Death Before Dishonor (A Static Fiction)

The smell of the gasoline was kind of making me nauseous. This wasn’t normal for me, I think maybe my nerves had pumped too much adrenaline into my system. Up till now, I’d never done anything this serious. Pocketing shit, fights, some public defacements, a few fires, smoking dope, and skipping school; it isn’t like I’d really thought any of that shit out. Things sometimes just happen. Most everything I had done was on a whim. This though, this was different; so many things were contingent upon this one act. It wasn’t so much about the cash I stood to earn; I was a messenger entrusted to be heard loud and clear.

Looking over at Daniel, I decided to go back over the plan with him. Shit had to run like clock work, and there was no fucking way, I was going to jail. We’d been boys for a few years now, and this wasn’t some corner-store bait and snatch; so I checked myself.  I started thinking about D’s integrity. If this thing was gonna back fire, it was not going to be on me; I’m a big picture man, a natural strategist, and worst of all I am methodical. I knew D was wreckless enough to do the deed, I never questioned his competence in that aspect. What I wondered about was where his loyalties lied. What if shit did take a turn for the worst, would it be every man for himself? I could see that being a very logically derived conclusion; self-preservation prevailing.

I remember just as we were walking up to the car, Daniel stopped for a second and said “T… We are brothers right?”. It seems, I wasn’t the only one taking stock. I looked him square in the eyes and said ” I gotcha man, besides I make this look easy…”. I busted the window out, and he immediately started dousing the interior. As we started walking away you could already smell that ‘burnt wire’ scent. I started thinking to myself, this would’ve been so much better; had there been an explosion. That really didn’t matter though, regardless this sack of shit’s ride was gonna be blacker than; the line out the door on ‘All you can eat Tuesday’ at Sonny’s BBQ.

The best part here was that this douche bag had it coming to him, at least from what I had been told. I always fancied the term “honor  among thieves”, this was a prime example of why. It is better to take your licks and feign ignorance to anyone else being involved. There is always someone willing to fuck up your day for a tennis ball canister full of Indigo and a few hundred bucks cash. In fact some might do it for less. I understood that your ‘name’ or ‘word’ was all you had in this life. Nobody likes a spineless coward, and actions have consequences.

Turns out Daniel kept his mouth shut, the crackling of dancing sparks above the tree line; was the last I ever heard of that night. In time, I would find out that even your closest allies; may at some point forsake any pact you’ve made. They may choose to act without that ‘honor’, they may even get themselves put in prison for 30 years to avoid paying the piper; their day will come regardless.

You gotta love fiction…

November 27, 2011 | Categories: Stories | Leave a comment