a figure cloaked in black. Their face covered by the shadows of their hood and was most likely not there at all, called to the sleeping Mr. Green. He awoke slowly, stretching and yawning before turning his attention to his new master.

“What do you want me to do?” He asked them with a cold tone. He didn’t like them very much because of their little deal. If he did everything Death asked his daughter’s life would be spared.

“Come with me, we need a target for our next game.” He nodded slowly and got out of bed before following them. The cold night air brushed against his face as they exited the manhole. A full moon was out and the howls of wolves could be heard in the distance. Death led him to a house, a white double wide with a red roof and mahogany shutters. They walked up to the door and held out his hand to the knob. A low click was heard and the door swung open. Mr. Green stared in amazement as they entered the building. They gestured quietly with one finger for him to follow, which he did obediently. A couple was sleeping on the couch, a skinny Caucasian male and a curvy Caucasian female.

‘We need the girl, pick her up. I’ll worry about the boy if he wakes.’

Filled his mind. He looked at Death and found that they were looking back. He could tell that they were getting impatient somehow. He moved towards the couple and the male stirred, making him retreat a bit. He then reached for the female, picking her up and waking the male. The male sat up sharply and stared at him.

“How the hell did you get in here!? Put my girl down and get out before-" But he was beheaded by Death’s scythe in the blink of an eye. The Female struggled to get free of his grasp, but he was stronger than her.

“Good, now we can begin the game. You’re a… decent… partner puppet. Soon you will be the best.”

“G-game!? What gam-" The female was cut off by Death putting her to sleep with a wave of his hand. They nodded at him and made him follow them back down the man whole.

“Now tie her up, make sure she can’t escape.” They said as they chucked him some rope. Once the female had been tied up and had woken up Death explained the rules of the game.

“The name of the game is "Onslaught." You will be given a Glock and some ammo. The waves will get harder as time progresses. Puppet, I’ll see you in the observation room.” And with that, Mr. Green was whisked off to a glass room above a wide stone maze. He could see the girl, equipped with the prior mentioned weapon. Wave after wave of wolves, animatronics and skeletons attacked her. She wasn’t able to kill them all before she ran out of ammo. He excused himself and ran to her, stopping the game. And boy, was Death no happy.

“Do you have any idea what you just did…puppet?” They asked, their entire being coated in black flames. He stammered his apology to them but they just waved their hand, sending him into a wall and knock him out cold. When he awoke the girl’s head was staring at him and Death was walking in, slowly and menacingly. They raised their scythe to his neck.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now.” They dragged the blade of the scythe across his neck, nice and slow, giving him time to talk and think. Thick blood poured from the wound.

“I-I-I swear to you it won’t happen again. I’ll be completely obedient to you and you alone. Just.. please spare me and my daughter.” They stopped and considered his words.

“You swear on everything you love?”

“Yes… I do.” They snapped their fingers and the wound was immediately healed.

“Do not make the same mistake again.” They growled and sent him back to his room. He sat in the corner, thinking about what he had just done to save himself and his daughter.