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Fiction Writing Portfolio By Chance Rogers

2 Table of Contents Reflective essay page 3 Three Stories Up and Over 4 The Debt 7 Something in the Dark 13 Small Writing Assignments The Murder 24 The Murder Prequel 25 The Funeral 27 A Regret 29

3 Reflective Essay I took Fiction Writing as an elective because I am interested in writing but I didn t have much confidence in doing so I enjoy reading fantasy and science fiction which is where my interest in writing comes from I have had many ideas but never thought about actually writing them out until I took this class The different writing assignments helped me understand how to write more effectively and I become more confident I still have a long way to go before writing anything significant In my first story Up and Over I wasn t pleased with it when I had submitted it but after peer review and feedback from the professor I realized it wasn t as bad as I had initially thought it was The idea for the story first came up with the first assignment writing a scene about a photo I had tried not to make it too complicated and the biggest issue was that it had to be in a single location The word count requirement was an issue as I had to cut details to meet them The second big story assignment was to expand upon a previous one so I chose Up and Over The Debt was written as a prequel to give some of the necessary background information the plot became more coherent with it The in between assignments helped me think differently about how I write a story and I could tell the difference between the two The third story was open ended and five to ten pages so it allowed for a lot of creativity so I decided to go for a darker story The only requirement besides formatting was to start the story with where were you last night Having more freedom was a lot of fun In my previous writings I tried to avoid getting into fantasy and the supernatural Still I decided to try it out for the final story as I had more confidence that I could write a decent story that I would be satisfied with

4 The photo I chose for the photo scene prompt Up and Over Derrell Jackson CEO of Jackson Holdings also owns an Illegal gambling ring and loan shark business Derrell steps out of his vehicle in front of the company s main building Derrell walks inside and takes into account the employees that have been hired mostly to make the company look legitimate He enters the elevator and makes his way to the twentieth floor where his office is located When the elevator reaches the twelfth floor the door opens and a janitor steps inside Derrell was about to get angry about sharing his personal space with someone he thought beneath him but before he could the janitor bowed deeply I m so sorry sir I didn t mean to offend someone so powerful as you The Janitor says This made Derrell quite pleased as he has an enormous ego Derrell replies smiling I ll overlook it for now besides it seems like you are doing your job faithfully as Derrell points at the large waste basket the janitor is standing next to Thank you very much says the janitor I m unworthy of your praise

5 The janitor gets off the elevator on the 18th floor Derrell in a good mood steps of the elevator on the twentieth floor he starts to walk by but is interrupted Excuse me Sir says the secretary Typically Derrell would have just ignored her however his mood was good and he decided to respond What is it woman You had a guest come by earlier he is waiting in your office she replies This startles Derrell the only people that come up here are his gang members Derrell starts quickly making his way to his office The other rooms nearby are filled with people he knows to be his gangsters by their suits they have to wear in the building Before Derrell arrives at his office he walks by a man wearing the same suit that s mandatory but doesn t remember his face Derrell too focused on the problem at hand puts those thoughts aside He nearly has a heart attack as he opens the door the room is a complete mess obviously searched through Derrell looks at the wall to see the painting was no longer hanging and his safe wide open He makes his way to his desk and sees that his computer was unlocked with a message on it saying Download complete Derrell is quite influential in this city with his hands in the Police department and the Politicians These connections have allowed his criminal activities to go unchecked thus growing in power and wealth He keeps important documents of his illegal transactions and the information of those that have helped him in a personal safe in his office His conversations with his

6 connections have been downloaded off the computer This information is enough to turn everyone against him and to get him locked up forever Derrell Jackson calls up his right hand man We have an emergency don t let a single person leave this building without my permission Derrell leaves his office and sees the guy he passed on the way here looking at him through the elevator The man starts to panic and the elevator closes just before Derrell can reach it He turned to his secretary Who was that man She responds I don t know all he said was that he was here to see you Derrell curses and makes another call He s taking the elevator don t let him escape Derrell waits for the adjacent elevator to get up and gets in and goes to the lobby He gets out to see his goons aiming their pistols are the elevator Derrell curses them out and says Where is he He was heading down the elevator He is confused the men are covering the exits Just then he gets a call The man has been sighted in basement level one and heading up the stairs says one of the men Derrell rushes up the stairs as Derrell opens the door he looks up and sees the man holding a briefcase staring at him then starts sprinting up the stairs Derrell knows these stairs can only be accessed from the basement rooftop on the fifth tenth and fifteenth floors He orders his men to

