Good morning, House of Madness bullies:
Today I thought I'd share another short story with you. As my first story "Reflection" was as well, this story is a tale about perspective, and how we're each the keepers of our own fate. I REALLY hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Negative Results
All his life Ben Hiscomb has gotten his way, from the first time he was introduced to his older sister as a baby, right up until now. Life's secret wasn't being nice, relying on sympathy, or being an outright phony; no, the secret to Ben's self-proclaimed success was quite the opposite actually. Why pucker up and be a sniveling idiot catering to everyone else, when you can just be an asshole all the time, and intimidate everyone into catering to you? This has been Ben's mantra for decades, and although he's made very few friends along the way, who gives a shit when 90% of the population are pandering idiots that simply cower as soon as they're made the least bit uncomfortable. For all the times Ben has been called a bully, he's simply screamed back in anger that it's not his fault people are pussies, and if they stood up for themselves like Ben did, perhaps they'd be in a position of power in life like he was; afterall, you don't get to be assistant manager at Massoli's Deli by being a nice guy.
"I'm out, Massoli!" Ben hollered as he was slipping out the back door five minutes early. "You're leaving already? It's not even seven o'cl…." Mr. Massoli started before he was greeted with a very familiar "YEAH, YEAH, WHY DON'T YOU DOCK ME FIVE MINUTES OLD MAN!?", as the back door slammed shut. Ben had an extra jump in his step today, not because it was a special day or anything - it was Friday - and that meant he had two phone calls to make; one to his weed dealer, and one to his answering machine to remind himself of what an absolute legend he was. As Ben was walking around the corner, a strange woman seemed to come out of nowhere and the two collided, almost knocking the woman off her feet. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry sir!" the woman exclaimed, which Ben responded with "Why don't you watch where you're going, you stupid clumsy bitch!?". The woman, clearly perturbed, but keeping her composure as best she could said "There's no need to get hasty sir, I do apolo…." "AND I SAID WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, YOU DUMB SKANK!" Ben eloquently replied as he took a step closer, leaving less than a foot between the two. The woman, clearly angry now and not the least bit intimidated took a small step forward of her own, and before Ben could decipher what was happening, she rose up on her tiptoes and whispered something incomprehensible into his ear, then simply spun around and walked away. "CRAZY BITCH!" Ben called after her, but as the words left his mouth, Ben felt a small pinch on the back of his head. "What the fuck?" Ben thought to himself as he reached back to touch his head and check for blood. Probably nothing. Probably.
Apparently that little episode with the woman had shaken Ben, as instead of being a loudmouth and trying to intimidate half of the patrons at the bar, Ben sat silent on his barstool, rewinding back to his little conflict earlier in the day, and the more the alcohol kicked in, the angrier Ben became. "What's up pal?" a man said as he approached the bar in order to buy him and his buddies another round, "I'm not your fuckin pal!" Ben replied, and just as he was about to get up, another sharp pain introduced itself to the back of his head, this one seemingly stronger than the last. "Sorry" the man said, heading back to the table and the safety of his friends. "What the fuck is going on?" Ben said to himself as he rubbed the back of his head for the second time in a matter of hours, only this time there seemed to be something there; almost like a skin tag or a pimple, or a...."whatever!" Ben seemed to scoldingly say to himself, and left the bartender $5 for his $4.50 whiskey. "Geez, thanks, big spender!" the bartender hollered as Ben was ushering himself out, to which Ben shot the finger blindly, feeling yet another jolt of pain.
Ben got back to the comforts of his bachelor apartment, and questioned his sanity as he rubbed the back of his head; what started small now seemed to be home to an almost vine-like appendage protruding from under his hair on his balding scalp. "What the FUCK is this thing!?" Ben screamed to his empty apartment, but the more he rubbed and pulled, the more he realized this newfound growth was seemingly burrowing its way out from within. When he left the bar, it didn't seem so bad, but after telling that homeless guy to 'fuck off' and calling that prostitute a 'stupid slut', the pain seemed to increase ten-fold, not to mention the growth seemed to elongate after each encounter. "This is insane!" Ben thought as he rubbed away at the painful area on the back of his head; "This all started when that stupid crazy bitch ran into me", and before he could say or think more, the pain became almost unbearable; he could now feel the growth slowly wrapping itself around his neck as panic set in. "YOU FUCKIN BITCH, I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!" Ben screamed, and was instantly brought to his knees with a wave of pain he'd never felt before; his airway closing as his fingers plead with his neck to let himself breathe. As Ben took his last breath, he finally realized what the woman had said to him, but it was too late to act upon her warning now. "A gentle fire kindness stokes, but a forked tongue the darkness chokes."
Ben's body was found by his superintendent, Ed Chalmers, a week later as a result of neighbours complaining about the stench. Ed couldn't help but notice both of Ben's arms reached out towards the window, each one holding up the middle finger. Ed'll be goddamned if that sonofabitch wasn't smiling too.
NB
