So, there’s not much I have left to say about the last story’s events. Ollie avoided falling into any pitfalls and escaped by phasing through the ground with mild mold allergy symptoms and some moderate dehydration after vanishing from the real world for approximately one and a half weeks. It was a miracle Ollie had gotten so lucky, yadda yadda, you know, the whole spiel.
There shouldn’t be any outstanding questions other than, “Oh, narrator, what was that building?” And to you, humble reader, I say it was a nightmare to talk about, that’s what. Because it’s not infinite, just incomprehensibly big to the human brain. Coupled with the fact that it constantly shifts, it’s set to be a disaster. So it’s best to leave it be.
Regardless, we’re not here to talk about that. In the first story, I introduced you to my best friend, Death, an awe-inspiring, wonderful being who cares deeply for humanity and its… quirks. But, as I write this, Death is suggesting that I should take the time to introduce you to the other forces that dictate your entire life. So, I suppose I’m here to do that. Because Death is… incredibly persuasive when Death smiles like that.
So, here’s one more introduction for you. Enjoy it. Ignore it. I don’t care.
In this story, I am introducing you to Life. The main force that you humans cling to for as long as you can. He’s Death’s younger brother.
And the biggest, most unadulterated scumbag this universe has ever seen.
I would call him a sociopath if that word had any actual psychological meaning and wasn’t just a cheap money word tossed around for scraps. However, I have existed since before humans created language. In all your years of existence, none of you have made up a word suitable enough to describe just how much I hate that licentious, vacuous, and downright vile creature.
But you get to meet him. Yay! Congratulations. You get to be just as annoyed as I am. We’ll suffer together.
Now, I could write thousands of tomes about Life and go into every story and detail, but I don't have time for that. Or the patient. Or the willpower to stomach the thought of him for that long. So, you get one story to sum him up. And it’s the story of how he decided to adopt a human by the name of Mallory Pechman as a personal plaything.
I would like to emphasize that Mallory had done nothing wrong. From the moment he was born, Life has gotten all starry-eyed in his demented way, and it just went downhill. His childhood wasn’t tragic, per se. He had two parents. They were in a vicious cycle of divorce and remarrying, utterly blind to how they constantly dragged Mallory by the ear. He had no siblings. No friends. Life ensured he was always on the right side of awkwardness to be shunned by everyone seeking the flame of popularity but not quite odd enough to be accepted as an outcast.
Of course, he never knew why that was. To him, it was all his fault and a personal problem. But Life…
Well, Life was there every step of the way.
I remember precisely when Death learned about Life setting up Mallory’s life for suffering. Death was livid in a way. Death never could be at anything else. I wasn’t there, but I didn’t have to be. I still saw it in my mind’s eye, right down to Death’s frustrated furrow.
Death stormed over to Life’s quarters. Death was barely humanoid, a figure of smoke and too many eyes. Death’s hands were wispy, fingers too long. Yet, contrary to what Death’s story may have suggested, Death is perfectly capable of communicating; the only caveat was that it couldn’t be verbal.
So that’s why Death could slam Life’s door open, hazy chest heaving, and sign, “What exactly do you think you’re doing?”
Life had his sibling’s ability to pick his form, but he did it less for comfort and more for what he likes to call a sense of pizazz. But currently, there was no one to impress, so he looked mainly like a hunk of metal with random points jutting out at unwelcoming angles, sharpened to deadly points. Not that Death could die, but it was the ambiance that mattered.
Life sighed. “Oh, I just love it when you’re all vague like that. It makes me know exactly what you’re talking about.”
Death took a deep breath. “Look—“
“I have to be looking at you, or I wouldn’t be able to understand you.”
“—you cannot just decide to interfere with a mortal’s life because you find it amusing!”
Life yawned. “But you interfere with lives all the time. In fact, you kind of… end them.”
Death grew, the smoke making Death’s skin contract. “You know I don’t make mortals die. I just—“
“How many children did you kill today, Deathie?” Life smirked. “Or orphaned?”
Death’s form trembled. “Don’t change the subject! Mallory—“
“Before you come around and accuse me of ruining lives, maybe you should look within yourself. You are the hated one here. You’re the one that separates families, leaving people all sad, alone, and in pain. Yet, I, little ole’ Life, am adored.” He grinned. “That’s why I get to speak. And you get the sidelines as a silent role. No one wants to hear you, Deathie. You’re the thing that’s tearing apart the world.”
Death couldn’t keep face at that. Death shrunk into a tightly packed humanoid cloud, smaller than before. “Mallory Pechman doesn’t deserve this.” Death turned around and floated away.
