Josh felt sick. He had felt sick for three days. There was definitely something serious going on. He had gone to the doctor, and been diagnosed with the flu. The doctor gave him an antibiotic and told him to drink lots of juice and stay in bed as much as possible.
This turned out to not be the best advice. Thats all he had done. He would wake up in the mornings, eat very little, and fall back asleep on the couch in front of the television. Sometimes he would wake up with a bad fever; other times he would become lightheaded, and would have to hold onto something in order to stay on his feet.
It was 6:30 in the AM. Josh sat on the couch, feeling terrible and watching the sun rise. For once he couldn't get any sleep at all. The fever was worse today than yesterday. Josh had been taking handfuls of cold medicine, yet it had done nothing. Neither had the antibiotic the doctor gave him.
It was at least seventy degrees outside already, yet Josh had a bad case of the chills. What was worse was the necessity of Josh going out today. He had a very difficult task ahead, and this sickness was just going make things all the worse. Josh had to get motivated.
He slowly got up and wobbled to the stairs. Josh got up two steps when faintness suddenly seized him. He leaned against the banister and let out a ragged cough. His vision swam blackly before his eyes. He stood for a moment, and when he felt better he continued the difficult staircase. He had been wearing the same thing for three days, and he decided to look presentable for todays special occasion.
After some deliberation, he decided on an expensive black suit. Josh quickly dressed; he even put on a tie. He looked at himself in the mirror and frowned. He looked bad...real bad. His face was very pale, and he had large bags under his dull blue eyes. Josh noticed that his black hair almost looked matted, and quickly combed it back. Josh had always been skinny, but as of late he looked pitifully thin.
Josh gritted his teeth against the headache and sat down to rest. Of all the times to get sick, it had to be now. He needed all his wits for today, and didnt need to feel like this, like he could pass out at any second. He hadn't been out of the house in almost two weeks now, and he had to think for a moment about where his keys might be at.
After another short bout of coughing, he recovered his keys off of the mantle, and carefully headed downstairs. He opened his front door to leave, and then closed it back. He had to do something to feel better. He headed to the bathroom medicine cabinet and took a handful of aspirin, some sinus pills, and a mouthful of cough medicine. After deciding this was the best he was going to get, he headed out the front door.
If there was one thing Josh still took great pride in, it was his car. He drove a restored, 1971 black mustang. He had gotten the windows tinted way back when he first got it. Looking at it gleaming in the sunlight almost made him feel a little better. He got in and started the engine.
Josh closed his eyes and listened to the engine rumble. His mind delicately traced over the day's schedule, and he started to lightly doze. Suddenly the chills hit him again and snapped him back into reality. After cursing himself, he quickly pulled out and sped away from his neighborhood. As much as he wanted to, Josh couldn't roll down the windows. The chance of being seen, especially in the state he was in now, was far too risky.
He did his best to think about everything but how horrible he felt. His head had begun to swim and he was feeling dizzy. A red light gave him the chance to relax for a moment and get a pack of cigarettes out of the glove box. He stared at them, wanting one but knowing how badly it would hurt him. His chest already hurt, and he couldnt go more than five minutes without coughing.
With a shake of his head, he gave in and lit one. It did hurt, but not as badly as he thought it would. The light turned green and Josh sped on. He was a man that liked to drive fast. That was the main purpose when he bought and restored the Mustang.
Josh drove for about twenty minutes, smoking cigarettes and trying to suppress the chills. He ground his teeth and squinted his eyes, trying to make the headache go away. Finally he reached that big white house on the other side of town. The car wasnt in the driveway. Josh cursed under his breath.
He parked on the other side of the street two houses down. That way he could still watch the house but not draw suspicion from the neighbors. The clock on the dashboard said 7:05. Josh shook his head in disgust. Where was she? She was supposed to be home. Josh leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
What was wrong with him? Why wouldnt this go away? He had slept none the night before, and he very slowly drifted off into a restless sleep sitting in the hot car. His nap was filled with various nightmares.
A passerby would have suspected nothing of Josh's evil intent. They would see nothing more than a parked black car, nothing but tinted windows and black metal that was slowly scorching in the sun. Halfway through Josh's little nap, the car he was waiting for pulled into the driveway.
Josh woke up in a panic. He was disorientated and didnt know what was happening. Several things hit Josh, the first being the heat. The black car sitting under the noon day sun for so long had made it extremely hot, and his fever didnt help. His nice suit was wrinkled and halfway soaked through with perspiration. Josh wiped his forehead with his sleeve and looked up.
