Final Breath in Fire

Gary was born on the second of September. However, he was originally supposed to be an October child. His mother began going into labor a month before his expected due date and both his mother and father worried for his safety.

Gary's mother arrived at the hospital on a stretcher as the nurses brought her to the room. The nurses found it strange that she felt little pain or nausea during the procedure. Usually women would feel ill and cramped during the procedure, but she reported none of that. So when it was time for the Gary to be born, it came as a surprise as she felt no pain during it.

During the entire time the doctor told her to push and she never complained, screamed, or moaned in pain. As Gary began to leave his mother behind she did note that she began feeling increasingly tired. The doctors were getting anxious as they've never seen a case like this before.

It was too late before they figured out what had happened. As the nurse grabbed the crying newborn, Gary's dad tried to get his wife to look at their new son. However, although her eyes were open her heart stopped beating a minute ago. The bright blue crystals that were her eyes had all of their glow taken out. The nurse took the baby away to do the normal procedures as the doctors attempted to revive the already dead patient.

Gary was told that story as soon as he turned ten. He had always thought his mother had died in a car crash the day he was born, but an uncle that had a grudge against Gary's father told him the truth. That wasn't the first time Gary had ruined someone's life just by his very existence, it just so happened to be what woke him up to it.

It wasn't until he was twelve when he realized that people acted differently when he was around. His fourth grade teacher for instance was a bitch to the other students, but to Gary she was nothing but a sweet middle aged teacher. Anytime Gary walked by she would stop harrasing the children and start praising Gary and saying how they should all respect him.

The last day of March in the fourth grade was one that Gary tried to run away from ever since it happened. It was the day that truly changed everything about him and any time he remembered the events he would find the nearest corner and cry.

That day in particular was when Gary flunked a test on purpose. He wanted to just leave school and mess around on the hill that overlooked the small rural town he grew up in. The snow had thawed and the weather was becoming much more cheery as winter had to make its way for springs incoming relaxation. He just breezed through the test since he was too distracted thinking of his plans.

When Gary got the test back it had a one-hundred written on the sheet. He thought that was odd, but there also something else written on it. There was a question mark behind the hundred and underneath it was the words "see you after class." He didn't want to stay so he was just going to leave anyway.

The bell rung and the class began to empty out one by one. Gary was putting his stuff away and he ended up being the last person in class. The teacher went up to the door and shut it with them both still inside. Gary rolled his eyes and just started to walk toward the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" The teacher asked.

She pushed Gary back knocking him against a desk. She grabbed the door handle and locked it. When she turned back around a grin was going from ear to ear. That devilish, nightmarish grin that Gary had in his mind for years. It almost seemed to be ingrained in his mind as no matter what he did he couldn't forget about it.

That day Gary never went to the hill he wanted to roll down. He wasn't able to join with the other baseball kids as they threw their ball back and forth. He wasn't allowed to dream normally anymore. Instead he was allowed to leave, but only when it got dark and his innocence stolen from him.

When he walked home with a black eye and a bruised rib, his father was waiting for him. He was furious and was going to let Gary have it when he saw him. That was until he saw the injuries. He repeatedly asked what happened and what was wrong, but Gary just cried into his chest until he passed out.

Gary refused to tell his father what happened. He was too afraid that if he did then his father would hate him and the news would reach his teacher. So he took the worst path possible and cried out his pain.

This went on for two weeks and his teacher would constantly hold him after class and recess just to do what she had desired to do since meeting Gary. She knew how wrong it was but didn't care since it felt so amazing and wonderful. She didn't even care about getting caught as she kept him well after night just to do her sick deed.

After Gary went home for the final time he was in the worst state he could be in. He went inside and his dad made the same spiel about telling him where he's been going at night the past few weeks. Gary shrugged it off and walked to his room with no emotion on his face. He was empty off all the things that made Gary himself. That teacher stole it all away from him the past two weeks.

He walked into his room and closed the door behind him. He leaned against the wall and thought about what happened before he left. The longer he thought about it the more he began to slide down the wall. He hit the floor and covered his eyes and mouth so his sobs didn't reach his father.

