Street Sweeper

Face to Face

  The vomit went up Thomas' nose and he thought that was going to be the end. Coughing and sputtering he finally cleared out one nostril and was able to speak too rapidly to actually think about what he was saying. "I didn't do it! It was the others on the team! I just told them to toughen you up! They didn't have to do THAT!" It was a pointless babbling but he couldn't stop. "SHUT UP! YOU WORTHLESS OLD BASTARD!" Devin's voice rang over the speakers, no longer filtered. "I should do the world a favor and drop you head first into the wood chipper now" his voice had calmed considerably "but you never answered my question. Why are you here?" Thomas was nearly unconscious from blood rushing to his head and panic, but he finally in a dull lifeless voice said "I told your teammates to haze you, they went to far, and I did nothing." He knew this wasn't the exact answer, but he also knew it didn't matter, he would be dead soon. "Haze me? You call that hazing?" Devin couldn't believe it, this worthless excuse for a man was completely incapable of owning up to his actions. Thomas opened his mouth to speak, but thought what was the point? Then as is by a miracle the wood chipper shut off and his chains loosened and he fell to the floor. Unable to protect himself he landed hard on his face, breaking his nose, and knocking himself unconscious for the 3rd time today.
                                  *****
   When he woke an hour later he was still on the floor, drying tacky blood covered his face. He tried to sit up but his head and nose were killing him. Why had he been dropped on the floor? He was sure he was going into the wood chipper. A tap on the glass caught his attention. A man, in his early 30s, was standing there with a grave look on his face. "You're inability to take responsibility for what you did is baffling" Devin said only slightly muffled through the glass "Did you know they taped it?" Thomas, once again started to panic. "Did you know I saw you on the tape?