My bones creaked as I stretched my legs. I was too tall for the couch I was laying on and my feet dangled over the edge of the arm rest. They were bare and, like the rest of me, milky white. I often wondered if I should invest in a pair of shoes or something. I mean, I didn\u2019t really need them but I did look pretty silly with nothing on my feet. Maybe a pair of high tops.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long have you felt like this?\u201d The Doctor asked. I could never remember his name so I just called him \u201cThe Doctor.\u201d He was a skinny man with blond hair and a strong jawline. He looked nothing like a psychiatrist. Disappointing.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d completely lost my train of thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cFive minutes, maybe?\u201d I asked. \u201cWait, we were talking about shoes, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry,\u201d I said. \u201cSometimes I confuse the conversation I\u2019m having in my head with the one I\u2019m having out loud.\u201d I paused for a moment to reflect on that. \u201cDoes that mean I\u2019m crazy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, that depends on what the conversations in your head are about.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShoes,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOK, good.\u201d I followed the mental breadcrumbs back to what he\u2019d asked me. \u201cI guess I\u2019ve felt\u2026off my entire life. But it\u2019s only been lately that I\u2019ve really felt disconnected from everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was an appropriate answer, right? It must have been because he made a noise that was meant to convince me he was concerned.<\/p>\n
His pen scratched against the pad in his lap. One quick look into his mind told me he was shading the doodles he\u2019d been drawing of voluptuous women with big eyes and\u2026antlers? What the fuck?<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want to know what I think?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I\u2019m just paying you to use your tiny couch.\u201d I shifted my position to try and find some kind of comfort on the leather torture device.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you feel like an outsider because you are<\/em> one.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like you\u2019re purposely distancing yourself from everyone around you. When was the last time you initiated a conversation? When was the last time you actually tried<\/em> to make a friend?\u201d<\/p>\n He had a point. But I had my reasons.<\/p>\n \u201cBad things happen,\u201d I said. \u201cIt\u2019s like\u2026\u201d I stared at my long, boney fingers intertwined on my stomach. The whiteness of my skin was amplified by the dark robe they rested on. \u201cIt\u2019s like anyone who comes in contact with me dies.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re Death.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLike Death<\/em>, Death. The Grim Reaper. The Ferryman.\u201d<\/p>\n I chuckled. \u201cAre you going somewhere with this?\u201d<\/p>\n He rested his chin on his hand and glared at me. \u201cWell,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t you think that might have something to do with it?\u201d<\/p>\n I looked up at my scythe resting against the wall. The blade glowed and the handle was made from the spine of a species that was long since extinct. I sighed.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t being literal, Doc.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, you were.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I was,\u201d I admitted.<\/p>\n I pushed myself up into a seated position with a groan.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, I lost that Ferryman gig,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n \u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell the whole thing wasn\u2019t very efficient. One guy, one tiny little boat. Do you have any idea how many people die every day?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t count. It\u2019s a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHmm\u2026\u201d He scratched on his pad again.<\/p>\n \u201cThey use an actual ferry now. Holds like, I dunno, a hundred thousand souls or something. Doesn\u2019t even have a captain. It uses some kind of computerized navigation system.\u201d I shook my head. \u201cNo respect for the old school.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re old school?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo old school.\u201d<\/p>\n Again with the pen. It was really starting to annoy me. Especially considering that I knew he wasn\u2019t writing anything down. With a wave of my hand, the pad flew off of his lap and hit the wall across the room. He looked surprised for a brief second before giving me an annoyed look. I glared back at him until he sighed and clicked his pen.<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d he said. \u201cHave you tried not killing everyone you meet?