Gary looked around his room teary eyed and everything that he enjoyed was all blurry and disaturated from his teary eyes. He rubbed his eyes and the first thing he saw was his remote controlled car charger. Whenever he would finish playing with it he would put it on the charger. However, the latest events made him forget to even do that, so it laid in the middle of the floor as the most desired thing in the room.

He grabbed the cord and unplugged it from the wall. He stared at the black cord that was almost as thick as his finger. There was only one thing he could do with this thing and it put a half smile on Gary's face.

Wrapping the cord around his neck he blanked out for good. His eyes were long gone, the eyes that shined a brilliant blue like his late mother. When there was enough wrapped around his neck to hold on to, he breathed what he thought would be his last breath.

He pulled on the ends of the charger and the cord began to squeeze his neck. It hurt him like hell but it wasn't enough to stop him from breathing. He pulled harder and harder, but it still wasn't enough. He hurt himself to an extreme degree, but no matter how hard he pulled it wouldn't stop his breathing.

He collapsed onto the ground and let the cord get loose. He thought he was such a weak person that he couldn't even kill himself right. He sobbed so loudly that his father heard him from his room. He opened the door and asked what happened.

When he saw the cord loosely wrapped around his son's neck, he hurriedly rushed to his son's side. He quickly untangled the cord off from his son's neck and hugged the daylight out of him.

"Gary would you please tell me what's wrong!" His father shouted.

Through his fit, Gary managed to get out one word. He quietly sobbed the word teacher and the rest was unilliterate gibberish. That was all his father needed to hear. He connected the dots and knew what to do.

The next day he kept Gary from school and called down his brother. His brother was extremely rich because of his unethical and highly illegal business. Despite who he was though and what he told his son two years ago, he cared about Gary.

When he told his brother about what he found out, his brother offered a very much illegal way to handle the situation. He declined the offer but offered up another solution. His brother thought about it and said he'd send the money and there was no need to pay him back.

Gary's father decided the first best course of action was to call the police on the teacher. They showed up to her home as she was making dinner for her husband and daughter. When she opened the door they were immediately putting her into handcuffs. As she was being dragged out she looked back one last time at her family.

Then the next course of action was to sue the school for even letting that teacher get hired in the first place. After the jury roled in favor of Gary's father they got a million dollars owed to them by the school. All that was left was to attend the trial for the teacher.

When she was proven guilty and taken away by the police she looked at her husband one last time. He scowled back at her. The person he loved and married was gone, replaced by a replica that only acted like a gentle person. Then why did his heart break when he saw her walk away in cuffs.

Gary's father was at the entry of the court building. Gary was reading a book as the court went on. They were about to go until someone called for them.

"Mr. Sullington!" Gary's father turned to see the teachers husband walking toward him with his head lowered.

He told Gary to wait in the truck for him. Gary nodded and left the room. However, he was too curious about what was going on so he stood outside the door and eavesdropped.

"I am so sorry for the damage that my wife had caused." The teachers husband quickly said trying to finish as fast as possible so he could forget about her.

Gary's father looked at the man that stood before him with a face of genuine regret and sorrow. He was one hundred percent certain the man's apology was genuine, but he could tell that there was still a trace of hurt feelings and malice toward him.

"I mean she may be my wife but," The teachers husband continued. "but my daughter lost her only female role model."

Gary could hear the man break into sobs from behind the door. Gary's heart froze and his breathing stopped. In a matter of a few months since this stuff all started not only did Gary feel like he brought a rift in between him and his father, but he felt like it was his fault for breaking apart a loving family.

"At the same time she's a monster." The husband spoke in between muddled breaths. "So why do I feel so angry that the world took her from me. She's the person I fell in love with in college. She was a girl that would donate to the local childrens hospital. So why did she do this."

That was the final straw. The man finally broke down into a wail that he was glad his daughter wasn't around to see. Gary's father watched it with saddened empathy and feeling as if he could relate to the pain somewhat.

