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"Two Weeks" by rikredus

A man finds that when life hands you lemons...sometimes they are just too damn rotten to make a decent glass of lemonade.

Category: Short Story

Tags: Short Story, Dark, Odd, Bizarre, Weird.

You can do an inline review of this work in the review tab.

Two Weeks

by Rik Redus

26 Dec 09


Ernest Cornell heard the distinctive diesel roar of the number seventeen approaching and began to run. There were only a few more houses between him and the corner where his street connected to one of the main city thoroughfares. Going back for his wallet had cost him precious minutes. He was now only steps from the intersection and in full stride when the bus roared past him. Ernest skidded on the loose gravel coming to a stop next to the graffiti covered bench. The smiling couple in the large bus advertisement seemed to mock him as they shrunk in the distance. He then stood motionless for nearly a minute just watching the bus speed away.

     “You gotta be kidding me,” Ernest screamed. He kicked an empty beer bottle into the street and sulked homeward. He would now have to call in late a second time for a job he started only a month ago. Two weeks earlier, he told his boss that he was having car trouble, which of course was not true. He lied on his employment application about having reliable transportation because he knew they would not hire him otherwise.  Ernest was always careful to exit the bus a block away from his place of employment and skillfully work his way to the entrance on the parking side of the building. He often twirled his apartment keys on his finger as he entered the building to complete the illusion.

     "Miss the bus again?”  A grinning Cathy, the obnoxious live-in girlfriend of Ernest's roommate, asked as Ernest entered the apartment. He proceeded to his room without even acknowledging her as she laughed loudly at his misfortune.

      “You should have just gone to work without your wallet, you idiot,” she said lying on the sofa. A bowl of cereal rested on her flat stomach. A condescending smirk rested on her pretty face.

     "It is not like you are going to get pulled over by a cop and need to show your driver's license."

 Cathy was fond of reality television shows and spent her days watching one after another. Ernest hated her and tried to stay out of her way. The apartment belonged to his good friend Michael who had been kind enough to let Ernest stay there temporarily. Michael and Cathy had lived in the apartment for nearly a year and she made it clear more than once that she was not happy with Ernest staying there.

    “You’re going to get fired!” Cathy yelled as Ernest walked into his bedroom. He had become unemployed nearly five months earlier and subsequently his rather nice sports car was repossessed. Not surprisingly, he was soon kicked out of the apartment he was sharing with his fiancé and she quickly replaced him with someone that Ernest suspected she had already been seeing behind his back.  

    “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Ernest said to his boss and hung up the phone. 

     I am going to get fired.

He plopped down on his unmade bed and stared at the ceiling. Moments later he heard Cathy’s big fluffy slippers come sliding up the hardwood floor of the hallway. Ernest hoped she was going into the bathroom but she passed it up, stopping briefly in front his bedroom door.


    Darn, I should have locked it.

There was not even so much as a courtesy knock before the door swung violently open . The knob slammed loudly into the rubber-stop mounted on the wall. Cathy poked her messy blond head into his room.

     “You know Michael is going to throw you out when he gets back if you don’t have a job.” 

Ernest remained motionless with his fingers interlocked behind his head but moved his gaze from the ceiling to the tanned face in his doorway.  The two briefly engaged in a staring contest before Cathy turned and went back down the hall mumbling something mixed with clearly spoken curse words. Ernest had nothing but utter contempt for her and was more than certain that she knew it. 

Cathy was not used to men acting indifferently towards her. She had the face and figure of a supermodel but lacked any true ambition in life. She stayed at her mother’s house in between boyfriends and sometimes worked as a stripper. Ernest began to feel very sleepy and slowly shut his eyes. As he drifted into a warm slumber, he could hear Cathy angrily banging around in the kitchen. He smiled slightly with satisfaction. 

Ernest’s body jerked violently. He quickly sat up in bed and immediately looked towards the wall clock across the room. To his relief he had only been asleep for a few minutes although it seemed like much longer.  It was once again time to make his way back to the corner bench since the bus passed by every thirty-six minutes. He always tried to minimize the amount of time he would have to sit in humiliation on the bench by getting there just as the bus was approaching.

