Purgatory

“Best of nineteen?”

The apparition in front of me stared at the grid. Even in this state, I had trouble focusing on him… her… it?

When it spoke, its words came from no mouth. Its words just were.

This is a stupid rule.

“I didn’t make it up.”

We should play chess.

“My challenge, my game. And my game is tic-tac-toe.”

Death silently scratched an X into the top-left corner. I placed an O in the middle-bottom.

We will draw. Again.

“Yep.”

If neither of us wins, we will be here forever.

“That’s OK.” I said. “I’m not going anywhere.”