Julie pulled the smoking gun from Amy’s neck and blew smoke away from the barrel as blood spattered the air in droplets of fading life.

Amy sputtered — “Why?” — as dark red oozed from deep within her and pooled on the ground beneath her neck.

“You can take my man, but never my money,” Julie growled as she tucked the gun back into her pants near the sweating small of her back.

“Your man was my brother,” Amy gasped as a switchblade rolled away from her unclenching hand and rattled across the floor, “and he wanted you dead.”

“Now you’re both dead and the money’s mine.”

Julie pulled off Amy’s cowboy boots and aligned the bare soles of her feet to create a numbers mosaic that made up the combination of the wall safe.

Julie spun the numbers on the lock and pulled open the safe where she found only the bloody remains of a middle finger — her middle finger — that was previously cleaved from her hand by her man.

Furious, Julie turned to see Amy smiling up at her from the floor, and she took the dead finger and hovered it above the ragged stump of its former home for Amy to see:  “Very funny, now where’s the money?”

Amy giggled as blood foamed from her lips as the light faded forever from her eyes, “Your man spent all the money and gave you the finger — your finger!”

Julie kneeled next to Amy and delicately placed her found middle finger in the frothing corner of Amy’s mouth like a shriveled stogie, “Now I’m giving it to you.”

4 Comments

    1. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
      David W. Boles says:

      Thanks, Gordon! It was a lot of fun to write some fiction again!

  2. ANNE – I live and teach on the upper West Coast of the United States. My interests are Philosophy, English, and Social Communication.
    anne says:

    I think this my first time here in 10txt. What a gruesome story, David. Loved it! Write many more. Feels like I’m watching a movie reading it. Big congratulations on the change.

    1. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
      David W. Boles says:

      Thanks, Anne, it great to have you here with us! I think the story would make a great short film.

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