Read. Write. Revolution.'s Stories

She Finally Woke Up

2007-06-30T23:07:42Z

I AWAKEN in darkness; it is pitch black. I am lying on my back. The usual pain hits me, damn bed always was hard as a rock. I do not bother to make myself more comfortable, it is useless to do so. Suddenly I notice the silence – no sirens, car alarms, or meows from lonely street cats – you know, city sounds.

Wait, I left my window open – who doesn’t on a hot summer night in the city? But where is the noise? Silence. Darkness. What is going on? Shouldn’t the city lights be illuminating my ceiling? I look towards where my window should be, to my left, and it’s not there, only the black that surrounds and blinds me.

“HURRY up, Jake!” the skinny fellow whispers.
“Why ya whispa-in, Ben? We is out in da midda ah nowhere!” Jake shouts.
“Sorry. Can – can you please just finish up?”
“Ya pussy.”

They throw their shovels over their shoulders. “Fine lookin’ broad. Can ya believe her husband? ‘Bury her alive’. What a scumbag,” says Jake as he counts his half of the money, a killer smile on his face.

Roger's Last Day Part 1

2007-06-30T17:05:03Z

Roger had had enough, he grabbed Mr. Carrington by his collar with both hands and told him, “Listen, you stupid fuck, you better start growing a fucking clit on your forehead because I don’t like dicks like you!” Mr. Carrington’s ridiculous grin was gone. Everyone in the office cheered and applauded. Roger loosened his grip on Carrington and allowed his heels to touch the floor. Mr. Carrington never imagined that one of his employees would ever stand up to him let alone find out about his illegal business practices within the company.

Roger disappeared behind the closing elevator doors leaving everyone else to deal with Carrington.

He had emailed everyone the evidence. Heads popped up from cubicles and Carrington burst from his office – his face a tomato, giving everyone a fake smile. He saw Roger and stomped his way toward him. “Roger, I know you’re new and desperately trying to get a promotion, but lying about me will certainly not help,” he said. “I have done nothing wrong.”

To be continued…

Roger's Last Day Part 7

2007-06-30T03:56:53Z

Carrington gave another chuckle. The truth was, he did have the money to make a man kill his own mother for it. Corruption was a beautiful thing to him, but not as beautiful as the money that caused it. He would do anything for it. The world was his and no one was going to bring him down.

There was a “ding” behind the employees. Everyone, including Carrington, looked. “It’s the cops,” someone said. The elevator doors opened. The floor was so silent the jazz music playing in the elevator reached everyone. It was not the cops they were looking at, it was a man.

“Move aside,” the man ordered. Everyone cleared his path. Carrington stood at the end. “He’s supposed to be dead,” Carrington thought, taking a step back. “You took innocent people’s lives…and you took my family from me, Carrington,” Roger said. “I have nothing to lose…except…you.”

Roger sprinted, flung himself at Carrington, and they flew through the large window panel that gave everyone on that floor a view of the whole city.

Roger's Last Day Part 6

2007-06-30T03:20:26Z

He ran into everybody that was in his way, even knocking down a couple of them. His shoes made a rapid pit-pat sound on the marble floor. His heart was a machine gun. People crowded the entrance but Roger only sped up. He did the impossible and made it through everyone, leaving some of them crawling on the floor wondering what had just hit them.

“Daddy’s coming, daddy’s coming,” he struggled to speak through his tears as he neared the entrance of the lonely alley where he had left them. “I’ll jump in the van, kiss you all, and we’ll leave this city for good.” Roger saw the van. He could barely see Linda in the passenger seat, the windshield reflected the sky. He ran to her door and looked at his beautiful wife and wonderful kids…..and then he saw the blood, their blood.

The employees had Carrington surrounded as they waited for the cops to arrive. He laughed at them. “Oh well,” he thought to himself. “I have money. I’ll be out in a few hours. Roger and his family are dead.”

