METANOIA

VENGEANCE

Barry allowed the road to take him where he needed to go. His responsibility was reduced to deciding what direction to follow at intersections. Each red or blue light had become a visceral threat. Street signs, ads, they had all become a pair of eyes that followed him wherever he went, or so he thought.

The ringing in his ears had become akin to police sirens. He felt like he was being watched, Lucy and Buddy's intense stare was not helping either. He wished that they would talk at least. Yet both silently sat as he drove forth.

He felt it at the depths of his soul. The end was near. Any other time in his life, this would have been a crippling feeling, strong enough to rob him of his ability to move. But now, there was only a treacherous indifference to his demise.

Lucy and Buddy were oddly calm as well. Barry's demise ultimately meant their end. Though I doubt they cared about their own existence. That is a gift unique to figments of our imagination.

Breathe in, hold, release.

Barry reached for the spare can of gasoline. He wanted to go out with a bang. With the missing digits, his paw had become a claw. He hooked the handle and struggled to pull it closer to himself. Even touching the can with the corpse of his hand sent jolts of pain up and down his spine, but the messages they delivered dissolved in the soup he had for a brain. With all his jiggling about, some of the fuel poured over the back seat.

He managed to clasp it with his remaining digits and bring it over in great pain. All the while, he was trying to keep the car steady, but amidst all of this struggle, he brushed against a parked car. He steadied the car with some difficulty.

Lucy said, "Careful Barry if you want to see this through."

Breathe in, hold, release.

Barry looked at the can that was now on the passenger seat; Lucy had vanished and appeared in the back seat. Barry raised the spare can with his mangled claw and poured it over himself. He spared none of it. The smell was nauseating.

He wanted to see the world burn. But more importantly, he wanted it all to end. He steadied the steering wheel with his knee, and reached into his pocket, pulled out the lighter.

Breathe in, hold, release.

Surprisingly, a phone started ringing. It was an unfamiliar ringing. Barry looked around sheepishly until he realized it was coming from his pocket.

It was the phone Seth had given him. Kafe Kafka, come now.

Breathe in, hold, release.

Barry stared at the phone as he almost ran over a pedestrian. The man shouted from behind him. "Motherfucker!"

Barry didn't hear it from the ringing in his ears.

He was close to cafe Kafka.

He drove forth.

A peculiar crowd of people was gathered outside the cafe sitting in Lotus positions.

He saw Seth.

Then he saw...Silas.

He flicked his lighter on and dropped it.

Breathe in, hold...