Random Writing

Someone Else's Problem

He was slumped on the floor and no longer breathing. He was someone else's problem now.

*******

As she slammed the door closed behind her, the reality of what she had just done hit her full force. He's dead, she told herself, eyes closing as the image of the man, slumped on the floor, lying in a pool of his own blood presented itself once again. He's not your problem anymore. Someone else will take care of him.

And yet, no matter how much she reassured herself that everything would be okay, she couldn't rid herself of the nagging feeling. The feeling that, not that she has done this, this unforgivable act, there truly is no going back to who she was before.

The rain pelts down on the streets below and those unfortunate enough to be out at this hour, not only without an umbrella, but without any place to take shelter. The shops had closed up hours ago, and Jess still hasn't found him yet. She glances at her watch. Nearly eleven thirty. He was supposed to meet her three hours ago at the little coffee shop on the corner. If she had been anyone else, and he was anyone other than who he is, she would have begun worrying a long time ago.

Jess sighs, running a hand over her drenched hair and squeezing the excess out of the ends of her ponytail. She pulls up her hood and hurries down the street. If he wants to stand her up, fine. But she will find him, one way or another.

Turning into the nearest alley, Jess glances up the side of the building, mentally mapping out her route and, without a backwards glance, she darts up the side like a monkey in a tree, using protruding bricks and windows to propel herself upwards. She pulls herself over the lip of the roof and rolls to her feet as quickly as possible moving out of sight of those on the ground below.

She glances out over the streets at the few, lonely passerby on their way home- hopefully- before taking off across the roof of the building. As the edge draws nearer she braces herself, speeding up, faster and faster until the roof disappears from beneath her feet and she is soaring over the gap in between. For a few glorious moments, she can be free of the burdens of what lies below. For a few moments, she is free.

But only for a moment.

Her feet touch down on top of the next building and she continues running toward the Office. On the streets, it is several miles through the winding roads, though from up here, it is only a few buildings away.

At last she comes to the end of her trip, the Office just across the street. Jess turns to the side, climbing down the building in about half the time it took her to go up. Dropping to the ground, Jess straightens her hood and walks out into the road, the rain washing over her like a blanket.

The Office looms up ahead, its imposing presence having scared away all potential entrepreneurs from the surrounding areas. As a result, the empty space had been converted into a training area for the employees and spans a block in either direction.

Jess pauses. She could run. She could run away and never come back. She could change her name, age, even her appearance. She could become someone else and escape this fate.

But she won't.

She is better than that. She is better than the last disappointment. So she steels herself and walks into the building.

The doors slide open as she approaches and immediately Jess is swarmed by her friends, as well as her enemies.

"Did you get him?"

"Where's the body?"

"I bet he didn't even show up."

Jess grits her teeth to keep from calling out and pushes her way through the crowd. She knows what she has to do now that she has come back empty handed. She just doesn't know how she plans on accomplishing it.

He waits for her in his room, sitting behind his desk, his chair turned out the window. "Jessica," he says as she walks through the door. She pauses, afraid of what he is going to do. Slowly the chair spins around. "Where is he?"

"Not here, sir." She hangs her head in submission, hoping he will go easy on her.

"That didn't answer my question. Where is he?"

"I don't know."

He nods thoughtfully before rising to his full height. He towers over Jess, her head barely reaches his chest. Though height contributes almost nothing to the fear she feels whenever she is forced to communicate with him directly. "Follow me," is all he says.

He leads her down several flights of stairs, further down than she has gone before, eventually coming to a stop and pushing her through the heavy door ahead and closing it behind her.

Darkness. Absolute darkness. Not even an outline of the door she knows is there.

Frantically, she scrambles backwards toward where she hopes the door is. But she doesn't get very far before she stops, a blood chilling snarl echoing throughout the black cavern.

Nails click against the cold tile beneath her as the invisible beast draws closer. She can smell it now, the horrid stench blocking out anything else. And it continues to growl, drawing ever closer, the click click click growing louder and louder until she can feel it above her. She closes her eyes.

This is it.

This is the end.