Cathy, now back on the couch with a sandwich and a lit cigarette, was in the middle of another sarcastic barb as Ernest slammed the apartment door shut on his way out. He marveled at how she was always eating but never gained any weight. Ernest arrived at the bench with a few moments to spare and this time he spent them staring down at a butterfly being carried away by a bunch of fire ants. With its last bit of life it fluttered bright and beautiful wings every so often. 

     I know how you feel Mr. Butterfly.

Ernest again heard the roar of the bus pulling away from a distant stop. He turned his head towards the unmistakable sound and could see the glowing eyes of the giant square face approaching. It leaned and bounced violently on the worn street. He dreaded the possibility of a friend or acquaintance driving by and seeing him in such an undignified state so he always kept his head down. He thought about how last year he had been the owner of a successful tile business. He was going to renew the fire insurance for his business but his agent, a family friend, was on vacation in Hawaii at the time and he did not want to go through someone else. Now, Ernest just remembers the smoldering ruins of his livelihood when the opportunity to be nice arises. He stood up as the bus squealed to a stop and invited him inside. 

Nearly forty-five minutes later Ernest was logging on to his work computer. He put on his headset, adjusted the microphone, and immediately received a call. He was now working as a customer service representative at a large call center and spent his work hours locked down in a small cubicle attempting to pacify irate cell phone customers. The call center never closed, not even on holidays. It was like an evil juggernaut that ingested and passed mindless drones in a never ending cycle.

     “I do apologize for the inconvenience sir,” he said after a few moments. He did not have anywhere near the temperament required for such a job and often handled rude customers by hanging up on them.

     “I’m truly sorry sir, but that is the company’s policy.” Ernest must have said that phrase at least two hundred times a day and he meant it a little less each time.  It was nearly midnight when he returned to the apartment. Cathy was in the same spot but now wore a burgundy robe and a matching towel on her head. The two made brief eye contact as he walked through the living room but neither of them spoke. He caught the scent of lavender soap in a fading cloud of steam as he passed the bathroom doorway on the way to his room.

      I don’t know why she needed a shower, she rarely moves from the couch. 

     "She must have needed to wash off the crumbs," he whispered and smiled as he went into his room and shut the door. Michael had been gone for almost a week on military business and would be back next week. Ernest would be happy when he returned. The mutual animosity between him and Cathy made it uncomfortable to watch television in the living room if she was in there, which was all the time. Ernest changed out of his work clothes and was preparing for bed when Cathy knocked on his door.

     “Are you too tired to grill some steaks?” She asked as soon as he opened the door. Ernest was surprised at her question and stood in silence for several seconds.

     “Uh…no, I guess not,” he replied. Both Ernest and Michael worked evening jobs and often stayed up barbecuing until early morning hours.

     “If you make the steaks I will make a salad and some baked potatoes,” Cathy said. Ernest nodded in agreement with a strange look on his face. 

      “Alright, let’s make it happen,” she said in an unfamiliar upbeat tone. 

      “OK,” he replied and slowly followed her into the kitchen.  

      She must be on something, Ernest thought. He had never seen Cathy this nice.  She pulled a couple of thick rib-eyes from the freezer and placed them on the counter.

     “Do you want a beer?” She asked with her head now in the refrigerator. 

     “Sure,” he answered. She grabbed a couple of bottles and placed them next to the steaks. Several large potatoes quickly followed before she closed the refrigerator. Ernest, now over his initial shock, began to get into the barbecuing spirit. It had been a while since he had a good steak. Ernest, like most men from Texas, considered himself quite the chef when it came to grilling any type of meat. He grabbed bottles of various spices from a nearby cabinet and then placed the meat into a pan of warm water to defrost. He felt the long chilly tension between Cathy and him begin to defrost as well.

Within an hour the salad was done and the steaks along with several foil wrapped potatoes were sizzling on the grill out on the back patio of the apartment.  Ernest and Cathy had agreed on a DVD to watch and were now sitting together in the living room laughing at the movie playing.

     “I never get tired of this flick,” Cathy said before taking a swig of beer.

     “Yeah, this is a classic,” replied Ernest. He still thought she was stoned or something but was enjoying the sudden détente none the less. For weeks, Michael had been hinting at a possible truce between Ernest and Cathy and would undoubtedly be pleased at their present efforts.  

