Purgatory Chapter 1 Death

 Another one in the middle of a storm.. Every fucking year more death. A plain crash kills 140 in the morning. Followed by countless murders, bombs, drone strikes, crashes, accidents, suicides, LIFESTYLE DISEASES! Only occasionally broken up by natural disasters. I so miss the good days when there was more good in the world. When something like a volcano would erupt destroying a civilization, to release that many souls at once! To think I was promised my work would slow as the mortals lived longer, but as their lives grew longer so did their greed. Ultimately longer lives just meant we demons grew stronger... I just don't get the time to enjoy the spoils of war.

The hooded figure slid the book back into his inside pocket. He tilted his head back and gazed at the property. 

They can't even get the time's right. It was supposed to strike at... 

CRRRRAAAACCK! He turned his attention to the shed. 

Haha, Edward Spector! Struck down by lightning in the prime of your life. What a sorry smuck. Father left him a multi-million dollar company, that he effectively ran into the ground. Walked among his co-workers as if he were guaranteed a spot in heaven. 

He slowly walked through the yard towards the shed, which had combusted in the explosion. He extended his arm to push the door ajar, exposing a ghoulish, bony, white hand. Ducking his head to step into the little room, red eyes peering at the man crumpled over a burning desk. The man was short and pudgy, his thinning hair combed over a glaring bald spot. This failed to hide the early wrinkles in his face, a side effect of the stress incurred from years of failure. 

They always hide as if it could change anything. As if somehow me not finding them means they get to wake up back in their warm bed clutching their wife. As if this cowardliness would be rewarded by her forgetting the fight they had last night, leading to his demise in this damn tiny shed. 

He stomped his foot twice, and two black dog-like creatures with human heads rose up from behind the shelving unit used as a desk for several computers. The creatures separated, one climbed the wall and parked in the corner. The other coward towards the doorway. As the dark man moved out of the doorway, both demons took off out the door, tackling each other along the way. "Well get out here.. Eternity awaits.. And death never leaves," the hooded man snarled, "The lesser demons have left, its only you and I."

A dark grey apparition of the slumped man crawled up from the shadows. "A..a..am I..I DEAD!" He stuttered. Fear showed clear through his face as he stood up to the 8ft giant. He looked into his dark hood to see dark maroon, piercing eyes. Even as the giant moved his head his eyes seemed to never move.

Always the same dumbass questions "Am I dead? What are those things?  Whats going to happen now?" Pesky humans never remember when they return. 

"Yes, and those things ripping at your grey flesh were other lost souls. By the look of your soul the sins of the past 7 lives have darkened your soul deeply, but anymore that is the case for almost all returning souls. Your last life ran a large corporation recycling used metal, which he never gave fair wages. His employees suffered for generations trying to stay afloat. Every economic downturn wiping out their lifesaving's, their children's college funds. While you and your family complained about taxes used to help those vary employees. Failing to realize the only reason why they were needed was to make up for the greed of people like YOU!" 

"So... w..who are you?!?" Edward gasped.

"I am known by many names; Angle of Death, Grim Reaper, Hades, Santa Muerte in my female form, but I prefer the Demon of Life. I am after all the final thing you see before you begin ascension or descension" Death retorted.

Edward looked around, " It looks just like earth, just with those things running around. I went to church.. I gave the recommended amount to charity. I just thought that would be enough to get to heaven."

Death laughed, "Wait for the rain to settle and you can see heaven from here, well anywhere on earth. Purgatory is earth, it is invisible to the living. Their are only a few distinct differences. Time works in a mysterious way. When there is no constraint such as a life time, it seems to never tick by. When you see living humans they will look frozen, but if watched long enough you will see they are moving. You will also noticed there is no days and nights. No sun, moon, or stars, those are merely cloaking. Where they see the sun, we see heavens gates, and only those with large enough wings can reach." Suddenly wings protruded through Death's back. A black set with sleek almost raven like feathers. A single strip of silver, shining through the rest. "Even a set like mine, will not get you near."

"What do I do now? How do I earn wings?" Edward questioned with an almost owlish look on his face. His eyes were wide and his mouth pursed. A state of complete disbelief must have been on his mind.

Ahh the final question. If I feel he's worthy I can send him on behalf of the damned. Maybe that can slow the progression of the disproportion. Its not really my place but it would only take a couple strong candidates to turn the tide away and give me more time off.

"You have a choice to make try to earn your wings, if you even have enough time, become a demon and feed on souls not completely lost to gain strength, or split your soul to return to the mortal world as two parts. If you make it through life appeasing for past sins, you may stand a better chance."