The Survivor Wants to Die at the End

On the opposite side of the country, 19-year-old Alano Rosa is attending a business meeting. His father is Joaquin Rosa, the founder of Death-Cast, and Alano is being groomed to take over the company one day. This process becomes more challenging all the time because pro-naturalists oppose the idea of knowing one’s death ahead of time. A more radical group, Death Guard, is pushing to outlaw Death-Cast. They are backing a presidential candidate named Carson Dunst to further their agenda.

People facing their final day are called Deckers, and there are many organizations and online communities trying to assist them. Dalma Young created the Last Friend app to help connect Deckers with volunteers who offer to befriend them so that they won’t die alone. Unfortunately, thieves and murderers have infiltrated the Last Friend volunteer group to prey upon those about to die. A serial killer named H. H. Bankson murdered a dozen Deckers before he was caught.

Aside from the controversy related to Last Friend, Death-Cast is also vilified by the family members of a dozen people who never received their call on the first End Day because of a system glitch. They became known as Death’s Dozen. A documentary was made about them. One such family member is Paz Dario, who killed his violent, abusive father, Frankie Dario, to stop him from killing Paz’s mother. Alano knew about Paz before the first End Day because he starred in a popular movie, Scorpius Hawthorne and the Immortal Deathlings, though his fame as a child actor has now been overshadowed by his killing of his father.

Alano and his entire family receive daily death threats, and security in their home is tight. Despite these challenges, Joaquin forges ahead with Death-Cast and Alano’s future role in the company. To that end, he informs Alano that the boy is scheduled to work as a herald for the first time that very night.

Paz ducks out of the house and walks to his audition. He is eager to land the role of Death in Golden Heart. This is the tragic tale of doomed love between an Immortal and Death. The book was written by Orion Pagan and was inspired by his own real-life tragedy. Paz’s abusive father, Frankie Dario, was the landlord of Orion’s lover, Valentino Prince. Frankie killed Valentino before Paz killed Frankie to stop his rampage. Valentino’s heart became an organ transplant that saved Orion’s life. Because Paz knows Orion, he has dyed his hair for the audition and is using a fake name.

Alano spends the rest of the morning conducting more Death-Cast business. His bodyguard, Agent Dane Madden, keeps a watchful eye on him. Alano ruefully thinks that Deckers probably enjoy their lives more than he does.

Paz enters the audition room, nervous that Orion will recognize him despite his dyed hair and fake name. He performs brilliantly, and everyone is impressed with his work. As Paz prepares to leave, Orion pulls him aside and calls him by his real name.

Later, at the Death-Cast gym, Alano trains with Dane. He is trying to learn self-defense skills in case of another attack. Dane tells him to fight for what matters most in his life, but Alano feels that there is no point in fighting for such a circumscribed life.

Orion has a private conversation with Paz. He attended the boy’s murder trial and testified that Paz only killed his father to save his mother’s life. Orion praises the boy’s acting skill and says he would be perfect to play Death. Orion promises to put in a good word for Paz with the casting director. He autographs Paz’s copy of Golden Heart, encouraging the boy to keep living.

That evening, Alano goes to the roof of the family’s penthouse apartment to meet with his friends, Rio and Ariana. Rio’s brother was the first victim of the Death-Cast serial killer. Ariana is the daughter of Andrea Donahue, Death-Cast’s head herald. Ariana wants to go to acting school, and her mother’s generous salary helps to finance that dream. The three friends make plans to rent an apartment that they can share. Alano’s German Shepherd, Bucky, is with them. Alano thinks gloomily that his 10-year-old pet is approaching the end of his lifespan.

That evening, Paz and his family prepare to celebrate the good news that he will be cast in the movie. Unfortunately, he gets a call from Orion explaining that the film company is nervous about the boy’s criminal past, even though Paz was exonerated at his trial. Orion praises Paz’s acting skills, but the boy is devastated and starts having suicidal ideation again.

Shortly after midnight, Alano joins the rest of the heralds to begin their shift. He receives onboarding instructions about how to break the bad news to the 30 Deckers he must call. Andrea, the head herald, is surprised to see Alano among her staff.

That evening, Paz is still depressed because of losing the role he wanted so badly. He is looking forward to Death-Cast’s calls that night, hoping he will be among the Deckers.

