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Incident Postmortem Report
Name of Deceased: Rey Stein
Date of Death: 06/02/2024
Issuer Name: Andrew Wilkinson
Issuer Company and Involvement (if applicable): Professional Sports Development FC (PSD FC), Australian National Soccer League organisational company and registry.
Company Description (if applicable): organisation of professional soccer league in Ausgracia.
Following to be filled by relevant individuals.
Cause of Death: Splenetic Rupture, Internal Bleeding
Cause of Injury: Aggressive behaviour by another player, reckless endangerment of victim, violent outbreak during match.Other Information on Casualty: N/A
Follow up action: Brock Valentine permanently expelled from Australian National Soccer League for intentionally trying to injure a fellow player, incidentally, causing said players death.Other Information: numerous reports were made to the police, PSD FC, and media about a hooded figure on the field holding a long 'scythe'. Conspiracists are describing the figure as the 'Grim Reaper'. No evidence to prove claim. Insubstantial motive to explain conspiracy.
Individual/s who filed this form (relevance and signature): Father A.W
*****
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY HERE IN BELOR AND THE FINAL SHOWDOWN IS ABOUT TO BEGIN! ONE LAST TIME FOR THOSE JUST JOINING US, WE'VE GOT THE GRAND FINAL GAME, STARTING LINEUPS AS FOLLOWS! FOR THE COWBOYS WE HAVE; MACKELMORE (5), JONSAN (8), FREIDER (3), JONES (14), SWIFTS (13), PRICKETT (4), BLACK (9), BJONSNAK (7), MARCH (6), HAYES (1) (KEEPER), AND STEIN (2) (CAPTAIN)! AND FOR THE SOUTHS WE HAVE; KIRSBI (3), FARMER (8), SPRIGGINS (17), MICHAELS (4), HECKROTTE (3), FRANCIS (7), PASCEL (11), VALENTINE (13), OWENS (5), HAWKINS (1) (KEEPER), JAMES (2) (CAPTAIN)!
I'LL TELL YOU NOW ITS GOING TO BE A HEATED MATCH TODAY! IT'S A NICE COOL 25 DEGREE DAY BUT IT'S NEVER BEEN HOTTER! THE RIVALRY BETWEEN THESE TWO TEAMS IS LIKE NOTHING WE'VE EVER SEEN! WE'VE GOT A FULL STAND OF 90 000 TODAY AND MORE WATCHING WITH US FROM HOME, THE BAR, AND EVEN OUR HOSPITAL ROOMS! THIS GAME IS GONNA BE ONE FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS! WE'VE GOT 15 MINUTES UNTIL KICKOFF AND OUR PLAYERS ARE GETTING WARM IN THE SHEDS! OVER TO YOU AMY FOR A CLOSE LOOK AT OUR SOUTHS PLAYERS"
"Thank you, Hank. Here in the Souths shed we can see our players revving each other up, getting warm and over all preparing themselves for the toughest game of the season. Now let's have a word with the captain, so James, how are you feeling about today's game?"
"Ahhhh yeah, good Amy, you know, we're looking strong here, we've certainly come to win, me and the boys are all lookin' good, feelin' good and uuuuuhhh yeah".
"That's good to hear James, now what's the game plan today because throughout the season we've certainly seen a lot of excellent teamwork and strong breaks from your forwards, however, in the past games against The Cowboys your defence has struggled a bit, particularly when up against Stein, The Cowboys captain. Now is there a plan for keeping Stein on a leash today?"
"Aaaaahhhhaha yeah aaahhh you've definitely been paying attention Amy, and your right, Stein is an exceptional player and certainly not a joy to try and hold back, it is certainly clear to see why he's captain of The Cowboys despite being a relatively new appearance, only debuting last year, however, experience and strategy are going to be his downfall today, we've got a solid lineup and we have a lot of built up trust and teamwork amongst us, so... yeah I'm confident in my boys, we'll keep Stein under a watchful eye and stop him from getting a clear run and let the rest work like magic, so yeah"
"That is certainly great to here James, thank you so much for your time, I'll let you get back to your warm up"
"Thank you, Amy,"
"Now over to you Butch for a look into The Cowboys sheds"
"Thank you, Hank, it is incredibly heated in here right now, the players are amped up and ready to go, now I am here with The Cowboys' Coach, Steven Marks, how are you, Steven?"