7 guard these exits Derrell and his goons chase the man to the rooftop With nowhere to go the man faces Derrell Derrell says I m going to enjoy making you talk as he cracks his knuckles Derrell starts walking confidently toward the man The man smiles at Derrell just before jumping backward off the side of the building Derrell panics and runs to the edge and peers over Not a single sign of the man or the briefcase The End The Debt Frank had just gotten out of bed when his phone rang Hello what do you want Is this Frank Thompson Yes this is Frank

8 Ok Mr Thompson I m calling to inform you that we admitted your brother a half hour ago for minor injuries he was in a car accident Alright I ll be there soon Frank said as he threw his phone on his bed and got himself dressed The hospital building was twenty minutes away from his house thirty if there was heavy traffic Frank enters the hospital He notices two nurses talking at the counter and walks up to them Excuse me which room is Reginald Thompson staying at After taking a quick look at the computer the nurse behind the counter responds Room 203 Thanks says Frank and he starts to make his way down the hall following the signs on the walls he figures out the direction his brother s room is Along the way Frank notices a mother with her son You should already know how to tie a shoe at your age I m sorry mom the boy sniffles Frank passes them by and finds his brother s room even before he enters he can hear his brother s obnoxious voice Upon entering the door has been left open Frank sees his brother shouting from his bed at a woman almost in tears Behind Reginald are his two buddy s Bob and Grant always listening to whatever Reginald tells them You should have been watching where you were going I m going to sue your ass for every penny you own Reginald shouts and his friends support him The woman was balling her eyes out saying I m sorry I didn t you weren t She stammers and finally gets to the point You jumped in front of my car At hearing these words Bob and Grant start going crazy Reginald notices Frank standing in the doorway and his eyes grow wide

9 Frank Big Brother thank you for coming is all Reginald manages to say before Frank walks up and punches him Reginald grabs his nose and starts cursing The woman is standing there in shock This is the fifth woman you have tried to extort this month Reginald You all pointing at his Bob and Grant are a bunch of conmen if you weren t my brother I would have turned you into the police myself as always I m the one who is fixing your mess Bob hands Reginald a Kleenex and tries to say something to Frank but the glare he got from him shut him up Reginald bleeding heavily shoves the Kleenex up his nose Reginald spitefully says you should keep your head out of my business how else am I supposed to pay back my debts Frank holds his hand to his temple as if he had a migraine by getting a job Reginald that s how you make money legally now you aren t going to bother that woman anymore and she s not going to pay you a dime is that clear Reginald starts to protest but Frank shouts louder IS THAT CLEAR Reginald nods his head Frank slams the door on his way out in anger Later that day Reginald walks into the house and sees Frank sitting there in the living room Reginald knew this was going to happen they all live together so it was unavoidable We need to talk Reginald Frank says staring intently We don t need to talk about anything it s not your business IT IS my business you are my brother Reginald you refuse to say anything and you won t tell me who you owe and how much money Frank takes a deep sigh We are going to talk about this I need to know I care about my family which you are a part of like it or not

10 You are far too controlling it s suffocating why can t I just do what I want Because I want you to live a good life when you and your sister were just babies and I was ten years old we were poor I had to go hungry so that mom could feed you both Frank says a sorrow expression on his face I want us to live better lives that means education look at your sister Megan she listens most of the time and she s doing great in school Listen brother I know you just mean the best for us but it s too much you tell us what to eat to read and watch what time to be home even who we can be friends with Reginald decides to sit down in front of Frank on an old leather couch Ok fine I ll tell you about my debt Reginald clears his throat It all starting when I went gambling with the fifty bucks you gave me a while back I was doing very well at blackjack and had racked up a thousand dollars but then I lost it all in one go I got a bit desperate as my luck was high so I went next door to a loan shark named Derrell Jackson I got a loan for five hundred dollars because I thought I would get it back but I lost it as well so I got another loan and finally I just stopped my luck ran out and I owed the shark a grand Frank lets out a sigh of relief Derrell Jackson is a dangerous man Reginald you should have never made a deal with him but alright that s a decent amount of money but I have that much as an emergency fund let s go pay it back immediately about that the thing is I thought I was going to be able to pay the shark back immediately so I didn t look at the paperwork and the interest was high so how much do you owe now Frank says at the edge of his seat with a worried expression About twenty grand

