Running out of Time by Christina Chorney (love letters to the dead txt) 📖

replied quietly. She gave him a disgusted look that resembled a child who refused to eat Brussels sprouts.
“Don’t remind me.” She murmured. The last guy as she recalled died screaming in a very slow and agonizing pain. They turned back to Michael and Enrique as they finished their conversation. “Well, my associates if you would please join us, we will be taking a trip down to the private office where we can proceed in our celebration. I will need your help to set up the luncheon. “Michael said casually.
They headed back towards the elevator; Michael swept his hand towards Enrique as the elevator door opened to allow him in. The others followed suit after Michael and waited for the doors to shut. Michael leaned over and pressed the button marked “B” Erik knew it was show time. Hopefully our guest of honor enjoys being a part of it. He thought gravelly. The doors opened and lead into a long white hall. Fluorescent lights lit brightly down the shiny white tile. This place always reminded Erik of a hospital wing silent, bright, unnervingly uncomfortable with the overbearing smell of sanitation that hung stale in the air. Michael led them down the hall, where he stopped at the last door. He smiled at them again before opening the door. He walked in motioning Enrique to enter next and Erik and Lena to follow in behind him. Enrique turned and looked around confused.
The room was dark; a few lights lit up in the room and showed the room as being completely empty minus the two chairs moving towards the center before the shadows swallowed the rest. Michael smiled again at him, this time the smile was cold. Enrique knew now he was in trouble, he tried to run out of the room but Erik and Lena grabbed him. They dragged him into the room, his curses echoing across the walls and his body thrashing to break free from their grip. They managed to drag him over to one of the chairs, Erik pinned him while Lena took the rope Michael handed her and tied his hands behind him and his feet to the legs of the chair. Erik stood back and retreated to the side wall closest to the door along with Lena and awaited Michael’s next move. Enrique was enraged cursing in every language he knew. “Gringo’s!!!! You’ll pay for this you fucking bastards! How dare you tie me up?! Ho-“He was cut off by Michael who had pulled a rag into his mouth and tied it to the back of his head. Michael’s smile never wavered.
“Well, well, well, my good friend. That isn’t too tight on you is it?” he asked giving the rag a large pull tightening it more against his face and causing Enrique to take in a sharp breath. You could see a trickle of blood running down the side of his jaw where it was pooling from the split in the side of Enrique’s mouth.
“Now, I’m sure you know why you’re here now don’t you? “ Michael asked him. Enrique looked up at Michael confused and shook his head. Michael turned and nodded.
“Well, perhaps I can refresh your memory. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small white bag with a white substance and opened it.
“See this? “He asked as he turned to show it to Enrique.
“Does this ring a bell?” He asked him. Enrique sat silent. Michael’s smile began to fade. He threw the powder into Enrique’s face. Enrique thrashed as it hit his eyes.
“How about now?” He asked. As I recall, I paid you ten million dollars on what I thought was cocaine. Instead, I find it has been mixed with sugar.” Michael’s voice rose to a shout. Enrique shook his head frantically, his words muffled behind the rag. Michael’s smile came back.
“Still denying it? Well, I think we have a way to persuade you otherwise.” He said motioning to the shadows of the room. Lights came on in the rest of the room. The gray walls made the room seem monochromatic. Looking ahead to where was once darkness sat a large trash compactor. In front of this compactor sat a chair mirroring Enrique’s with another man who was tied with his arms tied to the arm chairs, bamboo rods sticking out from under his fingernails, Large carpenter nails bolted a quarter of the way into each of his hands, his knees nailed to the chair, his face bruised and split from being struck so many times. Blood splatters were everywhere; the man looked across the room through one of his swollen eyes and screamed through his bloody rag tied into his mouth. Dear god he’s still alive. Erik thought to himself. Lena turned away and hid her face into Erik’s arm, unable to look at the horror of this man. Enrique screamed in horror, his eyes nearly bulging from his skull as he frantically thrashed to loosen himself from his binding prison.
“I see you recognize him don’t you?” Michael said with a chuckle. “Ah yes, Emmanuel your faithful servant. Or should I say brother?” He asked looking back at Enrique.
Enrique screamed an anguished scream, tears flowing at the sight of his mangled brother suffering in agonizing pain. Michael laughed at the sight.
“Now, let’s try this again. Did you not sell me cocaine with sugar mixed in?” He asked him. Again, Enrique shook his head, this time his face turned red screaming angry words through his rag. Michael tsked at his “guests” choice of muffled sounds.
“You brought this upon yourself my friend, I’m afraid since you refuse to tell the truth I will have no choice but to show you the consequences of your lies.” Michael said. He clapped his hands and two new people came into the room. Each was dressed in all black, their faces showed no expression. They went over to Emmanuel‘s chair and one of them lifted the chair in position so that his head aligned with the machine. The other turned on the machine, the machine’s large lift began to lower down, Emmanuel’s screams grew louder and louder as the machine descended upon him eventually silencing with a rather large “Crunch” and “pop” where his head had exploded from the sheer force of the compactor.
Enrique sat staring; his eyes unmoving to the sight of what was left of his brother’s skull laying on the front of his shirt as they lowered the chair back down.
“Now, Enrique, we know you marred my cocaine and cost me a fortune.” Michael said. “I plan to take my money back, and you’ll be set. All you have to do is admit to it.” Enrique closed his eyes and slowly nodded.
“See? That wasn’t so hard now was it?” Michael asked. He motioned to one of his men who approached with an object in his hand.
“Now as for you my friend, a parting gift for all the trouble you caused me.” Michael turned at took the object from the man. He turned back and smiled in his cold smile at Enrique. Enrique had screamed briefly before the end of the sledgehammer had connected to his skull, sending it flying across the room to Lena’s feet. She gasped and kicked it away looking back at Michael who seemed quite pleased with himself. Neither Erik nor Lena dared to say a word to him. He simply looked over at them and smiled before asking.