"I'm good thank you Butch"
"That's good to hear, now Steven how do you think The Cowboys are going to preform today?"
"It's going to be a beating on the Souths Butch, my squad is in top form and have been all season. We've had few injuries all season and excellent commitment and dedication from everyone. The team's been playing well which is important but what I'm most proud of is their teamwork, dedication to the team, and their effort as a team. It's going to be a good game Butch I can tell you that."
"That is great to hear Steven. Now, as we all know Stein is the staring player for the match, what do you as his coach have to say about Stein and his performance this season?"
"Look Butch, Stein is a talented kid. Heck he's 17 years old and he's got contractors lining up to take him around the world. But I want to make something clear for everyone. What we see on the field is 10%. 10% of the effort, 10% of the drive, 10% of the full picture. Stein is undoubtedly a star player, but it takes more than talent to get to where he is now. And as we've all heard a million times before there is no I in team. For one person to be the star on the stage you need the crew, the lights, the play, the whole kazoo. And if one person steps out of the limelight another will step in, this team isn't a one man show. This team is exceptional, and everyone is a star. The Souths may think they have us beat if they stop Stein but they're wrong, and that will be their downfall today."
"Wow, thank you Steven, there you have it ladies and gentlemen, things are heated today in The Cowboys sheds, over to you Hank."
"THANK YOU BUTCH, ONLY 10 MORE MINUTES TILL KICKOFF AND ITS TIME FOR OUR PLAYERS TO ENTER THE FIELD FOR THE NATIONAL ANTHEM, HERE WE ARE!"
*****
The wind tends to whistle whenever I move. It flows through my empty eye sockets into my hollow cranium and out through my rib cage. One of the perks of being undead I suppose. Sometimes it's a bother but mostly it's comforting. It reminds me that there is more than emptiness within this expanse. More than me, and my boat.
My small little boat. I handcrafted it with the scarcely found wooden planks that occasionally follow the souls ready to pass on. It is by no means a good boat. It's a miracle it floats. Although, I suppose this place in its entirety is a miracle. I can't be sure though. Afterall, unlike all those that join me here, I can't pass on like they can. I don't know what comes next.
I reach my hand into my cloak to retrieve the all too familiar chained watch that governs my every action. I can respect that it is quite a pretty watch, despite all my hatred for it. Golden brown frame with a long bronze chain protruding from its top. Three thin needles with curvy ends against a white background, with symbols I can only assume to be 1 to 12 around its circumference. Despite its beautiful design however, it has a disgusting habit. This watch governs more than passing time, it also governs the time gifted to souls upon birth and informs me when it's time to recollect said souls.
Holding the watch by its chain in front of me it swivels, and the needles rotate into position, directing me towards the timeless soul. Slightly adjusting my heading, I now hold out it in front of me with my bony hand. The needles readjust so to point straight at the 9 and the watch swivels so the 9 points directly ahead of me. The third arrow ticks a fraction at a time past 6, slowly approaching the 12. It is almost time.
*****
"LESS THAN FIVE TO GO AND THE COWBOYS BREAKTHROUGH! THE SOUTHS DEFENSE IS FALLING APART AS STEIN AND JONES MAJESTICALLY PASS BETWEEN EACHOTHER! STEIN IS AWAY BUT VALENTINE IS READY! THIS IS FOR THE GAME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! AND VALE-AAAAAHHHH GOD – Stein is down, and the ref has called it. That will be an instant red card there. That was disgusting by Valentine. Stein is hurt, the ref is calling for order as his team rushes Valentine, but I say let them at him because that was horrific. Here we have an instant replay and as we can see, yep, oh god, Valentine, studs first, kicked Stein in his side and Stein falls straight down. It is clear Stein is hurt there; you can see the pain in his face immediately. The medics are here, and it looks like they're bringing the ambulance onto the field. Stein is going to be rushed to hospital it seems. The crowd is in an uproar, and so am I. Valentine is going to have a hard time keeping his career after a tackle like that."
*****
"Where am I?"
"The land in between, child."
"Who are you?"
"I am The Ferry Man, or as you might know me better, I am the Grim Reaper."