Life snorted, laughing freely as his spikes receded into his metal skin. To him, it was just too good. Quality entertainment for Death to buzz with sorrow and guilt for things outside of Death’s control. He was laughing like a drunk middle-aged man at a bad comedy show. And I could hear every second, and Death didn’t have to. Death had listened enough to have it memorized.
I just… I hate him. Oh, I wish I could stick his head on a pike.
But that finally pushed Life to take things up a notch with Mallory. The watch from afar as he floated through life wasn’t working. Life wanted to get his hands dirty. He wanted to ruin Mallory’s life.
He found his first opening when Mallory was seventeen. It was his sophomore year of high school, and he was still awkward and lonely. So, Life gave him the one thing to let him do everything he wanted.
Life gave Mallory a girlfriend.
He had spotted the perfect girl while he was watching Mallory talking to her group of friends. She was everything Mallory would never get on his own. She was popular and the perfect short blue-eyed blondie that most heterosexual teen boys seemed to trip over themselves flirting with. Not that I know anything about flirting. Or romantic attraction. Or anything of that sort.
Moving on.
Life saw Amanda and immediately knew exactly what he would do to introduce Mallory to his new way of living. And all he had to do was hover over her brain and just make her be attracted to Mallory. Nothing else in her personality changed, but suddenly Mallory had a fan.
The first time Amanda flirted with Mallory, he thought he was being played. He saw no reason Amanda would suddenly want to look at him, let alone flirt. The second time, he just brushed her off. She couldn’t really mean it. The third time was a bit harder to ignore with her gorgeous smile and the way her eyes lit up like she worshiped every word he said.
And the fourth time, Life’s plan fell perfectly into place.
Amanda approached Mallory in the courtyard of their high school. She was in her usual crop top, sweater, and jeans. She smiled calmly, collectedly. Like she knew exactly who she was and what effect it had. Mallory was slowly becoming helpless to her demeanor, noticing the little things that made Amanda so much more than just the popular girl who giggled over bad grammar in text messages and borderline nonsensical emoji codes.
Life found this transition very pleasing. He hovered around Mallory almost daily, waiting for the perfect chance to direct Amanda to Mallory’s path and watch it all unfold.
Amanda smiled, leaning against the locker next to Mallory’s. “Hello, handsome.” She giggled, a cheeky grin sprouting on her face.
Mallory’s Face warmed considerably, but he ignored it. He closed his locker with a little more force than strictly necessary. “Amanda.”
She giggled harder. “You remembered this time!”
Mallory sighed, trying his best not to find the way she laughed endearing. Or the way she always found a way to turn the most scornful things he said into something positive. She was a cheery person. And while he tried very hard to find it revolting, he kept being drawn in like some outside force was pushing him into her orbit.
Life, the outside force, just sniggered at this thought process.
Mallory faced Amanda head-on, “What do you want, Amanda?”
She sighed. “I would like you to say hi to me just once. That would be nice.”
“And why exactly would you want that?”
She rolled her eyes like he had just asked the most annoying question ever in this corner of the universe. Mallory scowled. “Amanda. I was willing to drop this. Seriously. But you just keep coming back.”
Amanda seemed genuinely hurt at that. “What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean! The first time, har har, funny joke Amanda. The second time, you’re on thin ice. The fourth time…” He gave her a pointer glare. “And you need to go home and consider if you’re funny or just….” He yelled in frustration.
Amanda frowned, eyes all big and sad in a way that made Mallory feel bad before he remembered precisely what this girl was doing to him. “Mal—“
“I never said you could call me that.”
“Mal. Do you think I don’t mean everything I say?”
Mallory snorted. “Do I think….” He shook his head. “Do you think I’m stupid? I know that I’m a nobody. You’re Ms. Princess with all of your friends and followers. You don’t even spit at people like me.”
Amanda put her hand over her heart. “I know you’re hurt, so I won’t dwell on what you said.”
“Oh, shove that up your—“
“But let me be the first to say you’re not a nobody.” Amanda gently took both of his hands, smiling. “And I do think you’re cute. And funny. And everything else.”
Mallory tried to pull his hands away. “But—“
Amanda held his hands tighter. “But nothing. I mean it. Okay? Don’t fight it.”
Mallory shook his head. “Don’t say that. You don’t mean it.”
Amanda sighed. “But I do. I really, truly do.”
Mallory looked away. “But the way I’ve acted this entire time. Everything I’ve said.”
Amanda giggled. “It’s cute that you get all red and grumpy about it.”
Mallory successfully yanked his hands away, gathering his bag and matching way. “No! Not doing this!”
Amanda giggled. “Okay. Okay. See you later!”
