Dave McGill, spun around reeling under the left hook, Big-moose had so deftly and swiftly introduced to his face. Hands reaching out, he tried to grab something to break his fall, his wandering hands managed to catch hold of the ancient termite-infested banister of the stair-case that led up into the pantry of the kitchen where this action was taking place.
He clutched the banister and pulled himself straight, but another upper-cut which met his nose sent his feet flying under him and he landed with a gigantic thud onto to the hard granite floor.
McGill felt as if someone had exploded a grenade in front of his face. He reached out and touched his face, his hand came back red. A faint groan escaped his lips as Big-Moose gave his ribs a vicious kick, driving the air out of his lungs.
“I’ll teach you to mess around with my wife” Big-Moose spat as he continued to pound McGill.
Dave was a social worker, who had been assigned to the far-from-picturesque town of Hadenel by his organization.
It was here that he met and fell in love with Lisa Mennezes.
Lisa was the wife of Clayton ‘Big-moose’ Mennezes, who used her as a substitute for a punching-bag every time he got drunk; and he got drunk quiet a lot.
Looking for an escape from the miserable life that was hers, she wasted no time returning the affections that Dave McGill showered upon her. The two lovers planned to elope and start a new life elsewhere. All would have gone well, if not for the fact that their plans came into the knowledge of Big-moose’s sister.
Big-moose had then lured McGill into the desolate kitchen of the town pub under the pretext of having a drink. Dave, having no reason to suspect had walked right into the trap.
Dave uttered a groan as Big-moose delivered another blow to his battered chest.
“I’m gonna kill you, you filthy rat” Big-moose yelled as he stepped back and drew a revolver from his pocket. He stepped back and pointed the muzzle in-line with Dave’s head.
It was at this time that, the shaky banister gave out and fell sideways and landed on Big-moose’s head.
He went down like a sack of potatoes.
Dave slowly crawled up and using the remainder of the banister to support himself, got onto his feet. The revolver had fallen out of Big-moose’s hands and was lying by his feet.
Dave picked it up, rather surprised at the weight and held it up to the light. The ivory handle glinted menacingly back at him. Here was the instrument that would end all his troubles. All he had to do was put a bullet through Big-moose’s heart and forever end the threat to his and Lisa’s life.
“I would put that down if I were you” a sing-song voice spoke from the far end of the kitchen making Dave yell and look around perplexed. He was sure that the kitchen had been empty.
Looking around for the source of the voice, he came face-to-face with himself, the only difference between them being that the other was garbed in an old-world white robe and had wings and a halo above his head.
Dave shook his head and rubbed his eyes. The pounding Big-moose had given him was causing him to hallucinate, he thought.
“I’m as real as the sun and the sky” the other spoke, answering his thoughts.
“Wh….who are you?” Dave asked shakily.
“I my friend am Beckenthrope” the other-he answered “I’m your angel”.
“Angel???? Am I dead?”
“On the contrary, you are very much alive” Beckenthrope answered.
“Then what are you doing here, am I going mad, I don’t believe this, I don’t”
“Believe what you will, but hear me out first” said Beckenthrope , “all your life Dave we have been with you, watching you decide, watching you make your choice, between good and bad, between right and wrong”.
“Hold on a minute, we?? There are more of you??” Dave asked.
“Actually there is only one and I’m nothing like him” spoke a voice from behind Dave.
Looking around, for the second time that night, Dave came face to face with himself, only this time there was a very visible and very spooky difference. This thing, or whatever it was, though it had Dave’s face, was tinged bright red with two sharp horns coming out either side of its fore-head and a leathery tail curving around one of its legs.
“Oh-my-god!!” cried Dave crossing himself “it’s Satan!!”
“Don’t be silly” the thing replied “Satan’s got a pitch-fork; you don’t see me holding a giant fork do you?”
“Th..the..then what are you?” Dave managed to utter.