     “I think its chow time,” Ernest announced loudly as he stood up and walked out the sliding glass door to the back patio.  While he was outside gathering the food from the grill, Cathy began setting the rarely used dining room table, which was in the living room since the apartment had no formal dining room.  When Ernest returned the table was nicely set with the big bowl of salad in the center.  They continued to watch the movie during dinner and exchanged pleasant comments every so often. For the rest of the evening the two joked and laughed as if they were life-long friends. Several hours later Cathy fell asleep on the sofa and Ernest wandered back to his room and finally went to bed. 

Late the next morning Ernest started the day in his usual fashion, rushing to gather his clothes and grooming provisions in order to quickly get to the bathroom before Cathy could claim it. Going through his sock drawer in search of a matching pair, he suddenly remembered the prior evening. He slowly opened his bedroom door and peeked down the hallway. He could faintly hear that the television was still on. The door to Michael’s bedroom was closed, which meant Cathy was probably in there sleeping. Ernest felt uncomfortable about the previous evening and did not know how he would act around her. He grabbed his things and walked slowly toward the bathroom. While showering he decided to just continue on as he had been the past month and wait for Cathy’s response...or lack there of. 

Ernest brushed his teeth with slow robotic strokes. He remembered he had to be at work in a few hours and as he removed the toothbrush. As he swished minty green fluid around in his mouth, he thought about all the rude customers from the previous day. Some people, like Cathy, can be so rude and uncivil. They were like bugs...like ants. Ernest suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of dread and slowly lowered his head. He spat into the sink and then looked up at his reflection in the mirror and froze. He did not recognize the person staring back at him. It was the same face but the soul was not his. He stood motionless gazing into his own eyes until Cathy broke the spell.

    “Hey! Hurry up in there or you will be late again,” she yelled from the other side of the door.  Ernest grabbed his things, opened the door, and slid past Cathy in the hallway on the way to his room. As he turned to shut the door behind him he looked up and saw that Cathy was just standing in front of the bathroom doorway just staring at him menacingly. He smiled slightly but Cathy just shook her head as if in disgust.

    “You might want to get to the bus stop on time today,” she said before going into the bathroom. She whispered "Idiot" loud enough to be sure the he heard her before slamming the door shut. Ernest stood in front of his room for a few minutes numb with disbelief. He eventually went in shutting the door softly. He sat down on the edge of the bed and stared down at his bare feet. A feeling of utter emptiness overcame him, which he thought was odd because he did not like Cathy anyway. He eventually drew a deep breath then stood up and walked across the room. As he opened the closet door to get a shirt he suddenly stopped and stood for what seemed like hours. He thought about the butterfly at the bus stop being carried away by the ants.

Sergeant Michael Olsen stood at attention in the formation that would conclude his annual two week drill. Summertime in the Fort Bliss Dessert and a diet of military food and MREs had taken their toll on him physically. He was a little thinner, a lot darker, and his lips were chapped and swollen. “Fall out,” the commanding officer yelled and Michael wasted no time getting to his truck. As he started the long drive from the National Guard Armory to his apartment, he realized he was now able to use his cell phone. He called Cathy on her cell phone but only reached her voicemail.

   “Hey, I’m in town. Where are you?” he said after the beep. He then tried the apartment phone but again was unable to reach anyone. Michael could not wait to get home and take a long shower then grab a cold beer, order a pizza, and of course spend a little quiet time with Cathy. He pushed past the speed limit knowing that most cops would not issue a ticket to a soldier in uniform.

Michael pulled into the apartment parking lot nearly forty minutes later and grabbed his duffel bag from the bed of his truck. As he walked up the brick pathway to his front door, he noticed the apartment looked dark inside.  When he stepped into the apartment a foul smell greeted him at the doorway. 

     “Hey, can’t anyone take out the trash,” he yelled waiting for a response but there was none. He turned on the lights and walked through the living room doorway and then suddenly stopped. The air left his lungs in a loud and low groan as his duffel bag fell to the floor. A pale gray Cathy was lying on the sofa. Her lifeless blue eyes stared directly at him as if she knew he would eventually be standing there. She had been shot several times in the chest. Sitting across the room, Ernest was slumped over in a chair. Flies danced around a massive wound on the side of his head. A pistol was still hanging from his shriveled and blackened fingers. It was not the trash that Michael had smelled.