11 WHAT Frank yells And apparently the interest compounds Do you have a copy of the paperwork I ll take it to my lawyers and see if there is some hope of getting out of this mess I m sorry I didn t mean to owe so much money thanks for helping Reginald says as his eyes start to water Frank calls and meets with his lawyers the next day Frank finds out that the contract is not only unbelievable but there was nothing he could do about it In the contract it says that if the recipient cannot pay then they will go to the next of kin until they get their money Frank knows this is questionable legally but Derrell Jackson is well known for having court cases go his way so it s safe to assume he is in the judge s pockets Frank has gone home and paces back and forth through the living room he had taken time off work from his job as a Marketing Manager for a small local company He had finally managed to land the position at just twenty two years old and has held the position for three years and this is the first time he had ever taken off work He had bought this house for his mother and two siblings and everything was looking up and now this happens Reginald enters the house and looks at his brother hopefully What did you find out That we are pretty much screwed Frank says still pacing Is there nothing we can do brother Very little but I m still figuring it out I did find out recently that Derrell Jackson is the CEO of Jackson Holdings which I guess is a fraudulent company to give him an excuse where his wealth

12 comes from Frank finally sits down with sweat running down his forehead The company is so obvious but it doesn t matter since he s practically immune to any legal confrontation even if one had undeniable evidence it s still questionable whether they would win or not So what now Reginald asks I m going to go talk with someone at the company he works in the IT department How can he help Well he is familiar with computer systems and also likes poking around where he doesn t belong Reginald s eyes widen That might work We could do something with their computers Not quite but close if we do that we could be charged with corporate espionage but I ll see what we can do now while I m gone please stay low Reginald first looks annoyed but it quickly changes to shame Ok I will Frank gets a hold of the IT guy named Jake a timid guy It wasn t difficult getting a meeting with him Jake was able to get a floor plan of the building and security footage They noticed that there are many tough looking guys near the middle of the building near Derrell s office Jake found out that Derrell kept sensitive information in his office that could help Frank and Jake came up with a plan Jake would get a job as a janitor in the building and stand by while Frank dressed up as one of the gangsters and went to his office Frank would retrieve the information make his way to a window and drop down the side of the building a be caught by Jake they would exit the building with Frank hidden away in a trash can

13 The End Something in the Dark Where were you last night My father asks ushering me inside the bunker I was getting supplies relax we haven t heard noises in the past week and we were running low Do you know how worried we were He says We thought you wouldn t be coming back Look I m alive and now we have supplies we can treat the fish He gives me a look of exasperation before calming down and closing the bunker door being careful to secure the door before we head down to give our family the good news We take the supplies downstairs My two brothers are the first to see me as they rush over and hug me Where were you I thought they got you Isaac sniffles What s that you have in your hands Jake says eagerly I don t have any candy I say and Jake begins to pout But I do have this I reach inside my duffle bag and pull out a rubber ball and hand it to the boys Jake grabs and starts running away laughing

14 thank you uncle Simon Jake shouts as he grabs the ball and starts running away laughing Isaac running after him I hurry on ahead to catch up to my father The bunker looks the same as always I think to myself as we walk along with four large rooms with many smaller rooms dotting the walls All of the plumbing and electricity is either on the second level or in the crawlspace above No one is allowed down in the second level unsupervised besides my father and grandfather due to the vital machinery The crawlspace is too small for the adults and I can barely squeeze through another year and I won t fit at all Jake and Isaac play up there a lot it s mostly just pipes but they like spooking our mother by dropping in on her while she s cooking or cleaning or on guard duty We came down here when I was seven years old The bunker belonged to the company my grandparents worked at they had helped design it Originally it was built for the board of executives for emergencies but my parents thought it best we used it as the executives weren t around any longer It had a massive amount of food and it has kept us alive and well for a decade but nothing lasts forever As we head into the kitchen my mother and grandmother are preparing a stew which is what we mostly ate nowadays My mother saw me and rushed over and hugged me tightly What happened out there mother asks why didn t you return last night Sit down and stop strangling him he can t speak grandma says Ok I left two nights ago for supplies since our filters are in bad condition and the hydroponic garden is being plagued by scum because the filter fish are sick we all sit around the table the sounds had stopped for a whole week so I thought they had left we needed these I point at my duffle bag Filters and medicine that may help the fish Grandpa came into the kitchen At this

