Fatal Consequences

“Where are you? We were supposed to meet at eleven.”

“Relax, my car wouldn’t start so I’m walking over now. I’ll be there in half an hour.”

“You better have the money and a little extra.”

“You’ll get your money. Just see that he dies.”

“If you’re not here with 15,000 in thirty minutes, I’m leaving.”

“Fine whatever.”

I turned onto the street where the “bad lands” began. I just hoped that there weren’t any “hyenas” around. As soon as I saw the place’s condition I started walking faster. Yikes, this might as well be an elephant graveyard.

There weren’t any street lamps so the moon was my sole source of light. I passed dilapidated bars, houses and schools. As I walked the woods grew denser and buildings got farther apart.

I came upon an old man sitting on one of the house’s steps. He approached me as I neared him.

“S’cuse me son, do you have any spare change. I haven’t had a meal in a while.”

“No sorry man.” I tried to walk away, but as I turned I felt a firm grip on my shoulder.

“You have someplace to be? You seem like you’re in a rush.”

“It’s none of your business. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

“Come on, you’re already half an hour late for your meeting, what’s a few more minutes.”

“Wha… what are you… how do you know about that? Who are you?”

“Why don’t you come inside for a little while.”

“Uh, no thanks.” I tried to move away but his grip was too strong. He took me by the shoulders, dragged me into his house and forced me down into his basement. The hallway that led downstairs was dark and narrow. His basement was dimly lit and smelled awful. He sat me down and tied me to an old chair.

“Have a drink.”

“I’m good.”

“Oh but I insist. Besides, it’s mandatory.”

I tried to keep my mouth closed, but he pulled my jaw apart and forced some putrid drink down that disoriented me.

“So, tell me about this hitman…”

My eyelids felt too heavy to keep open and I passed out.

When I awoke I was zip tied to a bedpost. He emerged from behind me. I could just make out a devilish smile creeping up his face. “Wha… what are you gonna do to me?”

“Let's just say that if you lie, we’re gonna have a long night.”

“I’ll tell you whatever you want. Just let me go.”

“So you wanna kill someone?”

“Fine, yes, I do. Some creep has been trying to get with my girlfriend for years now and he keeps taunting me and telling me that she’s his. It may sound overboard to you but I don’t care. I just want him out of my life. Why do you need to know this? It’s none of your business.”

“Oh but it is. You see, I work with Satan ensuring that all sinners get what they deserve. You have committed one of the highest transgressions: you ordered a kill. I should have murdered you already, but I like to mess with my victims. So, you and I are going to play a little game.”

“What’s wrong with you? Just let me out of here! I wasn’t even gonna kill him, I hired a guy to do it.”

“That’s not the point. You seem like a fighter, so this should be fun.” He then forced the drink down on me again.

When I awoke, I was in the middle of an unfamiliar road. He was standing right behind me with a gun in his hand. “Start running. Don’t worry; I’ll give you a head start.”

“What happens after that?”

“I’ll track you down and kill you. Now, run.”

I started sprinting as fast as I could. “Here comes my favorite part!”

I sprinted past houses and through the woods. After a while, I encountered a small church. Its paint was peeling, the windows were broken and boards had fallen off. I would have kept running but it’s lights were on. I approached the door, opened it and sprinted inside. “Hello, is anyone here?!”

“Who’s there?” A priest emerged from the back of the church. “How can I help you?”

“Please sir, I need help! There’s a madman chasing me with a gun. He said that he’s gonna kill me!”

“Hurry! Come to the back and we’ll shut the lights off!” Once I reached the back, he asked, “Why’s he chasing you?”

I didn’t want to tell a priest that I had ordered a hit so I lied, “I accidently hit his car.”

“So you’re a liar too.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” He turned the lights off and on and he was the old man.

“What?”

“You still don’t understand?” He turned the lights off and on again and this time he was my hitman. “As I said before, I’m one of Satan’s agents. I can transform into whoever I want. I’m the priest, old man and hitman. Whoever it takes to make my assignments more fun. You know what? I’ll be kind. Here, take the gun that I’m gonna kill you with.”

“Wha… listen it doesn’t matter what or who you are. Even a psycho like you can’t survive a shot to the heart.” I pressed the gun to his chest and pulled the trigger. BANG! He just smiled.

“Oh ye of little faith. You still don’t believe?” He then took and threw me to the back of the church. He grew massive black wings and black horns emerged from his head. “Now you see the truth! Did you really think that you could kill me with a gun? He flew down to the floor and picked it up. Have fun in Hell.” BANG!

“And that is when I woke up in this purgatory court your honor. I would like to request a second chance at life. I didn’t even kill anyone. I just shot a demon and I don’t think that justifies me going to Hell. If anything, that's a good thing.”

“Yes, but if he hadn’t interfered and just let you hire a human hitman, then the prospective victim would have died.”

“Well…”

“That’s what I thought. Still, I believe that the agent who pursued you violated his force’s by-laws. He was just supposed to find and kill you without any of the drama you described. He’s done this before so I’m going to send him to Hell and have you replace him.”

“So I’m gonna be a hitman for Satan?”

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be a good guy?”

“I’m just one of the many purgatory judges that make nonpartisan decisions where people should spend eternity. Do you accept the position?”

“What’s the alternative?”

“Hell.”

“I’ll take the former.”

“All right, just know that you are on thin ice. If you fail even once, I will send you to Hell. A failure is considered not killing your target or dying during the mission.”

“Aren’t I invincible?”

“Almost, you can kill yourself. Go with that man in the back. He will take you to your group and give you your first job.”

“Welcome to after ops. Your job is to kill anyone Satan tells you to. One of his assistants will give us a profile and I'll give it to you. It’ll tell you where to find your victim. Here’s your first one.”

“What? This is Aubrey. I’m sorry but you’re mistaken. She’s my girlfriend. I know that she hasn’t committed any major sins.”

“Well if you look at her profile you can see that she cheated on you about... fifty times with some guy named… Brian. It looks like she’s been seeing him for about a year now.”

“No, he’s the one who’s been harassing her. He’s the guy I ordered a kill on. She would never have cheated on me with him. Can I have a new profile?”

“No, Satan never makes mistakes. Listen, either kill and send her to Hell or go to Hell for not killing her. This hit is due within twenty four hours so you better get on it.”

I traveled back to Earth, unsure of what I would do. I landed and headed towards her house. The door was locked so I just walked through the wall and went up to her room. I approached her door but stopped myself just beforehand.

I can’t do this. I love this woman. I’m sure that Satan is wrong. I always said that I was willing to die for you so I guess I have to own up to my words. Just as I put the gun up to my temple…. I burst into her room to find her and Brian having sex.

I shot both of them without a thought and returned to my commander. “Sorry, there was some collateral damage. Next?”