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t killed you,\u201d I said. \u201cYet.\u201d I could hear him shift in his seat and I grinned. \u201cI don\u2019t really have much of a choice. I have this list.\u201d I pointed my thumb at the giant book laying on the floor. It was six inches thick, weighed 40 pounds, and was made from the skin of Satan himself. Or so I\u2019d been told. \u201cIf you\u2019re on the list, you have to die. That\u2019s all there is to it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI get that,\u201d he said. \u201cBut why not find someone who isn\u2019t on the list?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone\u2019s on the list,\u201d I said. \u201cWell, almost everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlmost?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, but I don\u2019t want anything to do with those<\/em> guys.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, why not find someone who\u2019s lower down on this list? Someone who\u2019s got a few years left.\u201d<\/p>\n The skinny little pervert was onto something. Maybe I could<\/em> find a friend. Someone to talk to, to\u2026well, I wasn\u2019t really sure what I\u2019d do if I did have one. Sit on a bench and feed ducks? Is that a thing?<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks like we\u2019re out of time,\u201d The Doctor said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re<\/em> out of time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWait, what?\u201d<\/p>\n I jumped up from the couch and snatched my scythe from the wall. I pulled my hood up over my head and pointed the blade directly at him. Its glow intensified and the lights in the room dimmed, casting long shadows throughout the office.<\/p>\n The Doctor slowly stood up and backed away. He looked at me with fear in his eyes. The same terror I\u2019d seen countless times from those I\u2019d taken.<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d he said. \u201cPlease. Not yet. My family.\u201d<\/p>\n I lowered my scythe and laughed. \u201cI\u2019m just fucking with you.\u201d The room was bright again and the blade of my scythe returned to its usual glow. The Doctor struggled to regain his composure but he was sweating like a nun in a cucumber field.<\/p>\n I grabbed my book from the floor and held it under my arm. I hated carrying that thing. It was the bane of my existence. My Marley\u2019s chains. Cursed to carry it for all of eternity.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know,\u201d The Doctor spoke with a shaky voice as he wiped the sweat from his face. He slowly sank back into his chair. \u201cI mean no disrespect but you aren\u2019t going to make many friends looking like that.\u201d<\/p>\n I looked in the small mirror on the wall. My hood buried my face in shadows but you could still make out my features. I was skeleton thin with a layer of white skin pulled tightly over my bones. My eyes were as black as coal. I had no nose, no lips, and was completely bald from head to toe. I had no idea what he was talking about.<\/p>\n \u201cLooks are only skin deep, Doc,\u201d I said. \u201cHasn\u2019t anyone ever told you not to judge a book by its cover?\u201d<\/p>\n He only stared at me with a raised eyebrow.<\/p>\n He was probably right. If I wanted to fit in, I needed to at least look the part. I glanced at my reflection again and closed my eyes. My entire body tingled and I could feel my robe loosening. When I opened my eyes, the mirror revealed a young man in his early twenties. I had short, brown hair, fair skin, full lips, and a nose. By human standards, I wasn\u2019t bad looking.<\/p>\n I looked back at the Doc. \u201cBetter?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n He nodded, his jaw hanging open. I probably shouldn\u2019t have transformed right in front of him like that. He\u2019d gotten used to me over the last few weeks but he was still a little squeamish.<\/p>\n I turned the handle and opened the office door. It didn\u2019t open to the world of the living. It was rare for me to enter that world when it wasn\u2019t part of the job. I usually travelled through the spirit world. It kept me hidden and it was a Hell of a lot faster.<\/p>\n The Doctor had left his chair again and was bending over to pick up his notebook.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right, Doc,\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019ll see you soon.\u201d He paused for a second before straightening his back. Everyone hated when I said that.<\/p>\n I stepped out of the office and into the darkness with a smile on my face. Today, I was going to make a friend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My bones creaked as I stretched my legs. I was too tall for the couch I was laying on and my feet dangled over the edge of the arm rest. They were bare and, like the rest of me, milky white. I often wondered if I should invest in a pair of shoes or something. I mean, I didn\u2019t really need them but I did look pretty silly with nothing on my feet. Maybe a pair of high tops.<\/p>\n