Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Reaping of Predators - Prologue


‘The price of raw oil has reached an all-time high, more and more people are losing their jobs , the average debt of an American citizen has never been higher, not even to speak of the debt of the American government! Healthcare is too expensive for ninety percent of the population. People are literally dying of hunger and thirst on the streets of YOUR country. You can’t just wipe this off of your shoulder like nothing’s going on, mister President!’,  John said angrily.
‘I’m not.’ Responded the President. He sounded like the accusations and tone of the news reporter irritated him.
‘It’s not just happening inside the US’ John continued, ‘it’s also happening in the UK, Germany, France, Russia, China, the world is suffering mister President. What are yo- what are the world leaders going to do about this?’ ‘We are currently in heavy consultations to find a solution for all of the problems you just described, John. We’re doing the best we can.’ Replied the President.

John gave the President an unsatisfied look, it looked almost as if he didn’t trust a word he was saying. ’Can you tell the people at home what kind of solutions you and the world leaders are thinking of?’ The reporter replied, demanding an answer.
‘That’s classified.’ The President said it as quickly as he could, as if he attempted to shake off the question.
‘But-‘ The reporter replied, before the President interrupted him. ‘We can guarantee you, we’ll have all of these world problems reduced by at least fifty percent before this year is over, and they will all be as good as gone by the six months after that.’ The President replied, sounding relieved as he got to the end of his sentence. The reporter got no chance to reply, as soon as the president was done talking, and smirked at the camera like he always did, the broadcast stopped and a re-run of a classic 90’s sitcom started playing.  As soon as they got confirmation they weren’t live anymore, the President stood up and left.

John was pissed. Never before did he get cut off like that while he was still live in the air. He didn’t worry about not being able to thank the President, as the interview wasn’t helpful at all to him. He knew damn well this President wouldn’t get his vote in the November elections. This was John’s time to shine in his biggest interview ever, and it turned into his worst interview ever. What would his viewers think of him?
He walked out of the studio to get some fresh air. The warmth in the studio had made him nauseous and the thought of being humiliated when millions of people watched him gave him a headache. He decided to go for a walk, since it was his evening break anyway. The sun was already going down when he started walking along the river. He wondered how the President was going to get rid of the world problems. ‘Is it even possible to get completely rid of them? ‘, John asked himself. He figured nobody could get rid of that, and he was eventually able to stop thinking about the interview.

John took his time to enjoy the nature around him. He saw a pack of deer running through the forest and saw a beautiful willow tree with half of its branches hanging in the water of the lake. He climbed up a hill and had a beautiful sight of the city he grew up in. The city had grown quite a lot since he was a child. Many nice, old buildings had now been replaced by enormous skyscrapers. Small shops he reminded from his childhood had gone bankrupt, driven out of business by big corporations. He felt sad.

John was shocked when he saw he had been on a 3 hour long walk, he missed his 10 p.m. news shift so he knew he was going to be in big trouble, even more after messing up the interview. John didn’t think messing up the interview was his fault though, the President was more to blame for not wanting to answer any of my questions with a solid answer. He decided to run back to his work.

When he got back he noticed that only Simon, the janitor was left in the building. He quickly greeted him with a polite ‘good evening’ as soon as he saw him. Simon said ‘hello’ back. John liked Simon. Simon sometimes accompanied John when his boss had him work extra hours. John had to work until 12 a.m. sometimes. Simon always made sure to stop by John’s office and bring him a cup of coffee and entertained him with a nice, friendly chat.
John quickly ran upstairs, all 5 floors, to get to his office, he had left his car keys on his desk. When he got to his office, he noticed the keys were gone. He walked all the way down to ask Simon if he had seen anyone in his office that could have taken his car keys.
‘Yeah, I took ‘em’. Simon replied. ‘I was going to tell you but you ran upstairs faster than a deer being chased by a cheetah! Damn man, what happened to a nice ‘how are you, Simon?’. Simon said, jokingly.
John laughed a little, this is what he liked Simon for, he always said things in a jokingly way.
‘I’m sorry Simon, I’m just having a really bad day with that interview and what not. I just want this day to end.’ Replied John. ‘I understand man, it’s no problem, hell I don’t think I’d even come back here if someone does that kind of shit to me.’ Replied Simon.
‘Haha, you’ve said that dozens of times now Simon, when are you finally going to do it?’ Replied John. The companionship of Simon made John feel much better, but he was really tired and his wife was probably worrying about him for not returning her calls after the interview so he decided to call it a day and go home.
‘I will man, I don’t want to take this crap anymore!’ Replied Simon, sounding really serious.
‘Hey Simon, I’m sorry man I really need to go home now. My wife’s probably worried about me not returning her calls and I have to start early tomorrow.’ Said John.
‘Okay man, that’s no problem, let me walk you to your car.’ Replied Simon.

Simon opened the door for John, and let him out. It was really dark now, darker than usual it seemed.
Simon kept talking about voices he’d thought he had heard while he was alone. Whatever it was, Simon wasn't scared. He wasn't like that. When they got to John’s car, John thanked Simon for walking along with him. ‘No problem man, just don’t let one stupid interview change who you are and change your thoughts about your work. You did a great job. It’s not your fault our president is a total jackass. People will forget about it in no time, and hold the president to his promises.’ Simon replied. John felt much better after this talk, as if Simon knew exactly how John felt about the interview and how it’s impact on him. ‘Thanks Simon, I really needed that. Take care ok?’ Replied John. And with that Simon walked off.
Just when John wanted to start his car he heard the parking area’s gate open. He saw nothing. He stepped out of his car to check and saw that it was wide open. He went looking for Simon, but he couldn’t find him. He shrugged it off and said to himself he only imagined it. Just when John drove his car through the gate he heard Simon yell: ‘What are y’all doing here at this time?’ John checked his rearview mirror and saw Simon stand 10 yards behind his car.


And then he heard the gunshots.






End of Prologue



What happened to Simon? Was he right about the voices? And what kind of measures are going to be taken according to the U.S. President? You'll find out about this and more in the first chapter of Reaping of Predators!







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1 comment:

  1. Please leave me a comment telling me what you think of it!

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