Needless to say, they got together two days later. Life was chuckling the entire way.
Mallory called those days the best days of his life. Mind you, he was a teenager and didn’t have many days of his life to compare them to, but it was special to his mind. They had a relationship “to die for,” according to every peer who wanted something like they had in the vicinity. Life bided his time, knowing that if he struck too soon here, the blow wouldn’t land how he wanted it to. So he let the couple date happily through their junior year and deep into their senior year.
He waited until their second anniversary to strike. The day that meant so much to human relationships.
Amanda and Mallory were supposed to have a grand day. They were both eighteen. They both had more freedom than they ever had in their entire lives.
But somehow, Amanda hadn’t messaged Mallory at all the entire day. He expected some sort of good morning text message. Or at least a good morning response. But there was nothing. She didn’t even read his message. He tried not to let it hurt. Amanda was probably busy! He didn’t want to be clingy. Just because it was their anniversary didn’t mean she had to wait hand and foot for him.
So he waited.
And waited.
And waited some more.
And a little bit more.
And soon, a grand day of being together turned into half a day of Mallory worrying that somehow his girlfriend had wholly forgotten that he had ever existed. That wasn’t a thing that happened, right? There wasn’t a particular type of amnesia that prevented people from just remembering their significant others. So something had to be seriously wrong.
He hurriedly unlocked his phone, this time deciding to call her. Maybe she slept in and needed something to wake up! He could do that. He could be Amanda’s knight in shining armor.
But the phone just rang.
And rang.
And rang.
And rang some more.
Until all he got was her voicemail. He frowned. Amanda always had her phone on her, which was only off if she was in the movie theaters. And why would she be in the theater when he was here? Not with her? On their anniversary? That made none of the sense.
He huffed, putting on a jacket and stepping aside. Fine. He would have to go to her house if Amanda wasn't answering her phone. He wouldn’t do this on any other day, but Amanda completely blowing off their anniversary wasn’t like her. She wouldn’t do that. So Amanda had died in her sleep, was somehow unconscious, or had been replaced by an alien shapeshifter assuming her form. And no matter how he looked at it, he panicked.
Life, meanwhile, the snickering creature that he is, sat in the tree outside Mallory’s window. He looked like a morning dove, sitting all regal in the barely budding branches. He chittered aimlessly, trying to make what was really hysterical laughter sound like natural birdsong. He couldn’t miss the show: his ultimate opening moment.
Mallory rushed out of his house, sliding into his car. Life made sure to keep him in his line of life. While it was possible to follow him using magic or his very viable source of all information available, Life liked the thrill of the chase. So, he chased. He followed Mallory as he drove through suburbia, barely obeying the laws of physics as Mallory definitely didn’t follow the speed limits.
In four minutes, sixteen seconds, and twelve and half milliseconds, Mallory rolled up in front of Amanda’s house. Life landed on a nearby roof, hopping in birdish excitement. Mallory straightened his jacket and knocked, ensuring he didn’t look like the hurried rush that got him to Amanda’s door that afternoon.
Amanda did not answer. It was her mother, who smiled at Mallory, looking a little strained. “Mallory! Hello. I… wasn’t expecting you.”
Mallory nodded. “I’m sorry to drop in unannounced. But Amanda hadn’t been answering her phone, and I got worried. So she’s here, right?”
Amanda’s mom sighed. “Mallory—“
“I can just go talk to her. If you’re busy. I’m sorry. It’s just our anniversary.”
“Mallory.”
“So please let me inside so I can talk to her.”
“She’s not here.” Amanda’s mom crossed her arms. “She left. A while ago.”
Mallory blinked. “A while?”
Amanda’s mom nodded, a look of pity crossing her face.
“Did… did she say where she was going?”
Amanda’s mom sighed. “Go home, Mallory. Okay?”
Mallory blinked. “Yes. Yes, ma’am.”
Amanda’s mom patted his shoulder. “You’re a nice boy. I’m sorry.”
Mallory nodded. “Oh. I… I guess.” He turned around, practically stumbling back to his car.
Was Amanda cheating on him? That’s what she meant, right? That’s why she got sad and started pitying him and patting his shoulder like someone with their heart ripped out and thrown to the ground. He got into the driver’s seat, staring numbly at the road. So, that was it? She just decided to quit him. For no reason. On their anniversary. And he was supposed to whet, pretend everything was okay? Go to the same school as her tomorrow and look her in the eyes? Look at every spot where their lives had tangled together and ache until he couldn’t breathe?
How could he ever do that? How could anyone ever ask him to do that?