 




















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Category Name: My Thoughts

I did not enjoy this story. I am not even sure what problem the protagonist faced. This story was okay. The story would have been better if the author had introduced the problem differently and made it feel more pressing. I really enjoyed this story. The author did a good job pulling me into the story by introducing an immediate and important problem for the protagonist.

This section is for overall comments and general ideas. The score should reflect how much you enjoyed the story.

Category Name: Character Development

The characters were not dynamic, credible, interesting, memorable or unique. I don’t care about or understand the characters because they were poorly developed. The characters were somewhat dynamic, credible, interesting, memorable and unique. I partially understood the thoughts, feelings, and actions of the characters. I somewhat connected with and care about the characters. The characters were very dynamic, credible, interesting, memorable and unique. I thoroughly understood their thoughts, feelings and actions. I felt connected with and cared about the characters.

This is act of bringing a character to life on the page. It is a combination of the author’s description of the character and the character’s dialog, action, and thoughts. Though all characters should be believable, the protagonist and antagonist are usually the most developed characters.

Category Name: Plot

I finished reading the story so the plot must have unfolded, but I am not sure what the plot was. The characters did not achieve or grow by solving the problems they faced in this story. There were definite wrinkles in the way the plot unfolded leading to the final conflict. The plot was loosely tied to the achievement and growth of the characters. The way the protagonist overcame some of the problems flowed unnaturally with the story. I could see the plot unfolding through a series of escalating problems that lead to the final conflict. The plot helped me understand the achievements and growth of the characters. The way the protagonist overcame the problems flowed naturally with the st

In fiction a plot is all the events in a story, particularly rendered towards the achievement of some particular artistic or emotional effect. In other words it's what mostly happened in the story. The plot draws the reader into the character's lives and helps the reader understand the choices that the characters make.

Category Name: Dialog

The dialog seemed like cold words on paper. I had a hard time following it. I didn’t learn very much about the characters through the dialog. Through the dialog I could sometimes see the characters learn and grow while occasionally discovering new facets of their personalities. The dialog was generally consistent with the character. Through the dialog I could see the characters learn and grow while simultaneously discovering new facets of their personalities. The dialog was true to the character and it helped me understand the characters emotions.

Category Name: Setting

The setting created a haze in my mind that detracted from the story. I am lost in time and space because I don’t know when or where this story takes place. The setting was described adequately, but not well enough to bring it to life in my mind. The setting did not add to or detract from the story. I am pretty sure I know when and where the story takes place. The author engaged all of my senses while vividly describing the setting. The setting helped me better understand the setting and plot. I know when and where this story takes place.

The setting is where a story takes place. The choice of setting and its description helps the story come alive in the mind of the reader. Appropriate setting contributes to the plot and mood of the story.

Category Name: Mechanics

The story contained so many mechanical errors that it was hard to follow the plot or understand certain sentences or paragraphs. Occasional mechanical errors were distracting, but these errors did not inhibit me from being able to understand the plot or connect with characters in the story. I rarely if ever noticed mechanical errors. As far as I could tell, the writing was clear and correct.

Mechanics includes sentence structure, verb agreement, grammar, spelling, voice, punctuation and aspects of basic style.

Note: The purpose of ReviewFuse reviews is NOT to provide comprehensive copy editing, but rather to "ignite creativity." Reviewers should not feel obliged to point out every grammar or spelling error (though they certainly can if they wish), but should focus on this area only to the degree that errors make a story hard to follow or understand.

Inline comments are the most helpful and important aspects of your review.

Click on a paragraph or highlight text from the paragraph to provide inline comments. While detailed grammar correction is welcome, the purpose of inline commenting is to spark the author's creativity. This is best done by expressing feelings, questions, and concerns you have about the story while you are reading.

1. Two Weeks

2. by Rik Redus

3. 26 Dec 09

4.

