execrable gumwrapper
09-30-2008, 05:03 PM
The following is a short story I wrote roughly 3 years ago. I wrote this in one sitting. Never bothered to edit or revise it once. Now I share it with you.
His eyes snap open. Footsteps. He hears footsteps coming up the stairs. He wonders how they could have found him, perhaps a snitch looking to cut a deal and get some cash. Either way he pulled out his 9mm and waited. Huddled under the torn cardboard boxes he had called home for the past 3 years, as the footsteps closed in, all he could think about was his family and how they were doing. He was a married man with a beautiful daughter and he hadn't seen either of them for 3 years. He wished he could have seen them one last time. His daughter would be about 10 now, he smiled at the thought. Closer the footsteps reach. He's only on the second floor and the intruder is taking his time. The footsteps are so close the man can practically see the intruder in the doorway, but it's just shadows and lights. Breathing steadily he raises his gun to sight and braces himself. Closer and closer they come and steady he sits. Then the man reaches the doorway and gunfire...
They called him Greg. He's roughly 40. He lived in a house down in Livingston, Montana with his wife Helen and daughter Autumn. He liked the city and loved his life. Greg used to be in the Navy, even got merits for being a marksman with a pistol and a rifle. Couldn't shoot for shit when it came to automatic weapons. Something about one trigger pull equaling three bullets being fired didn't sit right with him. He spent 16 years in the Navy before being honorably discharged. Yes, life was going great for Greg, until they came along. It must have been summer because Greg always remembered that fateful day as being hot as hell and humid enough to swim through the air. There was a knock at the door. Reluctantly, thinking it some sort of solicitation, Greg shuffles to the door and stops about 10 feet from it when he sees them through the glass door.
"No... it can't be" he whispers to himself. His eyes grow wide and a cold sweat starts to emerge on his clammy skin. He tells Helen to go in the back with Autumn and stay there. Calm as he can be he walks to the door. There are two men standing there, both in black suits, with white ties. The man to his right about 6'1" 220 lbs. the man on the left, 5'11" 195 lbs. Greg himself was only 5'9" a relatively short man, but could hold his own against any one man. Two, on the other hand, now he has a problem. These men he hasn't seen, and hoped to never see again, in over 20 years. He left for the Navy in order to escape them, but they caught up with him it seemed. Loan sharks never forget a payment.
"20 years, Greg. It's been 20 long years and let me tell you. The boss ain't too pleased about you being 20 years late on the payment." the shorter one said. He had a country accent, made him sound like a southern man ready to hee-haw Greg's family into fucking worm food.
"Do ya got it?" asked the taller man. Gruff guy, gruff voice, at least they fit.
"No, of course not, but I'm done with all that, ok? I am finished with you guys!" Greg said forcefully, but not loudly.
"Oh no," the short man replies, "you're never finished with us until you pay the price. You got two days, my friend. Two days to come up with it or else your family..." and he makes a finger stroke across his throat to signify what Greg feared the most. "Wha-? No! They have no part in this! They weren't even around when I was involved with you!" Greg was frantic for their lives, he cherished them more than he cherished his own life.
"Makes no difference, they're here now, and what they are, are bargaining chips." the short man smirks and signals to the taller one. they turn and leave. Greg goes back inside and goes to his wife.
"Helen, I want you to go to your mother's house and take Autumn with you, ok? No questions, I need to go away for a while. Some trouble from my past has caught up with me and now they are threatening your lives. I need you to go to safety. We might not see each other for a while." Through all this, Helen was shaking her head in disbelief. Speechless, she takes Autumn, only 7 years old, and begins to pack. Greg goes into his closet and grabs his 9mm from it's box. "I'll call you when this is all over." he ****** his wife one final time, and ****** Autumn on the forehead. "I love you both." With that he leaves. Driving away form his house he had to find some place where he could live in solitude, but not be noticed. He kept driving east, stopping only for essential needs, gas, food, restroom, and the occasional (but rare) sleep. He came to the New Jersey state line and wondered if anything were here for him. He found his answer in a couple of hours when he came upon a 5 story abandoned building. He knew what he had to do. He sold his car, got the money and put it in his pocket. He then went up to the 2nd story and found a small space. Here, he would wait it out, perhaps until the very end. But two days was not enough time to round up the 65k he owed. No, he needed time. This was three years ago.