He let out a little yelp. The car was back in the driveway. Josh slammed his hand against the dashboard and muttered some profanities. What was wrong with him, falling asleep like that? She could have very well left again by now. He sighed and opened the car door. This is where things got a little more dangerous.
As soon as he stepped out of the car, a blast of warm air hit him. He ran his hands through his sweaty hair. Anything was better than inside that car. Before slamming the car door, he reached inside and popped the trunk. This wouldn't take too long.
After checking for neighbors or pedestrians, Josh walked around the car and opened the trunk. He reached in and pulled out that black Louisville slugger. The warm aluminum felt good in his hands. After he slammed the trunk, he just stood there in the street, holding the bat. His head screamed and his lungs ached, but there was no stopping now.
With the bat down by his side, he headed toward the house. Josh got to the front porch and stopped. If he was going do this, he was going do it right. There would be no chance to call the police, no chance to run out the back door. He quickly straitened his tie and ran his fingers through his hair. After a short fit of coughing, he knocked on the door. He waited for a moment and then frowned. He knew she was home, so why wasn't she answering?
This time he knocked harder. Still, no answer. Josh rubbed his temples as his patience melted away. Even though it wasn't how he wanted it, Josh grabbed the door knob and slowly opened the door. It took a second for his eyes to adjust the dimness of the room, but when they did Josh jumped back in surprise.
There were two of them. Two very large men, also in suits, beating the hell out of the women he had come to murder. The men suddenly realized he was standing in the doorway and turned around, angry and surprised. Josh looked past them to the women. Her face was bruised and had begun to swell. It appeared she had been crying for quite a while.
One of the men spoke to Josh in a deep harsh voice. "This is none of your concern. Leave right this second...unless youd like some too." The man pulled a hunting knife out of his coat pocket. Joshs head swam and he felt like he was going to fall down. He stepped into the room. The women on the ground realized he was here and broke down into terrified sobs.
"Oh...god, not you. Please not you." She held her head in her hands and wept.
One of the men stepped forward to confront Josh. In a flash, Josh had swung the bat and cracked the man in the side of the head. The man let out a gurgling noise and fell to one knee. Josh the let bat fly again, this time letting it land right on the top of his head. There was a loud cracking noise and the man collapsed over.
Josh calmly looked from the mess on the floor to the other man. This one was slightly bigger, but not half as brave. He dashed towards the front door. The man had taken no more than two steps before the bat cracked him in the back. The women continued to cry as Josh hit the man several more time, until he looked like his friend.
Josh then turned his attention to the women. She stared up from the floor, bruised and terrified. She was visibly shaking from fear.
"J-Joshua please, please no. Just stay away from me." She held her hands out in front of her, as if fending off an attack. Sympathy almost stirred within him.
Josh quietly said "Get up." The women scrambled to her feet.
Josh felt worse than he had yet. All the excitement had made the headache ten times worse. It was far past unbearable. The chills were more a steady thing now, and he was having a hard time staying on his feet. Josh looked at the women. She was sobbing hysterically and mumbling please-something-something-please over and over again. Josh still held the bat, dripping with blood, in his hand.
He looked from the bat back to the women. "I'll be honest with you Liz...I can here to kill you. I had full intention of beating you to death and leaving you here for the cops to find." The women broke down into hysteria at this point. Josh shook the bloody bat at her.
"You just shut your mouth Liz, let me finish." The women did her best to contain herself, though it helped very little.
Josh started again. "Even though you deserve to die, Even though I came all this way with this goddamned headache,. I can't do it now Liz. He stared into her eyes.
"I'm not feeling real well right now Liz. I don't know what's wrong, but I think I need to go home. Maybe I just need rest." He said this knowing it was a lie. He said this knowing what was going to happen very soon after he left.
"So I tell you what," he dropped the bat to the ground, "I'm gonna go. I hope all this works out for you." Josh looked around the room one more time, and then walked out the front door.
Liz just stood there. Looking at the bodies and shaking. How had Josh found her? After all this time, he had just strolled up into her house. After all the court orders and restraining orders and name changes and the moving to a different state, Josh had still found her. Liz very slowly walked to the open front door, just in time to see Josh's car, the same one he had always driven, speed down the road.
She called the police sometime after that. She told them what happened, and everything was properly cleansed and documented. A few days later she saw a report on the news; they found Josh's body. His car had apparently gone over a guardrail into a river. Investigators ruled it to be an accident, one that may have possibly involved alcohol. Liz knew better.
All the hate she had for Josh; all the nightmares she had; all the therapy she had went through to forget Josh; these things meant nothing as she fell to her knees and wept in front of the television.
THE END