“I’m your temptation McGill” it answered “the name is Ludvik”
“My temptation?? I don’t understand……..” Dave started but Beckenthrope cut him off.
“Dave, what is important here is you, not us”
“All through your life, we have stood by and watched you make your choice” Beckenthrope continued “and today we reveal ourselves to you at the moment where you might have to make the most significant choice of your life, whether or not you will take a life”.
“He is the one trying to kill me” Dave sputtered “I have no choice, I have to kill him”
“I see you don’t need much convincing to see my point of view” chuckled Ludvik.
“Dave, mercy is one of the greatest of weapons” Beckenthrope spoke “do not stain your hands, I beg of you heed my words, let not the blood of another taint your soul”.
Dave looked down to see Big-moose stirring slightly.
“Let him live, Dave” Beckenthrope went on “let him live to see the mercy you can show him, he shall repent”.
“Shoot the son-of-a-b***h” Ludvik growled “shoot him before he shoots you”.
“Listen to me Dave, show mercy, live and let live” Beckenthrope pleaded.
Big-moose was slowly regaining consciousness, Dave looked down to see, he had sat up, and looking back he saw that both Ludvik and Beckenthrope had disappeared.
“What the hell…..” Big-moose said as he saw Dave looking down at him, the gun in his hand.
Dave lifted the gun and tossed it to a rather surprised Big-moose and said “I do not want to kill you, all I want to do is live happily with Lisa” and saying so he started to walk out of the door.
BANG!!!!!! The bullet that big-moose fired caught Dave in the back of his head, he was dead before he hit the ground.
“Fool” Big-moose spat as he walked out of the kitchen.
“He does seem at peace” Ludvik said looking down at Dave’s lifeless body “although it would be difficult to be sure of it with half his head blown off”.
“He was noble” Beckenthrope spoke “and he made the right choice”.
“He might have been noble, but he’s dead now” Ludvik replied “you know Beckenthrope, I always thought that your kind need to get an image make-over”
“Image make-over?” asked Beckenthrope looking at Ludvik “of what kind exactly?”
“Get rid of the halo and start wearing a noose…….”
He clutched the banister and pulled himself straight, but another upper-cut which met his nose sent his feet flying under him and he landed with a gigantic thud onto to the hard granite floor.
McGill felt as if someone had exploded a grenade in front of his face. He reached out and touched his face, his hand came back red. A faint groan escaped his lips as Big-Moose gave his ribs a vicious kick, driving the air out of his lungs.
“I’ll teach you to mess around with my wife” Big-Moose spat as he continued to pound McGill.
Dave was a social worker, who had been assigned to the far-from-picturesque town of Hadenel by his organization.
It was here that he met and fell in love with Lisa Mennezes.
Lisa was the wife of Clayton ‘Big-moose’ Mennezes, who used her as a substitute for a punching-bag every time he got drunk; and he got drunk quiet a lot.
Looking for an escape from the miserable life that was hers, she wasted no time returning the affections that Dave McGill showered upon her. The two lovers planned to elope and start a new life elsewhere. All would have gone well, if not for the fact that their plans came into the knowledge of Big-moose’s sister.
Big-moose had then lured McGill into the desolate kitchen of the town pub under the pretext of having a drink. Dave, having no reason to suspect had walked right into the trap.
Dave uttered a groan as Big-moose delivered another blow to his battered chest.
“I’m gonna kill you, you filthy rat” Big-moose yelled as he stepped back and drew a revolver from his pocket. He stepped back and pointed the muzzle in-line with Dave’s head.
It was at this time that, the shaky banister gave out and fell sideways and landed on Big-moose’s head.
He went down like a sack of potatoes.
Dave slowly crawled up and using the remainder of the banister to support himself, got onto his feet. The revolver had fallen out of Big-moose’s hands and was lying by his feet.
