Johnny Wraith Stories

Ordinary Grit Ch1

I hope I have enough time to tell you my story, because it might be a day, or a week, or a year before the police knock on my door with questions, a warrant, or both. Maybe they’ll never come because there were no witnesses, or at least I’m not aware of any. I’ve covered my tracks well, but you never know what might lead from the crime scene to something else, to a chain of things, events, etc., and then finally to you. It can start with circumstantial evidence, which can be a fingerprint, the date stamp on an ATM slip, the video footage taken by an ATM, the video footage taken from a stoplight camera, a grocery receipt, a fingernail clipping, a hunch from a family member or friend. Anyone who’s ever dealt with the victim on a social or random basis can become a suspect. The list goes on and on. Because I used to be a criminal defense attorney, years back, I know how the Law operates. I know how to cover my tracks. The Man isn’t likely to find me, but I’m paranoid because what I’ve done is punishable by death. Miniscule chance of getting caught, but if I’m caught, I might be executed or locked up for life. I’ve gone over and over it all in my head, and there are only a few things which might tie me to the victim: the gun, the bullet, the traffic ticket, the argument I had with the cop when he wrote me the ticket, the fact I walked my dog past his house every day at 5:20am, the time I went to a holiday barbeque at his house July 4, and the fact the victim was my workout partner at the gym every Monday from 6:15am to 7:15am, until recently. Never did we threaten one another or have a heated argument. In fact, until the very end, a few weeks before he wrote me that speeding ticket, which was the original cause of his death by my hand, we’d always seen eye to eye on things, and laughed a lot together between workout sets. I wish he hadn’t started to change. Sam was and still is my friend. I only killed him out of necessity. I killed him for a greater purpose. I killed him out of hope for the human race, for our safety, for our freedom. And yes, I confess that part of it was my anger and the desire for revenge. You’ll have to hear my story before you understand what I’m saying, but you know how in the zombie movies, when someone is bitten by a zombie and is starting to turn into one of them? The eyes start turning red, the skin becomes sickly yellow, and the mouth begins to froth. The surviving party has no option but to kill their comrade. Otherwise he will become a dangerous, brain-eating monster. Everyone’s life and safety will be at risk. It’s a hard choice, but someone has to do it.