Land of the Heartless, Part 4 (631 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.37 on 9 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by spedmonkey <spedmonkey.at.gmail.com> (View user info) at 2005-04-06 21:36:16 EDT
A short installment, just to show I haven't forgotten about this series. The rest will be coming very soon.
Part 1: http://www.ubersite.com/m/54418
Part 2: http://www.ubersite.com/m/55728
Part 3: http://www.ubersite.com/m/59598
When they arrived, the bar was packed. Telonya smiled at the bartender, who nodded in return. They stood at the bar until a booth opened up, and David slid into the bench. He was glad to see that bars, at least, were still much the same.
A waitress walked by to take the order. "I'll have a ferromalt, no ice," said Telonya.
"Uh, I'll have the same," said David. His eyes absently followed the waitress' motion as she walked away.
Telonya jolted him out of his reverie. "So, I was flipping through your file before I met you this morning, and it didn't say anything about your other life, if you catch my meaning. Would you mind talking about it?"
David gave her a hard look. "You know I came here to get away from that," he said sharply. Then he sighed. "But I guess you have a right to know."
Telonya leaned forward. "Please, if you don't want to discuss it, then don't," she said. "I understand if there's something you'd rather not share."
David ran a hand through his hair. "No, no, I'll have to get over it eventually, won't I? It'll help to have someone to listen," he said. "You know I was a typical middle class guy, right? A lawyer with a family. I assume you know that I had a wife and two kids?"
Telonya nodded. "The file said all that. It didn't say why you left it all behind, though."
"Well, you see, my family... they died the year before I was vaporized. I didn't mention that when I filled out the sheet."
Telonya gasped and leaned forward. "What happened? An accident?"
David shook his head. "They-" He choked up and closed his eyes. He sat for a moment, cleared his throat, and opened them again. They were wet and glassy. "Excuse me. I was out of town at a trial in Cleveland. It was a Saturday. They went to services at Beth Israel, our temple. They were in there when it blew up. Some crazy Christian fundamentalist." David dropped his head into his hands.
The waitress came back with the drinks. Telonya nodded curtly and waved her away.
"That's terrible," she said disbelievingly. "Why didn't you leave right away?"
"I wanted justice," said David. He looked up. "I wanted to see him locked away for life. I thought I could get through life if I knew that at least justice could be served. But the jury let him off. They sentenced him to psychiatric counseling after he pleaded insanity. Something inside me snapped then; I sold everything I owned and went to the vaporization facility right then, hoping that someday they'd be able to bring me back. Back to a world completely free of all hatred, where everyone could just live together. It looks like that was too much to ask, though." He dropped his head back into his arms.
Telonya reached across the table and patted his arm. "It looks like you're in no condition for these drinks," she said. "Come on, we should go get some sleep anyway." She pulled David out of the booth, and led him, sobbing, out the door, leaving the drinks behind.
User Reviews
Submitted by minimumdino (user info) at 2006-01-11 13:57:10 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
harrr
Submitted by minimumdino (user info) at 2006-01-10 18:39:22 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
readers digest says... i threw it up
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2005-04-07 18:39:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
more future stuff, please, getting bogged down.
Submitted by wardy (user info) at 2005-04-07 15:02:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2005-04-07 12:52:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by GodLovesALittleLovin (user info) at 2005-04-07 11:39:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by tlozoot (user info) at 2005-04-06 23:59:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
!
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-04-06 23:43:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Hmmm. I thought David was too much of an emotional cliche when he was recounting the death of his family. But I liked the logic behind his vaporization.
Submitted by peckerhead (user info) at 2005-04-06 22:42:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Superb!