15 point I turn to him Hey grandpa I found an antenna for that ham radio set that you have been trying to get working Grandpa gives me a big smile and a pat on the shoulder My father interrupts me why didn t you come home last night though I was getting to that I say I had made my way through the small city for some reason nearly everything had been drained of color vehicles buildings are all stark white and I couldn t see any vegetation I found several large buildings It was easy to get inside the doors were missing on nearly every building so it wasn t difficult to search through There had been signs that people were once there but not for a long time Most items in the buildings were left undisturbed so I was able to fill my duffle bag Before I could leave I had heard the movement of some kind At these words everyone s face in the room grew more serious I continue I hid inside a small closet until the sounds were gone for a long time The big issue is that I had hidden too long and it was getting brighter outside so I quickly covered the windows with anything I could find So I had to wait out the day before coming back Did you hear anything on your way back my father says No It was completely silent on the way back however I felt very strange after spending the day in the building You aren t hurt anywhere right My mother asks You stayed out of the light I reassure her Yes I was very careful and I m sorry for worrying you Several moments pass and everyone seems to be relieved We all get up from the kitchen table and my mother and grandmother get back to cooking My father and I tend to the hydroponic garden and see if the medicine can help the fish My grandfather gestures that he is going to the

16 second level Most of my grandfather s teeth have fallen out and he can t pronounce words very well and chooses not to speak usually The kitchen is the smallest of the four but still very large as it was originally meant for large kitchen staff to work at the pantry and food storage were at one point filled to the brim now it s mostly herbs and spices that are left here which is fine the bunker had been built to be selfstaining and we would always have vegetables and fish The resources at the bunker were meant to last a year however that was for nearly a hundred people so thankfully we have never gone hungry even now with the food shortage we still have enough stocked up from the garden We pass through the living room which had all of our bedrooms a library an entertainment center and the exercise room It has the necessities and with our work and the library it s enough to keep one busy My father and I finally make it to the Hydroponic garden the largest of the four rooms it took us about eight minutes of walking to get there We spend the next couple of hours replacing the filter on the fish tank and finding to correct dosage of medicine The plants weren t looking the best and weren t yielding the normal amount of food so hopefully this medicine will help It s about time for dinner My father says I didn t notice we had been working for so long well hopefully this will be enough I reply I believe this will be good enough thank you but please don t go off on your own again It s dangerous out there I won t I promise him We head to the kitchen I see grandpa coming up from downstairs he looks happy

17 Hey grandpa how did it go He wipes the sweat off his brow smiles and gives me a thumbs up He follows us along to dinner The table has been set and my father and grandpa sit down My mother asks me where the boys are and on cue they drop from the opening in the ceiling We re here Isaac and Jake say at the same time When we all are sitting at the table father says grace and we eat The stew was a bit bland as we tried to avoid the fish because they were sick But it was more than edible as grandma was a great cook After dinner we all head to bed All of our rooms are fairly small but there is a lot of them I toss my duffle bag on the floor and get ready for bed It s a small twin sized bed and it takes up a quarter of the room but it s comfortable I get under the blankets and quickly fall asleep I wake up in a cold sweat a dim light softly illuminating the room When I was coming home the same feeling washed over me that something wasn t quite right I get dressed and head into the living room The lights were still shining brightly I check my brothers room Jake and Isaac were fast asleep although Jake was halfway on the floor snoring loudly My parents were still asleep and my grandma was in her bed but grandpa was missing It wouldn t be for about three hours until we all get up ready for work I hear a large crunching noise from the kitchen I walk that way hugging the walls In the kitchen I see grandpa breaking up some ice for a glass of water Hey grandpa He turns are and waves he hands me the glass of water and makes another for himself

18 I had a bad feeling Is everything all right He waves his hand to the side evethin allwight grandpa says His reassurance puts me at ease I drink my water and tell him ill see him later and I try to sleep the rest of the night I had finally gotten some more sleep when something hits my chest very hard and knocks the wind out of me Wake up Simon Jake says having just jumped on top of me Alright I m awake go bother someone else Jake laughs and runs out the door Today was my day to sit around in the first room the entrance to the bunker It was more long than wide and it had two doors one door at the top of the stairs and another here at the bottom Both of these doors were blast proof and quite heavy We usually keep the bottom one open though as the top one is enough Waiting around I momentarily get that same feeling hard to describe but it s like a sinking feeling but it passes quickly My mother comes Hey Simon your shift is done Ok nothing happened and it was still silent I say That s good news she says as she sits down Oh and your grandpa wanted to see you I head to see my grandpa he was in the room next to his bedroom working on the ham radio Is could hear the frequency tuning as I head inside Grandpa turns around and beckons me forward I sit down next to him and he is focusing on the dials and the knobs and eventually picks up a