He sank his head onto the steering wheel, feeling his heart shatter like some fragile china he was never allowed to touch as a kid. That’s just how he would feel now. Forever. And never anything else ever again.
Life has witnessed everything, barely holding back cheers from his perch on the roof. Mallory’s pain was so delicious in a way nothing else ever could be. That was what Life lived for, that empty, vacant expression of someone who had their entire life inverted. Life could do that to people. Life could do that to people and be praised for it years later. He bathed in the pain and the dull panic of what-nows, why-gods, and how-cruels. He was downright giddy.
And poor Mallory never knew that this was just the beginning. He had no idea that Life was there, singing praises in birdsong because his pain was the sweetest delicacy the celestial had ever known.
I genuinely hate that man.
Mallory’s life continued to be in the same state of disrepair for the subsequent years, with no change from the pattern. This time, Life never let things get dire. He was saving for something big. He didn’t want Mallory to quit the game before Life got his fair share. So, Mallory tried to date in college. He never found anyone who seemed to like him for longer than a month or two. He failed out of college, his entire career plans ending in smoke. He barely managed to secure a terrible job as a fast food worker, where the grease had permeated into the air and left Mallory feeling like he had been cooked in the grill instead of the sad package of mystery meat he flipped for barely enough money to let his parents keep him in the house.
Mallory needed a change. He hated the way his life had turned out. No matter what he did or what he tried, he just always seemed to be terribly unlucky. He could never see Life, who knew better than to get caught by a mortal, but he always felt like the universe was picking on him for some reason he could never quite pinpoint. He just wanted a break, really. For any amount of time at this point. Just something that made life seem more than one tragedy after the other. He wanted to be happy. To laugh. To smile.
To feel clean.
He felt like a soulless husk of a man, so that’s precisely when Life introduced Sarah into his life.
Sarah was a businesswoman who occasionally went into the chain he worked at. She was always dressed in tailored suits and a cheery smile. It felt strange to see her in such a greasy place. Mallory always thought she was a shooting star when she came by. Not only did she look gorgeous amongst the plastic seats and neon wax paper, but she was also kind.
Mallory was desperately in need of some kind.
She would smile at whoever was working the counter. Tell them good morning. Scrunch her hair absentmindedly while rattling off her order.
Little things like that.
Mallory would say that he was in love with her. I would say he was in love with the idea of meeting someone who could ease his aches. But he didn’t know the difference. So between the breakfast burritos and soft drinks and longing glances, Sarah became his soulmate.
One day, he wrote his number on the wrapper of the chicken sandwich she had ordered. It felt like the day to do it. The birds were chirping peacefully. The sun was shining bright.
And Life was standing over his shoulder, giving him the confidence he needed. Not that he knew that. But Life was already excited, watching from his safe perch until he was needed.
Sarah approached the counter, just like any other day, smiling. “Hello! Malloy, right?”
Mallory nodded, leaning against the counter. “Sarah! What can I get for you today?”
Sarah hummed, her eyebrows twisting in concentration. “How about… a chicken sandwich, please?”
Mallory nodded, punching in the appropriate keys on the register. “Okay, Sarah. Anything to drink?”
“Not today.”
Mallory nodded. “Is that all?”
Sarah nodded. “Yep!”
Mallory smiled, his heart racing at what he was about to do. He took Sarah’s card, flying through the commands before heading back to tell the kitchen.
A few minutes later, he held a warm sandwich in one hand and a marker pen in the other. He scribbled out his number quietly, shoving the sandwich in a bag as if he was too embarrassed to look at it any longer.
“Order five-seventeen!”
Sarah bounded up to the counter, grinning. “Thank you, Mallory!”
Mallory felt like he had swallowed a hornet’s nest. “Sure. Have… a day.” He scampered to hide in the back, feeling flushed and exposed. Oh, why did he do that? Why would he ever do that?
Life snickered at his anxiety, having already tweaked Sarah’s feelings to his liking. Mallory took out his phone.
“Come on. Come on. Just one message.”
Life almost doubled over from the vagueness of his request. Life could just taste all the ways he could use one message to make Mallory suffer. Maybe it would be Sarah’s number, but a family member would answer. Now Sarah was on her deathbed and bleeding profusely. Or perhaps Life would have Sarah send over “eww” and nothing else. Or Sarah could take whatever Life gave her to make her stay away from home.
One message was all Life needed to make Mallory feel trapped and vulnerable. But that’s not what Life was trying to do. Life just wanted to guide them deeper into the web. Life needed more time to fully set up his trap.
So, Life grinned and had Sarah send her response half an hour later.
With this review, I'm all caught up! 
Points: 22588
Reviews: 243
Donate