All My Friends Are Dead

Part 7

Part V: Orion

Chapter 19

I text the boys if they are ready to game tonight. I've been trying to take extra shifts and look for another job not because we need the money, just that the more I work the less I will think about everyone who died this past year. Although, these guys that are still here are still my boys. We've been through so much even if we only talk about it every now and again.

Within a few minutes, Cody replies that he's hopping on and Ralph will too after he eats dinner. This almost feels like the good old days when all we were are just a bunch of goofballs.

We game for about three hours now. Time really flies when you're having fun.

"So did the Reaper visit you guys?" Cody asks.

"Yeah, actually," I reply.

"Me too," Ralph adds.

"Did he make you a deal?" Cody asks.

I hesitate for a moment. "Yes."

Ralph also agrees and we all paused the game to wait for Cody to say anything more.

"Did he tell you that if one of us kills another person in our group, then the rest of us gets to live?" Cody asks slowly.

No. Well, not exactly. He told me that I had a choice to kill a friend or kill my girlfriend and he will disappear for 7 years.

"Yes," I reply, and Ralph says the same.

"So, I was thinking about the pact," Cody starts. "Logically, it would be beneficial if one of us were sacrificed to save the rest of us."

"Wait, no. You really are thinking about killing one of us?" Ralph exclaims.

"Michael, right?" Orion asks.

"Yeah, I was thinking about him. He's still our friend, but he was mainly Kyle's friend. Still a connection, though," Cody states.

"But a life is still a life. Can you live with yourself knowing that he's dead?" Ralph argues.

"What choice do we have? He's our best option," Cody explains. "Would you rather have someone else die? Or even not kill anyone and we all end up dead soon anyway."

"I agree. I know it's not something you or any of us want to do, but we would be saving more lives," I interject.

"Yeah, I guess," Ralph says sadly. "How would we go about it?"

"Like I said before I was rudely interrupted, I think we can lure him by thinking we are going to the pact. The Reaper probably made the same deal with him too," Cody states.

"Hmm," I say.

"What, what are you thinking?" Cody asks.

"If I were Michael, I probably would go to the pact and meet up with one of us individually," I reason. "It would be easier to kill than have all of us around."

"Yeah, I agree. It's too suspicious to agree to meet up with him now since he's always with Rosalie now," Ralph adds.

"Ralph, do you have any original ideas of your own?" Cody challenges.

"I'm just adding input!" Ralph argues.

"You can add input and put in an original thought," Cody laughs.

"I think Ralph should group chat it. Say that the Reaper is back, and we have a plan to keep the Reaper away," I say.

"Why me? Are we even capable of murder when it comes down to it?" Ralph asks.

"I go hunting with my old man sometimes for deer," Cody says. "Just pull the trigger and don't miss."

"It's different though. It's a human life," Ralph says.

"Do we have to go over this again? It's our lives for one. Do the math!" Cody exclaims.

"It's a different point. You never killed a person before, just animals," Ralph explains.

"I think Ralph is the best bet because he's the closest to Michael out of the three of us. He's more likely to come and that's when we'll plan our trap," I explain. "We need to think of this as survival, not someone who is your friend."

With that, we stayed up all night to figure out our game plan.