[INTRO — SAME BAR / 1:17 A.M.] BARTENDER: Last call. MAN: Make it two. BEST FRIEND: That’s what I’m talking about. [THEY LAUGH] Then… A stool slides beside me. DEATH: You look familiar. My stomach dropped. Same voice. Same black jacket. Same eyes. MAN: … No. DEATH: Hello again. MAN: What the fuck are you doing here? Death looked past me. Straight at my best friend. DEATH: Working. [FAMILIAR FEMALE SOUL SAMPLE ENTERS] ⸻ [VERSE 1] My boy’s at the pool table talking shit like always, Laughing with some strangers, probably thinking ‘bout tomorrow’s day. He doesn’t see the man beside me. Doesn’t know his name. Doesn’t know the motherfucker sitting here just changed the whole fucking game. MAN: You’re here for him? DEATH: Maybe. MAN: What the fuck does maybe mean? Death put two fingers on the bar. DEATH: Tonight’s unusual. MAN: How? He turned toward me. DEATH: I’m letting you choose. [DRUMS STOP] MAN: Choose what? DEATH: Him… or you. ⸻ [HOOK — DARK FEMALE VOCAL] How do you choose when somebody has to die? The man that’s been your brother… or the man behind your eyes? Everybody says they’d sacrifice until Death walks in the room. Now he’s sitting right beside me saying— “Which one do I choose?” ⸻ [VERSE 2] MAN: Fuck you. DEATH: That’s not an answer. MAN: I’m not playing this game. DEATH: It’s not a game. MAN: Then take neither. DEATH: Can’t. MAN: Why?! DEATH: Because before this night is finished… one of you leaves with me. I looked toward my friend. He caught me staring. BEST FRIEND: What?! MAN: Nothing. BEST FRIEND: You good? MAN: Yeah. He laughed. BEST FRIEND: Your weird ass. Then went back to his drink. Death leaned closer. DEATH: Still nothing? MAN: Give me time. DEATH: That’s the one thing you don’t have. ⸻ [VERSE 3] How the fuck do you calculate the value of a life? Twenty-five years of friendship now reduced to one night. This dude held me together when my whole world broke. Sat beside me at funerals when neither one of us spoke. He knew every bad decision. Every woman. Every fight. Times I called at three AM— BEST FRIEND: Where you at? I’m coming right now. No questions. That’s my brother. Not blood. Something stronger. And now Death wants me deciding which one sees another morning. DEATH: Time. MAN: SHUT THE FUCK UP. ⸻ [VERSE 4 — DEATH PUSHES HIM] DEATH: You said you’d die for him. MAN: I would. DEATH: Then say your name. MAN: … DEATH: Interesting. MAN: What? DEATH: It’s easy saying you’d die for somebody when nobody’s collecting. MAN: I SAID I WOULD! DEATH: Then choose yourself. MAN: … DEATH: Say it. Take me. Two words. MAN: Give me a fucking second! Death smiled. Not mocking. Almost understanding. DEATH: There’s nothing wrong with being afraid. MAN: I’m not afraid. DEATH: Then why can’t you say it? [SILENCE] Because he was right. I wanted my friend alive. But… I wanted to live too. ⸻ [HOOK] How do you choose when both lives mean something? Everybody talks sacrifice until Death comes collecting. Do I save the man who never left my side? Or look him in the eyes tomorrow… knowing I’m alive because he died? ⸻ [VERSE 5 — BEST FRIEND WALKS OVER] My friend walks up. BEST FRIEND: Man, who you talking to? Death looks at me. DEATH: Tell him. MAN: I can’t. BEST FRIEND: Can’t what? MAN: Nothing. BEST FRIEND: You’ve been acting strange all night. You alright? I looked at him. Really looked. Grey starting in his beard. Scar above his eyebrow from some dumb shit when we were seventeen. Same motherfucker. Just older. Suddenly every memory was standing right in front of me. BEST FRIEND: Bro… What’s wrong? MAN: If you could save somebody you love… but you had to die to do it… would you? BEST FRIEND: What kind of drunk-ass question is that? MAN: Answer me. He thought about it. BEST FRIEND: Depends who. MAN: Me. He stopped smiling. BEST FRIEND: Yeah. MAN: That fast? BEST FRIEND: You’re my brother. Yeah. Death whispered: DEATH: Now ask the harder question. MAN: Would you want me to die for you? My friend looked confused. BEST FRIEND: Hell no. ⸻ [VERSE 6 — THE REAL DILEMMA] BEST FRIEND: If something happened to me… you live. Take care of my people. Tell the stories. Remember the stupid shit we did. But don’t you dare throw your life away because mine ended. [DRUMS DISAPPEAR] I looked at Death. He didn’t smile anymore. MAN: You heard him. DEATH: I did. MAN: Then don’t make me choose. DEATH: I have to. MAN: WHY?! Death leaned forward. DEATH: Because love sounds beautiful until survival enters the room. I don’t want poetry. I don’t want promises. I want a name. [HEARTBEAT] DEATH: His… or yours? ⸻ [FINAL VERSE — THE CHOICE] Clock behind the bar. 1:29. Tick. My friend drinking. Tick. Death waiting. Tick. Me realizing every second might be one of our last. DEATH: Choose. I closed my eyes. Saw us at twelve.
