Alex Brightman The Whole "being Dead" Thing Novels & Stories

I went to my bed and fell asleep quickly. In the middle of the night, my phone started ringing so I woke up. The ringing ended and I got the text. It was Jeremy texting: I’m dead.

He looked at me a little concerned. "I'm not leaving unless you come with me," I told him and squeezed his hand. He smiled back at me. "I don't know if you remember what happened the first time I visited your home and what I am, um, I'm Death and I'm immortal," I stated firmly and watched an array of emotions cross his eyes. "What does that even mean, you kill people and cannot die," he asked incredulously. I bit my lip and sighed.

A woman on the sidewalk cried out as she recogonized her daughter who had been eliminated two years ago. When the video ended, Higher Up #1 was dead, a bullet straight between his eyes. He was slouched over, not moving, the person next to him squirming to be free. "If you still have compassion for these monster tyrants, how about the times when they used the tax money for whatever the hell they wanted?" she asked, and papers fluttered from the sky, each person grabbing one and reading through it. Cries out outrage rang out, and it was silenced when the sound of the gun was heard. Another body dropped to the ground, and Astra wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Their eyes met—Ethan knew who Caleb was. "Move aside," Caleb said, not bothering with politeness. Of course, why would he be courteous to the man who had killed me with his own hands? Ethan's expression was complex as he stepped back. After all, one should respect the dead. But as Caleb turned away, Ethan's gaze fell on my calf. "Wait!" Ethan chased after him as if suddenly remembering something. "Who... who is the deceased to you?" My breath caught. I feared Caleb would blurt out the truth about my death, yet part of me wanted to see Ethan's reaction when he learned of my passing.

I stopped, then let out a short, cold laugh. "It didn't die peacefully. It barely made it a year. And it died choking. I still wonder what Zoey was trying to get. All that smoke in my house, those weird rituals. Suffocating a helpless little thing." I looked straight at him. "What exactly was she praying for?" His lips shook. He tried to talk, but nothing came out. "But you were thorough," I said calmly. "You let Zoey live in the house for six months. Scrubbed everything clean. Even replaced the wallpaper." I paused. "You just forgot one thing—the hamster. And you forgot who I am. I'm a doctor."

Then past us—toward the locked door. “You didn’t hear?” he asked. A pause. “No,” Alex said. The man exhaled slowly. Not heavily. Just enough to show this wasn’t the first time he was saying it. “He’s gone.” The words didn’t land. Not yet. “Gone?” Alex repeated. The man’s eyes returned to mine. And this time— He didn’t soften it. “Dead.” Everything narrowed. Not dramatically. Not loudly. Just… sharply. Like the world had focused itself into one point—

I instinctively curled up, trembling as blood poured from my lips. In the moments before total unconsciousness claimed me, I perceived the skepticism in Carl's eyes dissolve, twisting into outright terror. I then heard his voice echo toward me, growing clearer. "You're not allowed to die without my permission, Aria! You'll stay alive to atone for your sins!" I doubted I would ever have the chance to complete the requested atonement, as I was certain my life would end in just two more days.

"You'll say anything, won't you? "And on top of that, Scarlett was busy working. You're trying to pin this on her? "Are you even human?" Seth chimed in as well. "Exactly. We don't even know if this person actually died or not, and yet he's pulling this stunt to scare everyone."

Vivian died alone in her home, her body not discovered until it had already begun to rot. Only then did a question arise within me. After the deaths of my parents and Vivian, I never saw their souls. So why did I remain? The system finally appeared and answered my doubt. It said it had seen how painful my life had been, and how tragic my death was. So it used its power to keep my soul intact, allowing me to witness their downfall with my own eyes. Now that they were all gone… it was time for me to let go and be reborn.

"If so, please sign. The funeral home is waiting to carry out the cremation." Mom didn't take the document. Her gaze swept around the entire room. After a long moment, she suddenly forced an ugly smile that looked grotesque. "This must be a lie! To think the police are colluding with Flora to put on a show. Is this fun for you? The makeup looks pretty real. But if you think you can fool me, you're far from it!" As she spoke, she reached out to tug at my already cold body on the bed. "Flora, stop putting on this pathetic act in front of me. Do you think pretending to be dead will work? Let me tell you—"