19 signal I recognized it as the message from when I was younger it had been on repeat for a long time Attention all citizens it is no longer safe outside Exposure to the sun is now fatal please make your way to a bunker immediately and seal it tight I see the antenna helped I say Grandpa nods his head and continues turning the knob Grandpa had been talking to a lot of people over the radio when we first arrived He liked trying to find other people over the radio he and my father would talk to people very far away and there were lots of signals to pick up but many weren t clear enough to understand but now it s just static As he continues turning the dials he picks up a voice unclear he starts tuning it to hear better light keep it on at all times Stay inside avoid shadows We can hear it still but the static worsened Grandpa motioned for me to go about my day and that he would find me later once he got a clearer signal I go to the living room I see my mother is teaching Jake and Isaac something in the library We were taught practical stuff like how to take care of the bunker and the garden I had gone through the manuals for the Hydroponic garden multiple times I knew more about it than my grandfather did I still have a lot to learn about power I know the bunker uses geothermal and solar For some reason even though we don t have many solar panels they provide most of the bunkers energy which I don t quite understand I spend two hours using the exercise equipment and showering up When I finish up I see how my grandfather s progress is coming along I enter the room with the ham radio and my grandpa is writing things down frantically I can hear that the radio is now picking up the signal clear as day

20 Listen you need light keep it on at all times bright as you can make it there are things out there that can hide stay inside avoid shadows at all cost As soon as I hear those words I got that feeling once more worse than before it was horrible I look down and between my feet there were horrific eyes and gnashing teeth within my shadow looking up at me I fall backward my grandpa turns around and sees the thing and picks up a flashlight and the thing melds within the shadow and disappears My grandpa hands me a piece of paper with instructions and a large flashlight and starts hurrying out of the room The paper says Grab the UV lights from the garden Never enter a dark room Meet me in the living room I rush to the living room and meet my mother on the way and tell her to go to the living room and that something dangerous is here I manage to get the spare strips of UV lights we use for the garden and several UV bulbs for the handheld lights and make my way to the living room what the hell is going on my father asks Simon said something here was dangerous mom says My grandpa is having trouble speaking trying to tell them exactly what happened The boys were sitting next to grandma rolling the ball back and forth We heard over the radio that those noises we heard outside were creatures they can somehow hide inside shadows and it seems I brought one inside the bunker I say my grandfather nodding when they look to him for confirmation it doesn t seem to be able to enter the light which is why it was hiding all this time but it is now hiding in the shadows since it was discovered I try and describe what it looks like as I hand out the bulbs and lights

21 We need to hang these around this area for now and eliminate all shadows once we are safe we can figure something out do not step inside a shadow as it can hide inside your shadow We all spend an hour hanging up lights and adjusting them so that there couldn t be any shadows in the room Several times we thought we saw it moving through the shadows elsewhere but it couldn t reach us Ok is that enough I ask Grandpa nods his head Just then the lights start to flicker I look quickly at my father and grandpa We need to secure the power right now I shout The lights start to dim and then shut off we all power on our flashlights with a combination of white and purple beams breaking the darkness We stand near each other listening to each of us afraid to breathe Just then a noise to our right appeared and my mother shined her flashlight which showed a large mass of darkness with eyes and teeth twice my size was not even eight feet from me Its many eyes narrow at the light and it seems to shrink slightly My mother grandma and the boys scream We all move back quickly I shine my light with its purple beam at the shadow The shadow starts to bubble and it quickly disappears I try to follow its path with my light but I couldn t find it again I look behind and see mom and grandma cowering in fear while dad is standing in front Grandpa Isaac and Jake are missing Mom and grandma get into the corner with UV lights My father and I run to the staircase to the second level where we can hear the mashing of buttons and sparks flying The lights suddenly come back on and Grandpa screams We turn the corner and illuminated by the purple beam is a mass of darkness chasing after grandpa With the

