“It’s not fucking rocket science Timmy, you either play ball, or we find someone else who’ll do the job. This fucker needs to be found and put in the ground. So either you’re in, or out, which one is it?”
“It’s not as simple..” He doesn’t get to finish what he’s saying as something sharp tears into his back. “J-J-Johnny? What t-t-t-the fu-fu-fuck?” He says, looking at Johnny, who smiles and shrugs his shoulders.
“I told you Timmy, you either played ball or we replaced you. And by replace, I mean completely, in all aspects. You have to understand, it’s nothing personal, I can’t keep the men in line if I don’t show strength, so it’s either my way, or a hole.”
“F-F-F-Fuck you Johnny, you better hope to god I die, otherwise I’m going to cut you’re fucking head off.”
“Don’t worry, you’re going to die,” Johnny says as he pulls a revolver from his jacket and holds it to Timmy’s head. “Sorry little brother, but business, is business,” he says as he pulls the trigger, the blast echoes around Timmy’s head for what seems like an eternity, and he falls to his knees, blood quickly forming a thick, sticky puddle beneath him, as that smiling mother fucker looks down at him. He’ll pay, some day, not by his hands, but he knows, he’ll pay. His closes his eyes, as the darkness drags him in, it’s less than a few seconds later that they shoot back open, and he’s standing over his cold lifeless corpse. Johnny is ordering his men around the room, obviously arranging the cleaning up of his body, that’s when he locks eyes with a strange grey haired old man, he’s never seen him before, but, it doesn’t take him long to figure out that he must be death. Or, at least, some form of whatever takes you to the next place, if there is a next place.
“So, how’s this work?” he says.
“How do you want it to?” The old man asks.
“I’d prefer not to be dead.”
“That can be arranged.”
“Really?”
“No, you’re dead, there’s no reversing that.”
“Death has a sense of humor, who would have thought.”
“It was not meant to be funny, it was a fact. Some people have a hard time moving on, accepting what has happened is important, so I must remind you, make you understand there is no going back, living again. I have seen your life Timmy, I know for most of it you have faced death, you have killed many, but, near the end, you showed regret, you asked for penance. Well, it seems your cries were heard, as I’m here to grant you that, I’m here to offer you a way to earn your wings, so to speak.”
“What?”
“Exactly what I said, you see, all those who you were mixed up with, your brother Johnny, and the other low level gutter trash who associate with him. Well, it seems someone wants you to continue what you started two weeks ago, they want you to remove all of them from the chess board, permanently.”
“Whats in it for me?”
“The penance you seek, the chance to be at peace, or you can move on and be tormented for the rest of eternity, and believe me, eternity is a lot longer than it seems.”
“And all I have to do is take down Johnny and the rest of his fucktards.”
“Not words I would use, but yes, that is correct.”
“Why?”
“This is a favor I’m doing, so I can’t tell you why, all I know is that the road you started to go along needs to be completed and someone on this side believes you can finish it.”
“Okay, but correct me if I’m wrong, didn’t you say death can’t be reversed?”
“That I did, but, I never said you were going back alive, did I?”
END
You can read the original 50 Word Story HERE, I’d be interested in what you think of the full story that came from the short.