To Be Continued…

Roger's Last Day Part 5

2007-06-30T02:58:51Z

Blue Suit hit a wall and slid down to the floor, the back of his head leaving a trail of blood. His body slumped forward. Roger ran for the restroom door. “They’re already dead,” Blue Suit grunted, with a bloody smile on his face. Roger stopped. “Who?” the question stood still in Roger’s mind.

Blue Suit eyed the gun on the floor. Roger slowly turned around, hoping the hitman was not talking about whom he was thinking about. “No,” he thought. “No. No. No.” Blue Suit jumped for the gun but a heavy kick to the side of his face knocked him into another wall. Roger fell down next to him; he grabbed the gun and put the silencer under Blue Suit’s chin.

“Who’s dead? Hey! Who’s dead?” Roger shouted.
“Uggghhh,” Blue Suit moaned. “Roger Jr….Hayley…”
“You motherfucker! No!” tears welled up Roger’s eyes.
”...and Lin-” the bullet pierced through his chin, tongue, and brain.

Roger dropped the gun and pushed himself up into a run. He kept repeating his family’s names in his mind.

To Be Continued

Roger's Last Day Part 4

2007-06-30T02:37:37Z

“Sit down,” Blue Suit pointed at the toilet. Roger stared at the piss all over the toilet seat, “Fuck you, shoot me.”

“My pleasure,” Blue Suit grinned exactly like Carrington. “Brothers,” thought Roger. The silencer poked Roger’s upper back. “So you’re the one that killed all those people, under your brother’s orders,” Roger spoke up again, still piecing the puzzle together. “They came close to the truth and you took their lives.”

“Shut up.”
“And now it’s my turn.”
“Shut up already, dammit.”
“I’m leaving you in here, killer.”

Blue Suit was trigger-happy. Begging, bribing, taunting – he had heard it all before. Suddenly, Roger twisted his upper torso to the left and his left elbow knocked the gun out of Blue Suit’s gloved hand. It fired off a shot as it hit the stall’s wall; the bullet shattered the small, white tiles on the wall behind the toilet. Roger put a foot on the toilet edge and pushed himself back against Blue Suit; the impact sent the hitman flying out of the stall.

To be continued…

Roger's Last Day Part 3

2007-06-30T02:04:50Z

The elevator doors opened up to the lobby. Roger stepped out and walked down the hallway toward the main entrance to leave. A man in a blue suit leaned against a wall reading a newspaper. Roger relaxed and began to think, “Linda and the kids are waiting outside, once I’m in the van, we’re leaving this city for good. Finally.” He dropped his company identification card into a trash bin and smiled the rest of the way…

The newspaper hit Roger’s side really hard. “You think you won, huh?” the blue suited man whispered into his ear. The newspaper poked him in the ribs again, Roger realized it was a gun. Blue Suit pushed him back the way he came from, there was a restroom by the elevator. “Go in there,” Blue Suit ordered.

As he pushed Roger, he checked every stall and found them empty. “Last stall,” he ordered, shoving Roger. Roger knew what was next. He thought about Linda and little baby Roger Jr. and Hayley.

To be continued…

Roger's Last Day Part 2

2007-06-30T01:35:44Z

””Thank you for the laugh, Roger, but I have no choice but to fire you. Everyone, if you will please ignore the silly email and get back to work?” Silence. No one moved.

“Michelle, come here,” Roger said. Michelle was the girl that sat in the cubicle next to his. She walked up to him, “Yeah, Roger?”

“Take this envelope,” he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a thick wide envelope. Once it was in her hands, Michelle opened it to find many incriminating pictures of Carrington; together – the pictures and email made even more sense. Michelle gave Carrington a dirty look as she backed up into the crowd to show the others. “They’re fake, dammit!” Carrington yelled, his face a tomato once again. “Don’t be fucking stupid, you idiots!”

This sent Roger over the edge and his hands went for Carrington’s collar.

“You murderer!” someone in the crowd pointed at Carrington. Michelle pulled her cellphone out and dialed 911. Carrington’s fear hid behind a slight smile on his face.

