So I’m a writer or at least pretend to be so I figured you would want some samples of my work.
Here you go.
The Forest
The only sounds are the twigs breaking under my feet and my heart beating in my chest. I can’t believe I am here, now, how the hell did I end up in this god forsaken wood with him?
He doesn’t care. I can’t see him in the darkness but I know he’s got that stupid Cheshire cat grin on his face. I didn’t do anything, it was all him, all his idea of a good time.
But I watched.
Maybe that’s worse.
“Hey sport don’t look so down, you did great!” He says out of nowhere.
I don’t reply and he stops walking. I hear the click of a lighter and turn to see him light up a cigarette. For a moment his face his framed in the flickering light. It’s repulsive, familiar and sinister, everything I hate yet wish I was.
He has the stupid grin on his face.
The lighter clicks off and it’s dark again.
I start breaking twigs again as I make my way to the car.
“It’s important we keep quiet about this, don’t want any trouble.”
“No shit.” I say through gritted teeth.
“I guess I don’t have to worry about you. Who you gonna tell it too anyway. I’m all you got.”
He laughs at his joke at my expense, more of a cackle really, then he abruptly stops.
“It’s true though isn’t it?”
“What’s true?” I ask.
“I’m all you got?”
I wait a beat and consider the question.
“Yes. You’re all I have.”
The truth hurts and I know he’s smiling.
#
We have been walking for almost twenty minutes now and are nearly at the car. It took a lot longer on the way in, I think that’s the way with most journeys the trip there always seems to take longer than the trip home.
He’s whistling now and spinning the car keys in his hand. His nonchalance is getting to me. It’s like nothing happened.
“How can you be so cool?” I ask.
“What was that? Jesus how many times do I have to tell you to speak up! Gotta be assertive kid, maybe then you could get a date.” He says, a little too loudly. I’m scared of him for a second.
“I said how are you so calm?”
“Look Sport, there’s no point getting all wound up about this kind of thing. You did what you did and anything else is just your mind screwing with ya.”
“But does that not affect you? Your conscience?”
He stops walking and lets out a mighty roar. I jump and feel frightened again for a few seconds before I realise he is laughing, a maniacal braying screech.
“Sssshh some one will hear!” I beg but he keeps laughing…
#
…for a full minute. Finally he wipes away a tear and speaks to me.
“Conscience! Kid you crack me up. I mean… I mean Jesus. All that bullshit about Conscience… all that crap they teach you in school, it’s just a way they control you, kid. Monkeys ain’t got a conscience, Dogs neither. It ain’t natural, it’s something we invented a long time ago.”
We walk for a few more steps in silence while I pluck up the courage to speak again.
“I just guess what I mean is you just murdered someone and we haven’t even left the woods yet and you’re smoking and whistling and singing like nothings the matter.”
“Woah woah woah, Kid, don’t get ahead of yourself there...”
I talk over him. The words are like a wave, Verbal diarrhoea or something. I can’t stop them.
“You took me to her house, broke in, kidnapped her, dragged her out here and stuck a… a… fucking knife in her face. It’s fucking mental. What the hell was that?! I mean why? Its…. why?”
I fall to the ground and hold my head in my hands. It's too much, I feel spent but I keep talking.
“You killed her and I watched. I just fucking watched. We have blood on our hands.” I finish as a wave of nausea sweeps over me.
He approaches and takes a knee in front of me as I sob.
“Hey kid. Look at me, look at me, Kid.”
I keep my head down and weep.
“FUCKING LOOK!” He screams
I look up and try to dab away the tears. His face is inches from mine and I can smell old coffee on his breath.
“Let’s get a few things straight here ok? First we are a team, kid. One of us goes down we both end up in the shit ok?”
I stay silent.
“OK?!” He repeats shouting again.
I nod pathetically.
“And second I didn’t kill no body. There’s no blood on these hands…”
“BULLSHIT!” I scream as I get to my feet.
“YOU STABBED THE LIFE OUTTA HER.” I bawl through tears.
“Calm down kid. Calm down and take a breath.”
I am furious and want to hit him but I don’t think it will do any good.
“You cool now?” He asks raising his thick eyebrows.
I just nod.
“Ok cool. Now take a look at my hands.”
He flicks on the lighter and shows me his unblemished white shirt. His right hand looks pristine and freshly manicured.
The lighter flicks off and returns us to darkness.
“Now you.” he whispers as he hands me the lighter.
I feel the weight of the cold metal going into my hand. It feels wet. I turn it in my hand until I can find the button. I flick the button with my thumb and the flame flickers on. I see his face again looking directly into my eyes, like he could see me in the dark. He always knows exactly where I am.
“Take a look kid.” He says.
I look down at myself.
I’m covered in blood, my white shirt, my shoes, my pants everything is dark red. I raise my left hand into the light.
It’s claret.
The light flicks off as I fall to the ground and scream and cry.
#
I don’t know how long it’s been but the sun is coming up.
He’s gone.
His work is done, no point hanging around.
But he’ll be back, he never goes far.
I stand up and start walking through the woods again.
Alone, like always.
