A Call

Steps echo on the stone floor as the man runs, breathing hard as he flees his pursuer. "Not today," he utters between panting breaths, "not today!" The light in the tunnel slowly begins to fade, as the man feels his body begin to slow. He stops and leans against the wall, feeling perhaps he's outrun his foe once again.

He heard the voice laughing behind him, however. He started to run but found himself falling forward onto his face with a grunt. Lifting himself with his hands, he tried to get up but paused. His feet and legs refused to move, laying still on the ground behind him. He balled a fist and slammed it on the floor in frustration, before turning to yell at his pursuer.

"Please, I beg of you. Not today, please! I'll give you anything you want, all my money and land and..." The man's words trailed off as he found it suddenly difficult to speak. His mouth stopped responding, closing up and refusing to budge. Fear filled the man's eyes as they fell on his pursuer. The hall and floor faded from his sight, as his pursuer began to show him a vision.

The man stared down at a bed, and within the bed was himself. He looked to his pursuer, but got no response. The man in the bed coughed, and a woman beside the bed gently placed a rag on his head. The man's pursuer slowly approached the bed, and the man clutched more rightly at the blanket covering him.

The pursuer gently placed a hand on the man in the bed's shoulder, causing his breathing to slow. The man watching shivered, as the pursuer turned to face him. "No children's prayers will save you. No wealth will satisfy me. Only your soul will please me."

The man in the bed stopped breathing, as the pursuer removed his hand. The woman by the bed shrieked and cried, clutching at the man and wailing. The pursuer approached the man, taking him by the hand and leading him out of the room into darkness.

For many moments the two walked, before the pursuer halted and raised a hand. "I will now open the door. Whether it is the door to heaven, or to hell, depends entirely on you. This is the end, death has called you today..."