Chapter 3

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"Where am I?" I gasped, unable to hold back any longer, "What do you people want?"
The man crossed his arms behind his back, "I bet you want to get out of here don't you? I bet you'd like to go back to your home, your family, everything."
"Please," I interrupted, "Whatever I did to you...I'm sorry, I really am, but I don't remember!"
The man rolled his eyes, "You didn't do anything to me. You did it to yourself. You really don't remember anything?"
I shook my head and felt tears brimming in my eyes, liquid fear.

The man looked at me with contempt, "You waited until your wife left for work and then you went out to the woodshed and hung yourself. You're dead."

The recent memory rose in my mind like a monster from a bog. My eyes went wide. As much as I wanted to deny it...he was right. I had killed myself. The incident tore through my brain like a bullet train and left me reeling.
"I'm Danny, by the way," the man said, ignoring the shocked look on my face, "And I'm number two here. I run the orientation process. I want to make this quick because I'm tired of repeating this fucking thing to you pathetic Suicidals. You get one question before I begin."
He stared down at me and I scrambled to organize my thoughts into something cohesive. This was all horrifying. Why had I killed myself? I fought against the fog and panic and the mists of confusion slowly began to lift. I had just lost my job. Yes...that was the start. I squeezed my eyes shut and forced more of the memory to emerge. I had lost my job and I was about to lose the house. My wife...Tess...she found out and was going to leave me. I didn't have any way out, didn't have any options. Getting fired had come out of the blue and I didn't have much in savings. I was broke, soon to be homeless, and my wife hated me for it. There was something else...yes...that's right. She had been cheating on me. I had seen texts on her phone while she slept one night and confirmed my suspicions. My life had degraded to shit and I had run out of options. Humiliated and ashamed, I had decided death was my only option.

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