by Russell Judd
A crisp cool breeze rustles a row of trees interrupting the morning’s silence. My footsteps echo through the neighbourhood as each step heavily connects with the pavement. The sky is clear and the last few remaining stars are starting to disappear. It’s promising to be a sunny day. I near the park and jog towards the usual spot that I’ve been stretching. I go through the motions and place my foot up on the bench and lean forward. I pull out a pair of gloves and slide them on. At that moment I hear a door open and I glance across and see Stabby standing at the top of the steps. I pull my hoody a little lower and start to jog past the drive way. When I get to the next driveway I stop and take cover behind the fence. I hear the footsteps of the fat fuck stumble down the front steps, and then scuff their way towards the car. The unmistakeable sound of a door handle opening echoes through my ears. My heart begins to race, my hands begin to shake, and my breath becomes quicker. I close my eyes for a moment, I take a deep breath, and everything goes quiet.
With an explosive step I break out from my concealment with my eyes focused on the rear door handle. I reach out with my hand and as I’m doing this, the Subaru fires into life I open the door and jump in behind Stabby.
Our eyes meet in the rear view mirror. Both of his eyes are filled with surprise and the shocked look on his face is somewhat amusing. “Keep those hands up on the fucking steering wheel!” I demand.
“You don’t know who you’re messing with do you boy” Stabby remarks
“I know exactly who I’m messing with and I don’t give a fuck” I retort.
We need to talk some business as my hands silently slide into the pockets of my hoody. I pull out the two sponges that had been soaking in the gel overnight and hold one in each hand. They feel cool and unassuming. I lean forward as if to whisper in his ear, he anticipates this and tilts his head to the left.
I’ve thought this over and over, my movements have to be slow and smooth to be quick and effective.
I feel his body jump with surprise as both of my hands cover each of his eyes.
“What the fuck?” he yells.
His hands come up to mine and he tries to pull them down. I squeeze the sponges harder against his head and I can feel the cool gel being expelled. I start to rub the sponges into his eyes making sure every last drop is going to be absorbed and not wasted.
I force my hands forward, which release his grip from mine and I jump out of the car.
Hearing this Stabby, carelessly fumbles with the door handle and awkwardly jumps out of the car. I assume that this is in an effort to pursue me all the while expletives begin to flow from his mouth. Suddenly he stops moving, no doubt the toxic gel has begun to take effect. I didn’t expect it to work so soon but from his groans and swear words the pain sounds excruciating. He starts to rub his eyes trying to give himself some relief but all it does is force the gel deeper into his pupils and pores. I can hear desperation and panic in his voice as he yells out for help. He spins around trying to orientate himself but he seems to be lost. The realisation must be setting in that his situation is a bit more dyer than he expected.
I pause for a moment. The sun is rising higher into the sky. It may still be early in the morning but I can already feel the heat on my face and from the intensity of his yelling, so can Stabby. Now he’s hunched forward with his arms outstretched, his hands feeling the air trying to give him an indication of his whereabouts. I wonder if he is searching for the tap. Maybe I should mess with him a little more. No doubt Stabby would have got the neighbours attention with all the commotion coming from the property this morning as it is definitely out of place, so I don’t want to be hanging around too much longer.
I turn my back to Stabby and begin jogging down the driveway. I pull my hoody just a little bit lower covering my face to try and decrease the possibility that someone might get a decent look at me. I haven’t noticed anyone out in their yards, but I can’t focus on that right now. The adrenaline has started to wear off and I can feel the colour draining from my face. I just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other and focus on getting out of the area. It’s highly unlikely that Stabby or his partner will call Police. However the neighbours might. If anything Stabby’s partner will probably call an Ambulance. The bad news is that they will pass the job onto Police for them to attend in the first instance to make sure the scene is safe.
I can’t hear any sirens or the unmistakable sound of a patrol car so I keep my head down.
My street is still quiet and it doesn’t look like the neighbours are stirring. As soon as I’m inside I strip my running gear off and quickly throw on my usual clothes I wear to work. I take a moment to try and calm myself. I look down at my hand and it’s trembling and I can feel that my heart is still racing. Suddenly, there is a loud knock on my front door, my heart skips a beat. Shit I wonder who that could be. Again there is another knock, this time louder. As I get to the front door all I can see is a dark silhouette. Puzzled at who this might be, my mind races through the possibilities. I fumble with the keys trying to put it into the lock and my heart is racing. Fuck is it the police, I think to myself. The key is getting stuck and it seems to take an eternity, but finally I manage to open the lock. I turn the handle and open the door. The silhouette now takes human form and instantly my heart slows and my breathing returns to normal. When I recognise who is standing before me. But this still doesn’t remove the sickly feeling from my stomach. “Oh Maree”, I stutter trying not to sound guilty.
“Can I come in?” She asks.
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Russell Judd
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