Gabriel struggled to look away, to deny Victor’s existence, but his curiosity betrayed him. “Hello, Victor.”
Victor said nothing. His familiar face, with his silver goatee and buggy eyes, looked startlingly unrecognizable under the shade of the hood. The whites of his eyes actually glowed, and the familiar 7-shaped scar on his face looked like a thick dark line. The man was beyond terrifying, but worse, he held a scythe in one hand. The blade was pure black obsidian, and the handle was made of what looked like polished, chalk-white bones. Victor suddenly swung the blade downward, stopping it inches from Gabriel’s chest. Gabriel nearly fainted from shock.
When Calaca finally spoke, his reverberating voice came not only from his mouth but also from the scythe. “Hello, Gabriel. It’s time.”
Chapter 46:
Crossroads
Victor Calaca.Death.
The mystery was solved, and yet the bizarre answer was even more puzzling than the initial question. Gabriel stood in place, slack-jawed, staring down the dark obsidian blade of Calaca’s scythe, utterly unable to find words. His legs were wobbling so hard that he nearly collapsed.
“Oh?” Gabriel trembled. “Time to die?”
“That’s up to you, Gabriel.” Calaca raised the scythe and returned it to his side. A subtle smile appeared in the corner of his mouth, and beneath the enormous black hood, his eyes glowed like two little white fireflies.
“Calaca,” Gabriel whispered. “God, I’d completely forgotten. That’s what those skeleton dolls are called, right? Calacas. The answer was right in front of me.”
“Indeed.”
From the corridor came the sounds of running, screaming, and laughter, the usual soundtrack of Level Five, but as Gabriel stood there, facing the unmasked Victor Calaca, the rest of the unit seemed to exist on another world. “I would’ve pictured Death as being a grim, inhumane sort of character. Not like you. I always liked you.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. You’ve always been a friend to me. You’ve been quite understanding.”
Despite the darkness surrounding him, there was something about Calaca’s smile that cut right through the tension and almost made Gabriel feel at ease. Almost.
“Gabriel, I am only what people choose to make of me. My form is nothing but a mere vessel. My shape is created entirely by the imagination of my current perceiver.”
“So why didn’t you want me to go out into the ocean? Isn’t your whole purpose to steal people’s souls?”
“I’m not here to steal anything. I’m here to assist those in need, when that need arises. To collect them, shall we say, when it’s time.”
“But the folklore, the mythology…”
“Yes, many of you have certainly been terrified of my existence. To some, I might be a dark omen. A terrifying creature of the night. A raven, a skeleton, a cloud of bloody rain. And yet, on the other hand, how can one forget the Mexican Day of the Dead? Always an occasion of uplifted spirits, a joyous celebration. And when it comes to the tortured, elderly residents of a nursing home, why would they fear me? To you, in particular, has my presence not been one of the warmest embraces you’ve felt ever since you began your stay here at Bright New Day?”
Gabriel nodded. “Yes.”
“And that is because, from the beginning, you never dreaded my arrival. On some level, haven’t you been waiting for me—dare I say it?—with open arms?” Calaca shrugged, a casual gesture that looked bizarre on a figure so otherworldly.
Gabriel clutched his walker with a white-knuckled grip. “Get out of here. You’re not real.”
“I am.”
“You’re in my head. You’re a hallucination. A disturbing product of my demented subconscious. That’s what they told me.”
“Oh? And since when has Gabriel Schist been a man who believed anything that others told him?”
“Since now.”
Gabriel walked over to the doorway and peered out. Level Five had at least double the number of LNAs. Some of the residents were shuffling up and down the hall or standing around muttering and laughing for no apparent reason. He ducked back into his room before a nurse could see him and sat on the bed.
Victor moved closer. “I have come to give you a choice.”
“I don’t want anything from you.”
Calaca laid an icy hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. “You have nothing to fear from me.”
“No? I have everything to fear from you.”
“I am about to give you the most important choice that you shall ever make. I am here to give you the option of death.”
Gabriel shuddered. Yes, he still wanted death. He craved death. But looking into the gaping mouth of oblivion itself, he felt the finality of it all become more clear. Please, Victor. Just let me die. Let me die easily.
“Death,” Calaca repeated. “Right here, at this moment. It shall be painless. Instantaneous. You can give up, escape the pain in your future, escape from everything, and I shall lead you there by the hand. But there is another option.” The hooded man’s eyes were moist.
“And what’s that?” Gabriel asked.
“You can fight. You can be brave. With my help, you can escape this place.”
“Please,” Gabriel said, holding back tears, “don’t torture me with fantasies. Please, I’ve been hurt enough.”
“This is not a fantasy. With my help, you can escape. You may finally follow the path to the Sky Amoeba. And then, perhaps, you shall have a chance to save humanity from the Black Virus. You may follow me to your destiny, Gabriel. I’m still giving you that option.”
“What’s the catch?”
