Just Numb

Just Numb
                                                 By AJ Peaslee

I’ve killed more men then I can remember…..

It’s not because I want to, they want to kill me. I killed the governor’s only son and he wants me to pay back in full.
I take a haul off the bottle of rum. The burn slowly runs down my throat and I feel the sizzle hit my stomach. It’s hot as hell in this two bit hotel room. The air conditioner doesn’t work and I’m roasting like a stuffed pig. I shouldn’t have worn jeans, but oh well. My tank top is stuck to my back from all the sweat running out of my pores.
I look at the mirror in front of me; my body is covered in scars of battles past. My muscles make my veins poke out in strange ways, like snakes wrapped around rocks. My short flattop haircut is black as hell, and soaked in sweat to boot. I see a very angry and gruff face in the mirror, I look dead tired.

I drink some more of the bum’s tonic. I know it’s not good for my liver, but it takes the pain away, in both the mind and body. I don’t want to kill anyone, but when someone has a gun to your head, you have two options. You can die like a dog or you can show him who runs the show. I’m not the kind of fella that gets bullied around either, I’ll pop your head like a whitehead pimple. Maybe it’s because of my body structure….it screams for a good fight…..

I go downstairs to the bar; on the way down I look at the wall to see archaic posters of boxing legends gone by. Ali, Dempsey, and some other faces I can’t recall. I open the door and get enveloped in a haze of bong and cigarette smoke. The Cage is my kind of place. I sit at the bar and tell Marty the barkeep what I want. He already knows anyway, and gets the shot of bourbon on the table. I chug it down and have some more. As I get ready to leave, I look out the window to see a woman being assaulted by some thug. Tonight’s a bad night for you bucko.

He rips her blouse off and starts to fondle her bare breasts. She screams and tries to slap him away, but the brute overpowers her. She keeps struggling and he gets frustrated. He raises his arm up to paste her one, but he is quickly stopped. He turns to see me, the biggest, meanest son of a bitch in this city holding his arm. He tries to wiggle out and I squeeze with all my might, his arm snaps several times and it goes into an abnormal rubbery state. He yells in a little school yard sissy’s voice. She breaks free and get out of the way. I smash my fist into his gut and he spews blood all over my boots. Asshole. I just got these today. I knock my knee into his face and I watch the teeth fly. Hope you have good dental. He moans and groans like a stuck pig and I let him fall to the ground. I turn to the woman and she thanks me as she runs off. I watch her run down the street, and then I hear a gunshot and I feel my shoulder thrust to the right. I look down to see the little puke holding a smoking 9 millimeter. You never learn do you?

I grab his hand and twist my wrist. His fingers crunch and bend into new positions. I grab his gun and shoot him in the eye, he goes limp instantly.

I look at the now embedded bullet in my shoulder. Great, another stitch. I walk off into the night and see what other trouble I can find before sunrise. I think I was created for this. Any other man wouldn’t last ten minutes with the shit I do. I don’t feel pain like everyone else. No it’s not drugs and no it’s not ignorance. I was born with a defect. Most people’s nerves send signals of pain to their brains; I do not have that problem. My nerve ending were shut upon birth. I don’t feel pain. I used to be called Numb Ned in school because I could take anything the bullies in school gave. Maybe I wasn’t intended to be a damn hero, but I’m not gonna wait around.

The governor, Spenel,  is a corrupt one. He tried to kill my wife Catherine. She got involved with the voting poll and tried to get more votes to the other guy so that Spenel couldn’t be in office again. He owns most of the cops, and has ties with the Mafia. What a great guy huh?

Well, his son came after me and I chewed him up good. He thought a tommy gun would stop me. Get real Jack. Now Spenel wants revenge. His boys come after me at least once a week with a new plan, and I always send them home in body bags.

I light up a smoke on the way down the street. I love New York. This city is the cesspool of the United States. It was grand in the early 2000’s, now it just sucks. The cops are crooked and the streets are full of junkies and murderous rapists. What a great day and age to raise kids. At least I’m trying to make a difference out here in the dregs of NY.