22 power back on and the lights it shrinks to half my size It starts to bubble once more under the purple light before it flees it wraps the mass of teeth around grandpa s arm and rips it off before disappearing among the shadows of the machinery and pipes My dad and I run to grandpa He is clutching his shoulder where his arm once was I ll take grandpa we need to keep the lights on down here I say Go grab the first aid kits My father tells I hand my father the UV lights and throw grandpa on my back and carry him up the stairs The lights are back on and there are no signs of the shadow I make it to my mother and grandmother and set grandpa down who lost consciousness from blood loss I run and grab the first aid kit I ask mom where the boys were and she starts to panic I ll go find them take care of grandpa I say running off I grab one of the UV lights and look around seeing neither the boys nor the shadow It dawns on me that the boys must be in the crawl space I rush to the nearest entrance and squeeze myself through the opening I am able to army crawl through the labyrinth of pipes that carry the water around the bunker The boys know this area the best I crawl for several minutes with my UV light shining ahead I hear a sickening noise of mashing teeth and see the shadow in a dead end corner It starts to bubble and writhe under the purple light with no shadows to connect to it starts to boil until it disappears as if it was never there I start to call for the boys I tell myself they must not be up here I make my way back to my father who had finished installing UV lights all around the circuitry Mom and Grandma are taking care of grandpa I can t find Isaac and Jake

23 Ok I ll help you look my father says clearly shaken by the events We went to where the others were to see if the boys had come back which they hadn t Mom and grandma had taken care of grandpa who eventually pulled through although losing an arm took a heavy toll on him My father and I searched the rest of the bunker but the boys were never found It was not even a week later grandma died in her sleep Grandpa has lost his arm and his mind spent the rest of the time in bed or listening to the radio s static The fear and grief took their toll on my mother The next morning we found her on the floor with a bottle of pills in hand My father took care of his and I maintained the bunker best I could but it felt empty We all spent the rest of our lives in the bunker The End

24 The Murder The man was astonished just mere moments ago it was peaceful and serene The man had come to the lake they loved as a child for a date The Spruce forest closed off the lake as if it was their own private sanctum closed off from the rest of the world The man thought it was beautiful The water reflected the setting sun in an amazing display of warm colors He took a deep breath the scent of pine filled him and he began thinking He remembered the joy and the happiness he felt as he got out of his vehicle hours prior then suddenly he felt rage and jealousy it washed over him like a rapid river Then it came crashing to a halt all that was left is fear and grief Suddenly a metallic smell washed over him and he couldn t help it as his stomach twisted in knots he threw up his lunch until nothing was left He thought about what life would be like now and how he would live with what was done He put those thoughts aside and decided he would deal with the task at hand His body shook nervously as things clicked in his mind He went to his vehicle from the back he pulled out some cinderblocks he got several until he was satisfied with the weight It was far heavier than he imagined but he got everything on a boat that they used for fishing The man laughed as he remembered the time when they were children and they had managed to hook a bass but his expression soured quickly as he pulled himself from his

25 memories He paddled his way to the center of the lake using the last light of the evening to guide him He secured the cinderblocks and tossed everything but the paddles overboard He stared as scarlet billows swept through the water He wept until the sun disappeared This place to him was no longer a sanctum rather a quagmire The man gathered everything he could The full moon had risen giving the forest an eerie feeling He took one last deep breath he would never return As the man drove through the woods he wasn t sure what he would do next he was certain things would never go back to normal or whether he could even live with himself The man pushed these thoughts aside and focused on driving the only way he could live now is in the moment The End The Murder Prequel I m not looking forward to our meeting I invited my boyfriend to the old spruce lake where we played as children Driving down the road it carved a path through the spruce forest I had my windows rolled down so I could smell the blissful air The lake was our favorite spot in the whole world the shimmering water was clear and you could see fishing swimming through the

