Something Like Love (598 hits)
Category: NoneLabels: Fiction
Rating: 1.9 on 28 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by kaos-king (View user info) at 2005-08-09 12:38:55 EDT
Kent Harrison had burnt his eggs. Again. He wondered how his wife had always managed to pull it off. The perfect consistency, the perfect yellow. He had heard that scrambled was the easiest way to make them. Yet another breakfast ruined.
He shuffled across the kitchen in his slippers, making his way to the coffee pot. At least he couldn't screw that up too bad. Coffee and cigarettes - The All American breakfast. Maggie would be so pissed to know he had taken up the habit again. They had quit together seven years ago, right before Kevin. The nicotine helped him through the day now, each puff a calming reminder of a life long ago.
He considered the work he had to get done today. Finish the website for Holdren, e-mail about twenty different members of management, see if he could debug the house mainframe from home. He really didn't want to go in to the office today. It had been too long since his last visit, but he couldn't afford it. Too much to lose.
Just as he was about to read the paper, a knock on the door came. It could only be one thing. Kent was both terrified and relived. He gathered his nerves, placed the paper back on the kitchen table, and tied his robe tighter. The knock turned into a pounding just as he reached it.
He opened the door to see a stern looking younger man on his steps. He had on a navy blue uniform, complete with helmut and padded vest. The officer had two sawed off shotguns slung over each shoulder.
"Disposal Department."
"Yes, good morning. Would you like some coffee?"
"No thank you, sir. Have you any items that need terminated today?"
"No sir, I'm good," he said, telling the truth.
The officer looked over his paperwork. "You are Kent Hannibal Harrison?"
"Yes sir."
"I need to inquire about your family, sir."
"My wife was obtained about three weeks ago," Kent said through clenched teeth.
His wife's disposal had been hard on him. Hopefully, bringing up the subject would keep the officer's suspicion down. If he seemed still in mourning, perhaps the officer wouldn't notice the strain he was under during the inevitable next series of questions.
"My apologies, Mr. Harrison. I see that now. Have you received your benefits yet?"
"Yes, but I'm still working."
"At... Orbit Industries as a computer technician?"
"Yes sir."
"Excellent sir. Now I need to see your son, Kevin, age six."
"He's been staying with his grandmother ever since his mother was removed."
The officer cocked an eyebrow at Kent Harrison.
"I have all the documents pertaining to his transfer."
"I'll need to see those, sir."
"Of course, one moment."
Kent left the door ajar as he walked calmly to his home office. The papers were easily obtainable on the top of his filing cabinet. On his way back to the front door, he prayed for silence from the basement.
"Here they are officer."
The officer examined them, glancing twice at the signatures on both pages. Such things had to be kept in order, and this was a fairly unique situation. Before he had a chance to ask, Kent spoke up.
"I took my wife's removal hard. It was... better for Kevin not to be around me for a little while."
"I understand, sir," the officer said, nodding his head. "This has been a trying time for everyone. I apologize for the difficult questions."
"It's quite all right. You're just doing your job."
"Yes sir. Please let us know when your son returns home."
"Of course."
Kent let the door shut with a sigh. As he watched the officer step across his lawn to the next house, he began to tremble. He had fooled them for another week. Eventually, someone would check all the paper work, and put it together. Failure to comply with the Disposal Department carried a very heavy penalty. But, thought Kent, to go along with them was heavier.
After watching them proceed a few more houses down the street, Kent slipped into the hallway. He unlocked the door to the basement, and flipped on the lights. The steps creaked under his weight as he carefully made his way down. He stopped halfway down to look around. Nothing had been disturbed. The locks still held.
He rounded the bottom step and glanced at his work table. It held an assortment of tools, most that hadn't been touched in months. He couldn't bring himself to continue working on the dinning room lamp. He had sworn to finish it after Maggie died, but after what had happened with Kevin, it didn't seem important. Kevin. The cage sat in the far corner underneath a broken light bulb. Kent couldn't get close enough to fix it.
Kent sat down on the stool about four feet from the cage, his brown eyes welling up with tears. The eyes that peered back at him were shallow and yellow. Kevin dragged himself over to the edge and began rubbing his face against the bars, moaning. His jagged teeth were flaked with dried blood, he had long ago chewed off his own tongue. Long, dirty finger nails ran down the bars, scraping the enamel. His son made a series of biting motions in quick succession.
The infection had been dormant in Kevin for almost a week after his mother had succumbed. When it flared up, it came fast. Kent hadn't even known that his son had been bitten or scratched. Most people had slow moving signs, allowing others to pick up on the changes. Kevin's had seemingly transformed over night. After losing Maggie, he couldn't part with his son. He had gone out and bought a strong dog cage made for pit bulls and the like.
He had read all the information, seen all the reports. He knew his son was dead, a zombie, but things made him think that his little boy was still in there somewhere. He had calmed down immensely when he had brought Kevin his favorite X-Men doll. Granted, most of the features had been gnawed away, but Kevin knew that it was his little Wolverine action figure.