To be coninued…

Roger's Last Day

2007-06-30T00:51:43Z

Roger disappeared behind the closing elevator doors leaving everyone else to deal with Carrington.

To be continued…

True Story

2007-06-28T23:51:28Z

For some reason, most of us were all there. It was like an unplanned family reunion on a hot afternoon day in my grandma’s apartment. I was young, but I still remember everything – how it happened so fast and what I saw next door after it ocurred.

My aunt Sintia was looking out the backyard window and just as she screamed “Get down!” – five gunshots went off. We were all on our stomachs. My cousin Norma peeked out behind the bathroom door at me as I crawled down the hallway to the dinner area where Sintia was. After we heard them run out and the temporary silence was cut by a woman’s screams, we checked ourselves and made sure everyone was okay. 911 was dialed and I saw that Sintia, my uncle Pancho, and my mother were headed out to go next door. I followed.

What a tragic nightmare we found in there. So much blood on the walls. The screams belonged to a woman wearing only panties and a T-shirt. A man lay in the kitchen, his legs twitching and a fountain of blood overflowing on his forehead.

A Stranger's Gift

2007-06-28T22:40:46Z

“Hello, little boy,” the stranger greeted as little Bobby ran his tricycle into the bottom of the man’s boot. “I have something for your sister, Sarah. I know she’s home, can you please go give it to her? Tell her it’s from a friend.” Bobby was a shy, six year old boy; he nodded. The stranger looked around the neighborhood – it was empty – and reached inside his trench coat and pulled out a little cube. It was a jewelery box, the kind that rings came inside of.

“Go now. Quick, Bobby, give it to her,” the stranger spoke through a smile.

Sarah jumped at the sound of pounding on her door. Without waiting for a “Come in”, Bobby ran inside and gave her the box immediately; he was curious to see what was in it. She asked him what it was and he made an opening motion with his hands urging her to hurry. Sarah removed the top and…

Bobby spun as she ran out of the room. Whatever was inside the box had bounced and rolled under her bed. He laid on his stomach and stared at the bloody human finger.

Patti and the Cholo, Me

2007-06-28T07:32:39Z

The homeboys and I stood around in a circle. It was a cold, winter day, the kind that slapped you in the face once you stepped out the door. It was lunch and we couldn’t wait to get back into our warm classrooms, you would swear there were fireplaces in them. Patti walked up to the group and forced herself into the middle of the circle. “Smart girl,” I thought, my shaved bald head and hands in dire need of a beanie cap and gloves.

“Hey, guys,” she said while making a full 360 turn to shake our hands.
“What’s up, Patti?” I asked.
“Nada. Just coming by to say hi and -” her eyes widened as I scratched my nose real quick. “Three dots?” she yelled the question.
“Don’t worry about it, Patti.”
“Is that a tattoo?”

She had seen the three dots I had tattooed on my index finger. They were in the shape of a triangle; it symbolized “mi vida loca” – “my crazy life”. It was a cholo thing, a Mexican gangster tattoo that told the world you were in the “life”. Patti proceeded to poke at my chest with every question…

Two Choices, One Life

2007-06-28T06:40:56Z

Manuel sat on his porch smoking a cigarette. Every single time he would light a new one he would promise himself it would be his last. He took a long drag and the diminishing orange tip lit up. With his head tilted back and his eyes closed, he blew a straight line of smoke into the air. He imagined his troubles and problems were within the smoky haze it made, floating and fading away into thin air, forever leaving him behind.

“I wish,” he thought to himself. “It just doesn’t work like that.” Manuel was smarter than that, to believe that smoking or drinking or drugs made your low points in life disappear for good. Still, his problems did not compare to getting a flat tire or locking yourself out of your home. It was not the answer but he needed something to ease his nerves. He flicked the filter behind a bush and lit a new cigarette. “So much for that promise,” he whispered silently.

An hour later, it was time to leave. His mind told him “No” but his heart was screaming “Fuck it, let’s go!”