A Large Collection of Short Stories

Story #1

Written: 2013

Beep...Beep...Beep...

He...Hoh...He...Hoh

Glancing up to his I.V, Alvin Aldrick could hear the fluid dripping from its sealed plastic bag to the little tube where it puddled in the little fat area, before falling through the thin tube an into his vein. Across from him, the T.V played some dramatic soap opera that he could care less about. But being in a full body cast with a tube down his throat severely limited his communications with the Hospital staff. So he was forced to sit back, left to vegetate. Other than the times when the doctors, or nurses came to check on him; he was left alone. Not that he minded. He had caused quite a stir throughout the small North Carolina town.

After nearly being blown into a million little fleshy chunks; had it not been for the local hiker finding him, he would have died. Luckily, yet unluckily, he was found while there was still time. He was rushed to a local clinic and from there to a large Hospital; which was a town over from the place where he had nearly died. How they had found him; he could never guess. After the fall out in France, he fled to India, then Chia, and from there; the small North Carolina town of Welcome. He had barely been there a week, when the secluded cabin that he had "borrowed" was found.

No doubt some of them had stayed behind; to make sure the job was done, and for the pure entrainment. Though a sick and gruesome thought; he had once been one of their most powerful men. He had been going under the influence that he was the king; only to discover his third in command reveling him as nothing but a mere dummy. Shame and anger led him to kill the man. A move he soon regretted, and thus sent him on the run. While he thought he had found shelter in Welcome under the name of William Charles; he most likely brought the magnifying glass down on top of himself. They had people everywhere, every place. Watching, and waiting; doing what they must to protect their wellbeing or raise their status within the deadly group.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Charles. How are feeling today?"

Waltzing in the Hospital issued navy blue scrubs, a nurse stepped into his room. Her blonde hair was pulled up messy into some sort of bun/ponytail that rested on one shoulder. Though her mouth was covered by a surgical mask, her striking blue eyes told him that this was a nurse he had not had before. Though she spoke with a smile in her voice, she kept her glance down to the tray in her hands. On the pastel pink tray was an arrangement of three shots given to him through his I.V. The nurse set the tray on his bed side table, picking up his charts as she did. She read over them, quicker than any of any of the nurses he had had in the past.

"My, my, Mr. Charles, you sure have been through a lot haven't you? Well, none the less, the pain will end soon. I can promise you that."

Setting the charts back down she glanced down to the old man, looking him over. There wasn't much of the fifty seven year old man to see; being even his face was covered in bandages.

The nurse then went back to the tray, picking up the first tube of clear medicine. She uncapped the second tube of the I.V, and hooked the syringe to it. As she slowly pushed the liquid in, she casted her gaze back to him.

"Your chat is a strange story, you know that? Why would a random old man be out in the middle of nowhere, in an abandoned cabin?"

He couldn't respond the tube and healing body parts preventing him. Though, his brain noted that her voice seemed a bit weary of his story and that it didn't have the same southern draw as his other nurses had. Though the exact accent he couldn't seem to name.

"I mean, I've done my fair share of nature photography; just never in the way you have."

Once all the liquid was flowing into his body, she pulled the two pieces apart; setting on the table. She worked the cap off the second one and repeated the process of the first.

"You sure are a strange one, which is for sure... Some may say too strange."

Finishing the second one quicker than the first, she then started the third. As she pushed the amber liquid into him, she glanced back to him.

"Some may even say you're lying... I do not know what to think, the thought of someone lying. I hate not knowing the truth."

The third tube was soon drained dried, and the blonde haired woman pulled it away; placing it on the tray along the others. Picking up another tube with hot pink fluid; he wondered what medication that was. He had only been on three shots for the past two days. Maybe there was something the doctor wasn't telling him. Maybe he was worst off then what he first thought. The woman hooked the up the tube, and slowly pushed the liquid into his I.V.

"Something very horrible must have happened to you, if you were to make up such a story and hide in such an empty place...I would hate to now your truth."

As he watched the liquid enter his body, a sudden wave of dread entered his body. The nurse, having watched his face, leaned down to his ear. She pulled the tube from his I.V. and removed her mask; though he couldn't see her face.

"Too bad, Mr. Aldrick, I know the truth."

Her whisper was hot and raspy, though she slowly pulled away as soon as the words came out. His eyes widened, as he saw, not a nurse; but the one person he hoped to never see again. A smile played on her lips, as she crossed her arms over her chest. His body suddenly felt heavy, as the full thought finally hit him. This was it.

"Thank you though, Mr. Aldrick, by killing my husband; you've done me a great deed. Two birds with one stone...I promise I'll be the leader you never were..."

His eyes closed against his will, as his body fought off the poison that flowed through his veins. He was failing, he could feel it. The last thing he remembered, next to her wicked laughter, was the flat line of his heart monitor.