As for Gary, he finally began to head toward the car as soon as the mental breakdown began. Although it was of no way Gary's fault as to what happened, he felt almost like he broke a family apart by telling his father. He felt like he could have stopped all of this if he was just strong enough. If he could only push back, then people would leave him alone and stay away.

After a week passed Gary's father decided to send him to his uncle's place. Despite his hatred toward his brother, it almost felt as if there was a unidentified voice in his head screaming for him to do it. In the end he made the excuse of it being to get Gary away from his past, but after Gary left, a hole opened in his chest so deep his heart was exposed.

Gary traveled by plane with an escort that his uncle sent to retrieve him. The escort would rarely talk and kept his thoughts behind the dark glasses and hat he wore to hide his face as much as possible. Anytime Gary would ask him a question he'd say the boss will answer anything he asked.

Two days passed with an airplane ride and a day in an inconspicuous motel, Gary finally arrived in the city that his uncle worked in. At the time he had no clue what job his uncle had, but his father always told him to stay away from his uncle whenever he was around.

The escort made a call as soon as they left the motel and a small red car with tinted windows pulled up. They both headed in and the car left the motel lot and drove into the city.

An hour passed and the car parked in a mall parking lot. There were several people heading in the mall chatting about what they'll buy and how they'll spend their day. The escort opened the car door and ushered Gary out and had him follow him.

Several minutes of walking through the mall they came across a shoe store. It wasn't as busy as the other places, but there was enough people in there to call it a business. They headed inside and the cashier immediately spotted him. He said something to the person at checkout and left with a fake smile.

The cashier and the escort spoke for a bit as Gary looked at the many shoes that decorated the store. Finally when they were done discussing, the escort waved at Gary to follow them.

The cahsier took a key and gave it to the escort with a smile and wave. The escort went behind the register and entered a door that read "employees only." Gary quickly followed as they entered a hallway with many dissecting rooms.

They walked all the way to a door in the back.

Gary looked at the sign on the door. It was supposed to read bathroom but the "a" was replaced with an "o." The escort took the keys and opened the door with a rusty creak. Inside was a normal looking bathroom furnished with both a toilet and urinal. The escort pushed Gary in and went to close the door behind him.

"Knock on the toilet three times." The escort said closing the door and leaving Gary by himself.

The only light source in the room was a dangling lightbulb overhead with its wires exposed. The wires looked almost as if they were ready to snap at any moment. The light would occasionally flicker basking the bathroom in darkness for a split second until turning back on only to flicker a second later.

Gary looked at the toilet that the escort told him to knock on. There was no water in it and the bowl was stained with rust as if it hadn't been used in years. Gary messed with the knob that flushed the toilet and it was so flimsy it came right off. He quickly placed the knob where it was but it faced at a weird angle.

Finally he did as he was told and knocked on the toilet three times. Nothing happened as Gary stood waiting for something magical to happen. He began dreaming lately for something to happen to take him to another world. He would imagine monsters and people that he would play and fight with.

A constant person kept on popping in his head anytime he thought of it. A girl with auburn hair around his age would show up and together they would go on an adventure around the entire make believed world. It was all a dream, however, but he so wished to get away from real life. In some moments Gary woild wonder if the nightmares he dreamed at night were what he should actually be afraid of.

A minute had passed and nothing had happened. Gary went to knock again, but the sound of footsteps sounded from the other side of the wall. He stepped back as the toilet began to move along with the wall. From the other side stood his uncle, Henry Sullington.

"So you finally made it." Henry said with a cocky glare.

His uncle was a tall well dressed man in a white suit and red and black striped tie. His baige pants were loose so Gary couldn't make out his legs and he wore black shoes that looked as if they were crushing his feet.

His uncle waved him into the other side of the wall. As Gary came through with small cautious footsteps the door began to close behind him. They walked down the corridor as Henry was asking him questions.

"So do you have a girlfriend?" Henry asked.

Gary shook his head and Henry tutted at the answer.

"Everyone deserves an actual relationship, even awful people like myself. They don't deserve what you got."

