Short stories collection

Sandwich

Kelvin tried desperately to breathe properly as he skillfully maneuvered his car.
He had witnessed the most gruesome sight in his life. Unfortunately, he was the perpetrator.
All his life, he had lived a crime free life. He didn't have any criminal record. You might think it's no big deal but in the city of Vegas, the city of sin, it was a very big deal.
It was one bragging right he had. 'I'm a clean slate.' He always bragged to his friends whenever they hung out together.
But now, he wasn't a clean slate anymore.
He had blood in his hands. The blood of an human! He had turned a person to a sandwich.
If he hadn't taken alcohol he wouldn't be on the road panicking.

For the past 30 years of his life, he had abstained from alcohol. His mother was a devoted Christian. Her church had 'terian' in it. He always forgot the name of his mom's church right from his childhood. He used the word 'vegeterian' to remember the name of her church. Yes it was Presbyterian. His mother was and is still a chorister in the church at age 62. She had never slacked at the things of God. His mother always told him that alcohol made one a fool. Although he knew that alcohol didn't make one foolish in the real sense. It only made one live a life of illusion. It made one see what he wouldn't see on a normal day. He still abstained from it. He wanted to make his momma proud. He had been doing it for the past 30 years until yesterday. Yesterday! He wished there was no yesterday. He wished he hadn't followed Henry out. Maybe he would have been at home dusting his cushion while singing his favorite song 'what my eyes can't see.' by Travis Greene.

(Flash back)
"Dude come out of this house. Let's go have fun" Henry urged as he sat down.

"I ain't going anywhere today. Today is my free day. I'm going to stay home. I'm going to see my momma later. She asked to see me today."Kelvin replied as he dropped the napkin he had been using to dust his cushion.

Henry looked at him as he laughed. His laughter a derogatory one. "I actually thought you were 12."

Kelvin rolled his eyes. He knew that it was a feminine thing to do but he didn't care. "And why?"

"Because you are still a momma's boy. Man up Kev. You are 3 decade old but you still obey momma. I mean my kid bro Jay is 12 and he doesn't depend on my mom to survive." Henry served himself a glass of water.

"My momma is still my momma. That woman carried me for 9 months and paid my bill from kindergarten till college." Kelvin retorted his voice rising at the end of his statement.

"Dude. We know that. We know. But that doesn't mean you should go see her at every call. Let's go out and after we are done, you go see your beloved momma."

At first, Kelvin wanted to say no but he decided against it.
Henry's word had some element of truth. He wasn't a baby. His mother could wait.

"I'm coming. I need to change up." Kelvin said as he pointed to his clothes.

"Now this is you being a man. I'm waiting Dude."

*****
Kelvin opened his mouth agape as he stared at the tall building at the front of him.

"Where are we?" Kelvin asked anger rising in his voice.

"The city's spice." Henry spelled out his reply.

"I know we are in a bar. I can read. Why are we here?" Kelvin asked loudly as a guy holding the ass of a drunk girl gave him a weird look.

"We are here to have fun, to relax. We are here to release some pent up emotions. Let's go in. Shall we? And please stop giving me that look. You're scaring people here." Henry said as he walked into the bar.

Warning bells were ringing in his head but he decided to ignore it. The warning bell had been inserted by his mother. It was time to let loose.

Inside, Henry introduced him to three guys. Jude who preferred to be called Judas. He was a short and stout man in his late 30's. He bragged about how many bimbos he had slept with. He said they were bimbos because they were beauty with no brains. Then there was Luke who looked like an Asian America. He looked like he was in his late 20's. Probably 25 or 26. He was a gambler who played blackjack. He told a lot of tales of how he brought down the casinos. He made million of dollars playing blackjack.
At first, Kelvin didn't feel relaxed but after some time, he began to warm up to the guys.
They chatted and then Henry brought out the idea of playing the maddest and fastest drinker. Judas downed 2 glasses of red wine and 2 bottles of beer, Luke downed 4 bottles of red wine and 3 bottles of beer. He didn't know how much wine or beer Henry drank but he stupidly drank 3 glasses of red wine and a bottle of beer to blend in the crowd and he felt high.
He didn't stop at that. He continued taking shots of tequila. By 2am, he decided that he wanted to go home.
Henry urged him not to go but he refused. If he had listened!

He entered his car and zoomed off. He drove in his highest speed and he felt like a god. He didn't realize that a truck was at his front. He tried stepping on his brake but it was too late. His car drove into the truck and the next thing he saw was blood. Lot of blood.
He wanted to go down to rescue whoever he had hit but on a second thought, he decided to escape because the person was probably dead.
The front of his car had also been damaged. He wanted to get down and run but he knew he didn't have the energy to. He was drunk and badly bruised. His mouth had swollen and he had lost a tooth.
(Present)
Kelvin heartbeat skyrocketed when he heard the sound of siren but he soon relaxed when he realized that the siren was a work of his imagination.
He held his face as his head bled. He knew it was the end for him. He was going to jail. He decided to drive back to the scene and wait to be arrested. He had committed manslaughter and he was going to spend maybe 10 or 20 years in jail. His career he loved so much was over. He would no longer be able to dress smartly and save lives. Yes he was a doctor. The more reason he shouldn't have ran.
The thought of his mother crying and asking to save her son haunted him. His poor mother might probably die of heart attack.
He was ruined.

He drove back to the scene of the accident. Afar off, he could see blood flowing freely on the ground.
He got down from his car as he went to check the casualty but there was no body!
He looked in shock as he desperately searched for a body.

"So you are the one who hit my truck." A man wearing a white shirt and trouser asked casually.
A ghost? Could he be the ghost of the person who died in the accident? No! ghost don't exist. Kelvin thought as he looked at the man.

"I asked a question." The man spoke impatiently.

"Yes I am the one." Kelvin replied guilt rising in his chest.

"And you ran? Isn't that cowardly?" The man asked.

"I know. I came back to face my fate." Kelvin replied.

"You killed you know." The man asked as he gave Kelvin a one-over look.

"I know. Where is or are the victims? Call the police. I did this to myself. My conscience will forever prick me if I didn't return." Kelvin spoke.

"Luckily I felt pressed and I parked my truck to go shit in the bush." The man spoke.

Kelvin looked at him in shock. He knew he shouldn't care but wasn't shit a wrong word to use? Kelvin could literally perceive the smell of faeces.

"The blood... It's.." Kelvin stopped as he didn't know what else to say.

"The blood is not mine nor any other human. If you look closely, you would see that it's animal blood. I went to buy two cows and you killed them."

"Cows? Cow blood?" Kelvin rushed as he bent down and checked the blood. In his moment of fear, he hadn't realized it was animal blood. He saw the body of the cows. They looked like sandwich. "Thank you Lord." Kelvin said as he knelt down and cried.

"Next time boy don't do what's more than you. You might not be lucky next time. So let's talk about how you'd sort out the bills of my cows and if I'm gonna have a new truck or you'd repair this old guy here." The man said as Kelvin nodded.
Yes he was going to spend a lot but he didn't care. He was going to pay up the bills. He was also going to heed to his mother's advice "sack useless friends. Those friends who don't make any positive impact, sack them."
He was grateful for one thing. He hadn't turned a person to a sandwich.