Now as the shots were fired and the smoke cleared Greg saw who he had shot through the eye. It was just another homeless guy, just some regular guy looking to get some shelter. No doubt someone would have heard the gunshots. He may have been in an abandoned building, but that didn't mean the neighboring apartments had thick walls. Soon the police would be there and he would be charged for murder. He had to hide the body, but where? Searching frantically, he dragged the body downstairs and into the alleyway, where he put him next to a dumpster and covered him in cardboard, to look like he was sleeping. All was good except for that eyehole Greg gave the poor guy. Greg got an old hat and shifted it so to hide the eye. The work was done, good. now to clean the mess. He rushed back up and to his dismay, the blood had stained the concrete and the sawdust it clung to was glued to the floor. There was no way he was cleaning this mess in time. Looks like it was time to make a run for it. Right as he got out of the building he saw them. Two police cars with the side facing him. Four cops positioned behind them with their weapons drawn and ready to fuck his world up. He surrendered and was arrested. He went on trial for the murder of Samuel Hills, the homeless man with the missing eye, was found guilty and sentenced to death. Helen saw him on the evening news and could not believe it. There, her love was, the sweetest man she knew, being charged for murder. Now being given the death penalty. She had to see him one last time. She told Autumn to get ready to go see Daddy. The little girl of 10 smiled that wonderful smile because she missed Daddy. They drove to New Jersey and went to the jailhouse Greg was being held in. When they pulled Greg in to talk to his wife and daughter, he burst into tears. He didn't want to be seen like this but was also grateful to see them one last time. Autumn ran to him saying,
"Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy! I missed you!" She hugs his legs and begins to cry.
"No, Autumn don't cry, I missed you too." Helen runs up and hugs them both and for a moment, all three of them were one. Greg then tells Helen about everything. The loan sharks, the danger, the running, the mistaken murder. When the visit is over and Greg gives them each the final kiss, one for his wife and one on his daughters forehead, he looks past the gate and sees the two men standing there. Black suits, white ties.
"No! Not you! NO!!!" The guard tries to subdue him but can't quite get a hold of him. More guards come in to restrain him. He's knocked out and taken away. Helen looked behind her right as Greg was screaming. No one was there.
In the injection chamber as they were prepping Greg on the table, he kept babbling to the attendants there.
"Don't you see them?! They're right there! Beyond the looking glass! Two men in black suits and white ties!" The attendants just glance at one another and being the procedure. After it was done and Greg was gone, the men who had heard the babbling went to the prison psychiatrist and asked for Greg's personal file. Greg being deceased and the psychiatrist not particularly caring gave them the file. They read it and found what they suspected.
Schizophrenia. Originating from his time in the Navy. Many sailors often said he talked to himself in his sleep, talking about loans he needed and how he would pay them off soon. His wife even said he was acting strange 3 years ago, when Greg, for no reason, went to the door and talked for a while to no one. Then he rushed her and Autumn to her mother's house like a crazed lunatic. Now they know why. Greg made up his own world. He fantasized about heroes and movies and always wanted to be apart of something. Something great, something people would talk about for ages. Now he was, except it wasn't great, just something people would talk about. The crazy man who saw men in black suits and white ties. Who made himself paranoid when he had nothing to worry about. They talk about him alright. They called him Greg.
His eyes snap open. Footsteps. He hears footsteps coming up the stairs. He wonders how they could have found him, perhaps a snitch looking to cut a deal and get some cash. Either way he pulled out his 9mm and waited. Huddled under the torn cardboard boxes he had called home for the past 3 years, as the footsteps closed in, all he could think about was his family and how they were doing. He was a married man with a beautiful daughter and he hadn't seen either of them for 3 years. He wished he could have seen them one last time. His daughter would be about 10 now, he smiled at the thought. Closer the footsteps reach. He's only on the second floor and the intruder is taking his time. The footsteps are so close the man can practically see the intruder in the doorway, but it's just shadows and lights. Breathing steadily he raises his gun to sight and braces himself. Closer and closer they come and steady he sits. Then the man reaches the doorway and gunfire...
They called him Greg. He's roughly 40. He lived in a house down in Livingston, Montana with his wife Helen and daughter Autumn. He liked the city and loved his life. Greg used to be in the Navy, even got merits for being a marksman with a pistol and a rifle. Couldn't shoot for shit when it came to automatic weapons. Something about one trigger pull equaling three bullets being fired didn't sit right with him. He spent 16 years in the Navy before being honorably discharged. Yes, life was going great for Greg, until they came along. It must have been summer because Greg always remembered that fateful day as being hot as hell and humid enough to swim through the air. There was a knock at the door. Reluctantly, thinking it some sort of solicitation, Greg shuffles to the door and stops about 10 feet from it when he sees them through the glass door.
"No... it can't be" he whispers to himself. His eyes grow wide and a cold sweat starts to emerge on his clammy skin. He tells Helen to go in the back with Autumn and stay there. Calm as he can be he walks to the door. There are two men standing there, both in black suits, with white ties. The man to his right about 6'1" 220 lbs. the man on the left, 5'11" 195 lbs. Greg himself was only 5'9" a relatively short man, but could hold his own against any one man. Two, on the other hand, now he has a problem. These men he hasn't seen, and hoped to never see again, in over 20 years. He left for the Navy in order to escape them, but they caught up with him it seemed. Loan sharks never forget a payment.
"20 years, Greg. It's been 20 long years and let me tell you. The boss ain't too pleased about you being 20 years late on the payment." the shorter one said. He had a country accent, made him sound like a southern man ready to hee-haw Greg's family into fucking worm food.