Henry would keep on asking questions that seemed to have little purpose at the moment then he would reveal it as some sort of life lesson. That was something his uncle was best at. He could even turn someone's favorite color into a reason or consequence of their personality.

They came upon a large red door that broke up the bleekness of the hallway. With one large swing of the door they entered Henry's office. It was a plain room with a red carpet and brown desk at the back of the room. On both sides of the desk there were two large bookcases that took up the wall.

Henry quickly leaped into his chair and spun a three sixty before stopping and staring at his confused nephew. He looked around the room as if he were a newborn that just came fresh from the womb. Curiosity streamed through him like a black cat.

"Do you want to know why you're here?" Henry asked.

"I'm here because Dad thought it would be best to be away from home." Gary answered.

Henry messed with a pen on his desk trying to think of something to say. When nothing witty came to mind he shrugged.

"Okay then let me rephrase my question" Henry leaned forward on his desk. "Do you know why I'm excited you're here?"

Gary thought for a second then shrugged. He had no clue where Henry was going with this. Henry leaned back into his chair and began to chew on his pen.

"The reason I'm glad you're here is because of your ability." Gary's eyes widened when he said that.

"My ability?"

"Yep, let me set the scene for you." Henry stood up and moved around acting the events he was describing. "It was twelve or so years ago. I was a poor broken man with bills to pay that I know I couldn't keep. I was about to be evicted and as soon as I walked into the gas station and saw lottery tickets, I thought why the hell not.

"I went back home with the highest prized ticket. It was for a half billion, in other words five hundred million. Imagine my shock when I won that bad boy. Also imagine my shock when just a minute later after realizing I was a millionaire, I get a call from my dear brother that my nephew had just been born. However, poor Linda died what a shame."

Gary balled up his fist at the mention of his mother's name. Henry saw him, and instead of fearing or preparing to attack back, he laughed.

"That's the kind of anger I'm looking for my boy. Anyway I went to cash it in and normally how these things work is that there are multiple winners amd they share the earnings, but not this lucky man. There were no other winners for this prize so I kept everything. I became what I always wanted to become, a loan shark with a terrifying reputation that people would never want to mess with.

"Then you go off and many things happened to you and the people around you. You don't know how differently my brother acts when you're involved with stuff, it's like he's a different person entirely. Your ability is to change the parts of the universe that you want at any moment; you know how beneficial that is to me."

Gary thought back to all the moments someone changed the way they acted or behaved anytime he was included. The idea that he was somehow behind that was absurd, but at the same time why else would he be here with a loan shark of all people.

Henry saw the realization spread across Gary's face. It was the realization that he needed.

"So lets make a deal." Henry held out his hand. "You work for me, and I'll help you fulfill any wish you desire."

Gary thought about any wish he wanted at that moment. Thats when the conversation that both his father and the teacher's husband had flashed through his mind. If only Gary was strong enough to push away his teacher's advances then nothing would have happened. If only he was strong.

"You got a gym I can train in?" Gary asked. Henry's wicked grin widened as Gary held out his hand.

"I own several in this mall. Take a pick." They shook hands solidifying their deal.

To Gary at the time he saw the deal as an absolute win. If he could become tough enough to keep people away from him then he didn't care what his darling uncle had in store. Poor poor naiive Gary.

After a year with his uncle, Gary got his first job. He was to collect a debt from a man living in an apartment complex. The details of what would happen if he didn't comply was left with the other debt collector going with Gary. Of course he knew the consequence would be either a severe beating or even death, but the little he thought about it the better.

What cheered Gary up a bit was the fact the man came to his uncle on his own to collect a loan he knew he couldn't pay, so Gary didn't need to feel like a shit stain for giving them a visit.

They pulled up in front of the apartment. It was a rundown blue building with paint chipping off and the stairs were missing a few floorboards. The entire place was a safety hazard, but they were at the part of the city that was rotten and spread with homeless so no one cared to fix it.

The man was on the second floor in room ninety. Both Gary and his partner walked up the stairs as they creaked from years worth of neglect. The smell of mildew and rotting trash wafted to Gary's nose causing him to hold his nose shut. He hoped to get this done quickly so he could go back to his workout routine.

