A Mercy Killing

This was originally written for Cara Michaels’ Menage Monday flash fiction challenge (200 words) and was re-worked for Siobhan Muir’s Thursday Threads (250 words).  It received an Honorable Mention for Thursday Threads.

A Mercy Killing

We met down by the creek.

It looked the same as when we were kids. Same dirty water, same dry grass, same crumbling stone bridge.

I took my time getting down to where Jimbo was waiting for me. I knew I hadn’t been followed. I wasn’t so sure about Jimbo.

He sat on the ledge and chain-smoked through his story.

“I thought it was my lucky day,” he said. “You think I meant to kill him? How the fuck was I supposed to know whose shit it was?”

“Where’s it at now?”

He told me and I ran the numbers. No dice. I couldn’t save him. They take this seriously. Very seriously. They’ll find him and they’ll skin him alive. They’ll make it last for days.

He ran out of cigarettes so I gave him one of mine. I should’ve brought him a blindfold.

I let him finish his smoke.

“You carrying?”

He nodded and handed over his piece.

“Let’s go,” I said.

I raised the gun as he stood.

“You’re joking,” he said.

“Wish I was, pal.”

I made myself look him in the eye as I pulled the trigger.

When it was done I rolled him into the water, wiped the gun clean, and tossed it in after him.

“Lucky day, eh?” I said as he began to float downstream. “You don’t know the half of it.”

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