PayPal

For people who do not have a paypal account, I would recommend that they get one for making online purchases, etc. Especially good for merchants. So, if you are interested please join with through the banner below. Many thanks.
Sign up for PayPal and start accepting credit card payments instantly.
For all my myLot friends - I would like to share some advice that some of my friends on myLot told me about. I thought I'd share it with you, since it can really multiply your earnings on myLot. I have been informed that, when you post/reply to discussions, if you write at least six lines, you will be paid a higher amount for that, than if you were to just write one or two lines. If you can keep your sentences short, then six lines is not a lot ! So friends, try to keep this advice in mind for your future discussions and the money start to add up quicker than it was before.


Monday, April 11, 2011

Death in the warehouse Part 2

    Time flew by and it was getting late. I had to hit the road once more. The logs in the small fire place had burned down to cinders and cold was creeping back into the room. A soft cough jerked me away from the half sleep I had fallen into. The tobacco in my own pipe had burned to ashes and it was just barely hanging from the edge of my lips. I suddenly realized how quiet the room had gotten silent and the guys who had been having a lively chat a moment back seemed to have quieted down. The darting uncertain eyes soon acquired a spark in them like some decision had been made. One by one, they started to get up out of the chair. I saw a few spots of red on one of the heavily built man whom I had called my friend which I assumed was food until he got closer. The red stains on the floor in the far corner wall made me wonder and despair about the mess I was in. Squirming backwards, I kept begging them to let me be as it will bring only ill tidings to all while I started looking for an escape till I reached the very edge of the room. The only response I heard was harsh laughter, a snarl and a swift kick in the abdomen. Not being able to back any further, I started to push myself up with my back towards the wall while grimacing in pain. Like a pack of hyenas, the circle of predators drew smaller and smaller. With a gasp, I toppled backwards wide eyed and sweat started to soak my shirt. The eyes turned hard, gritty and started to sparkle with an evil glint.

    The grandfather clock down in the hallway boomed as the hand had struck twelve. The phone in the shipping department was ringing off the hook yet no one answered and the familiar sounds were gone. Pulling a shotgun from the shoulder, the burly man started to insert shells one by one into the twin barrel while grimacing at me. “Hi. You already know my name. Yet take a good long look at me, because your end is near. It’s been a few months and you forgot to make the truck payments. We’ve come to collect in full.” Was all he said as he snapped the gun and flipped the safety off. With sweat running down my neck and soaking the shirt, I started to crawl out of the room and into the hallway. A door creaked open somewhere and I heard heavy footsteps running towards me. A shotgun rang out and the pellets left their marks on my ankles and lower legs. Air was knocked out as someone kicked me swiftly in the groin. As I started to lose consciousness, I saw the burly man and a pair of loan sharks which had been sent after me staring down at me. Taking a brass knuckle out of the jacket, one of them raised his hand and started to pound the gasping figure on the ground repeatedly leaving a stream of blood flowing down the sidewalk. Floating in a haze of pain and darkness, I heard a truck horn somewhere in the warehouse and the strong diesel as I heard a truck start to rev up. I felt a sharp stab of pain as a shoe struck my abdomen over and over again. With a sharp gasp, I opened my eyes and tried to sit up yet fell back down on the floor once more as a sharp jolt of pain rang through my body. I felt a nudge and heard a curse. “This is the end. How long did you think you could run and hide? We’ve made arrangement for you. No more deliveries to worry about.” was whispered as I was dragged across the warehouse. I tried to resist yet was too weak. The last sight I saw was the cold vibrating steel beam under my back, a bright light which seemed to be getting closer and closer and the sound of a train in the distance.


    As I opened my eyes, I saw white florescent light lining the ceiling. Looking around, I saw that I was lying in a bed with wires, IV lines connected to my arm and the sound of a heart monitor behind me. A soft whisper, a rustle of curtains and a nurses head poked through which quickly disappeared once more. A man in a white coat with a manual blood pressure machine and stethoscope appeared followed by a man in plain clothed man with a diary in hand. “Hello, I’m Dr Ryan. How are you feeling today Jim?” as the cuff of the BP machine was inserted into my left upper arm, blood pressure and heart rate checked. “Where am I and how did I get here?” I asked in a rasping voice. “You were in a bad shape when you were brought in. Some homeless bum found you on a train track and pulled you off just before a freight train passed by and brought you here. Do you remember anything and who did this to you?” Asked detective Sam as he showed me his badge.

    Glancing over my shoulder, I looked out the window and saw that summer was in full swing. Startled, I asked how long it has been and I was told that I was out cold for three full months. “I’ve got to think and I’ll have the nurse ring you up if I remember anything.” I mumbled as the plain cloth officer walked out of the room. Time flew by as seasons changed and soon it was autumn. The random visits of the police were the only thing that broke the monotony of the room yet they went away empty handed. I had other plans as my diary started to fill up and phone calls were made. The day finally came when I limped out of the room with a walking cane as my only companion.