5. Ernest Cornell heard the distinctive diesel roar of the number seventeen approaching and began to run. There were only a few more houses between him and the corner where his street connected to one of the main city thoroughfares. Going back for his wallet had cost him precious minutes. He was now only steps from the intersection and in full stride when the bus roared past him. Ernest skidded on the loose gravel coming to a stop next to the graffiti covered bench. The smiling couple in the large bus advertisement seemed to mock him as they shrunk in the distance. He then stood motionless for nearly a minute just watching the bus speed away.

6.      “You gotta be kidding me,” Ernest screamed. He kicked an empty beer bottle into the street and sulked homeward. He would now have to call in late a second time for a job he started only a month ago. Two weeks earlier, he told his boss that he was having car trouble, which of course was not true. He lied on his employment application about having reliable transportation because he knew they would not hire him otherwise.  Ernest was always careful to exit the bus a block away from his place of employment and skillfully work his way to the entrance on the parking side of the building. He often twirled his apartment keys on his finger as he entered the building to complete the illusion.

7.      "Miss the bus again?”  A grinning Cathy, the obnoxious live-in girlfriend of Ernest's roommate, asked as Ernest entered the apartment. He proceeded to his room without even acknowledging her as she laughed loudly at his misfortune.

8.       “You should have just gone to work without your wallet, you idiot,” she said lying on the sofa. A bowl of cereal rested on her flat stomach. A condescending smirk rested on her pretty face.

9.      "It is not like you are going to get pulled over by a cop and need to show your driver's license."

10.  Cathy was fond of reality television shows and spent her days watching one after another. Ernest hated her and tried to stay out of her way. The apartment belonged to his good friend Michael who had been kind enough to let Ernest stay there temporarily. Michael and Cathy had lived in the apartment for nearly a year and she made it clear more than once that she was not happy with Ernest staying there.

11.     “You’re going to get fired!” Cathy yelled as Ernest walked into his bedroom. He had become unemployed nearly five months earlier and subsequently his rather nice sports car was repossessed. Not surprisingly, he was soon kicked out of the apartment he was sharing with his fiancé and she quickly replaced him with someone that Ernest suspected she had already been seeing behind his back.  

12.     “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Ernest said to his boss and hung up the phone. 

13.      I am going to get fired.

14. He plopped down on his unmade bed and stared at the ceiling. Moments later he heard Cathy’s big fluffy slippers come sliding up the hardwood floor of the hallway. Ernest hoped she was going into the bathroom but she passed it up, stopping briefly in front his bedroom door.

15.

16.     Darn, I should have locked it.

17. There was not even so much as a courtesy knock before the door swung violently open . The knob slammed loudly into the rubber-stop mounted on the wall. Cathy poked her messy blond head into his room.

18.      “You know Michael is going to throw you out when he gets back if you don’t have a job.” 

19. Ernest remained motionless with his fingers interlocked behind his head but moved his gaze from the ceiling to the tanned face in his doorway.  The two briefly engaged in a staring contest before Cathy turned and went back down the hall mumbling something mixed with clearly spoken curse words. Ernest had nothing but utter contempt for her and was more than certain that she knew it. 

20. Cathy was not used to men acting indifferently towards her. She had the face and figure of a supermodel but lacked any true ambition in life. She stayed at her mother’s house in between boyfriends and sometimes worked as a stripper. Ernest began to feel very sleepy and slowly shut his eyes. As he drifted into a warm slumber, he could hear Cathy angrily banging around in the kitchen. He smiled slightly with satisfaction. 

21. Ernest’s body jerked violently. He quickly sat up in bed and immediately looked towards the wall clock across the room. To his relief he had only been asleep for a few minutes although it seemed like much longer.  It was once again time to make his way back to the corner bench since the bus passed by every thirty-six minutes. He always tried to minimize the amount of time he would have to sit in humiliation on the bench by getting there just as the bus was approaching.

22. Cathy, now back on the couch with a sandwich and a lit cigarette, was in the middle of another sarcastic barb as Ernest slammed the apartment door shut on his way out. He marveled at how she was always eating but never gained any weight. Ernest arrived at the bench with a few moments to spare and this time he spent them staring down at a butterfly being carried away by a bunch of fire ants. With its last bit of life it fluttered bright and beautiful wings every so often. 

