\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why he started moving forward, he couldn\u2019t say.\u00a0 It was an urge that wasn\u2019t a part of him, a pulling.\u00a0 That\u2019s not the right description; there was no sense of pulling, more of a sleep walk.\u00a0 Maybe he\u2019d been sleeping all this time.\u00a0 Of course, that was an irrational thought.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t dreaming when he walked down the hall and peered down into the darkness.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t dreaming when he saw the candles ignite on and around the fully loaded banquet table. The man in the expensive, Italian suit was no dream, either.\u00a0 He stepped into the light and smiled warmly.\u00a0 Tall, thin, sharp in every way.\u00a0 His black hair was slicked back and his smile had all the warmth and kindness of a thousand pastors.<\/p>\n
The man\u2019s voice wasn\u2019t nearly as warm.\u00a0 \u201cMr. Jacob Mariner,\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacob felt his chest clench.\u00a0 Something in the way the man said his name.\u00a0 As if this man knew everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing in my house?\u201d<\/p>\n
The man in the suit, hands clasped loosely in front of him, laughed.\u00a0 \u201cThe man who woke you \u2013 Davisson.\u00a0 Bad ticker.\u00a0 He knows it, but it\u2019ll still catch up with him.\u201d\u00a0 The man leaned forward, craning his neck to look up the stairs.\u00a0 He spoke next in a conspiratorial whisper.\u00a0 \u201cHe loves junk food.\u00a0 Hides in his closet and eats in secret.\u00a0 Weird.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacob felt like crying, screaming, anything to wake up.\u00a0 Anything to stop the feeling that all this was a dream.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on down,\u201d the man waved, \u201cI\u2019ve got food, drink, cigars.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this some sort of \u2013 \u201c<\/p>\n
\u201cDream?\u00a0 Delusion?\u00a0 Well, maybe.\u00a0 All the more reason to come down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacob felt drawn to the banquet table and was halfway down the steps before he realized he\u2019d moved.\u00a0 The antique table looked like it belonged in a castle, certainly not in his dusty, unfinished basement.\u00a0 The man leaned back against the table and beckoned towards a high backed, oaken chair.\u00a0 Jacob sat down, only dimly aware of the door slamming at the top of the stairs.<\/p>\n
Every food imaginable was on the table, some of it unfamiliar to Jacob.\u00a0 The dishes were china and silver, the glasses crystal.\u00a0 His mouth started to water and the man in the suit filled a crystal goblet with red wine.\u00a0 He pushed it towards Jacob.<\/p>\n
\u201cStart with this; you\u2019ll need it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
The man nodded, \u201cI am Death.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right,\u201d Jacob drowned half the wine in one gulp.\u00a0 It was exquisite, powerful, graceful.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWow, what is this?\u201d<\/p>\n
The man in the suit shrugged, \u201cOh, some old stuff. It depends more on the maker, though.\u201d\u00a0 He stared off into space for a moment, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u00a0 I\u2019m not a wine man.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDeath?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you come for me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do you ask?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I deserve to die,\u201d<\/p>\n
The man laughed, \u201cOh, my dear Mr. Mariner \u2013 Jacob?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUh\u2026sure,\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dear Jacob, honestly.\u00a0 I hear that too often these days.\u00a0 I deserve death because of this or that.\u00a0 Nobody deserves to die, Jacob.\u00a0 You can\u2019t earn it.\u00a0 Death is death.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, don\u2019t you?\u00a0 Everything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe current sin on your mind is Suzanne Phipps.\u00a0 Yes, I know.\u00a0 These are the sins of man.\u00a0 I do not judge and, to tell the truth, I could give a good goddamn.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I did to her\u2026I\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t die because you raped some girl.\u00a0 You die because you get hit by a bus, or you choke on a quarter, or you fall out of a window.\u00a0 Look, that\u2019s not why I\u2019m here.\u00a0 I\u2019m here because, on Tuesday, your career is going to get a shot in the arm.\u00a0 You\u2019re going to go from Mr. Entertainment Reporter to Mr. Super Reporter.\u00a0 Your interview with Bob Webb is going to be the talk of the nation.\u00a0 Webb\u2019s bigger than you think, and so is this interview coming up.\u00a0 The man will win the election.\u00a0 , But you\u2019re going to steal the show.\u201d He paused.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI need you to do me a favor while those cameras are rolling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacob finished his wine.\u00a0 \u201cA favor? How\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n
Death nodded, smiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want you to tell everyone that they must reject God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacob laughed.\u00a0 If this was a dream, it was hilarious.\u00a0 About time he shook those nightmares.<\/p>\n
Death grew serious, leaning down so he was very close to Jacob, \u201cThis is no dream.\u201d\u00a0 He leaned back again, \u201cTry the lamb.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacob speared a lamb chop and brought it to his plate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am going to present you with evidence that proves Pope Gregory the 13th\u2026let\u2019s say, \u2018manipulated\u2019 portions of the Bible in the 1570\u2019s in a desperate attempt to battle Protestantism.\u00a0 He ran into difficulty, but the framework for his plan was put into effect by James in 1607 and led to the creation of the King James Bible.\u00a0 The manipulation consisted of the alteration of the gospels.\u00a0 A different ending, shall we say.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I didn\u2019t catch any of that. Sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBob Webb will ask you about this since, of course, you\u2019ve made it a point to study such things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t made a point of it!\u201d<\/p>\n
Death paused and looked sadly at Jacob, \u201cYou\u2019re a bad spy.\u00a0 Anyway, you\u2019ll discuss with Webb and he\u2019ll agree with everything you say denouncing the current, modern Christian God.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy will he agree?\u201d<\/p>\n
Death leaned forward again, \u201cBecause he doesn\u2019t want to die.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh.\u00a0 Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Death jumped down and walked around the table. He stopped next to an empty chair and leaned against it, dipping a finger in what looked like pudding and putting that finger in his mouth.\u00a0 \u201cSo your interview with Webb becomes a theological conversation coming from the mouths of two men who are respected across the nation.\u00a0 It\u2019ll broadcast to half the homes in North America.\u00a0 You and Webb will call down doubt on God.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Death glanced upward, \u201cI don\u2019t mean to say such and such about God.\u00a0 The doubt you\u2019ll be instilling will be in a God created by the Papacy and, namely, the Jesuits at the end of the 1500\u2019s.\u00a0 Man\u2019s God.\u00a0 Not the God.\u00a0 A God that has guided man\u2019s history but, outside of politics and society, is nothing more than forged documents and clever lies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd why would anyone care?\u201d<\/p>\n
Death raised his finger and grinned, \u201cTwo days before the interview, an archeologist will finally prove that a document recovered from near the Dead Sea is, in fact, an authentic contemporary gospel.\u00a0 That\u2019ll be above the fold news until the interview.\u00a0 A double whammy, as they say.\u00a0 By the end of your interview, enough people will be questioning their faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacob shook his head, \u201cBut why\u2019s this matter?\u201d<\/p>\n
Death sat down and put immaculately shined shoes on the table.\u00a0 He steepled his hands in front of him and pursed his lips.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s say I\u2019m waging something of a protest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA protest?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are familiar with the Christian apocalypse, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe end of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt won\u2019t be dramatic, though.\u00a0 It\u2019ll happen in the blink of an eye.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it\u2019s going to happen 15 minutes into your interview.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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