    The diary which through which I constantly flipped through started to fray at the edges yet kept on reminding me of the past and the score I had to settle before the youth was snatched away from me. Time had moved on as I moved through nameless towns, settling old scores one after another looking for the elusive peace from my troubled past. It seemed like the ones who had tried to kill me had forgotten about me as I recuperated and went their own way. Bill and Tom were the only ones left. Tom was untraceable and Bill was found by sheer chance. On the way back from Broken Wheel town, I wandered into a road side diner to grab a sandwich. In the dead of night, the place was as dead as a cemetery. Wandering in, I asked for a coffee and a sandwich from the man behind the counter. Turning around, I gasped as if seeing a ghost as it was unexpected that I’ll be seeing anyone in these parts whom I knew from before. Making small talk, coffee was taken and gladly taken as we exchanged stories of our travels around the country once more. Curiosity got the better of Bill and he had to ask how he was located even though he tried my best not to leave any trace behind. I told him how he was asked about in every bar, highway stops and any other places that served travelers. I met a dead end at every place until I chanced upon him here. Like a shark on a kill, I started to inch closer and closer. The last sounds I heard while leaving the store after pushing the limp body under the counter was the blaring sound of the cb radio near the cash counter demanding to know why Bill hadn’t called in yet for the cash collection. Holding my hat firmly with the blood stained gloves, I got out of the store and ran down the steps towards the city bus that was heading out of town.

    I jingled the ice cream truck bells to wake me out of the half sleep I was in as I realized that the end of the road that I had embarked upon was drawing to a close. Looking upwards, I saw that it was late afternoon already and the activity in the park just down the street was in full swing. Alot of kids always used to come to the park to play baseball, football or any other sports activity which caught their fancy. Sometimes families used to come to the park for a picnic. You could always tell when a picnic was going on because the delicious food smells used to waft through the residential area tempting people to venture out and mingle with the picnic crowd.

    Looking down the street, Tom saw the city life was in full swing. A city bus slowly wound its way through the streets and turned left at the intersection to head off to the towns main center. People were in a rush to reach their destination and they either hurriedly chased the bus like mad dogs or waited for the next one. Tom really didn’t know how long he was lost in thought, yet a feeling of dread started to bother him. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t pin point the reason why nor shake this feeling off. There was something out there and he could feel it in his bones. Not eaten anything since the early lunch, Tom stopped off at the deli located just down the street before going back to his room. As he got off the bench and into the black top road, he saw a sight which not only startled me but took his breath away. It seemed like a ghost from his past had returned to haunt him once more. The man he thought was long dead was driving an ice cream truck leisurely towards him. As the truck pulled up, he heard it purring and humming just like a brand new machine. “I’ve been waiting just around the bend for you and would you like to go for another ride.” was all that was said as coffee was handed over.


    Time flew by as the afternoon turned into evening and finally into night. John went through all the room to make sure all were asleep in their rooms. All were asleep except for one room which was empty. Yet, no matter how hard he tried he could not find Tom anywhere and no one remembered where he had gone off to. Giving up his search, he turned off the room light, closed the door and went to his room hoping that Tom will be back by morning. A siren was heard way down yonder and he guessed someone needed help.

    On a park bench in front of the old people home, a crowd had gathered in front of a bench where an old man who was sprawled like he was fast asleep with the head sitting next to him. A lone policeman making his rounds notices the large gathering and makes way through the crowd to see what the matter was. Something looks odd about the posture, yet he tries to wake up the sleeping man up so that the he can shoo him away. A coffee mug and a sandwich falls out of the old man hand as he rolls off the bench and onto the grass with the head rolling off into the tall grass under the bench. The paramedics soon arrive and declare that this old man died many hours back, possibly in the late afternoon. As the paramedics wheel away the body into the ambulance, the detective who handled these cases flipped through the wallet as he walked up to the retirement home for old folks to see if they could identify the body and shed some light on who Tom was.

    With the passage of time, I had all but forgotten my previous life until this morning when I had run across the old tattered diary which had names of the people whom I had settled the pending scores. I had come here to wrap up one loose end and I had never intended to wander a little further down this long forgotten road which had drawn me like a street light draws a moth. At one time, I used to meet fellow truck drivers at this ill fated warehouse whom I considered friends for many years until one fateful night when they had turned foes at a moments notice and everyone was dispersed to far flung areas. Lying on the hospital bed, it was decided that it was time to pay back in the same coin as was dealt to me. Time had moved on....we grew up and went our own ways, made new friends along the way. But this warehouse still holds a special place for me. Sometimes when I look back, it always pops up in my mind and brings back some fond memories and I am reminded of how much carefree fun I had when I was younger.

      0 Comments:

       

      ss_blog_claim=64eb27d800bf9debb2e591ae98643281