THE S EXCHANGE
by
Katherine Deavers
It wasn’t long before Donavan noticed a figure standing over him. His vision was blurry, preventing him from seeing the person clearly. “Are you death? Have you come for me?” he asked with uncertainty.
The figure crouched over him. “On the contrary, Mr. Walters, I am life and I see that you are in a bit of a spot.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Donavan snarled.
The figure ran his fingers through the river of blood and held it in front of Donavan’s face. “It means this, Mr. Walters. Without a doubt, you are very close to death. I can help you. I, and I alone can give you life again, if you want it.”
“What are you, some kind of nut? Just leave me the hell along and let me die in peace.”
“Looks like you need a little convincing and you don’t have much time left.” The stranger took a glowing jar out of his breast pocket, unscrewed the lid and placed it under Donavan’s nose. “Here you go, take a little whiff.”
Donavan breathed in a small amount of the elixir into his lungs and immediately felt rejuvenated. His wound closed and healed itself. The stranger removed the jar from Donavan’s nose and screwed the lid back on. “Feeling better?”
Donavan sat up, reaching for the jar. The stranger kept the jar out of Donavan’s reach. “Not so fast, Mr. Walters, first you have to agree to a favor.”
“A favor? I don’t have to agree to anything. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m much better now.”
“Yes, Mr. Walters, I can see that, but I assure you the healing is only temporary. In order to be fully healed, you would need the full contents of the jar.” The stranger glanced down at his watch. “By the looks of it, you’ll be back to your old dying self in less than a minute.”
“I don’t believe you!”
“That’s okay. Time is on my side, Mr. Walters, not yours.” The stranger looked down at his watch. “7…6…5…4…3…2…1…” The wound reopened and Donavan found himself bleeding to death again. “Well, Mr. Walters, I wish we could have done business together. I really have to go now.” The stranger stood up and began to walk away.
“Wait! Don’t leave, please! I’m sorry I didn’t believe you! Please come back! Help me!”
The stranger stopped, turned around and walked back to Donavan.
“Now that’s much better, Mr. Walters.” Reaching back into his breast pocket, he brought out the jar with the glowing elixir. he unscrewed the lid and started handing it to Donavan, pulling it back at the last minute. “A favor, Mr. Walters. If you want my help, you have t promise to do me a favor.”
“Anything. I’ll do anything! What do you need of me?”
“Not now, Mr. Walters. No need to worry about that now. I’ll let you know when the time is right.” With that, he handed the jar to Donavan. “Breathe in, breathe it all in and hold it in. When you feel your body start to tingle, you can exhale and you’ll be healed.” The stranger got up and started walking away. Donavan exhaled. “Hey, wait! Can you at least tell me your name?”
The stranger turned back toward Donavan, and said, “I’m known as The Broker.” Then the stranger disappeared down the street into the darkness.
Donavan was just about to take a sip of his iced tea when he noticed a figure standing over him. Looking upward, he discovered that it was the man who had saved his life. He almost dropped his glass. “Oh, hello!” He jumped up, extending his hand to the stranger. “Please, won’t you join me? I simply won’t take no for an answer. Please, let me buy you a glass of iced tea. They make the best tea in all of New York right here!”
The stranger looked at his watch. “Well, I do have a few minutes…I’ll join you but I don’t want anything to drink. Thanks for the offer, though.”
“I’m so glad I had the opportunity to see you again! I never got a chance to thank you for what you did. By the way, what exactly did you do? I mean, what was in the bottle you gave me? You know, with your elixir and my know how, we could become rich! I did try to have the contents of the bottle analyzed, but only traces of water were found. I am prepared to make you a very lucrative offer if you’re interested.”
The stranger smiled. “You’re very kind, Mr. Walter, but I’m afraid I’ll have to decline you most generous offer.” An alarm on the stranger’s watch starting beeping. The stranger turned it off. “It was really very nice seeing you again, Mr. Walters, but I really must go now. Business calls.”
The stranger took out a business card and dropped it on the table before disappearing into the men’s room. Donavan took the card and read it:
|
The S Exchange, Inc. L.F Broker, Esq. |
Donavan didn’t know what to make of the card. He though that it was some kind of a joke. He decided to follow “L.F.” into the men’s room, thinking he could get some valid information there, but before he could get to the bathroom, a commotion arose.
A young man came charging out of the men’s room, splatters of crimson n his face and shirt and blood dripping off of his hands. He was panicky and short of breath. He ran out of the café, plowing into several patrons on his way through the front door. Some of the customers ran after him while the manager phoned the police.
