Brief Nine and A Half

(This is not based on a true story, rather, it's an elaboration on a true story, an attempt at the imagination running free...)

The disease resembled Ebola, but much worse. No one knew where the virus came from or how it spread and no one was willing to disclose that information anyway. The cough was the first real sign and symptom of the infection. Dry and irritating at first and quickly progressing to a mucosy, suffocating, blood-spitting wrenching. The rash followed, the skin boils which swelled and burst and spilled the virus out in a continued infection and re-infection process. Life drained slowly from the tortured body and in the end, there was only skin and bones lying in the hospital bed.

They had managed to isolate every single one of them. Everyone with a cough. Kept them in a special wing of the hospital. No one but a few top doctors and a couple of nurses were allowed in there. The families fought for the right to say one final goodbye, their requests denied. Rumors spread that not all the people in there were infected with the virus but the authorities were not taking any chances. They wanted to make sure the virus was eradicated. All bodies were to be burned and the ashes dissolved in acid and the acid neutralized with some kind of alkaline base and the liquid vacuum packed in air tight containers and taken to be buried at the bottom of the ocean somewhere far out from the shore and the city.

The last of the bodies waited in the hospital’s morgue that night. Matt’s brother and father were among them. Matt’s mother, a devoted Catholic, was unable to live with the disgrace of not being able to give her son and husband a proper funeral. Their souls were damned, she’d say. They were headed straight for hell, she‘d say. She deteriorated day by day from seriously disturbed to crazy to insane. Matt couldn't’t just stand by and watch. He had to do something. He knew the only thing to do was to get the bodies out of the morgue somehow. Burry them someplace secret with only him, his Mom and a bunch of his best mates present. That was the only way or he was going to loose his Mom right along with his father and brother.

The were all going. No one had the guts to admit they were scared shitless. I liked my reputation as a semi-tough guy but when it came to teasing the dead, I opted out…..

“Where the hell are you going?” Matt shouted at me. I kept walking. “Come back, you bastard!” he shouted again, “We’ve got to go back in there and get them, you hear??” I pretended I didn’t. “I fucking need you man!” Matt’s voice was shaky, like the voice of a man trying very hard not to let the tears out. I stopped walking but kept my back to him. “Come back Leo.” That sounded a lot more like a plea than an order. “Please.” Right. I turned around and began walking back. As I came closer to Matt, I could see the tears glistening on his cheeks in the moonlight. I placed my hand on his shoulder. “We can’t go back, Matt.” I said, “They’re guarding them. We’re lucky we got off so easy. If they catch us anywhere close to that place, they‘ll put us in there too, you understand?!” Matt looked at me without saying a word. He had his I’m-getting-my-way look. “I know” he said, “We know. But we’ll find a way around the guards. We can do this.” He looked back at the rest of the gang. They huddled together. They were scared shitless but they were willing to go in and try again. They were willing to do that for their friend. “This is wrong Matt.” I began, “The bodies are infected. If we burry them somewhere, the virus might leak back into the city. Are you willing to take that chance?” Matt stood there not saying a word. The tears streaked down his plum face. “Look man,” I went on, “I know how you feel, but you know we can’t do this. You’ve got to let them go, Matt. For all our sake.”

Matt buried his face in my neck and wept. I let him. Then I put my arm around him and lead him slowly back towards the city, the gang following behind.

Brief Nine

Dead Of Night

The were all going. No one had the guts to admit they were scared shitless. I liked my reputation as a semi-tough guy but when it came to teasing the dead, I opted out. They laughed at first, thinking I was just trying to be funny. But when I didn’t follow they realized I was serious. Dead serious. Matt started at me first. “C’mon Leo, joke’s over. Let’s go.” I wasn’t going anywhere. I have tremendous respect for death and its captives and I wasn’t about to disturb them in their eternal rest. And I was scared shitless. Matt began to get a little irritated. “You coming man or what?” No, I wasn’t. Matt looked at the rest of the pack with that look on his face which I knew well. The look that says I’m getting my way. They came closer and circled me around. Matt stepped inside the circle with me. “Let’s go Leo.” The dead scared me more than Matt and his gang and I stood my ground. I wasn’t going anywhere. “You’re fucking coming, OK?!” Matt yelled and grabbed me by the right arm. I tried to break loose from his grip but he was a bigger guy than me. And stronger. And definitely more determined to get where he wanted to go.

The group began moving slowly towards the fence, staying together as a pack. Matt started dragging me along with him. All the while I fought fiercely to get away from him and that slowed him down considerably but he was still holding on tight and we were making progress although far behind the rest. By the time we hit the gate, there was no sign of them. The night was black despite a three quarter moon and all we saw were shadowy shapes. Fear gripped me tighter than anything Matt could manage. My heart beat erratically. There was a large hard lump in my throat. I knew once we make it through the gate there was no turning back. I writhed my body violently and tried with all I had in me to break free of Matt but he held on. In the darkness, his eyes shone with a strange lust as he grinned at me. He was a mad man high on adrenalin. “Calm down Leo boy” he croaked, “We’re almost there.” I didn’t like the sound of that.

Matt dragged me through the gate and along the paved path towards the large building ahead. A couple of shadows slithered past us and hurried towards the building. We could hear subdued giggling and incoherent gibberish as we caught up with the group. This was wrong. This was evil. Madness. Disrespect . Half way up the path, Matt cut through the lawn and headed towards the north end of the building. I dragged behind. Heart pounding, breath coming in short gasps, mind racing a mile a minute. I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t go through with this. I had to break free. I looked around desperately. And that’s when I saw my salvation. We were approaching a tiny young tree. If I could only grab on. I’ve always had strong arms and hands and I knew that if I grabbed onto this tree they would need to cut my arm off to get me loose. I concentrated and timed my move. We were going to pass the tree on its left. Not ideal but doable. Couple more steps.