23.      I know how you feel Mr. Butterfly.

24. Ernest again heard the roar of the bus pulling away from a distant stop. He turned his head towards the unmistakable sound and could see the glowing eyes of the giant square face approaching. It leaned and bounced violently on the worn street. He dreaded the possibility of a friend or acquaintance driving by and seeing him in such an undignified state so he always kept his head down. He thought about how last year he had been the owner of a successful tile business. He was going to renew the fire insurance for his business but his agent, a family friend, was on vacation in Hawaii at the time and he did not want to go through someone else. Now, Ernest just remembers the smoldering ruins of his livelihood when the opportunity to be nice arises. He stood up as the bus squealed to a stop and invited him inside. 

25. Nearly forty-five minutes later Ernest was logging on to his work computer. He put on his headset, adjusted the microphone, and immediately received a call. He was now working as a customer service representative at a large call center and spent his work hours locked down in a small cubicle attempting to pacify irate cell phone customers. The call center never closed, not even on holidays. It was like an evil juggernaut that ingested and passed mindless drones in a never ending cycle.

26.      “I do apologize for the inconvenience sir,” he said after a few moments. He did not have anywhere near the temperament required for such a job and often handled rude customers by hanging up on them.

27.      “I’m truly sorry sir, but that is the company’s policy.” Ernest must have said that phrase at least two hundred times a day and he meant it a little less each time.  It was nearly midnight when he returned to the apartment. Cathy was in the same spot but now wore a burgundy robe and a matching towel on her head. The two made brief eye contact as he walked through the living room but neither of them spoke. He caught the scent of lavender soap in a fading cloud of steam as he passed the bathroom doorway on the way to his room.

28.       I don’t know why she needed a shower, she rarely moves from the couch. 

29.      "She must have needed to wash off the crumbs," he whispered and smiled as he went into his room and shut the door. Michael had been gone for almost a week on military business and would be back next week. Ernest would be happy when he returned. The mutual animosity between him and Cathy made it uncomfortable to watch television in the living room if she was in there, which was all the time. Ernest changed out of his work clothes and was preparing for bed when Cathy knocked on his door.

30.      “Are you too tired to grill some steaks?” She asked as soon as he opened the door. Ernest was surprised at her question and stood in silence for several seconds.

31.      “Uh…no, I guess not,” he replied. Both Ernest and Michael worked evening jobs and often stayed up barbecuing until early morning hours.

32.      “If you make the steaks I will make a salad and some baked potatoes,” Cathy said. Ernest nodded in agreement with a strange look on his face. 

33.       “Alright, let’s make it happen,” she said in an unfamiliar upbeat tone. 

34.       “OK,” he replied and slowly followed her into the kitchen.  

35.       She must be on something, Ernest thought. He had never seen Cathy this nice.  She pulled a couple of thick rib-eyes from the freezer and placed them on the counter.

36.      “Do you want a beer?” She asked with her head now in the refrigerator. 

37.      “Sure,” he answered. She grabbed a couple of bottles and placed them next to the steaks. Several large potatoes quickly followed before she closed the refrigerator. Ernest, now over his initial shock, began to get into the barbecuing spirit. It had been a while since he had a good steak. Ernest, like most men from Texas, considered himself quite the chef when it came to grilling any type of meat. He grabbed bottles of various spices from a nearby cabinet and then placed the meat into a pan of warm water to defrost. He felt the long chilly tension between Cathy and him begin to defrost as well.

38. Within an hour the salad was done and the steaks along with several foil wrapped potatoes were sizzling on the grill out on the back patio of the apartment.  Ernest and Cathy had agreed on a DVD to watch and were now sitting together in the living room laughing at the movie playing.

39.      “I never get tired of this flick,” Cathy said before taking a swig of beer.

40.      “Yeah, this is a classic,” replied Ernest. He still thought she was stoned or something but was enjoying the sudden détente none the less. For weeks, Michael had been hinting at a possible truce between Ernest and Cathy and would undoubtedly be pleased at their present efforts.  

