What else is out there?

  I stood in a vast field of silvery wheat. The world was cast entirely in shades of black of white. In the centre of the sky above me, where the moon should have been, instead there sat a dark black star. It’s borders were of white fire, twisting and reaching out before falling back into that abyssal mass. It brought to mind some strange eclipse, but nothing like what I had seen on Earth. I walked towards it for some time before coming into a clearing. A circle where the wheat vanished, revealing a round cobbled floor. Atop it sat two cracked wooden chairs, darkly varnished and creaking slightly in the calm wind. I felt no sense of temperature, no part of my body was warmer or colder than another, everything was simply neutral. Sitting in the chair, legs crossed and head slightly tilted, was a pale man. He wore clothes similar to mine, a dark woollen overcoat, with a wide brimmed black hat that hid most of his shortly cropped dark hair. Most peculiar of all was his face. His countenance bore none of the familiar features of man, instead it was smooth and blank, even slightly glossy in a manner which reminded me of glazed porcelain. With a gloved hand, he gestured for me to sit next to him. As I did, I felt a sense of ambivalence wash over me. Half of me was screaming, telling me to run as far away from this man as I could, while the other half felt a sort of kinship. We both watched the wheat sway for a moment, and I realised I would have to make the first move.

  ‘Who are you?’ I asked.

  ‘Death.’ He said simply. His voice, in spite of his lack of a mouth, was clear and smooth. He spoke softly, but I didn’t have to struggle to hear him.

  ‘You’re the abstract concept of Death?’ I responded confusedly.

  ‘Indeed.’ He said, slightly amused. I swallowed.

  ‘Where are we?’

  ‘No where real. You are currently lying on an uncomfortable mattress while your friend snores beneath you.’

  ‘I’m dreaming then?’

  ‘In a sense. Do all your dreams feel this vivid Tom?’

  ‘No.’ I replied. Death, if he was who he claimed, hummed in affirmation.

  ‘Why am I talking to Death then?’ I asked slowly.

  ‘You’re right to be sceptical. I haven’t talked to a living soul for, how long, about five hundred years. And Da Vinci really was an exception.’

  ‘I’m not so sure I share his importance.’

  ‘Perhaps your cultural footprint may be a bit smaller. Not that there’s much to leave a footprint in anymore.’

  ‘Is that what this is about?’

  ‘Of course. This situation you find yourself in. The greatest cosmic shift in millennia that has happened on Earth.’

  ‘I still don’t have a clue what happened. I woke up and the world was over, everyone I knew turned into mindless fanatics, so perhaps you would kindly elucidate the event that ruined my life.’ I said harshly. The man, Death, was quiet for a moment.

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  ‘But of course Tom.’ He said, waving his hand. The black star melted away, and the environment around me grew colder as the moon solidified in the sky. It was bigger than I remembered.

  Around a week ago, while you were asleep, something landed on the moon.’ As he spoke, I saw a colossal shadow move. From the void of space it emerged, blotting out stars one by one. It splashed against the moon, before surging back and enveloping it. Soaking through craters, it was absorbed until it vanished from sight. Moments later, cracks formed on the surface. Twisting geometric shapes that moved, vibrated and oscillated in impossible ways. Staring at it made my head hurt and my stomach churn. Death snapped his fingers, and the black star formed behind the moon, growing and enveloping it, and I felt as if a pressure had been lifted from my mind.

  ‘The symbols are that entities way of communicating, most who see it have their minds changed to the very core, all those primeval instincts replaced with the desire to convert anyone unaffected, and kill them should they fail. Of course I changed them slightly to keep you sane’ He explained.

  ‘What is that shadow I saw? What am I supposed to do?’

  ‘I don’t know. There are things out there which are more terrible than you can possible imagine, but most of them have no interest in a planet of slow apes. And what can you do? This isn’t reversible. I’m afraid the world had ended.’

  ‘Then what the hell are you talking to me for?’ I stood up, my voice rising with anger. ‘What’s the point of this conversation?’ Death stood up, his blank face staring into my soul.

  ‘The reason why I’ve taken time out of eternity to contact you specifically, is because I thought you would be calm, perhaps even capable. Sit.’ His voice took on the sonorous leaden tones of church bells, and I instinctively sat back down. Death cleared his throat, or at least replicated the sound.

  ‘My apologies Tom. You have every right to be angry with your situation, but you mustn’t direct it at me. Do I make myself clear?’

  ‘Yes.’ I replied, still slightly frustrated.

  ‘Good. And I’m sorry, I have not come here offering you any real solution to your problems.’

  ‘Then why are we here?’

  ‘In a day, the shadow of the moon will fall to earth. Crystallised. After a few hours, it will complete it’s job here. A spiritual wave will flow from it, crashing over the globe. Anyone who is affected will die and their souls will be ripped from their bodies and attached, fully conscious, to the formless mass that will feed on them for eternity. You can’t save this world, but perhaps you can save others.’

  ‘You want me to destroy this thing? How am I supposed to manage that?’ I asked incredulously. Death leant towards me, and turned his hand upwards. As if it had always been there, a shining sickle glistened in the monochrome light.

  ‘I have rules Tom. There are choices that we as individuals can never make. You will never choose to wake up and strangle Dean to death, and I am unable to choose to kill this thing myself for reasons that do not bear explanation. But you? If I leave a tool capable of doing the job on the ground, it’s out of my hands if someone picks it up. Once this moon-thing lands, you’ll be able to feel what direction its in. It’s like a massive radio tower, but for broadcasting it’s commands into the minds of humans. Since you haven’t fallen under its influence it won’t hurt you. But it will be protected.’

  Death stood up. The sky was growing darker, and the wind intensified.

  ‘I’m afraid we’re out of time. Good luck Tom, and, I’m sorry I can’t do more to help.’ He said in a resigned tone. I opened my mouth to ask more questions, but it was pointless. The dream was gone.