I see a guy in a trench coat walking toward me. He nods his top hat and I know who he is. His name is Harry. Harry is a good friend and a smart one. He is amazing with computers. He usually tells me what the government is cookin up next and what the cops are planning to do. We talk for a few moments, usual small talk. He tells me that Spenel is really pissed. He checked the records for the most wanted men in the city. I’m numero uno. He wants me dead all right, and he will do anything it takes to stop me. Good luck Spenel.

Harry tells me that if I was smart, I would get out of here before the night is out. I laugh and tell him I will try to stay out of trouble. That won’t happen tonight, not tonight. Spenel, you die tonight, and your gonna scream through a fountain of blood when I am through with you.

I run down the road toward the governor’s building. It looks Victorian and all classy. Must be nice, a rat living in luxury. I see two guards with assault rifles standing at the gates. They have lights attached, and it looks like they have night vision goggles. Spenel sure is cautious for a “dangerous” man. Sorry boys, it’s a bad night to work the graveyard shift.

I trudge to the left and hide behind a some sort of thorn bush. The first guard strolls over and I ever so quietly wrap my hands around his neck and flick my wrists. The snap that sounded like someone eating a Crunch bar is the last thing he will hear in this reality.

His buddy looks over in a startled expression. The guard shouldn’t have fallen for any reason, so he gets edgy. He walks over and I smash my fist into his face, shattering the goggles all to hell. His face looks like it has a dent the size of a softball in it. I grab the keys off his belt and open the gate. I look around once I get into the courtyard. No guards out here, Spenel must have had a lot of faith in those two.

I casually walk into the estate. Awfully nice in here. Chandeliers, old portraits of presidents past, and even a little fountain in the middle of it all. I walk up the spiral staircase to my left, I keep going, but I hear someone yawn. I look up to see a guard walking up the stairs ahead of me. I slowly creep up and tap him on his shoulder. He turns around with a grin thinking I’am one of his pals, and he then falls down lifeless. Sorry about shoving my thumbs into your eye sockets, but you got in the way.

I get to the top and I see a door with an emblem on it. It is his office all right. I kick the door open and Spenel turns around in his computer chair. He has a cigar hanging from his mouth. His moustache gets enveloped in smoke, and his slick black hair catches it. He just smiles.

I walk over and tell him he has a nice office, but he best enjoy it. This is the last night he will ever bring hookers back to it, and the last time he will do a line of coke on his desk. He laughs and calls me foolish. He says I’am stupid for trying to save this city. I tell him to pipe down or I will smack him one in the kisser. He laughs more and puffs his cigar. I tell him that its vengeance for trying to kill my wife, and we don’t need a cockroach as governor anyway. He doesn’t say anything, good. I explain to him that he should pray finish his cigar and kiss his own ass goodbye, because tonight is the night.

He quickly gets up and pulls out a 12 gauge shotgun. He unloads a slug into my chest. I keep walking toward him as he blasts another shot into my shoulder. I keep walking over and I grab him. I take the gun and I shove it under his chin and slam his head down on it. He starts to fall over and I grab his tie. I haul him back up and head butt him on the nose. It bursts open like a slit in a hose. He starts to cry like the little man I always took him for. I set him down on his desk, and the fun starts. I look around to see what I could use in my twisted show of horrors. Hm, scissors, pencils, a ruler, and a judge’s mallet. I grab the mallet and place his fingers on the table. I say good bye to the first little piggy and smash the mallet down, a loud squish emits and little chunks of bone float around in red liquid. Spenel screams and I keep hammering away at his fingers. Eventually there is nothing left but mashed flesh. He won’t stop screaming, so I grab the scissors and pull his tongue out. I slowly cut away at it, and eventually pull it off. The only sound he makes is a useless squeal. I continue my slaughter fest and grab the pencils. I shove them into his knees and then slam my foot on them; they force themselves through like a knife on butter. I finally grab the ruler and thrust it through Spenel’s eye. He stops breathing. I stand victorious, I save the city. But something is wrong, for the first time in my life, I feel a strange sensation. I think its called pain. I look at my wounds. They are pretty bad, and I have been bleeding heavy with all the work. I fall down and feel like I am breathing fire. My eyes twitch and start to go limp. Am I dying? Not being able to feel pain must have been a gift, because it got me this far and it was for a good cause. I fall over, and I close my eyes.  I love you Catherine, forgive me for being this rash…….Goodbye Numb Ned….

The End.