Drink With Me

It was a beautiful mid-July Sunday morning and Brian was getting impatient. It seemed to him that the pastor was purposely dragging his sermon out just to annoy him. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat thinking about all of the things he would rather be doing at that moment. Brian never looked forward to Church, but this Sunday seemed more agonizing that usual. Finally, the service ended and Brian leapt out from his seat, relieved. He sped toward the door when he heard a familiar voice.

“Hey Brian, what’s the hurry? Got a hot date or something,” his friend Nick called out.

“Nope, I’m just dying to get out of these ridiculous clothes,” Brian replied as he slowed down to let Nick catch up.

“I hear that,” Nick said. “This tie is leaving marks around my neck.”

Brian and Nick walked out of the church and headed toward the parking lot. They were discussing their plans for the week when Brian saw her out of the corner of his eye. As usual when he saw Beth, Brian immediately lost his train of thought. He had liked Beth for a while now, but he could not work up the nerve to ask her out. Nick, being the good friend that he was, never missed a chance to rub it in.

“Beth sure is looking good today. I think I’m going to ask her out.”

“Very funny Nick,” Brian said while staring down his friend.

“Well, if you are not going to ask her out, I might as well,” Nick said. “A girl like that won’t stay single forever.

“I will I will,” said Brian with frustration showing on his face. “It’s just that she is way too pretty. I know I should ask her out, but sometimes I think I’m not good enough for her. But she is so amazing; I would sell my soul to have a chance with her.”

“Don’t say that,” Nick snapped while looking sternly back at Brian.

“Whoa, I think someone has been in church a little too long,” chuckled Brian.

“Come on man. You know I how I feel about that stuff. You may not care, but I take my faith seriously,” Nick replied with a concerned voice.

“I’m sorry man, I didn’t mean anything by it,” Brain said while throwing his arm around Nick’s shoulders. “It was just a figure of speech. Besides, even if I did sell my soul, it probably still would not be enough.”

“You got that right,” said Nick. “You are way too ugly to land a fine lady like that!”

“Whatever jerk,” Brian said while shoving Nick.

They both laughed and went their separate ways. Brian met up with his family and they headed home. While in the car, Brian kept thinking about Beth and what he would do to have a shot with her. There wasn’t a thing about her that he didn’t adore, but the longer he waited, the harder it got to talk to her. Eventually he sighed, sat back in his seat, and thought to himself, “I would definitely sell my soul to be with her.

Later that night, Brian found himself having a hard time sleeping. His mind was clouded with violent and disturbing images as he tossed and turned in his bed. Suddenly, there was a crack of thunder that jolted Brian out of his restless slumber. He sat up in his bed; his heart was pounding and his body was shaking. He took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down. After a few minutes, he was ready to lay back down to try and get some sleep. But, just as he was drifting off, he heard a sharp whisper echo through his room.

“Death is coming…”

Brian’s eyes lurched open. He sat up and looked around, but nobody was there. He thought he was just imagining things, until he heard the whisper again.

“Death is coming…”

As the sound dug into his brain, a grey mist began to fill up his room. Brian swore he could see faces in the fog, and they were all talking to him. Calls of “Death is coming” bounced off the wall while the mist swirled around Brian. He pulled the covers over his head and covered his ears, hoping to block out the whispers.

After a few minutes, the whispers stopped and Brian got up the nerve to poke his head out from under the covers. As soon as he did, however, he found himself face-to-face with an enormous cloaked figure hovering over his bed. Brian’s face went completely pale. He wanted to scream, but all he could do was to stare at the creature above him. While he sat there transfixed, the figure extended his arm toward Brian. In his hand, he held a beating heart dripping with blood. Brian looked on with disgust as the creature squeezed the blood out of the heart with his skeletal hand into a cup. It then offered the cup to Brian.

“Drink with me,” it chanted in dark, gravelly voice. “Have everything you ever wanted. Drink with me and obtain all your desires. Drink with me. Drink with me. DRINK WITH ME.”

Brian watch as the figured moved the cup toward his lips. Brian wanted to fight back, but he found his hands reaching for the cup. He no longer had control of his body; he was now at the mercy of Death. He didn’t want to drink the blood, but he found himself moving the cup closer and closer. He tried to shut his mouth, but he couldn’t. He almost gagged as the warm blood splashed against his tongue. He started to cry and the blood poured down his throat while Death continued to call “Drink with me…”

Suddenly Brian sat up in his bed, shaking uncontrollably. He looked around anxiously and was relieved to see that it was morning and everything was normal. It was all a dream. After a few minutes, he began to gather himself. He started thinking about what he was going to do for the day when the phone rang. He ignored it and began to get out of bed. Then, as he was picking out his clothes for the day, his mother yelled, “Brian, it’s for you.” Brian picked up the phone in his room and said hello.

“Hey Brian, it’s Beth,” said the voice on the other end. “Do you have any plans today?”

Brian’s heart sank and he began to panic. He started to feel faint, so he sat down on the bed. He repeated told himself it was just a dream. It was just a dream. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw an empty glass sitting on his nightstand. Empty, except traces of blood that stained the inside.