Dave picked it up, rather surprised at the weight and held it up to the light. The ivory handle glinted menacingly back at him. Here was the instrument that would end all his troubles. All he had to do was put a bullet through Big-moose’s heart and forever end the threat to his and Lisa’s life.
“I would put that down if I were you” a sing-song voice spoke from the far end of the kitchen making Dave yell and look around perplexed. He was sure that the kitchen had been empty.
Looking around for the source of the voice, he came face-to-face with himself, the only difference between them being that the other was garbed in an old-world white robe and had wings and a halo above his head.
Dave shook his head and rubbed his eyes. The pounding Big-moose had given him was causing him to hallucinate, he thought.
“I’m as real as the sun and the sky” the other spoke, answering his thoughts.
“Wh….who are you?” Dave asked shakily.
“I my friend am Beckenthrope” the other-he answered “I’m your angel”.
“Angel???? Am I dead?”
“On the contrary, you are very much alive” Beckenthrope answered.
“Then what are you doing here, am I going mad, I don’t believe this, I don’t”
“Believe what you will, but hear me out first” said Beckenthrope , “all your life Dave we have been with you, watching you decide, watching you make your choice, between good and bad, between right and wrong”.
“Hold on a minute, we?? There are more of you??” Dave asked.
“Actually there is only one and I’m nothing like him” spoke a voice from behind Dave.
Looking around, for the second time that night, Dave came face to face with himself, only this time there was a very visible and very spooky difference. This thing, or whatever it was, though it had Dave’s face, was tinged bright red with two sharp horns coming out either side of its fore-head and a leathery tail curving around one of its legs.
“Oh-my-god!!” cried Dave crossing himself “it’s Satan!!”
“Don’t be silly” the thing replied “Satan’s got a pitch-fork; you don’t see me holding a giant fork do you?”
“Th..the..then what are you?” Dave managed to utter.
“I’m your temptation McGill” it answered “the name is Ludvik”
“My temptation?? I don’t understand……..” Dave started but Beckenthrope cut him off.
“Dave, what is important here is you, not us”
“All through your life, we have stood by and watched you make your choice” Beckenthrope continued “and today we reveal ourselves to you at the moment where you might have to make the most significant choice of your life, whether or not you will take a life”.
“He is the one trying to kill me” Dave sputtered “I have no choice, I have to kill him”
“I see you don’t need much convincing to see my point of view” chuckled Ludvik.
“Dave, mercy is one of the greatest of weapons” Beckenthrope spoke “do not stain your hands, I beg of you heed my words, let not the blood of another taint your soul”.
Dave looked down to see Big-moose stirring slightly.
“Let him live, Dave” Beckenthrope went on “let him live to see the mercy you can show him, he shall repent”.
“Shoot the son-of-a-b***h” Ludvik growled “shoot him before he shoots you”.
“Listen to me Dave, show mercy, live and let live” Beckenthrope pleaded.
Big-moose was slowly regaining consciousness, Dave looked down to see, he had sat up, and looking back he saw that both Ludvik and Beckenthrope had disappeared.
“What the hell…..” Big-moose said as he saw Dave looking down at him, the gun in his hand.
Dave lifted the gun and tossed it to a rather surprised Big-moose and said “I do not want to kill you, all I want to do is live happily with Lisa” and saying so he started to walk out of the door.
BANG!!!!!! The bullet that big-moose fired caught Dave in the back of his head, he was dead before he hit the ground.
“Fool” Big-moose spat as he walked out of the kitchen.
“He does seem at peace” Ludvik said looking down at Dave’s lifeless body “although it would be difficult to be sure of it with half his head blown off”.
“He was noble” Beckenthrope spoke “and he made the right choice”.
“He might have been noble, but he’s dead now” Ludvik replied “you know Beckenthrope, I always thought that your kind need to get an image make-over”
“Image make-over?” asked Beckenthrope looking at Ludvik “of what kind exactly?”
“Get rid of the halo and start wearing a noose…….”
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