Donavan’s first thoughts went to L.F. He sprinted into the bathroom thinking he would find L.F. sprawled out on the floor, badly injured or dead. Instead, he found another stranger washing his hands and stomach. A bloodied shirt was soaking in the other sink.
Donavan began searching the stalls for his friend. Finding nothing, he turned to the stranger. “Where’s L.F.?”
The stranger looked at Donavan. “Where’s who?”
“Where’s L.F.? He’s a friend of mine who came in here just seconds before that other guy who was soaked in blood went running out of here.”
The stranger seemed a bit nervous. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, man. Leave me alone!” He grabbed his saturated shirt and brushed past Donavan, briskly exiting the café. Before Donavan left the men’s room, he looked around again. This time, he noticed a small bottle lying on top of the garbage can. It was the exact same bottle that he had gotten a month and a half ago.
Donavan Walters pushed through the people in the crowded elevator. He was running a bit behind today; he always hated that. Jogging past the secretaries, he hurried into his office.
He wasn’t happy about being here today. Something in his gut told him he should have stayed at home, but his dedication to his work prevailed, so here he was. As he shut the office door, he sensed he wasn’t alone. Turning toward his desk, he noticed someone was sitting in his chair, looking out the window. “Hey! Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?”
Slowly the chair swiveled around. Sitting in front of him was L.F. “My God, L.F.! What…Where….How…It’s been…”
“It’s been five years and four months to the day.” L.F. stood extending his hand toward Donavan. “How have you been, Mr. Walters?”
Donavan shook his hand, noticing it was very cold. “Fine, I guess, and you?”
“Oh, I’ve definitely seen better days.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Well, now that you mention it, there is. That’s why I’ve come. Do you remember the day I saved your life?”
“Of course! I could never forget a thing like that"
“Do you remember me asking you for a favor?”
“Yes, I do. Like I said then, anything you need.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear that. You might want to sit down to hear the rest of this.” L.F. stood up and offered the chair to Donavan.
“What is it L.F.? It can’t be that bad, can it?”
“Not for me, Mr. Walters, not for me.” He took out an empty bottle and unscrewed the lid. “Mr. Walters, for the last five years, I know you have wondered what it was that I gave you in that alley. Now, I am going to tell you. What I gave you was something so wonderful, so rare that it can never be reproduced. I gave you someone else’s life force.”
Donavan was shocked. He started to say something when L.F. interrupted. “Please, Mr. Walters, I know this is difficult, just hear me out.” Donavan closed his mouth and continued to listen. L.F. took a deep breath. “I am what is known as a life force broker. I am many but I serve only one.” L.F. continued talking as he examined assorted objects in the office. “By itself, the elixir would be no good. It needs a catalyst to make it work. In this case, the catalyst is a human soul. The soul mixes with the elixir, giving new life. Please understand it doesn’t work on everyone. A person has to want to live in order for it to work. Otherwise, it’s useless.”
Donavan spoke. “A soul? But isn’t a life force a soul?”
“Close, but not quite. A soul can exist without a life force. A life force is what motivates people, drives them if you will. The two compliment each other, so to speak. Now, to continue. I was called to you because you wanted to live. As a result, you’ve been given a great gift. You’ve been able to live five years and four months longer than you should have. But now I need the life force back.”
Donavan jumped up out of his chair. “Are you crazy? Are you mad? Are you trying to tell me, not that I believe any of this horseshit, that you now want me to die for you?”
“No, Mr. Walters, I’m not asking you to die for me. I’m simply asking for the life force back. While it’s true you will die when I get it back, you would have died anyway without it.”
“You’re out of your mind!” Donavan yelled as he picked up the phone to call security, but before he could punch the buttons, he felt a sharp stabbing pain in his stomach. He dropped the receiver, slouching down in his chair. Blood began to run down his legs. He reached out a crimson hand to L.F. “Please, don’t do this. I beg of you. Please let me live.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Walters, but business is business and I need it back now. Someone else will need it very shortly.”
Donavan was feeling very cold. He knew death was near.
L.F. bent over him, checking his eyes. “Won’t be long now. Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention a minor detail. When the life force exits your body, so does your soul. I get that. It’s what keeps me alive. In layman’s terms, I get your soul in exchange for loaning you a life force.”
Donavan took his last breath as the life force rose out of his body and into the jar. A white, smoky substance separated from the life force, seeping into L.F.’s body.
“Ahhhhh, that’s much better. I really needed that,” he said as he screwed the lid back on the jar and put it into his breast pocket. As he walked out of Donavan’s office, his watch alarm sounded. He turned it off, whistling as he went on to his next destination.
In the distance, the sound of an ambulance could be heard.
The End