During Alano’s first call, disaster strikes. The Decker on the phone shoots himself when he receives the news. Alano has a panic attack afterward and doesn’t know how he will be able to complete the rest of his quota of calls for the night.

On West Coast time, Paz must wait two more hours before the Death-Cast calls begin.

Halfway through his shift, Alano has an asthma attack and goes to his locker to get his inhaler. On his way back, he overhears Andrea on the phone, leaking some information to a tabloid. An Olympic gold medalist named Caspian Townsend is on the Decker list, and Andrea tells her contact about it, as well as some juicy gossip related to Alano. When Alano confronts her, Andrea makes him promise not to tell his father. He doesn’t want to harm his best friend’s mother, so he agrees but makes Andrea promise never to leak information again.

Paz continues his countdown with 10 minutes to go before the Death-Cast calls begin.

Alano finally concludes his harrowing first night as a herald. He thinks, “I remove my headset, envying the Deckers I’ve called” (112).

By 3:00 am, Paz realizes that he isn’t on the Death-Cast list. In his disappointment and despair, he begins to cut himself with a knife. “As my body fights the next breath I don’t want, I set down the bloody knife. That’s enough for tonight” (116).

A few hours later, Alano is back at home, crying. He thinks, “Death-Cast saves Deckers, but it can also ruin survivors” (117).

Paz cleans himself up and conceals his bloodied bedding, still regretting that he never got a Death-Cast call.

The next day, Alano finds out that the story of his suicidal Decker was published in a tabloid. His father tries to ferret out the informant, but Alano doesn’t betray Andrea.

The following day, Paz contemplates his next attempt to die by suicide. He logs into a forum for people who want to die. They are called Edge-of-the-Deck. Many have attempted to die by suicide and failed because Death-Cast is never wrong. Gloria comes home early from work and asks Paz to keep her company. He feels guilty at the thought of how his death will affect her.

That afternoon, Alano goes furniture shopping with Rio and Ariana. Afterward, Alano sees a news story about the death of Caspian Townsend, who was mobbed by paparazzi on his End Day and died trying to defend his family. Alano decides to tell his father that Andrea leaked the story. That night, Joaquin lectures all the heralds about client confidentiality and fires Andrea on the spot.

Late that night, Ariana comes to say goodbye to Alano. She waits out on the sidewalk because Joaquin has prohibited her from entering the building. The two friends realize their parents have ruined their friendship. After Ariana leaves, Alano is approached by a young man. He is a relative of one of the Death’s Dozen, and he stabs Alano. The latter thinks this is his End Day.

That night, Paz reads a news article about Alano’s stabbing. Paz saw Alano at his murder trial and now envies his possible death as well as his glamorous life.

In the hospital, Alano is sure he will die. His father arrives to assure him that he will recover. Joaquin checked the herald log for the night, and Alano’s name isn’t there. A few days later, Joaquin decides to temporarily relocate the entire family to their home in Los Angeles until the heat dies down in New York.

Another night passes, and Paz still doesn’t get a call from Death-Cast. He also knows that Alano isn’t on the list either. He feels sorry for both of them.

Alano is flying to Los Angeles with his family but misses his friends. He regrets not having died in the assassination attempt.

Paz discusses his suicidal ideation with his therapist, Raquel, who raises the possibility that Paz may have symptoms of borderline personality disorder, which presents as a lack of impulse control. Raquel suggests a new therapy modality.

Afterward, Paz feels doomed by mental illness inherited from his father. At home, he learns that his mother is pregnant and is genuinely happy for her. He feels that she won’t miss him as much with a new baby to look after once he’s gone.

Now safe in their LA fortress, the family relaxes, but Alano feels trapped. He talks about his emotional state with Dane, who suggests that Alano should visit the Wisdom Tree and leave his thoughts in a journal there, as many other people have done. Without telling Dane, Alano intends to go there alone after dark.

That night, Paz tears the inscription out of Orion’s book. The injunction to “keep living” doesn’t appeal to him anymore.

At the same time, Alano cancels his own subscription to Death-Cast. He will live his life pro-naturally from now on.

An hour later, Paz writes his suicide note. In it, he tells his mother, “Today in therapy I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. I know it’s a disease, but it feels more like a demonic possession that prevents me from making good choices” (187). After completing the note, he retrieves a gun and leaves, planning to make the next 24 hours his End Day.