They made it to the second floor and the second door to their right was the fated room ninety. The door was a wooden door that looked like it had mold growing out of it. It seemed as if it hadn't been cleaned in months.

Gary's partner walked up to the door and held out his fist. He knocked hard causing the door to nearly shake off it's hinges.

"Freddy, buddy! I know your in there!" He shouted.

There was no sound on the other side of the door. The only thing that made the way to Gary's ears in the morning was the sound of cars driving on the road to wherever they were heading. Gary's partner knocked again, this time making a dent in the door.

"One last chance pal. You got to the count of five to open this damn door before I do!"

He counted silently in his head as he waited for any sign of life on the other side. When nothing happened he sighed dissappointed.

"Stand back kid."

Gary backed away as his partner brought his leg up to his waist. With one big kick the door flew off the hinges and fell to the floor picking up dust. He quickly walked into the room as Gary was busy coughing dust out of his lungs.

He heard shouting from three people in the room. When Gary was finished coughing he looked in the room and identified the noise. His partner was picking up a man by the throat and holding a gun to his head. A woman laid on the ground unconcious supposedly after trying to help out the man. Finally a young girl sat on her knees crying into her mothers chest.

They were all wearing tattered clothes and looked pale. Their bodies were malnourished and hungry for even a crumb of bread. The man was as light as a feather and didn't put up much of a fight. There was nothing he could do.

"What did you spend that fucking money on?" Gary's partner shouted.

"I spent it on this apartment and. And."

"And what?" He pit the barrel to the man's head harder making him moan in pain.

Gary could do nothing except look in horror at the carnage he was witnessing. The girl looked up at his partner and put on the best pleading eyes she could offer.

"Please don't hurt daddy." The girl pleaded through her tears.

He looked down at the little girl and at his hand with the gun. His grip slightly softened and his arm lowered an ounce. Gary breathed a sigh of relief thinking that his partner wouldn't go through with it.

All of a sudden he raised the gun back to the man's head. "Sorry kid." He said with regret brewing in his soul. "Gotta learn what the world is like some day. Today's your day."

He looked at the father's eyes with a rage that couldn't be quelled. "Once you get to hell, apologize to your daughter you shit."

With a final brief moment of hesitation, he pulled the trigger and that was the first day Gary became familiar with the color red.

Later that day he learned what the man spent the money on. For the short of it, mostly drugs. He spent nearly a thousand dollars both buying and producing drugs with that money. His wife would make the stuff while the father bought them. Sometimes they would even give some to the daughter so when she was taken in an orphanage it was discovered she was an addict. Even worse, according to Gary's uncle, she'll inherit her father's debt once she turns eighteen.

That was when Gary truly learned that he didn't even have to be in the same city for his effect to reach people. Because his universal ability allowed his uncle to win millions, he became a loan shark whos money allowed those people to carry on an addiction.

Gary kept on his workout routine for a few years. He would even skip school if he had wanted to just so he could get a few more reps in. Finally he was strong enough that he could take down several grown men at once.

The strength was really needed as well cause as soon as he turned seventeen something strange occured. Every girl decided to throw themselves at him whenever they saw him, and every guy unanimously decided he was the worst person in the universe. People kept ambushing him and Gary would disguise it as him hunting them down so they would leave him alone. However, no matter how much he beat them they would always return with more.

Present day and Gary sat in an interrogation room. The officer in front of him was a nice woman that never once showed any sign of the effects on her. She drank from a cup of coffee in front of her as she was asking him questions.

"This is the fifth time you're here in the past three months." She took a sip of her coffee and looked at him menacingly. "If the higher ups will let me to lock you up, I would have done it on spot, however, you seem be a special case to them."

"Not like I wanted to be a special case." Gary said without a hint of regret for what he did.

"Well I guess they just don't want you beating the other prisoners half to death. Those kids you sent to the hospital were in pretty bad shape you know."

No reaction from Gary whatsoever. He sat with his head down looking at a random wall. The officer kept a close eye for any sign of weakness from him, but he kept his emotions tight on his shoulders.

