A Million Faces

Present day… I suppose. At the park, coming up the bench that we've been procrastinating approaching, I miss a breath as I notice a person I've never seen before speaking with God, herself.

Surprisingly, no. It wasn't Raphael, or any other villain we're yet to see. As I got closer, I noticed it was a girl, with dark hair that stops at her shoulders. She wore a dark purple tracksuit and a series of bandages that wrapped around her left arm. She walked right past me and shot me a very dark and dangerous glare, as if to say "Don't even think about it," and then left promptly. I don't even want to think about what happens when she removes her bandages. I would assume dark dragon power would erupt and kill everyone in the present room.

Better not wake it.

I approached God, herself, with an attitude that would only be deserving of Hell.

"Yo."

"You would know best to not ask any questions regarding that woman."

She saw directly through me.

"She's a woman that beholds the same curse as you. Fortunately for her, however, she tackles it with an intent to destroy it, and not the desire to perish."

Ouch.

"So why did you decide to come now? Did you get bored of perishing?"

That's one way of saying it. I had a hard time meeting God, and now I'm starting to reconsider my actions.

Just kill me now.

"You should know best not to wish such desires on yourself. You know it's going to happen, regardless."

She saw directly through me, again.

"You think thinking less will make me talk more, don't you. I don't buy it. Say what you want and make it fast, I can only stay for one hour."

"Why one hour?" Thinking back, she only did stay for the one hour when she spoke to me forty-six cycles ago. Strange to think the amount she can blow my mind in the period of one hour.

"It is simply the law of my kind. Interfering with the personal affairs of cursed beings is something limited, whilst interfering with the personal affairs of blessed beings is something we enjoy quite a fair amount."

That would imply that there are 'blessed' people being pranked by God?!

"And even so, one hour is more than enough time. I could be doing so many more interesting things than speaking to you. I simply do not wish to spend any more than one hour with you."

Why did you have to say that?!

"So are you going to state your questions or not? You're wasting precious time."

Previously, I was given a mission by Raphael. Obviously it's the worst idea I've ever been given over 600-death cycles, trusting a man who quite literally mutilated me for hours under a handful of people with surgery knives. There is no but.

"You wish to know about the Man with a Million Faces."

Seeing right through me as usual, of course.

"I cannot help you."

I can feel myself falling over comically whilst Curb Your Enthusiasm plays and the credits roll. I have no lead now.

"You actually look even more stupid playing detective. You have no means of stopping anyone, whilst your bonded cursed brethren have already figured out their Strength."

Strength? With a capital S?

"Stop breaking the fourth wall, lest you desperately wish to die a trillion deaths, but yes. Strength with a capital S. A specific trait that will help you achieve greatness among a world with no time. An ability you can call your own. The lady that was just here, she has one. Even your best friend Raphael has one or two up his sleeve. He might even have more."

I'm a superhero.

"You're a lost cause. You haven't even figured out that this was built into the game and you've currently had roughly around six-hundred-and-ninety-seven deaths, and that's not counting. You can see it in your demeanour. Lost lamb, broken legs, broken soul. You'd do best to keep your head up and your eyes forward, lest you wish to die a quadrillion deaths."

This doesn't sound like criticism at all, this is more like -

"this is feedback. Do better." As she dissolves into the air itself, leaving not a single trace of presence or ice cream.

*

The day continued with absolutely no motive. What on earth am I supposed to do when I know my own demise is directly around… Twelve hours from now. The only thing I can truly think about is unfortunately helping Raphael with the task he used of me. He wanted me to… Actually, I have a better idea. There's someone I'm really interested in.

Midday, I find myself in a remote corner of my town. I don't usually find myself here, the last time I was here was during my escapades scouting around to check who was out of place.

Now I'm right back here.

Why?

Because someone was out of place.

I spend about half an hour drinking a very mediocre coffee which honestly tastes like beans and water. I gag a little bit as it oozes down my throat hole. At the moment that I gag, a man with sunglasses picks up his bag and leaves.

That's our man.

About thirty seconds after he leaves, I grab my linen shoulder bag and tail exactly where I know he's going to go; around in one spiral and end up at a dead end. I know it, because it's happened before.

I pick up the pace as I see him turn a corner so I don't miss where he's going next.

As I'm closing in on the corner, I feel a cold chill down my spine. I turn the corner and…

Where is he?

Where did he go?!

I pick up the pace down the alleyway and suddenly feel cold steel on my neck.