"Do ya got it?" asked the taller man. Gruff guy, gruff voice, at least they fit.
"No, of course not, but I'm done with all that, ok? I am finished with you guys!" Greg said forcefully, but not loudly.
"Oh no," the short man replies, "you're never finished with us until you pay the price. You got two days, my friend. Two days to come up with it or else your family..." and he makes a finger stroke across his throat to signify what Greg feared the most. "Wha-? No! They have no part in this! They weren't even around when I was involved with you!" Greg was frantic for their lives, he cherished them more than he cherished his own life.
"Makes no difference, they're here now, and what they are, are bargaining chips." the short man smirks and signals to the taller one. they turn and leave. Greg goes back inside and goes to his wife.
"Helen, I want you to go to your mother's house and take Autumn with you, ok? No questions, I need to go away for a while. Some trouble from my past has caught up with me and now they are threatening your lives. I need you to go to safety. We might not see each other for a while." Through all this, Helen was shaking her head in disbelief. Speechless, she takes Autumn, only 7 years old, and begins to pack. Greg goes into his closet and grabs his 9mm from it's box. "I'll call you when this is all over." he ****** his wife one final time, and ****** Autumn on the forehead. "I love you both." With that he leaves. Driving away form his house he had to find some place where he could live in solitude, but not be noticed. He kept driving east, stopping only for essential needs, gas, food, restroom, and the occasional (but rare) sleep. He came to the New Jersey state line and wondered if anything were here for him. He found his answer in a couple of hours when he came upon a 5 story abandoned building. He knew what he had to do. He sold his car, got the money and put it in his pocket. He then went up to the 2nd story and found a small space. Here, he would wait it out, perhaps until the very end. But two days was not enough time to round up the 65k he owed. No, he needed time. This was three years ago.
Now as the shots were fired and the smoke cleared Greg saw who he had shot through the eye. It was just another homeless guy, just some regular guy looking to get some shelter. No doubt someone would have heard the gunshots. He may have been in an abandoned building, but that didn't mean the neighboring apartments had thick walls. Soon the police would be there and he would be charged for murder. He had to hide the body, but where? Searching frantically, he dragged the body downstairs and into the alleyway, where he put him next to a dumpster and covered him in cardboard, to look like he was sleeping. All was good except for that eyehole Greg gave the poor guy. Greg got an old hat and shifted it so to hide the eye. The work was done, good. now to clean the mess. He rushed back up and to his dismay, the blood had stained the concrete and the sawdust it clung to was glued to the floor. There was no way he was cleaning this mess in time. Looks like it was time to make a run for it. Right as he got out of the building he saw them. Two police cars with the side facing him. Four cops positioned behind them with their weapons drawn and ready to fuck his world up. He surrendered and was arrested. He went on trial for the murder of Samuel Hills, the homeless man with the missing eye, was found guilty and sentenced to death. Helen saw him on the evening news and could not believe it. There, her love was, the sweetest man she knew, being charged for murder. Now being given the death penalty. She had to see him one last time. She told Autumn to get ready to go see Daddy. The little girl of 10 smiled that wonderful smile because she missed Daddy. They drove to New Jersey and went to the jailhouse Greg was being held in. When they pulled Greg in to talk to his wife and daughter, he burst into tears. He didn't want to be seen like this but was also grateful to see them one last time. Autumn ran to him saying,
"Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy! I missed you!" She hugs his legs and begins to cry.
"No, Autumn don't cry, I missed you too." Helen runs up and hugs them both and for a moment, all three of them were one. Greg then tells Helen about everything. The loan sharks, the danger, the running, the mistaken murder. When the visit is over and Greg gives them each the final kiss, one for his wife and one on his daughters forehead, he looks past the gate and sees the two men standing there. Black suits, white ties.
"No! Not you! NO!!!" The guard tries to subdue him but can't quite get a hold of him. More guards come in to restrain him. He's knocked out and taken away. Helen looked behind her right as Greg was screaming. No one was there.
In the injection chamber as they were prepping Greg on the table, he kept babbling to the attendants there.
"Don't you see them?! They're right there! Beyond the looking glass! Two men in black suits and white ties!" The attendants just glance at one another and being the procedure. After it was done and Greg was gone, the men who had heard the babbling went to the prison psychiatrist and asked for Greg's personal file. Greg being deceased and the psychiatrist not particularly caring gave them the file. They read it and found what they suspected.
Schizophrenia. Originating from his time in the Navy. Many sailors often said he talked to himself in his sleep, talking about loans he needed and how he would pay them off soon. His wife even said he was acting strange 3 years ago, when Greg, for no reason, went to the door and talked for a while to no one. Then he rushed her and Autumn to her mother's house like a crazed lunatic. Now they know why. Greg made up his own world. He fantasized about heroes and movies and always wanted to be apart of something. Something great, something people would talk about for ages. Now he was, except it wasn't great, just something people would talk about. The crazy man who saw men in black suits and white ties. Who made himself paranoid when he had nothing to worry about. They talk about him alright. They called him Greg.