Chance
Today’s Daily Post prompt was to write a story with an open ending and invite my readers to finish it. So, I’m going to do just that. If anyone would like to finish the story, please, leave it in a comment. :)
Daily Post prompt: Write a story or post with an open ending, and let your readers invent the conclusion.
Flash Fiction 365 prompt: chance.
NOW…
“Oh my god. I can’t believe you just did that.”
“What? It’s not like I killed her or anything. She’ll be alright in a minute.”
“No she won’t, David! She’s dead! She’s clearly not breathing and blood has stopped gushing out of her head wound. You killed her!”
“She’s just faking it. She’ll be fine. See?” David bent down and rolled the prone body that was lying in a pool of blood onto its side. Two vacant eyes stared back at him. “Oh, shit.”
FIFTEEN MINUTES AGO…
“What if she doesn’t come?”
“We’ve got enough information on her to send her to jail for the next twenty years. She’ll come.” Felicity only hoped her words would be true. She heard a noise. She and David both looked towards the barn door.
“Well, hello, lady and gent. What’s with all this skullduggery then? I wouldn’t have worn heels had I known this was an actual barn. When you said ‘the barn,’ I thought it was one of those kitschy restaurant names that city folks who need a change of pace are so fond of bestowing on country buildings that are nothing like barns.”
“Hello, Scarlet. Watch the manure.”
“Thanks. Now, what’s all this about then? Why are we meeting in an actual barn with actual animal droppings that’s 40 kilometers from where we live in the middle of the night? This all seems so French gangster movie. Wait, do they have barns in French gangster movies? Probably not…”
“We invited you here to discuss your part in the Harrister deal.”
“Oh, that old thing? Please, that was ages ago.”
“Don’t be coy. We know that you took money under the table. We know that instead of giving the money to the needy children or whatever, you pocketed it. We have proof.”
“What proof? Show me.” Scarlet held out her upturned hand.
“Don’t be daft. We didn’t bring it with us, ” Felicity pulled out her smart phone and pushed some buttons, “but here’s a picture.” Scarlet opened her handbag and put a hand in.
“Stop right there. You make another move, so help me, I’ll hit you with this.”
“Don’t be silly, David. I’m only…”
NOW…
“What are we going to do? I think we better call the cops.”
“David, seriously, stop being an idiot. No, we’re not calling the cops. What are we going to say? ‘Hello, police? We were doing a bit of blackmail in the barn over here and it all went terribly rake-to-the-head. Can you send someone over to clean up the mess, please? That’s a dear.’ And what do you mean by ‘what are we going to do?’ You are the one who killed her.”
“You are just as much to blame for this as I am.”
“I am not the one who hit her!”
“Well, you are the reason she was here to be hit at all. If it weren’t for you and your cockamamie blackmail scheme, she wouldn’t have a rake wound.”
“Do not pull that shit with me, David. I did not kill her. You did.”
“Fuck you, Felicity. Fuck you. I was protecting you. She had a gun.”
“She very much did not have a gun!”
“Well, what do you call this then?” David picked up a pair of reading glasses that were covered in blood on the ground. “Oh. Well, I saw her reaching into her purse and I figured that she was fishing for a gun. It was random chance.”
Felicity sighed. “Chance, my ass. Once again, your figuring is all wrong, you idiot. She did not have a gun. She was reaching into her purse for reading glasses. She was not threatening in any way.”
“Well, it seemed that way to me. What are we going to do with her then?”
“She’s not a sack of potatoes. She’s a person. Or she was a person until you clocked her on the head with a rake.”
18 Responses to “Chance”
David opened Scarlet’s purse, and rummaged around blindly for a moment. “Look, I knew she was the type to carry a gun.” He said, holding a small silver gun awkwardly in his fist. “We’ll just put it into her hand and say she threatened us. Self defense.”
Felicity sighed again. “You are still an idiot, David. this will never work.”
David went ahead and put the gun in Scarlet’s hand anyway. He wrapped her already cold fingers around it, and said to Felicity, “You know, for once, you are right.” He aimed the gun just above Felicity’s crossed arms and just below her pointed chin, and pulled the trigger. Felicity slumped to the ground, blood gushing from her throat.