When I was even with the tree, I reached out with my left arm over my right and tried to grab on. I missed. It was over. My one and only chance and I missed. The horror of my situation came over me like a wave. No. In the last second, I twisted around extending my left arm and grabbed onto the tree. Matt jerked backwards and fell on his butt letting go of me. “What the hell are you doing?” he hissed as he got up. He grabbed my arm again and started pulling me with all his strength. The young tree-ling bent under his pull and its branches touched the grass but I did not let go. “Let go you asshole!” Matt’s face was a grimace of anger, hate and disbelief.

Suddenly, a horrible shriek came from the direction of the building. Another followed. A figure came out of the darkness and sprinted past us. Then another and another. The whole group was running for the gate. Vince was the last to run past us. He looked at us over his shoulder. “Get the fuck out of here guys!” he yelled “Hell broke loose in there!” Matt let go of me and looked towards the building. A shadow moved across the north wall and disappeared in the darkness in front. “Fuck this.” Matt swore and ran.

I stood there still gripping the tree as tight as I could trying to catch my breath. A cold, bony hand gripped my shoulder from behind. “Go home Leo.” A man’s voice said hoarsely. He let go of me. I walked towards the gate never once turning around. The gang was gathered outside engaged in a heated discussion with Matt. They halted and looked at me as I came out through the gate. “Go home.” I said and started walking back towards the city.

Brief Eight

Randy


I was a child when Randy came to us. My father met him one winter when they were both stationed up in the mountains. There had been some trouble with some guys and someone’s daughter who was visiting up there and Randy trying to protect her and someone got hurt and they were after Randy and he had to disappear. So he came to live with us. Which was good because at that time my father got stationed away every winter and my mother was alone with my brother and I. And it was cold and she was scared.

We loved Randy from the start. Mother was not amused at first but with time, she got to like Randy too. He used to carry my brother on his back and I used to feel sad that I was too big and too heavy for such games. But Randy never left me out and we played together till I was exhausted and carried away to my bed half asleep. My brother and I wanted so much that Randy stay in our room with us, but grown-up rules were grown-up rules and Randy stayed in the living room. Some cold winter nights, though, when my father was away, Randy stayed with Mother. Which was good, because Mother was always afraid to be alone and she felt safe with Randy.

Then one dark day, the police came knocking on our door looking for Randy. Somehow they had gotten wind that he was there. There was some trouble, the police, Randy, my father, big mess, no one got hurt but Randy had to go away for good. My brother and I cried the whole night that night. Mother too. In the following weeks, the house was just not the same without Randy. Empty. Sad. Until Randy Junior arrived.

My father brought him one day. Randy’s son he said he was. We never knew Randy had a son. My brother and I jumped for joy. The house was alive again. Mother was not amused at first but in time, she got to like Randy Jr. We had to promise not to mention Randy to Randy Jr. Grown-up rules. Randy Jr. only knew his Mom, Eva, and he knew nothing about Randy all those years. To this day it’s not clear to me why Eva gave Randy Jr. up and why we had to change his name to Randy Jr. when he called himself Wesley, but one thing is clear: we stayed innocent because we didn’t know what went on and we didn't question and we did what we were told and we followed grown-ups rules.

Brief Seven

Water

I don’t know what my real name means. Probably nothing. But it should have meant water. Better yet, they should have called me Water. There are people called River, so it wouldn’t have been that extraordinary. And it would have suited me perfectly.

I am water. I am in constant motion. I am unstable and can jump from one state of existence into another in matter of minutes. I adapt. I take the shape of whatever vessel I’m in and yet as soon as that vessel breaks apart, I spill out unable to hold myself together. I erode everything I run over. I flood and drown. I wet and ruin. Most of all, I cannot stay confined. As soon as I find the tiniest crack, I leak out.

So why am I surprised looking back on my life and realizing the mind-blowing vastness of wastelands I’ve left behind. Everything I touched I turned to dust. Everyone I loved I drowned. And then I ran. I ran to find a new place to flood and ruin, a new soul to embrace in my cool, fluid oblivion. Swim at your own risk.

Maybe it’s because I am so much like water that my life has revolved around it all this time. I was born near water, had a near drowning experience when I was three, learned to swim right after and water has been with me ever since. It’s in my lungs, it’s in my blood, it’s over 70% of me. It is me. I have always lived near it and every time I run to a new place, it’s a place near water. If I was a betting man, I’d put all my money on me dying in it, dying from it, because of it. That would serve me right. It would be the perfect ending of a not-so-perfect, watery life.

I left Jamie by the water and never saw her again. Jamie with the blond hair and blue eyes. Jamie with the cute little nose which curved up ever so slightly. Jamie with the glasses. Jamie with the plump full lips which I never got to kiss. Jamie with the weak heart I never knew about. Water doesn’t need to know what’s holding it together, just that it does. Water doesn’t need to know that it’s too much for the vessel it’s in and that it’s faulty and that it is about to crack open and spill water all over the place. Water was boiling and gurgling all the while Jamie was skipping heartbeats. Water boiled over.

The day was perfect. The sun scorched our bodies but there was the water we could jump into and cool off. Then we lay on the sand under the palm trees and we talked and we talked. And we laughed. And we teased. And she told me about her big plans for the future. And she forgot to tell me about the gentle, little heart of hers which wasn’t pulling its own weight. Was Jamie thirsty that night? Did she want water in her room on her bedside table? But it’d get everything all wet and messy. Water chickened out, found a crack and leaked out. Water didn’t want to drown Jamie.

In the evening a cool breeze blew in from the water. Dark clouds approached. It was getting chilly. Little drops of water began falling from the sky. It was time to go. I got up and walked away and left Jamie by the water.