Kent lingered for about ten minutes before the remains of his son. He would have to feed him later on in the day. He had found out the best amount and the right times. If he was fed once a day, in the middle of the afternoon, he would stay quiet most of the time. Too much or too little raw meat, and he became excited. Bashing at the cage, howling. Kent knew how to take care of his son, his little man. And he would until they found him out, and took both son and father away.
"Do you want some yummy chicken today, Kev? What does a chicken say?"
Blank stares from the cage filled with silence.
"I love you, Kevin."
User Reviews
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2007-10-17 12:48:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Again, I'm left feeling there isn't enough. And I like short, so that's saying something.
Submitted by Magic_Monkey (user info) at 2005-09-23 07:34:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Loved it
Submitted by ruthless (user info) at 2005-08-12 16:47:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Cat's Pajamas.
Submitted by darko (user info) at 2005-08-10 05:02:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I loved the concept, but I didn't like how you wrote it. I can't put my finger on it right now, but right from the start I was put off. I guess I didn't like how you were so detailed at the beggining when none of it mattered. Have a +1 for concept I guess.
Submitted by ozzy (user info) at 2005-08-10 04:27:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
How can I not +2 this. Well written.
Submitted by Kre8rix (user info) at 2005-08-10 02:05:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
dude, I read this earlier and forgot to rate because I had...obligations.
Anyway, good job. You're one I keep an eye out for now.
Submitted by NumLock (user info) at 2005-08-09 18:40:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good.
Submitted by FallenZer0 (user info) at 2005-08-09 17:53:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
you have increased my fear of zombies and the upcoming zombiapocalypse tenfold.
but it's a good story
(omfg you mean my neighors could have zombies in their basements?! ARRHG)
Submitted by Deidra (user info) at 2005-08-09 17:48:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome.
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-08-09 17:14:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
http://www.eatbrains.com
Submitted by krissi (user info) at 2005-08-09 15:34:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Very good.
Submitted by Professional_Peon (user info) at 2005-08-09 15:25:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Gotta love zombie stories
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2005-08-09 14:51:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Nice
Submitted by pbnjams (user info) at 2005-08-09 14:12:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I might think you're the hottest thing since sliced bread. Also, I make some wicked eggs if you're interested.
Submitted by iradney (user info) at 2005-08-09 13:58:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
chilling
Submitted by Vulva (user info) at 2005-08-09 13:35:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by stardamage (user info) at 2005-08-09 13:29:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Here, have another one. Why haven't I read any of your other stories before? Now I have to go catch up.
Submitted by stardamage (user info) at 2005-08-09 13:26:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
More. Please?
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2005-08-09 13:25:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
What am I saying? Writing like that you're probably married with kids, a proverbial Bigmike. You scallywag!
Submitted by nitty34 (user info) at 2005-08-09 13:25:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2005-08-09 13:21:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2005-08-09 13:13:30 (#)
Ranking: 0
Sorry Berty, Everything in The Thin series was unrelated. It was just a group of short horror shories that I wrote and shopped around to some publishers. I do have quite a number of series, though - I'll be getting around to posting them eventually. I've written over 75 short stories and have 87,000 words done in my novel. I have no life, so this is what I do all day long...
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Well you do it very, very well. Don't worry about having a life, A mate of mine got one of those but he hadn't done enough ground work on himself. Whole thing fell through like a cheap pack of cards.
Wise man built his house upon the rock and all that.
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2005-08-09 13:13:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Sorry Berty, Everything in The Thin series was unrelated. It was just a group of short horror shories that I wrote and shopped around to some publishers. I do have quite a number of series, though - I'll be getting around to posting them eventually. I've written over 75 short stories and have 87,000 words done in my novel. I have no life, so this is what I do all day long...
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2005-08-09 13:06:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2005-08-09 12:59:08 (#)
Ranking: 0
Berty, I had the hardest time coming up with a rEAL title for this one. I wanted something simple, subtle and understated. I didn't want to give away anything. This was originally part of a series called "The Thin," and it was just titled "Love."
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*shrug*
I wouldn't be concerned by it, the title is thoroughly secondary compared to the story obviously.
You could have called it something like "Human Remains" or "The Importance of Being Earnest" may have worked, you know with the whole lying to the authorities about his monstrous son. How about: "Blind Love"? Or "Flakes of Childhood" or "Love Sick"?
I like "Love Sick" I think that's quality. Just like this story. Hey! Does this mean there are more to follow?
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2005-08-09 12:59:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Berty, I had the hardest time coming up with a rEAL title for this one. I wanted something simple, subtle and understated. I didn't want to give away anything. This was originally part of a series called "The Thin," and it was just titled "Love."
Submitted by Darth_Adwain (user info) at 2005-08-09 12:58:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Very good, but I read this whilst eating... *PUKE*
Submitted by Chinaski (user info) at 2005-08-09 12:57:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Pretty good, but much too abruptly ended. Also, a huge lack of action... you could have made it much more exciting.
Submitted by Jeanneee (user info) at 2005-08-09 12:51:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Amazing. I know I always say that but it's true. You're very gifted.
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2005-08-09 12:43:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good story, dodgy title.