Kaila Reed

Donīt Kill The Messenger

Shaant Michaels had no idea that he would soon be locked inside of a walk in freezer when he got on his bike to start his messenger route this morning. He woke just as he has every morning for the last 6 months since she had left and just as he would most likely have continued for some months to come if fate hadn't stepped in. "Same shit, different day." he said as he pat his dog Maxx on his way out of the delapidated apartment building. The air was crisp and invigorating. Shaant and Miriah used to take Maxx for a walk every morning before they parted for the work day. The sunlight beaming down and gently kissing his skin brought back the ghost of her touch. "Not this morning cowboy... she left you remember?" he reminded himself as he shook off old memories, but alas her presence still clung tightly to his tear stained heart. He rode briskly to the office trying to outrun her image.
    Danny Block, aptly named, was built like a rock. Tall and wide, he was a formidable man to call boss for anyone but especially a dreamer like Shaant. " There's a full days deliveries here for you but first i need to speak with you in my office." Danny commanded as Shaant was still putting the kick stand down. He followed Danny into his stuffy office leaving sunshine behind. "A guy came in with this package and paid me good money to have it delivered by noon. He said to give it to a man named Chuy, no last name just Chuy. The address is on the box and there's a nice profit for you too. I need you to do it cause you're my best delivery guy. I don't know what it is and I don't want to know what it is I just want it out of here cause anyone who will pay a thousand dollars for a package to be delivered isn't someone i want to mess with. So do yourself a favor and get it there on time."  Danny warned as Shaant reluctantly picked up the small package.
    It was small, really small, only about as big as a ring box or so. What could be so important about a box like this? Shaant thought to himself as he once again boarded his bike with the box secured tightly inside of a satchel attached firmly to the handlebars of the bike. The building that he was delivering the box to wasn't far.... but it was in an unusual location. An empty office building just off of the freeway nearly hidden behind the train tracks and condemned houses. It should take him about an hr to get there and it was only eight am so he had plenty of time to make the deadline with hrs to spare. He rode letting his thoughts drift and trying to keep them far from dwelling on miriah but it seemed a daunting task. He used to love that his job allowed for so much thinking time but since she had left him his thoughts turned toward her and the day he found out about Mike.
    He hadn't realized she was a sociopath until it was too late. She pulled his heart strings and made him dance like a fool all the while having no intention of ever going through with the happily ever after life she had seemed to create with him. Her eyes caught his attention the moment he saw her on the bus. She was sitting alone reading a worn copy of "The Tell-Tale Heart" and as he was walking along the isle to an empty seat she looked up at him and for some reason he felt as though she could see directly into his soul. She had those eyes that made you feel whatever you needed to feel and she always knew exactly what you needed to hear to make your heart swell and love grow. Unfortunately for Shaant, he wasn't the only one who she looked at. He found the love letters from Mike on a sweltering day. She had began being careless, most likely because she just didn't care if he found out anymore.
    He heard the tires squeal but never felt himself hit the pavement. As he regained consciousness the first thing he noticed was shooting pains in his head and gingerly felt of his head where the pain seemed to originate. just above his right eye he felt wetness most likely blood, he couldn't tell because it was so dark. "what the hell happened?" he asked himself as he attempted to sit upright and then immediately laid back down on some sort of cold hard surface. there was a distinct musty, rusty smell in the air and he couldn't place his surroundings. "Hello.... is anyone there...... HELLO!" he waited for a reply but none came. he seemed to be alone. He was too tired to figure out where he was and soon drifted into unconsciousness once more.
    If the yelling hadn't woke him up then it must have been the bucket of nearly stagnant water thrown on him from an unknown man. As Shaant opened his eyes he saw the silhouette of two men one of them rather large holding a bucket. Delusional from the blow he'd taken to the head he said, "Mr. Block?". the smaller man said something that made no sense to him in what sounded like english but he was too out of it to be sure. as he sat for a moment trying to most likely hold his head together he began to notice other pains as his mind began to clear. he thought his leg may have been broken. there were sharp pains in his right leg that seemed to pulse in time to his head. The shorter mans words began to clear. "How did you get the diamond?" shouted the man. Thinking he must have heard the man wrong Shaant said, "What?". "Don't play games with me man or that pain in your head is gonna get a lot worse. Now I'm gonna ask you one more time, how did you get the diamond. Who gave you the package"? "The package? I'm supposed to deliver it to a guy..... what's his name... um.... CHUY! That's it I swear I don't know anything else about it. My boss told me to deliver it and that's all i was doing!" Shaant exclaimed. the two men talked back and forth for a few moments and then the taller man, the one Shaant had mistaken for his boss only a moment ago said in a rather unpleasant voice, "And who is your boss"? "His name is Danny Block but I don't think he knows much about it either" Shaant fought back his cries of pain, "A guy came in and gave him a grand to have that package delivered to a guy named Chuy. That's all that was said". He heard the smaller man say, "Leave him here!" just as he was walking out of a doorway the taller man followed him and shut a large steel door which had been offering the only light that Shaant had seen since he heard squealing tires.
 
 
~I'm new here and i just thought i'd share a little something with everyone..... i'll update with the full version soon! 

All rights belong to its author. It was published on e-Stories.org by demand of Kaila Reed.
Published on e-Stories.org on 05/06/2009.

 
 

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