“So, what’s for lunch?”


Wincrose, South Carolina

The radio blared through the room as she reached over to slam the snooze button. Sighing, she wiggled herself deeper into her blankets, the wonderful fuzzy feeling of sleep still lingering over her. Today was the day she mused in her doze, the last day of middle school before summer began and she could head into the blissful enjoyment of summer. She detested how short summer breaks tended to be. She groaned when the alarm blared once again sending the sounds of Grateful dead through her room.
“Ok, ok I’m up.” She mumbled as she rolled herself hallway out of bed. Slowly she worked her legs to pull her upper half off the mattress and pattered dazedly into the bathroom. She turned on the sink and splashed the cold water on her face, instantly shocking her awake. She let out a light “eep” as some of the cold water ran down under her shirt and across her skin. She gave herself a slight shake before continuing her morning rituals. Twenty minutes later she was out of the bathroom feeling refreshed, hungry and in need of clothes she mused looking down at herself clad in her bathrobe and bedroom slippers.
She dressed herself into a pair of her favorite jeans, washed out and torn at the knee with her hand drawn on roses and names “Emily and Jenny BFF’s for Eva!” Emily swore that this pair of jeans would stay with them to remind them of the years spent together in school. She smiled at the thought and reached in the drawer for a simple pink shirt to throw on top pulled her long hair back into a high tight ponytail.
She ran down the stairs two at a time and skid into the kitchen just barely running into the kitchen table. Her mother, back turned, simply shook her head.
“Sleeping in a bit today?” her mom asked.
Emily smiled. Her mom knew ever since the first day she set foot in middle school, that there was no day Emily ever woke up on time. Her mom did try to get her up early enough to eat breakfast but after so many futile attempts she finally gave up.
“I didn’t try to sleep in this morning; I was getting myself prepared to face my last day of school mom.” She said smirking.
Her mother turned and swatted her lightly on the rear with her newspaper she was reading with a large smile on her face.
“Liar, you haven’t gotten up early for school since you started. Make sure you eat something before you go.” She said watching as her daughter