Strike

Tick…Tock…Tick…Tock… was the sound of the clock overhead. The room was cold and dark, and you could hear water dripping off the walls from the rain. Within the darkness was empty, tired eyes that belonged to a tall, slender man with dark hair. He had been in prison for 20 years and he was being released tomorrow. Fredrick known as Freddy was wrongly convicted of embezzlement because his former employer and longtime friend tricked him into signing documents that framed him. Freddy was not able to prove his innocence, so he spent the last 20 years locked in a cell. During this time, he lost a everything; his fiancé left him, he lost his home and his mother was on her death bed.

As the sun rose in the sky and the cell walls brightened, Freddy could smell the petrichor emanating in the air from the grass that had just begun to slowly dry. At 9:00am sharp, his paperwork was processed, and he was released back into the world. He was once again free at last and he could not wait to get home to spend what little time he had left with his mother. As he stepped outside the building he was greeted by a young woman, standing in front of a navy car. She lived across the street from his dear mother who sent her to pick him up, as she knew that he was now penniless.

Over the next few days, he spent as much time with his mother as he could and tried to find a job because his mother was about to lose her house. He quickly learned how difficult his life now was because he was not able to find a job that would hire an ex-felon. On a cold and rainy night, the air smelt like burnt sulfur and it was a bit foggy. He was tired, cold, and slightly out of breath as he was running back to his house from the gym. As he continued to run, he heard a loud thud directly behind him and he quickly spun around. There was no one behind him but when he looked down, there was a small black notebook on the ground in front of his feet. He looked around but there was no one there. He picked up the notebook and continued to run home on that very mysterious night.

Upon his arrival at home, he placed the notebook on his bedside table and promptly got in the shower to wash off the sweat and foul odor from his workout. When he finished and got dressed, he picked up the small black notebook and read the contents. On the left side on the book behind the cover read the word “STRIKE” and on the right side read:

“Note: This is a magical book and it contains the names of everyone in the world.

Rules:

1) Think of any place in the world and open the notebook to any page. A list of all the residents in that location will appear on the pages of the book.

2) Randomly select a name and draw a line through the name.

3) The person whose name you STRIKE will DIE!

4) On the last day that the book is in you possesion only one name will appear. You MUST draw a line through the name that appears, or you will DIE!

5) Only you can see this notebook while it is in your possession and the deaths will not be traced back to you.

6) The book will be in your possession for one month. You must STRIKE at least one name per week or you will DIE!

7) At the end of the month, throw the book in the nearest pond and it will find a new owner.

Choose:

1) Drop this book in a random location to be picked up by a new owner and you will not remember its contents. This is your opportunity to Choose NOT to STRIKE.

2) Strick the first name within the next 24 hours to begin.

Reward: For each name that is struck, you will find that a sum of money appears in your bank account.”

As Freddy read this, he almost did not believe that what was written could be true. That is, until he thought of a place and opened the book to a random page to see names appearing before his eyes. He was stunned and started hyperventilating as he was faced with a difficult choice. The next day, Freddy made his choice. He knew that his mother was going to die very soon, and he would be left to figure how to keep the house and find a job. However, he vowed that he would only strike 4 names. He quickly thought of a place far away and opened the book. As the names magically poured onto the pages, he randomly selected Ronald Smith and quickly struck the name and closed the book.

Days, and weeks went by and he had already struck 3 names. He learned that with each name he struck, $5,000 appeared in his account. In that time, he started to grow close to the young neighbor, Lisa and they quickly fell in love. However, his mother succumbed to her illness and died 20 days after he found the black notebook. He was devastated but he knew the day was coming and Lisa was there to comfort him. His mother was the last person he had for the past 20 years while he was locked away.

The last few days went by slowly and on the last day that he had the little black notebook he thought of a place far away but to his surprise the only name that he saw appear was Lisa Pennbroke. He gasped and closed the book. Then he opened the book again thinking of a place far away, but no matter how many times he opened and closed the book her name was there “Lisa Pennbroke”. The woman he loved, the only person he had left in this world and he was faced with a terrible choice. Strike her name or die. He sat there for what felt like days but was simply hours. An overwhelming fear of death washed over him, and he quickly struck the name of his love. In that moment, he saw her leave her house to visit him. As she walked, she looked up at the window and locked eyes with him and smiled. As she crossed the street, she lifted her hand to wave where she was instantly struck by a speeding car and he died on impact. Freddy was left all alone with $20,000 in his account and nothing more.