The Elevator OR Pete's Revenge

It all ended the day Patrick got his promotion. Or maybe it ended the day after. Whenever it happened, it's not important. But what is important is that Patrick's life is drastically different now and it's all because of the stupid promotion.

When he got the promotion, everything was fine. He got a free cup of coffee and all his co-workers congratulated him. Even Pete.

This surprised Patrick. Pete, of all people, told him "well done" on his promotion. The pair had been on bad terms since high school. The feud had somehow lasted, and Patrick (two years Pete's junior) had ended up at the same job as the older man.

But feuds aren't as easily settled as one would guess. Patrick quickly excelled at his job, surpassing Pete in almost every project given. That did not help the latter's anger. In fact, it made it worse.

Ah, yes. I'm getting ahead of myself. Why should I be rude and spoil the ending? That wouldn't be fair to all those who came here to enjoy this story. Anyway, let us start from the beginning, the day after the promotion was received and Pete lost it.

Patrick is married. He has a young son (who's name I will not write. Not because I don't like it. More because he has almost zero importance to the story at hand) and that young son still sleeps in a crib, with a mobile and all that good stuff. And, because his son is so young, it is often Patrick's responsibly to take care of him in the early hours. His wife is impossible to wake up half the time and, frankly, the man has given up.

I'm getting off track again. Sorry about that. It fully begins the morning that Patrick's wife actually did get up to hush her son's crying. And because the lady of the house got out of bed for once, this gave Patrick the opportunity to sleep in.

Patrick does not get to sleep in much. That's something that needs to be noted. The reason is not just his wife. It's also that if Patrick sleeps in too much, he won't get up for a long while.

And because he slept in, past his alarm and the sun rising above the horizon, Patrick missed his bus.

I can speak from experience that it is rather annoying when you missed something that you've been doing for the past five years. Missing the bus did not start Patrick's morning off right. The first day of his new promotion and what does he do? Miss the bus!

To say Patrick was upset was a HUGE understatement. Steam was pouring out his ears by the time he was ready to leave. His wife tiptoed out of his son's room, staring at Patrick with shock.

Patrick growled a low rumble in his throat. His wife took a step back, holding the boy close. "Patrick?" Her voice was a bit hoarse, still fighting away the last bits of sleep. Patrick glared daggers at his wife before shuffling out the door.

He stomped down the front steps of his house, fuming with rage. So much routine, gone done the drain, all because of his wife and her sleeping schedule. He whipped his phone out of his pocket and sent a text to his co-worker and close friend, Andy, asking if he could drive Patrick to work.

Luckily for Patrick, Andy had his phone on for once. He pulled up at the end of the driveway and honked twice. Patrick rolled his eyes and stepped in the car.

Small fact about Andy: he doesn't talk much. Small fact about Patrick: he was no in mood to talk. So the car ride was rather quiet, neither man willing to break the silence.

It was quiet till Andy muttered, "I need some coffee..." He parked the car under a tree and stepped out. As he started to make his way across the street to the only Starbucks in town, a car zoomed by and hit Andy. The impact was enough to fling the young man half way across the street. Once his body landed, it rolled a couple feet, leaving blood marks all along the semi-busy road.