The Man With the Voice From Hell, Entry 1
A man sits silently, in a field. A patch of dirt lies in front of him, a sapling beginning to sprout from it. There are a few others scattered around, much the same. The man smiles. Then he feels cold steel against the back of his skull. He hears a click, and the rapid breaths of another man with such a rasp that it was as if his breaths and words were from hell itself. The smile remains...
"I was wondering when they'd send you."
"Sorry, old friend. I didn't want it to end this way."
"I know... neither did I. But duty comes first, right?"
"Yeah... you taught me that. Never thought you'd throw it away."
"Neither did I... never can tell what life has planned for you."
"S'pose you're right."
"A lot of people took bets when you first joined up. Thought this exact thing would happen... just the other way around."
"Never knew that. Guess they got good at hiding it. Ain't hard to learn in this business."
"No... no, I suppose it isn't. I also suppose they owe me some money. Shame I won't be able to collect."
"Mm. Damn shame."
"I know what you're doing. You're trying to be cold. Make it easier on me. Make it seem like it ain't you. Least, not the you I knew."
"Always knew me better than anybody else."
"That I did, hotshot... that I did."
The man with the voice from hell lowers his iron. The smiling man makes no move to defend himself. He has no desire to hasten his end.
"Place has changed since you last took me out here."
"Guess it got a bit popular. More memorials around than there used to be. More trees, too."
"Yeah."
"Circle of life, and all that, I reckon. You ever think about that old idea? That nothin' ever really dies? Just changes, and fuels everything else."
"On occasion. Never gave it much thought."
"It's beautiful in a way, I think."
"Maybe so."
"You remember why I brought you out here, all those years ago?"
"Vaguely. Don't mind the refresher."
"Was to bury my father... passed his steel down to me, y'know."
"I recall."
"The one you're holding now... I had that commissioned for ya. Was s'posed to keep about steady as mine. She been treatin' ya right?"
"As long as I've treated her right... another lesson from you."
"Just checkin', son. You keep that up, alright?"
"Of course."
"Always wondered how a man like my father carried on this kinda business. He was a kind man, gentle soul."
"You've told this story before."
"Ain't all the best stories worth tellin' more than once?"
"Perhaps."
"Right. Anyway... I think I finally know. Took a long time to realize it, but I was just like the old man. Lotta people don't wanna turn into their parents. Pa was different. He was an example."
"So were you... so are you."
"It's alright. I've got no illusions about what comes next. I've sat here long enough. I'm ready."
"Alright. Made your peace?"
"And said my goodbyes. Along with a few early greetings to ol' Pa."
"That's good... we don't have to do it here. Not in front of—"
"Never you mind that, son. Feels right, in a way. Dying where I want to be buried. Poetic, I think they call it now?"
"Yeah. Yeah, they do. You were always like that."
"Suppose I was..."
The man with the voice from hell raises his steel again. It presses against the smiling man's skull once more.
"I'm sorry, old friend."
"Ain't no need in repeatin' yourself now, son. Taught you better than that. Do what you've gotta."
"Right... of course. Any last words?"
"Only a few. I always did wonder... when Marie left me, because of... well... this life... she was pregnant. Was a long time ago. She died a while later. Never knew what happened to the baby. Y'know, they would've been around your age if they'd lived. Hell of a thing, ain't it?"
"Yeah. Hell of a thing."
"Well, go on, son. Do what you're s'posed to."
"...goodbye, old friend."
"Goodbye, son."
A silent click sounds, before man-made thunder rings out... the trembling hand of the man responsible puts away his iron... and the man simply walks away, as silent as he arrived.