I hear a raspy voice in my throat, cold and dissociated. "Who sent you?"

"No-one knows who you are except me."

"Then tell me," His voice remains cold and calm, as if he's interrogating me. With a knife against my neck, I believe this would be an interrogation. "How did you find me?"

That's a good question actually. I feel like I should lie but I never thought of a valid lie that would make sense in this situation. I did scout out every corner of town a few days at a time to see what was different every time, it just so happened that he was the denominator.

Actually, he was really smart about it. His execution is fantastic every time. He wears the same clothes every time he goes outside, but his face is always different. The whole thing changes too, his features, his voice, his stature, the man changes his face to a little boy and suddenly he leaves his house as a 4-foot child with grown-up clothes that magically fit him perfectly. More than anything, I was enamoured. I needed to know what his game was, what he does when I can't see him. I needed a teacher who can raise me to be stronger.

"It's a long story, but I feel like we're in the same boat." I try to condense my excitement meeting my secret role model.

"Your heart rate is extremely high. You're either turned on or having a stroke."

"All I can tell you is that I need help and you're the only person I want to help me right now. I don't know you personally, but I've seen your work, and I know we can be a great team if we work to-"

"No." The knife shifts a little bit further up my neck.

"I'm being serious."

"You know too much about me already."

"I promise I don't know anythi-"

"Then what's this?" He pulls a flash drive out my bag. I feel the knife. I sweat profusely.

"That's just a job I was asked to do by someone, I swear!"

"A job, huh? You're a hitman." No hesitation, no pulling back punches, perfect falls deduction.

"I'm just a guy who's in the same position as you! Every night, I die from mutilation from some shadow demon-" I gag. An uncomfortable lump raises in my throat and suddenly I start to throw up blood. Like the words can't come out my mouth, like a curse is unfolding. Before I know it, the knife penetrates my throat by accident. I look down, the blood vomit begins to darken as my neck blood pools out of me. I lose consciousness.

*

I wake up in my bed, at 7am the same day.

I'm not doing that again.

Actually, I need to get that flash drive again.

Ugh I don't want to do it.

Wake me up in about three or four days.

Never mind, I'll do it.

I grab my shit and get out the door. Ladies handing out leaflets, believe in aliens, the vapid darkness, blah blah blah.

Can we just get on with me dying please?

I get to the mailbox a couple streets down from the park and I pick up the flash drive from a hollow point in the brick wall behind it.

I should just go home and check the flash drive like I was told to do, but I really wanna check the park again.

As I get closer to the park, I feel something familiar.

A cold chill down my spine.

I approach the park slowly and try to push past my survivors instinct - which apparently doesn't exist since I continue to die. The presence gets stronger as I move forward, until I start to feel the physicalities of the cold.

My neck once again meets steel.

"Our meeting yesterday was a warning, and you continue to persist?"

"I told you, we'e in the same boat." Basically pleading.

"We are on no boat. We are on solid land." Oh, brother. The sarcastic type.

"Let me ask you," an absolute shot in the dark, "what time do you go to sleep?"

"Another of your espionage tactics? I won't fall for it" The knife shifts slightly upwards.

"It's not, I swear!" As sweat is basically pouring down my face. "At 11pm every night, something happens to me. I can't verbally explain it, but I die, and then I come back at 7am the same day. You must know what's going on, right?!" If I could be on my knees begging, but I have a knife against my neck.

"That's preposterous. I know it's stupid of me to even say out loud, but I go to bed at a healthy 10pm so I can do my morning run at 6."

10pm… That means he's never seen the monster.

"You haven't realised anything, let's say, strange about the people around?"
 "Very nice people."

"Hear me out, this may sound crazy, but we are both living the same day over and over again."

"I should kill you right now." He isn't joking. "And explain what this flash drive is right now or you die again. Twice."

"I don't know what's on it, I was only told to go home with it to check the contents because it could help me understand this situation."

"Situation."

"Living… the same day… over and over again?" Asking the dumbest question almost making me lose my composure. My throat is so dry from the sweating and hyperventilation.

"Keep taking crazy and you'll see what I do to crazy." I've found the real life Batman. "Now come with me and we're going to check the contents of this flash drive."

"Where are we going?" I gargle with my dry throat, after all my hyperventilating.

"Your house." He leads the way as he holds the steel to my throat with one hand the other holding me close, as I go back home with a man who killed me once before.