David wiped the gunpowder from his hands then knelt beside Felicity and called 911.
“Oh please, help!” he cried to the dispatcher, “There’s been an accident!”
Officers arrive on the scene within minutes to find the macabre scene of a deal gone bad and blood congealing on the floor. “Some accident,” quips the senior officer while his rookie counterpart runs for the doors to dry heave in the bushes. “While you’re out there watering the daisies why don’t you call dispatch and let ‘em know we’ll need homicide.” The retching sounds subside, and the rookie acquiesces. He breaths deeply of the night air and silently gives thanks that his partner gave him a moments respite from the scene.
Back inside the barn Frank Bellumy–not so new as his partner, but enough to be “wet behind the ears” for this scene–already knows something is amiss. Where is the man who made a panicked call? If he had happened upon the scene, and not been part of it, why would he have fled? Bellumy, smarter than his experience should warrant, remains wary but doesn’t think the man is an immediate threat. “If his intent was to get away, which his absence proves, then get away is just what he’s done. Though, not for long.” Bellumy chuckled, more to relieve stress, and waited for the return of his partner.
Frank should be gracious for his peaceful moment as it will be awhile before he can enjoy another. Years will go by before he stops asking the question daily as to why he did not check on his partners silent and lengthy absence.
Excellent!
very cool
[...] Chance « Fish Of Gold [...]
David pondered the situation for a moment but he had been so certain Scarlet had been going for a gun to have that truth shattered sent his thoughts tumbling out of his mind, much like the blood continuing to pour out of Scarlet’s broken head.
“Well?” Felicity quipped, the iritation and fear, evident in her voice.
“I think I saw some hogs on the other side of the barn,” he replied, finally able to hang on to a thought. “You grab her legs and I’ll get her arms.”
[...] « thelissachronicles 21. Daily Prompt: Choose Your Adventure -Mazie Edition | ThesesLittlePieces 22. Chance « Fish Of Gold 23. Adventure with Words – An Invitation to You « Klassi K | Magazine 24. Andy Devlin’s Ten [...]
Then Ellen showed up and they all started dancing. The End.
You’re welcome…..
When I first put that, it looked like it would be taken as I meant it…..jokingly. Now, after rereading it, it looks like I’m acting like an ass. If I offended you, or angered you, I’m so sorry. I’m sure that if you ask nicely, the stormtrooper will punch me for you the next time he sees me.
Not at all!! I’m difficult to anger and nearly impossible to offend. Please feel free to say whatever you like here. Besides, the best endings are when everyone starts dancing. :)
Wow.
[...] Chance « Fish Of Gold [...]
“Will you ever stop having a go at me?” whined David. “I only meant to bop her about a bit. I didn’t know her head was gonna go all squish.”
“Well, why did you hit her with the pointy end of the rake, then? What did you expect would happen?”
“Yeh, yeh, well it’s done now. What do we do with the body?”
The two of them looked over at the huddled lump on the ground, a mass of lifeless flesh which used to be their colleague, their workmate. Which used to be Scarlet.
“We could dig a little hole and chuck her in,” said Felicity, looking around for a shovel.
“Or… remember that backpacker we stumbled across last year when we snuck away from that work retreat?” said David, looking askance at Felicity.
“Oh David, we couldn’t… could we?”
“She’s dead now. What does it matter? We’ve got to get rid of the body somehow. And I am feeling a bit peckish all of a sudden. Be a shame to let her go to waste.”
Felicity looked up. A smile crept over her face. She licked her lips hungrily. Her stomach began to rumble.
“I’ll get a fire going.”
Yay! Nicely done!
[...] Chance « Fish Of Gold [...]
“Felicity, it was an accident, and besides, I was trying to protect you!’ David replied tersely.
“And how many times do I have to tell you I don’t need your protection?” asked Felicity
David stood still and said nothing. Another idea crossed him mind. He knew he had to finish off the plan .
He had a debt to collect and there would be no witnesses. Felicity had become a liability…
Nice!
:-)