The Final Minutes of Kevin Hall

 

Thursday night, 12:15 a.m.

 

Kevin Hall stumbled out of the bar, like always at this time. He reached his car, a ''92 Ford Escort, and took five minutes trying to unlock it. If anyone saw the multitude of scratch marks near the keyhole they would know that this, too, was like always. He finally got in, started the ignition, and started his 12 mile trip home. And, again like always, a figure appeared in his passenger seat.

 

"We-hell, Lady Luck!" Kevin slurred, "So nice of ya to grease my Corinthian leather interior once more."

"Not tonight, Mr. Hall." came a voice.

Startled, Kevin looked over and saw not the usual attractive woman in a sequined dress but rather a plain-looking man in a business suit and glasses.

"Who're you?" Kevin asked. "Mr. Luck?" Kevin roared at his own joke.

"No," said the man, "I am Your Demise, and I am here to inform you on the fact that you will die tonight."

"Izzat so?" Kevin said unfazed.

"Yes it is." Your Demise said matter-of-factly. "In just a few minutes you are going to swerve off the road into a tree while going 82 miles per hour. You will be ejected from your car, for obvious reason," Your Demise gestured toward Kevin's seat belt, which still hung limply next to his seat, "and the police will later find your body around-oh... 150 feet from the accident scene."

"Huh, isn'tzat somethin'"

Your Demise checked his hair in the rearview mirror. "Actually, no. I see that every day. But the fact that you will go through the windshield with such force that a shard of glass will actually go through your skull and penetrate your brain?" Your Demise forced a hair back into place. "Now that's highly impressive."

Kevin leaned over and gawked at his passenger. "And you're here to tell me this?!"

Your Demise quickly adjusted the steering wheel, taking the Escort out of the path of another oncoming car. "Ah ah." he scolded. "Not yet. Save it for the tree, please. Yes, I work with a small firm that informs people of their deaths. You may know my partners. Your Maker deals mainly with those that die peacefully; expectedly. You know, the ones that have lived out their lives. Your Untimely End usually works with the younger crowd; those that die in freak accidents. Or are hit by fools like you, who I have to deal with. But I'd rather have to face you. It's harder to break it to the younger people, naturally."

Kevin became angry. "Now you can't blame'isall on ME! S'not my fault alcc'hol'ssso addictive!"

"Now, now. There's no place for excuses, especially one as pathetic as yours. There are many offramps on the road to destruction. Remember learning about the dangers of alcohol in school and from your parents? Remember when some of your friends became worried when you first gave in to supposed "peer pressure" the night you took your first drink at that party? Remember those same friends, as well as your family tried to make you get help when it became obvious you were an alcoholic? Of course not, you never listened to any of them! And while your friends and family gave up on you one by one, you hadn't a single clue they were leaving you. You lived alone with your booze, never able to find a girlfriend, with only your buddy Charlie at the pub! Why, even tonight he offered to call a cab for you and you still were too ignorant to accept. That one intelligent choice-that one choice!-would have saved you from this accident! No excuses, Mr. Hall. It was your choices, and yours alone, that will wrap you around this tree tonight."

Kevin's countenance of anger changed to one of remorse. "What'll happin' to 'em, anyways?"

Your Demise stared at the road ahead. No other cars had passed them for some time. "I assume you mean your friends and family? Your former friends and your family will of course be grieved for a while, but they all knew that something like this would happen eventually. When one continually pictures an event happening, the emotional reaction to it is less severe when that event actually occurs. Charlie, however, shared that "It can't happen to me." attitude you had. He will be quite surprised that you are dead. He will also feel extreme guilt for not taking your keys from you. So much guilt, in fact, that he will quit drinking. He will live a longer, happier life, and his wife and kids will return to him as well. There will be a silver lining to this... "tragedy", if you can call it that, after all. " Your Demise looked over at Kevin. "You did know that Charlie has a wife and two daughters, did you not?"

Kevin sat silently.

"But Mr. Hall, you shouldn't concern yourself with matters of this world anymore." Your Demise stated.

"Wha-what do 'ya mean?"

Your Demise averted his eyes back to the road. "Now, I can't completely spoil your ending for you. But I think you already know what I mean. I'm afraid we are out of time. Here come's your tree. Good-bye, Mr. Hall."

Kevin Hall closed his eyes.

"It was a pleasure meeting you."