"If it was just plain self defense I would call you a good kid going down the wrong path. However, what you did to those kids after they were already down wasn't just plain self defense. That's something only monsters are capable of."

The officer kept trying to pick at Gary to no avail. She even wouldn't have minded making him mad enough to knock her unconcious cause at least then the higher ups would think wisely. However, nothing happened for the entire duration he was there. Instead he was dismissed and someone was outside ready to pick him up.

Gary stood and stretched his worn muscles. Sleeping in a jail cell really made his back feel worn out. He already knew his way around the place, but the officer still followed him since he wasn't allowed to be alone till he left.

They headed to the entrance and the person waiting for them was Robert, the man that Gary worked with ever since he became apart of his uncle's job. He waved at Gary as he was appearing around the corner.

"Gary, your uncle wants to have a chat with you." He said when Gary came within whisper range.

Gary sighed and already knew what his uncle was planning on. Getting in the car they drove off to the mall in silence. The sound of car horns and people talking on their phones filled up the empty noise.

Two hours later and Gary stood in front of his uncle's desk. Henry was beginning to show some grey on his head and his well kept appearance was starting to falter somewhat. As soon as he saw Gary, his face reddened with anger but he still managed to keep himself in check until Robert left.

"Every fucking time you get sent to that station, the cops get one extra reason to come after me!" Henry began yelling at the top of his lungs. "They don't care about me unless I or my people make a scene. The more you do this the more police I'll have at my doorstep!"

Gary looked up at Henry and balled his fist. Henry saw that and he feared what next action his nephew would take. One punch from him and Henry would need to be sent straight toward an ER. Granted he had hired professional surgeons, but he still didn't want to take time off.

"You're a monster you know that." Gary said with a deep growling voice. "You took people's lives away and you even take what little some have left. Worst of all you turned your own nephew into a monster!" Gary shouted with tears beginning to form.

Henry sighed and placed his hand over his eyes. He's heard enough bullshit for one day and he was exhausted.

"You want to know real monsters." Henry began. "A really monster is someone who knows they're doing awful things, yet they do nothing to stop themselves and continue hurting others."

Gary stood silently with nothing else coming to mind. He let his fist drop and lowered his head. Henry was glad to still have a working jaw by now.

"Now that your tantrum is over I need your help with a job. Go with Robert and he'll bring you to the next debtor owing me." Henry waved Gary out and he reluctantly left.

Gary left the bothroom, as he calls he, and met with Robert who was waiting directly outside the shoe store. Robert nodded for him to follow and they made their way out to his car.

They got in and began driving down toward their destination. The traffic was heavy that day and there was no absence of car horns and people walking the streets. Everything was as it should be.

"Whos the next one?" Gary asked.

Robert stopped at a red light that turned at the last minute. Gary shot forward as they stopped abruptly and several car horns blasted behind them.

"Some man tried to open a resteraunt with a few thousand dollars. We didn't know it at the time but the man was bullshitting about his experience. Now we're just going to collect his dues."

Gary already knew that if the man had the money he would of already paid up. This wasn't a collection, this was a beating or killing. The light turned green and Robert sped forward as much as he could until he met with the tail of a truck. They slowed down and went back to doing normal city speed.

"Anyone else at home?"

"Not as far as I know. Daughters at school and the wife works day shift."

Gary was relieved that at the very least no one else would have to see what was about to happen. The day when he saw the hope for a great and fair world leave that little girl's eyes all those years ago was burned into his skull. He saw even more faces like that after, but the first time really stuck out to him. At least he could have a break today.

An hour passed since Gary and Robert left the mall. At the home they were set to arrive to in a few minutes, the man they are heading to kill was making preparations. He got word that those stick up's boss was planning on killing him that day thanks to an extremely lucky neighbor of his somehow managing to overhear a conversation.

Lighting his oven and grabbing an expensive timed lighter he got as a present by his sister a few years ago, he set up his elaborate suicide. He set the timer for ten minutes so he could call his wife for the last time.

