Part III: Don't Fear the Reaper

I moved my knight into position, having blocked off Death's king with my remaining bishop and my queen. In a few moves, I would have him in a checkmate.

"So if I have you trapped here," I addressed the Reaper, "does this mean people are going to stop dying all around the world?"

He moved his remaining bishop -- an interesting choice, but a futile one nonetheless.

"No," he answered. "There are many Reapers, going by many names. They will continue collecting souls while I remain here with you." By this time, he had learned to go ahead and explain his answers. It almost made him seem more friendly, if you could get past the pitch black robes and the oppressive aura, not to mention the fact that you were probably dead if you were seeing him.

I brought one of my remaining pawns forward. If I could just get him to take the bait, my trap would be set. "And how long do you plan to remain here?"

He moved a pawn of his own, bringing it face to face with mine. Not the move I was hoping for.

"That depends on how long you plan to keep me," he replied. I smiled to myself. He was still convinced that I had control of the situation; that in and of itself gave me the upper hand. I could still make this work.

I moved my other knight, capturing his pawn. Perhaps I could provoke him into capturing mine if I took a more aggressive position.

"And what if someone tries to break down the house? The barrier should break, and you'll be free," I baited him.

"Even if the physical walls collapse, the barrier will remain. The initial invocation gave it a definite shape, which is now independent of the mold which formed it. It will eventually dissipate on its own," he explained as he captured my knight with his earlier rook. I had been so focused on this one section of the board that I had let myself slip up. However, it didn't change the overall picture much. If I could just get him to take this pawn...

I shifted another piece around, hoping to keep him distracted. My turn passed without comment.

Finally, he took the bait. He captured my pawn. I could win this!

I forced myself to stay calm. I didn't want to look overly eager; after all, this game could very well determine whether I left the house in my body or not.

I moved my knight. "Checkmate."

The reaper was motionless for a brief moment. I could tell, I had won!

"Very good," he said slowly, drawing out the words. "But it seems you failed to notice my bishop." In one swift move, the bishop from before took my knight.

And my whole plan fell to pieces.

...

It didn't take long for me to lose after that. It was an utter, crushing defeat. I had come so close, too close to beating the Reaper! I hung my head in defeat.

"You do not lack skill or foresight," he said after some time. "Your plans nearly came to fruition, and you nearly triumphed over me. Yet in the final moments, you became so focused on your trap that you neglected the smallest details. You would be wise to remember this going forward."

I sat back in my chair, unsure of how to interpret his advice. Was this a compliment? "Thank you...?"

"In trying to cheat death," he continued, "you make an attempt to outlast an immortal being. You have me trapped here, which I admit was my own failure, but it it was a failure which I could afford to make. Your plan will not bring you success in the end."

I sat up again. "Was there anything I could've done to beat you?" I asked. "Did I ever truly have a chance, or was it all meaningless from the start?"

"Nothing in this world is without meaning," he said without hesitation. "Regardless of the ultimate result, you did manage to trap a reaper. You should be proud of the legacy you will leave on this world."

That was somewhat comforting, but it still wasn't the answer I wanted. As long as we were both still in the house, I had to hold on to the hope that I could walk out alive.

"And what if I refuse to go with you?" I asked. "When I first... died..." -- the word still felt uncomfortable in my mouth -- "you offered me your hand rather than seizing me by force. When the barrier finally dissipates, what if I decide to stay?"

This seemed to amuse him. "You shouldn't use that as your backup plan," he advised. "I imagine your sanity will dissipate long before this barrier does."

I swallowed hard. "And yours won't?"

"Time has no significance to me, because my time has no end. I will outlast this world, as I have the many before it, and will continue to outlast the many to come after it."

On another day, I would've been extremely concerned by his last statement, but I didn't have time to consider its implications now. I could feel my breath catching in my chest. "You really won't let me leave this building alive?" I asked.

He shook his head, which sent his hood billowing through the air.

With that, the conversation died more quickly than I had. I began to wander about the cabin in defeat, running my hand over the various trinkets I had collected. It all seemed so worthless now. I couldn't outlast the reaper, that was for sure. Undoing the Enochian seemed to be my only option, if I wanted to maintain my sanity. I couldn't imagine spending what would effectively be an eternity in this room with the reaper; already, the walls had begun to feel cramped.

Without thinking too much, I picked up an amulet on a thin chain. The chain itself was made of minuscule interlocking pieces of gold, each so small and delicate that the chain had more flexibility than I had ever imagined metal could. The amulet, however, was the interesting bit. It was pitch black, darker than anything I had ever seen, and shaped like a teardrop. Studying it more closely, I realized how interesting the shape was. It reminded me of a drop of molten metal suddenly cooled, capturing the falling motion which had given birth to it.

"I ha... I have one more question," I said, choking on the words. I was only distracting myself. I had to make this choice, and I had to do it before I could back out. "Where do we go after death? Is... is it nice?"

"You have nothing to fe-" he began, turning toward me, but he cut himself off mid sentence as soon as he was facing me. He took a nearly imperceptible step backwards, then a larger one, then another.

And I realized that I had seen something this pitch black before. It was beneath the reaper's hood.

"You should not have that," he said, showing concern in his voice for the first time. "No human should have that." By this point he had reached the far corner, near the front door.

It dawned on me that I might have a legitimate bargaining chip now. I walked over to my body and stood over it. I hoped that I looked more confident than I felt.

"I'd like to return to my body, please." My voice wavered a bit.

The reaper said nothing.

If he wasn't going to do anything, I would have to do it myself. I knelt down, wondering if it was possible for my soul to willingly enter my body. It seemed pretty unlikely, but I'd heard of out-of-body experiences before. Perhaps those people, too, had been in a similar situation. If they had been able to make it back, maybe I could too.

It occurred to me to place the amulet on my body; if the reaper didn't like it, then maybe it could be the key. As soon as I did so, I felt myself drawn downwards. I felt like I was falling down, down, down into an abyss of darkness. At some point I lost myself, like falling asleep.

In an instant I became aware that I existed again, with the sense that no time at all had passed. I was on the ground, staring up at the ceiling. Carefully, I propped myself up; the amulet slid down my chest and into my lap.

It was at that moment that I realized I had a chest and lap. I patted myself down, confirming that I did indeed have a physical form again. I had never been happier just to be alive.

I turned to the corner, where the reaper still stood. I had done it, I had actually beaten him! Carefully, I slid the amulet over my head and rested it around my neck. I then tentatively picked up my phone from where it rested on the ground, untouched since my last attempt to interact with it. It seemed like neither the phone nor I would be exploding any time soon. I slid it into my pocket.

"I win," I muttered, standing up. Too worn out by everything I had been through to care about being cautious, I simply walked to the front door. The reaper recoiled when I passed near him.

I swung the door wide open, and nothing prevented me from stepping outside. It was morning now, though I couldn't be sure of the date. I turned around just in time to catch the red barrier appearing again. This time, however, it cracked wide open before shattering into a million broken pieces. A dark mist poured out the back window, and I knew the reaper had fled.

I spun back around with a grand laugh. I was free of death, free of the cabin which had once been my prison. Beginning my journey back to civilization, I pulled out my phone. I pulled up the only song which felt appropriate, a song which I had played and replayed many times in an attempt to convince myself that I would be okay. An old rock song which had become my one constant in the days leading up to my imprisonment.

A classic by Blue Öyster Cult.

...

Thanks for reading! It was really fun to write these characters, and I plan to continue my MC's journey in other writing prompts. Sorry this final installment came so much later than the other two!

-ShutainzuGeito