I became an Undead!

"Urgh" Alan's consciousness slowly returned to him, bit by bit.

After 30 minutes, he finally woke up and saw the dark night sky covered in dark clouds swirling above him as the epicentre.

Alan was shocked and confused that he was still alive considering his heart stopped beating 'Did the others manage to restart it?' He thought to himself but still found it strange that he was outside 'Why am I here?' He pondered.

Alan tried to stand up from the ground but couldn't!

He tried lifting his arm but failed.

He tried to lift his fingers but failed.

He even tried to scrunch his toes in a curl but failed.

Alan had no feeling nor control over his body and could only lay there, staring at the dark sky above.

'Am I paralysed? Did that man paralyse me!' He thought as he tried to call for help but once again, it failed. He wasn't able to move his mouth at all like the rest of his body.

'Dammit...what did he do to me?' Alan tried all sorts of movements to see if he had any control over his body but it all failed, making Alan fall into despair.

'Shit! Alice, I'm so sorry, I can't even be there for your last moments.' Alan thought regrettably as he stared at the dark abyss above him.

As time slowly passed, Alan began to feel colder and colder. He eventually realised that he was starting to feel the things around him like the hard stone he was laying on and the exceptionally chilly air.

'Okay...so it's not permanent. Thank god.' Alan thought to himself as some hope reignited in his 'heart'.

He continued to wait as more feeling returned to his body...but something was strange. For one, Alan felt his body to be much skinnier than he remembered and it felt quite empty as a whole.

Furthermore, he started to feel colder and colder, way too cold then he thought he should have. It felt like he was covered in ice cold snow from head to toe rather than a simple chilly day.

It really baffled Alan and made him quite uncomfortable from the constant decrease of his temperature. It started to make him worry because a human body can't handle extreme low temperatures and would begin to hyperventilate.

Yet, despite his worries, he was fine with the low temperature.

'I need a blanket,'' he thought to himself.

An hour passed and Alan finally felt like he could move his body properly. He once again tried to stand up slowly and managed to succeed!

However, Alan felt his body was really weak so he nearly fell back down again but managed to stop himself by holding a gravestone near him.

'Phew.' But Alan couldn't relax as when he saw his hand he screamed, letting go off the gravestone and thus falling back down.

What he saw truly horrified him, his very hand was all bone! Thinking he imagined it, he looked at his hand again and it was still made of bones!

'What the hell!' Alan cried out as he examined the rest of his body.

When he did, he saw that he was completely made of bones!

"I'M A SKELETON!" He screamed out and nearly passed out from the horrid truth. He tried to feel his ice cold face and it was hard, like a skull.

'What's going on!? How did I end up like this!.' As Alan was having an existential crisis about his very existence, a voice sounded near him.

"Ah, Welcome to the dead Alan."

Alan looked over to where the voice came from and saw the same man that killed him.

"You! What did you do to me!" Alan asked, agitated.

"You died Alan and have become part of the undead, specifically a skeleton." The man calmly said to Alan with a carefree tone as he sat on a chair that appeared out of nowhere.

There was also a desk in front of the man as he rested his hand onto it.

Alan once again stood up clumsily and went over to the man slowly as he was trying to get used to the light feeling of having only bones.

"Who are you...how did..how did you do this to me??" Alan asked.

The man tapped the table "I am the god of death. You kept intervening in my business so you took your wife's place." The man calmly said.

There was a few seconds of silence until Alan said "Does that mean my wife is alive!" he said with anticipation and excitement.

The man looked at Alan confused by his reaction "Yes, she is alive." He slowly said.

Though Alan couldn't form a smile anymore, it really looked like a smile formed as he said "Oh thank you! Thank you for saving my wife!" He exclaimed excitedly.

The man felt quite baffled by Alan's reaction, he expected Alan to be in despair from dying to reincarnating into a skeleton yet he is thankful?

However, the man wasn't upset or disappointed by Alan's reaction as a small smile formed on his face 'I seemed to have made the right choice.' He snapped his fingers and a sheet of paper appeared on the table with a pen next to it, engulfed in complete darkness.

Alan saw the paper and asked "What's that?"

"A contract Alan. Once you sign it, you will become a Grim Reaper" The man simply said.

Alan grabbed the contract as he read the details about it.

[The signer will pledge their allegiance to the God of death.

The signer will serve as the Grim Reaper until dismissed by the God of Death

The signer is expected to complete their daily, weekly and monthly task provided

Failure to complete any task three times in a year will result in immediate perishing of the signer's soul.

The signer is entitled to 10 working days off from duty annually where no punishment will be applied

The signer will receive many rewards and benefits depending on how well they serve as the Grim Reaper.

The signer must talk positively about their job to non Grim reapers, if they fail to do so, they will be heavily punished for damaging the God of Death's reputation.]

There were a few more rules in the contract but the first seven really stood out to Alan and he found it quite ridiculous.

'10 days off? Are you kidding me? What kind of scam is this!' He thought to himself.

"Uh..do I have to sign this?" Alan asked.

The man smiled "Hm? Are you actually hesitant to sign a contract that's been personally given by me? If you don't sign the contract, you will lose consciousness."

"What? Why!?"

The man continued "You're a lowly skeleton right now. A skeleton at your level would have no shred of thought...the only reason you do is because of me. However, if you want it to remain conscious, you must become a Grim Reaper."

Alan pondered the man's words 'So it's either become a skeleton, with no will or a Grim Reaper…'

"Can I see my wife as a Grim Reaper?" Alan asked, slightly hopeful.

The man answered "That all depends on your progress as a reaper. If you do well, I can allow it."

Alan started to get excited 'I can see Alice...though I probably can't hold her or touch her with this appearance, at least I can see her' He thought to himself but though he didn't expect much, he still asked "Can I turn into a human again?"

The man looked at Alan in a deep stare "That all depends on how you do." Is all he said.

'So there's a chance!' Alan grabbed the dark covered pen and signed the contract, slamming it back on the table.

"Thank you for hiring me, boss!"