Heading to his room, he pulled out his phone and dialed his wife's number. The ring went on for a few seconds until she finally picked up. He sighed with relief since now the last words to his wife won't be "see you when you get home."

"What is it honey, and make it quick I'm busy."

Ah yes the overworking woman she was wants him to hurry. He always told her that she deserved a break, but she was so tied to her job she never gave it a second thought. At the very least whenever she was home he always tried to make it the best home she could walk into.

"Yeah, I just wanted to let you know how much I love you."

He heard a sigh on the other side of the phone. "Really, thats all you called for? Usually when you call me during work there's an emergency."

"Well I guess there will be one." He heard a confused what on the other side of the phone.

He told her everything about where he got the money for his failed resteraunt, his numerous debt, and what was about to happen to him. As he spoke more and more he began to break down. His calm and determinant demeanor devolved into a crying mess. His wife began to pack up her things as he heard her tell one of her coworkers to call nine-one-one.

"I'm sorry, but I bought you two tickets across the country so you can get as far away from here as possible."

"Shut up about that and turn off the dann oven!" She shouted at him.

He heard the one minute beep of the lighter in the kitchen. His time was coming to a close, but at the very least no one else would have to get caught up in his mess. The smell of gas began to fill the house making his head hurt. He even imagined hearing the front door open his head hurt so much.

"Don't worry. None of you will be coming with me and my mistakes will end with me."

Finally his wife screamed something that he couldn't hear. It was something about the school, but he couldn't focus. His daughter stood in front of his bedroom door covering her nose.

"Daddy why does it stink in here?"

His mind froze as the decisions that led him to this moment finally began weighing upon him. The five second alarm shouted and his mind cleared for a brief second for him to grab his daughter and hunker over her.

Then there was a loud bang and seering fire.

Nearby, Robert turned the car down the final turn that would take them to the debtors home. It was a quiet suburban area, a place ripe with people that would snitch if they found out what they were about to do. Thankfully Robert brought skii masks with him so they didn't need to worry on that front. Even still the universe would probably make it so people would look away at just the right time.

However, as they turned the corner a large explosion blew the roof off of one of the houses. Robert cursed and sped down the road toward the house now on fire. They stopped the car directly parallel to the home.

"So much for the money. The debt will be passed on to the wife at least."

People began exiting their homes and looked at the blazing mess. Another car sped to the home and stopped so abruptly the tires picked up smoke. The driver door shot open and a woman ran out of her car and tried to enter the home. One of the neighbors held her back before she could burn herself.

"Let me go, my daughters in there! Let me go!"

Her cries were so blood curdling that Gary and Robert couldn't let their eyes leave the scene.

Gary heard the mother's crying out for her daughter as she desperately tried to break from the neighbors grasp. Gary thought back to the moment when he saw the young girl's soul leave her body as she realized what such a cruel world this place was.

This was a place where loan sharks prayed on the helpless and police let them go since trying to arrest them would cause more trouble than worth. This was a place where parents will dope up their children and then leave them for an orphanage because of their awful choices. This was a place that allowed someone like Gary to exist.

He didn't want to see someone else's hope leave their body. He wanted that hope to at least shine in one person until their inevitable death at the ripe age of eighty. The suburbs was near a river that cut across the city, but there was enough ground for him to climb down and up quickly.

"Robert," Gary held out his hand. "Give me your jacket."

"Why?" Robert asked suspicious of what Gary was thinking about doing.

"Just do it!"

Robert wanted to resist, but no matter how much he tried he felt tempted to just do what Gary asked. He took off his jacket and handed it to Gary who took off running out of the car and toward the river.

With one quick dip into the water the jacket was completely soaked. Putting it on, Gary ran toward the blazing house. People tried to stop him but they were too weak to keep him at bay.

The house was blazing and even with the soaked jacket Gary felt like he was being microwaved. He looked around for any sign of life. No luck in the kitchen he ran down the hallway, his heart beating a million beats per second.

Gary made it to the master bedroom where he saw a man with a board lodged in his back hunkering over something. When Gary called out the man moved a bit and he could see a ten year old girl underneath him. He walked up to the man and tapped him on his shoulder.

