Greatness (727 hits)
Category: GeneralRating: 1.75 on 17 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by FearBenzene (View user info) at 2004-05-06 21:48:09 EDT
I always knew that I had something special in me. I knew that I was born with a purpose, something greater than the average person could understand. I used to feel comfortable talking about this greatness I possessed, but people always ended up thinking less of me, calling me foolish and conceited. Ever since I was seven years old I had felt this way, but it was only yesterday that I finally proved it.
It was a usual morning for me. I woke up at 7:15AM, looked out my window towards the street and the sunrise, kissed my wife on the forehead and hopped in the shower. I would turn the radio on to 96.3, the Ryhthm of Chicago, and lightly sing along with my favorite songs. I masked my body with a white shirt, dress pants, and a black tie. I took my jacket with me, but I would never wear it, for I always believed it had looked better draped around my arm.
My wife would be up by now, just finishing up the coffee and eggs. I had two scrambled, along with ketchup and pepper, and listened to the morning news on 970AM. I would always head out the door at 8:30, and then reach the office lot at 8:52, at which point I would walk the two-tenths of a mile to F.T. Smith and Company. It's funny that this special day was also my 5 year anniversary with the accounting firm, and there would likely be a small party, cake and all.
It was a pretty nice day out, with the sun breaking between the clouds and a nice windless day. The weatherman had said we were lucky to catch such a beautiful stretch of weather, which would carry all the way into the weekend. Yep, today was going to be a good day, with a chance for great. Of course, that was before I got to my office.
I was about thirty feet away from the entrance of F.T. Smith and Company when I saw it happen. I couldn't help but notice that two men cornering a younger woman near the corner of 19th and Wood. From the way the two men were standing, one could casually walk by and not even notice anything was wrong, but the look on that young woman's face indicated otherwise. I was nervous for the woman, and decided that going over there and making sure she was okay was the right thing to do.
I started to walk towards my newfound destination. My hands were perspiring, and my heart started beating at an accelerated rate. I had not been in any sort of confrontation with strangers since high school, when I got beaten up by a couple of kids for standing up for my friend. I knew that history was unlikely to be repeated, being in the middle of the city in broad daylight. Fifty feet... thirty feet... ten feet... I was able to hear their voices from this range, and I could tell from the woman's tremor in her speech that she was in trouble.
I stood four feet away now, and one of the men noticed be out of the corner of his eye. He looked back towards the girl, and after a few seconds looked back towards me. The second man noticed his distracted friend, and then the woman. I stood there in silence as the three looked on at me...
"What the fuck are you looking at, buddy?" The man farther away from me asked.
"I just came over here to make sure everything is fine."
"Yeah, well everything is fucking peachy, so get outta my face before I make you."
I was quite shocked by the man's vulgar treatment of me, and started to feel embarrassed for coming over. I looked the man in the eyes, then the second man closer to me. I directed my gaze towards the woman, and saw more fear in her eyes than I have ever seen. I knew that everything wasn't fucking peachy, and didn't plan on parting just yet.
"Ma'am, are you alright?"
"Yes," she said half-heartedly. She looked down for a second, then back to me. "You should go, I'll be fine."
"You know, if something is wrong, you can just walk away." I knew she was lying, but I couldn't understand why. "You don't have to be around these people if you don't want to."
"Hey FUCKASS," the first guy shouted. "She fucking said it's fine, so if you don't get out of here, I'm going to fuck you up."
I was rather shocked by this, but everything became incredibly clear when I noticed a glimmer of a handle hidden behind a leather jacket. I knew that this girl was in some serious trouble, and she needed help if she was going to be okay.
"Come on Chase, grab the girl and let's get out of here."
I was panicking. I couldn't let them take the girl away, and there wasn't a police officer in sight. My heart was beating as quick as my mind was racing. The guy named Chase started to reach out towards the girl, and grabber her arm firmly. She cringed in pain, and he started to jerk her around the corner. She looked back at me and looked like she was ready to cry as she mouthed the word "help." I knew it was now or never, and that I had to do something. I looked around for something that I could use to help the situation, but all I could locate were pigeons, not quite the weapon of choice.
The three of them were starting to put distance between us, and that's when it finally happened. All of the bottled up emotions, all of the pain and shame I had felt over the years started to surge through me. I felt like I had always dreamed of feeling like, as my blood was boiling and time seemed to slow down. I took a deep breath and started charging towards the two men.
The one named Chase sensed something, and turned around right in time to land a punch right in the side of the face. He went collapsing into his friend, and then to the ground. His friend staggered forward a few steps and seemed to regain his balance right before I placed my hands on his back and drove my knee into his stomach. He staggered, holding his stomach in pain as I then placed my fist right on his jaw. He collapsed to the ground, almost as if his legs had gone numb. I grabbed the girl and started running towards my office.
We were twenty feet away from the door when I heard the bang. I didn't look back, and quickly made it to the door. We ran inside and I locked the door as we looked out through the bulletproof glass. I had always thought it was ridiculous that we had it on the first two floors, but was never happier about it. I saw a cop come around the corner, gun drawn, and put the man down after being shot at.
I turned back towards the girl and asked if she was okay. She looked like she was in shock, as she nodded in horror. I tried to reassure her that everything was okay, and that she was safe, but she continued to stare at me with a look of horror, finally screaming "somebody call 9-1-1!"
I followed her gaze right to my chest. My shirt was covered in blood, and there was a hole on the right side of it. I looked back up in horror as I fell to my knees, then to the ground.
Yesterday I finally fulfilled my potential, and used this amazing power that god had given me. Yesterday I was a superhero, a person who had no limits. I knew that Sharon would understand that I did what I had to, although I knew that she would miss me. I hope that she can find happiness, and that the woman I had helped does as well. I'm going to miss this place, but I'm not afraid. I finally discovered greatness.
User Reviews
Submitted by kai070169 (user info) at 2004-05-14 12:43:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
have another, bitch
Submitted by Scott_James (user info) at 2004-05-10 22:49:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Spiral_Abraxis (user info) at 2004-05-10 22:19:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Excellent writing.
Submitted by spedmonkey (user info) at 2004-05-10 22:06:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You're one talented guy. Got a strange thing for being shot, though.
Submitted by smokymtcsw (user info) at 2004-05-07 11:51:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Very well done. Pigeons can make an excellent weapon if they are covered in hot sauce...
Submitted by creep_firebombing (user info) at 2004-05-07 11:45:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Totally_useless (user info) at 2004-05-07 11:13:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
-2 for choking me up at work.
+2 for being able to elicit that kind of emotion from me, at work.
stop doing that.
Submitted by Envenom (user info) at 2004-05-07 10:39:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Kickass
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2004-05-07 04:59:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Method, you could easily stick that emu up your ass
Submitted by DeathJester (user info) at 2004-05-07 04:51:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Excellent
Submitted by bargled (user info) at 2004-05-07 02:06:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Zoidberg (user info) at 2004-05-07 01:22:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Wow
You need to post around noonish during weekdays man
This sort of stuff deserves attention
Submitted by AlwaysAnEagle (user info) at 2004-05-07 00:15:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Amazing.
Submitted by PWNstar (user info) at 2004-05-06 23:18:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
And then a crow brought you back to life and you kicked a lot of ass...
Submitted by Yes (user info) at 2004-05-06 22:52:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
good read.
really fucking liked it.
Submitted by FearBenzene (user info) at 2004-05-06 21:50:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Haha, I'll work on it, but I'm not too fancy with photoshopping.
Submitted by Method (user info) at 2004-05-06 21:49:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Come now, you could have easily stuck an emu into that picture. Get with the program, man.