Death Blockers

You wake up one morning to a text message from an unknown number. You don't get many texts, so you check it. "You have 5 block hours." The message reads. <br><br>Every morning at 7:00 am, you will get a text message saying "You have Y block hours." Y is the number of hours you can block death for a given day. You can't change the amount. <br><br>You can block death once per day. Your block starts when your body is killed, and ends when your block runs out. During that time, you are put in a "purgatory" to decide if you want to bring your body "back to life" or "move on." <br><br>What is purgatory like? Is it heaven? Is it hell? Is it a waiting room full of comfortable chairs and a single vending machine? What do you find out about death, afterlife, and the block hours? What are the "rules" surrounding death and after life from what you can tell? <br><br>You don't block death all that often. You're quite careful. Only blocked death 4 times in your life so far. <br><br>Your first death is about a year after you get the texts. You were on a rollercoaster when it "broke" and you died. You were so excited to see what purgatory was like. <br><br>As you got to purgatory, you were greeted by a man in a white robe with a clipboard. He introduced himself as a death greeter. "You may call me Gregg." <br><br>You talked to Gregg about what you've noticed about death. "I noticed that the text number is the same as the first cell phone I ever had." You say.<br><br>"Yes, for every person, the death texter number is unique. It's always either the first phone number they called, their first cell phone, or their childhood home's phone number." Gregg confirms. <br><br>You ask what the "rules" are regarding death. "Well, first of all, death is inevitable. It's going to happen, no matter what. Death always wins in the end. The Block Hours are a gift." <br><br>"What kind of gift? From whom?" You ask. <br><br>"The kind that are given, and from whome." Gregg responds. <br><br>"Do people who die young get more block hours?" <br><br>"No, not really. People who die young tend to not block death as much. In fact, people who die young tend to spend less time in purgatory before deciding to move on." <br><br>"What's the moving on process like?" <br><br>"You'll see. Hopefully not today. I have a feeling you'll be going back." <br><br>You looked to your right, and saw a tunnel of white light. You looked to your left, and saw an elevator. "What are my options?" You ask. <br><br>"On your right is tunnel. The tunnel is where the people who move on go. On the left is the elevator, and that takes you back to your (now former) body." Gregg finishes. <br><br>You look down at your body, which is recovering from a broken neck. A part of you wants to move on. But you're still so young, and there's still so much to do! You decide to go back.<br><br>You ride the elevator down to your body. It takes a while. You look to the floor display and see "Floor -27." You wonder what the other floors were. The elevator stops at floor "Ground" and you get out to find yourself back in your body. You look around and find that all the people on the ride are being treated by EMTs, and that you are somehow alive and (mostly) well.<br><br>You're still shaken, but you go about your day as best you can. You spend a lot of time thinking about death, and the fact that you were able to stop it, if only for a little while. You realize that you only get 5 hours a day, and that your "stop death free" card is only 5 hours a day. <br><br>You spend the rest of your college years not getting too close to anyone, because you don't want to have to bury anyone. You also don't want to end up back in purgatory, because you felt like if you went back there, you wouldn't come back.<br><br>You get your first job, a job working in accounting. It's boring as all hell, but it pays the bills, and the idea of dying at work is laughable. <br><br>One day, you're on the clock, and you slip on some water. You crack your skull, and you end up in purgatory. "Well, shit." You say. <br><br>Gregg greets you again. "Welcome to the Death Block Purgatory Center, we're glad you're here!"<br><br>You talk to Gregg again. "Gregg, I have been wondering for a while now. Where are the other people who get block hours?"<br><br>"Other people? There are no other people. Only you!"<br><br>"What do you mean? I thought that lots of people would get block hours! Is it just me?"<br><br>"You're the only one. And as such, you're the only person who has ever ended up in purgatory." <br><br>"So every person gets some kind of purgatory when they die?"<br><br>"No, not all of them. In fact, most people don't get a purgatory. But they also don't have the luxury of block hours. Most people just die." <br><br>"But me, I have block hours! I have a luxury!"<br><br>"Yes you do." Gregg confirmed.<br><br>"I have to go back." You say. <br><br>"Yes, I figured you would." Gregg responds. <br><br>You head towards the elevator. As you walk towards the elevator, the floor display reads "Floor 1". As you step in, the elevator starts to move, and the floor display reads "-1". You stop on floors "-1" "-2" and "-3" before going back to ground and waking back up. <br><br>You wake up. It's been 5 hours since you died, and you're now fine (except for the massive headache). You don't move the same for weeks. You see death around every corner, even though you have 5 hours a day to block death. <br><br>All of that was 20 years ago. You're now 50, and you're still getting texts. "You have 18 block hours. Go use them."<br><br>You're not sure. You haven't blocked death since the rollercoaster, and you really don't have a need to block death now. You've lived a full life, and you've gotten to where you want to be in life. You are very happy with your life, and the thought of dying doesn't bother you. <br><br>You're not sure what to do. On one hand, you could block death and spend more time with your kids and grandkids. On the other hand, you could go to heaven/hell/purgatory and see what the afterlife has to offer. <br><br>What do you do? Do you block death and spend more time with the people you love, or do you go to the afterlife and see what it's like?