41.      “I think its chow time,” Ernest announced loudly as he stood up and walked out the sliding glass door to the back patio.  While he was outside gathering the food from the grill, Cathy began setting the rarely used dining room table, which was in the living room since the apartment had no formal dining room.  When Ernest returned the table was nicely set with the big bowl of salad in the center.  They continued to watch the movie during dinner and exchanged pleasant comments every so often. For the rest of the evening the two joked and laughed as if they were life-long friends. Several hours later Cathy fell asleep on the sofa and Ernest wandered back to his room and finally went to bed. 

42. Late the next morning Ernest started the day in his usual fashion, rushing to gather his clothes and grooming provisions in order to quickly get to the bathroom before Cathy could claim it. Going through his sock drawer in search of a matching pair, he suddenly remembered the prior evening. He slowly opened his bedroom door and peeked down the hallway. He could faintly hear that the television was still on. The door to Michael’s bedroom was closed, which meant Cathy was probably in there sleeping. Ernest felt uncomfortable about the previous evening and did not know how he would act around her. He grabbed his things and walked slowly toward the bathroom. While showering he decided to just continue on as he had been the past month and wait for Cathy’s response...or lack there of. 

43. Ernest brushed his teeth with slow robotic strokes. He remembered he had to be at work in a few hours and as he removed the toothbrush. As he swished minty green fluid around in his mouth, he thought about all the rude customers from the previous day. Some people, like Cathy, can be so rude and uncivil. They were like bugs...like ants. Ernest suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of dread and slowly lowered his head. He spat into the sink and then looked up at his reflection in the mirror and froze. He did not recognize the person staring back at him. It was the same face but the soul was not his. He stood motionless gazing into his own eyes until Cathy broke the spell.

44.     “Hey! Hurry up in there or you will be late again,” she yelled from the other side of the door.  Ernest grabbed his things, opened the door, and slid past Cathy in the hallway on the way to his room. As he turned to shut the door behind him he looked up and saw that Cathy was just standing in front of the bathroom doorway just staring at him menacingly. He smiled slightly but Cathy just shook her head as if in disgust.

45.     “You might want to get to the bus stop on time today,” she said before going into the bathroom. She whispered "Idiot" loud enough to be sure the he heard her before slamming the door shut. Ernest stood in front of his room for a few minutes numb with disbelief. He eventually went in shutting the door softly. He sat down on the edge of the bed and stared down at his bare feet. A feeling of utter emptiness overcame him, which he thought was odd because he did not like Cathy anyway. He eventually drew a deep breath then stood up and walked across the room. As he opened the closet door to get a shirt he suddenly stopped and stood for what seemed like hours. He thought about the butterfly at the bus stop being carried away by the ants.

46. Sergeant Michael Olsen stood at attention in the formation that would conclude his annual two week drill. Summertime in the Fort Bliss Dessert and a diet of military food and MREs had taken their toll on him physically. He was a little thinner, a lot darker, and his lips were chapped and swollen. “Fall out,” the commanding officer yelled and Michael wasted no time getting to his truck. As he started the long drive from the National Guard Armory to his apartment, he realized he was now able to use his cell phone. He called Cathy on her cell phone but only reached her voicemail.

47.    “Hey, I’m in town. Where are you?” he said after the beep. He then tried the apartment phone but again was unable to reach anyone. Michael could not wait to get home and take a long shower then grab a cold beer, order a pizza, and of course spend a little quiet time with Cathy. He pushed past the speed limit knowing that most cops would not issue a ticket to a soldier in uniform.

48. Michael pulled into the apartment parking lot nearly forty minutes later and grabbed his duffel bag from the bed of his truck. As he walked up the brick pathway to his front door, he noticed the apartment looked dark inside.  When he stepped into the apartment a foul smell greeted him at the doorway. 

49.      “Hey, can’t anyone take out the trash,” he yelled waiting for a response but there was none. He turned on the lights and walked through the living room doorway and then suddenly stopped. The air left his lungs in a loud and low groan as his duffel bag fell to the floor. A pale gray Cathy was lying on the sofa. Her lifeless blue eyes stared directly at him as if she knew he would eventually be standing there. She had been shot several times in the chest. Sitting across the room, Ernest was slumped over in a chair. Flies danced around a massive wound on the side of his head. A pistol was still hanging from his shriveled and blackened fingers. It was not the trash that Michael had smelled.

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