26 colors reflected off the water at sunset were unforgettable I hope he will accept my apology I had been away for a couple of months and we had been dating seriously for some time before then During my time away I went drinking was some friends and we all had gotten so drunk we couldn t think straight and I ended up in another man s bed I parked my car on the side of the road I saw that his truck was nearby he had some construction supplies in the back He had found a job that he was proud of several years ago but it was tough work but it was enough to live on It was a decent hike through some old trails to get to the lake as far as I know only us and our parents knew of this location I had always regarded the lake as our safe place Walking up the hill through the green pine I noticed the ground was covered in needles The brilliant blue sky was visible above the trees not a cloud in the sky The beautiful surroundings just made me guiltier At the top of the hill I could see the lake through the wood I arrived at the edge of the trees that lead to the clearing where the lake was I saw him there staring at the water seeing him there reminded me of the times we came down here and fished Our parents brought down a decent sized canoe to fish on and I remember when he was so proud to hook a bass even though it probably didn t weigh more than a half a pound I went down and he noticed me his eyes flashed with pure joy He ran up and embraced me I couldn t hug him back I tried to calm him down but he kept saying how he missed me and was looking forward to seeing me all these months I started to cry I told him straight The happiness in his eyes vanished replaced by darkness recognizable I saw on his face his grief and anger I told him that it was a mistake and that I hadn t meant to do it The last thing I saw was him pulling out from his belt the pocket knife I had given him for his birthday last year

27 The End The Funeral what the hell do you think you re doing Michael said The room had been prepared neatly the coffin right behind him closed tightly Large floral arrangements made by his family for the funeral adorned the wall The room illuminated by the dim lights of the fluorescent tubes on the ceiling He thought the rain and dark clouds were fitting for today Michael was grieving by himself and just as he was about to leave his brother s ex wife walked through the door I said what the hell do you think you are doing here Megan Megan said I just came to say sorry as she started walking forward Michael gritted his teeth and clenched his fists This was you re fault in the first place how dare you have the audacity to show yourself here Megan froze in her tracks It wasn t my intention for this to ever happen She couldn t bring herself to meet his eyes

28 You need to leave and hope I never see you again He said After what you did to my brother I hate your guts I hope you burn in hell Megan got angry how was I supposed to know he would do that it s a good thing I left him Michael just about had it You are the one who slept with another man when you were married He shouldn t have been so weak willed She said smugly I made the right choice Michael saw she felt no remorse after what she caused he lost it He crossed the distance between them in less than a second grabbed her by the neck and tossed her outside She landed in the mud furious she started cussing him and his brother out but he shut the door and locked it Not long after his mother arrived along with a couple of friends and cousins They had the funeral service cried their tears He and his brother s friends were the pallbearers It took a tremendous amount of willpower not to have an emotional breakdown As the casket was lowered into the ground he spotted Megan a distance away coming in their direction with a large man right in front of her Michael was not going to let her near his mother she wouldn t be able to take it He slipped away and made a beeline to confront Megan and the man I thought I said to never show yourself here again Michael said angrily The man said You think I was just going to stand by while you beat my woman Megan looked like she had several new bruises on her She looked satisfied as she watched their confrontation from a distance The man was red in the face his eyes were aggressive Michael knew he meant business and took a defensive stance How long have you two been dating he asked The man said five months and slugged Michael He was just barely able to block the man s punch

29 Michael dropped his stance and crossed his arms Wait just a moment let s talk he was certain by the man s face he didn t know much The man looked at him and unclenched his fists Michael and the Man started talking civilly started arguing a bit Megan saw this and got scared and ran to the man Brad what are you doing He hit me kill the bastard Megan exclaimed Brad whipped his thumb across her bruises and saw that they smeared Brad looked at Michael and said It seems you told me the truth He dropped her and said were done Brad went to the family and apologized The End A Regret I write a letter every year for that is my only condolence I was there that faithful day when the enemy launched a surprise attack We were supposed to be safe we were based as far away from

30 the enemy I thought we could be but it wasn t enough My men fought beside me and thanks to my negligence they all died and the enemy overtook the position I fled in cowardice made my way to a nearby base and led those men in a counterattack that led to victory I was given rank and medal for my achievements but they weighed heavy on my heart I retired a well respected man with money in my pocket I write a letter reassuring the families of those men that they died defending their country with honor and heroism But this letter I send in my final years of age is one of confession This letter contains the facts that my actions led those men to their deaths and if I weren t so laid back at that time they would all still be alive today I can t live with it anymore and won t live for much longer I can hardly walk anymore and my wife died several years ago I stand from my desk and make my way outside using a walker Down the ramp and several feet past the unkempt lawn I place the letters delicately inside the mailbox I make my way back inside I fold up my walking chair and place it beside my chair I sit down and sink into the leather and recline back My walker tips over and falls on the floor but that s alright I won t be needing it any longer The End