"You've done enough. Now move so I can save your daughter."

The man was reluctant. He had no clue who this person was, but he knew that if he didn't let his daughter go then she'll burn with him. He moved out of the way and layed on his side. The board hit something behind him lodging it deeper into his gut. He yelped as more pain shot across his body and blood littered the floor.

Gary grabbed the girl who was barely concious at this point. He began making his way toward the front door. Once he leaves this place he can get back to doing his job.

What did his job entail though. Ruining the already ruined people's lives. His very existance was a curse on people and every waking moment he'll end up making someones day signifycantly worse. He's killed and ended people's hopes that hope was nothing but a concept, a fictional thing that can only be perceived.

Henry's words shot through Gary's mind. A true monster is someone that knows they're a monster but doesn't do anything to stop themselves. Now that Gary thought about it, this would probably be the only heroic thing he'll ever accomplish.

The front door was right in front of him. The daylight was so blinding that it looked like nothing but a white tunnel. This was the last moment. He sat the girl down and stood her on her feet. She looked confused and scared, but she wasn't crying. She still had a bit of a soul left in her eyes.

"Listen to me." Gary said. She looked at him waiting for his order. "I want you to run outside and tell those people I'm going to save your Daddy, alright?" The girl nodded and ran out into the blinding sunlight.

Gary stood silently thinking if he truly made the right choice. Then again did that really matter. If this was a right or wrong choice it's not like he'll find out.

He walked down the hallway and took the jacket off and threw it onto the ground. The heat became unbearable, but nevertheless Gary smiled as he walked into the master bedroom.

The man was still alive but barely hanging on. He waved at Gary as soon as he saw him then began coughing into his hand. Drawing his hand back he spotted specks of blood littered on his palms.

"Just saying if you want to save me then it's too late." The man said with a grin.

"Why the smile?" Gary asked. Things began crashing in the living room as the fire started to build up in strength.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Alright I'll go first. I'm just smiling since I can finally repent for my sins."

The man nodded understandably. If Gary hadn't arrived then he would be carrying the sin of accidently killing his daughter.

"I'm smiling since a hero saved my daughter."

Gary couldn't help but laugh at the idea he was any sort of a hero.

"Trust me I'm no good person. This is the first time I've done anything good my entire life."

The man laughed then coughed, spraying blood all over the room. The master room door broke off it's hinges and burst into flame.

"If you saved my daughter and kept me company during my death I'd call you a great person no matter the shit you've done."

Tears tried to work their way into Gary's eyes but his tear ducts were beginning to dry up. All he could feel was overwhelming sadness and gratefulness of his words.

"What's your name?" The man asked.

"Gary Sullington. Yours?"

"Frederick Delaware. I know I'm named after a state so what."

They shared another laugh. Gary blinked and looked at Frederick who was leaning against his bed. The life had gone out of his eyes, but the soul was intact through the entire deed.

The fire began to build up in the room, but there was one thing Gary had to do before he died. His skin was already turning red so he didn't have much time left.

Gary stood up and walked toward a dresser in the room. He took out a pocket knife and began carving. He didn't have time for full sentences so he wrote his message as short and sweet as possible. Flames licked at him as he carved each letter into the dresser. When he finished the message read "Pardon this family from debt."

The dresser could burn away and hide the message, but if there was anything in the world that Gary knew could keep this thing alive, it would be his luck. He sat back down and rested his head on the dresser as flames covered his body.

It burned so bad and his entire body screamed in pain, but Gary was happy. He couldn't remember the last time he was truly hurt like this and it made him realize he still had a soul.

With one final wheeze of a laugh, Gary's light vanished and disappeared into the darkness.

The universe had parted of its greatest prisoner and everyone felt it. No one knew where the feelings came from, but it was a synchronized feeling of melancholy and sadness that washed over everyone.

Gary shut his eyes and darkness was all he knew. But then his eyes opened and he was greeted to a whole new world. Death wasn't his final destination. It was his turning point.

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