Friday, July 10, 2009

Entry #26

The Tasting Room
by Josh Vogt


Bone fingers clinked against crystal as Death raised the goblet. He gazed through its ruby facets, eyeing the figure strapped to the chair in the otherwise empty room. Male. Chubby. Hair dripping sweat.

“Apologies for the goth look.” Death plucked at his robe. “Tradition. My employer insists.”

The man moaned, unable to speak thanks to the silver funnel shoved into his mouth, clamped in place by an iron band.

Death smiled. He always smiled. “Despite the common misconception, your life is not the sum of grains in an hourglass. You are a vintage, aged to perfection—whatever that age may be. In your case…” He checked a driver’s license conjured out of thin air. “34. 225 lbs. Organ donor. Hmm. Ironic, no?”

Bloodshot eyes widened as Death approached, bearing the drink.

“Oh, yes. It will be a familiar taste. The bitter memories. The undertones of fear and rage. The dregs from the innocent lives you trampled. And it is all you’ll have to taste for quite some time.”

The man jerked from side to side, futilely attempting to break free.

Death bent over, skull cocked to present a non-existent ear. “What’s that? You don’t wish to savor the final product? You don’t deserve this? But, my good man, you planted the seeds. You tended the vines. I…” A swirl of the glass. “I just reap the crop.”

He tilted the goblet against the funnel lip, ignoring the gargled screams.

“Drink up.”

19 comments:

wrath999 said...

A vivid imagination. Great job

alex

Catherine Vibert said...

I could totally see him as a character in a movie. Nice details!

Katherine Napier said...

Fantastic visuals and a great example of how to do this right.

Unknown said...

Vivid imagery and characterisation - good job!

Laurel said...

Creepy creepy creepy! Love the reaper image.

laughingwolf said...

a chiller... :)

Jim said...

Very nice!

Chris Eldin said...

Creative and visual---I LOVED this piece!! Awesome writing. I'm hoping there's a longer story for this...

JR's Thumbprints said...

Organ donor indeed. I can only imagine what comes next.

Anonymous said...

Love the dark humour & the more serious 'reap what you sow' undertones. Well written.

Tessa said...

Excellent - grabbed my attention immediately and held it firm. Very impressive.

BernardL said...

I enjoyed this depiction of Death's delivery very much.

Hoodie said...

Masterful! Entertaining with a moral that doesn't preach. The humor and detail were perfect.

Bullseye.

JaneyV said...

Josh - I always look forward to your entries in these competitions because you never disappoint. I have a crystal clear image of this story right down to every detail. I love that the final act of life is to be forced to "drink" the sum of your earthly deeds. What an incentive that would be to only be kind...

I think the story here and its delivery were, indeed, masterful. One of my favourites for sure.

Amanda F. said...

Utter perfection. By far one of my favourites!

Esther Avila said...

entertaining with a bit of a chill, great imagery

Terri said...

I could see this like a scene from a movie, great imagery... and I like the kind of off-beat humour.
"Apologies for the goth look..." :-)

Jade L Blackwater said...

This is wonderful - I especially like the contents of the concoction:

"Oh, yes. It will be a familiar taste. The bitter memories. The undertones of fear and rage. The dregs from the innocent lives you trampled. And it is all you’ll have to taste for quite some time."

Anonymous said...

Love the take on the Christmas Carol theme! Instead of chains and weight, he brewed his own deadly drink. Excellent!

Perfect score.

Welcome to The Forties Club!!