Mosaic/Issue 3

This is the third issue of Mosaic by Dixonlovessquirrels, titled "A Chip on Your Shoulder".

This issue was released on June 13th, 2014.

Legend
Present

Flashback

Dream

A Chip on Your Shoulder
 6 Months After Initiation

'''A loud squeaky noise flowed through the neighbourhood. The car stopped with its wheels grazing against the curb, leaving a small white line running horizontally across them. The car sat parked by the pavement for a couple of seconds. There wasn't any noise after the squeaking died down, which brought a calm but tense feeling to the driver.'''

'''Michael got out of the car, opening the door as slowly as he could. This was the first visit he'd make to Mitch's house, and he wasn't looking forward to it. '''

'''The neighbourhood was quite nice, like one of those nice family-type neighbourhoods you'd see in cheesy movies, but a little bit bigger, and a little richer. There was nobody in sight, as if everyone had locked themselves away in their houses. It gave a very post-apocalyptic vibe which wasn't helping the very anxious Michael, who stood outside Mitch's white picket fence.'''

'''It was like a barrier, his feet stuck in place a few inches in front of the fence's gate. The house looked homely, two stories tall, maybe some room for an attic. It was white, very white. The sun was already scorching, Michael's jacket sticking to his skin, and now looking at the big white house blinded him, his corneas burning to oblivion.'''

'''He had to look away, it was impossible to keep his eyes locked on the house. Although, now... anywhere he looked there was a purple blob painted on it. This hurt his eyes way too much.'''

'''But, in the midst of losing his eyesight, Michael plucked up the courage to open the gate. He wasn't going to give his body the chance to bring on a panic attack, he was just going to fight through it. He took his first step, and then his second.'''

'''He closed the gate behind him. He was waiting for a bunch of guard dogs, maybe some rottweilers, to come and bite him in the ass. But there was nothing, nobody around. As he was walking for what seemed like an eternity, he noticed a garage on the left side of the house... the right side from his point of view. The garage was open, displaying the amazingly clean red Camarro that Michael had first seen in the warehouse six months beforehand.'''

'''It was such a beautiful car. '''

'''This caused Michael to look back at his own, seeing a crappy little Ford Mustang. Of course, he could always fix it up, but not even Mitch would have that much money. The only thing that Michael needed to fix was that squeaking sound that the brakes make.'''

'''He made it. Finally, he was at the door. A red door, it almost felt like inside would be the devil...'''

'''The door flew open, Michael seeing Mitch's face, who was smiling at him. Michael hadn't even knocked at the door, so Mitch probably saw Michael's fear while he was walking towards the door.'''

'''"Mikey!" Mitch said, pulling Michael in for a hug. This wasn't new. Over the past six months, Mitch and Michael had become close. Michael had always despised him, but put on a happy face for him. Hell, he needed the money... at the time.'''

'''As Mitch broke away the hug, Michael could feel the sun's rays crashing against his back. Almost like he was leaning up against a boiling... sun.'''

'''"Come on in," Mitch said, unaware of how appreciative Michael was for that. A couple more seconds and he'd be dead from the heat.'''

'''Michael walked into the house, past Mitch. It was much cooler in there, and the inside wasn't exactly like Michael had imagined. A huge foyer greeted him past the doorway, the inside as white as the outside. Arched stairs to the right, elegant and graceful in appearance. To the left was another door, closed so Michael had no idea what was past it. There were a few other doors that were open, one of them leading into a nice living room, at least as far as Michael could see. It was beautiful.'''

'''Mitch came up behind Michael, resting his arm around Michael's shoulders. '''

'''"So... what do you think?" Mitch asked him, as they both observed the foyer.'''

"It's amazing," Michael laughed, nowadays more relaxed while talking to Mitch, "It looks smaller from the outside."

"That's what I said," Mitch said, leading Michael to the door that was closed.

'''Mitch opened the door, walking inside as Michael followed him. It was an office; a desk, chairs, a computer, books. It was crazy. It was almost like Mitch was a real business man... except, he was a dirty business man.'''

Mitch walked around the desk and sat down on the big chair.

"Please, sit," Mitch offered, "And close the door, please."

'''Mitch was always mannerly, even before killing somebody he'd be kind. It was a weird type of evil, but evil nonetheless.'''

'''Michael sat down quietly, and waited patiently for Mitch to say something. After all, Mitch invited him there for something important.'''

'''"Have you gotten that bitch yet?" Mitch asked. '''

'''Michael was taken aback. He had no idea what Mitch was talking about.'''

'''"Erm..." Michael hesitated, "What... bitch?"'''

"You know," Mitch began, "The one you got the car for. Hell, she's the reason you came into this line of business, right?"

'''"Oh..." Michael suddenly remembered, "Yeah, she erm... She didn't exactly find my car too... good. I mean, it's not exactly a Ferrari."'''

"One day, my friend," Mitch sighed, "One day you'll have a Ferrari and be drenched in pussy. She's just one little skank anyway."

'''It was always weird for Michael when Mitch would be nice to him. He wanted to hate him, he did, but Mitch always had kind things to say about Michael, and nice words of... wisdom, kind of. But it did make Michael feel better.'''

"Yeah... probably," Michael agreed, Mitch's vocabulary about women hadn't affected Michael in a long time.

'''Mitch leant back on his chair, closing his eyes. It was almost as if he was about to go to sleep, which made Michael feel weird for a minute.'''

"I got a job for you, Mikey," Mitch suddenly piped up, leaning forward on the table, "This one is really important."

'''"Why me?" Michael asked, he wasn't usually called on for important jobs, or mainly jobs outside of the warehouse.'''

'''"Why not?" Mitch asked, "I trust you. It's not a heist or something like that. It's just these two pricks who underestimated me and my business. You remember Scott?"'''

Michael nodded, Scott was one of Mitch's employees who was murdered a month back.

"These are the fuckers that killed him," Mitch explained, "On the last run one of my dealers was gonna give these guys the meth in exchange for money. You know, the usual. But they pulled a gun on him and tried to shoot him. Somehow, he got away. Anyway, this deal was in the same place that Scott was killed. These are the fuckers that killed him, I'm sure of it."

'''"What does this have to do with me?" Michael asked, almost positive he knew what Mitch was going to say.'''

"I want you to handle it," Mitch said, pulling a handgun out from under the table, "I'll give you the location, I'll give you the meth. I want you to confront them, I'll give you some backup. You bring them back to me... alive!"

'''Michael didn't know what to do. He wasn't ready for this. Yeah, he knew how to shoot a gun. He was trained for this, but he couldn't kill someone... or at least cause somebody's death.'''

"I need you to do this Michael," Mitch pleaded, "Hey, these guys are stupid enough to think that each dealer is from different organizations. But it's the same business each time. My business! I never lose."

'''"What if I can't get them back here?" Michael asked, his voice extremely quiet.'''

"If you accidently kill them then... maybe I'll leave you off with a warning," Mitch suggested, "Mikey, you know you're a part of this family. You know I care about you, but if you fuck up big time... you know what I'm gonna do."

'Quit! Quit now! ''Michael's conscious trying to get him out of it. But if he quits, what if Mitch still kills his family. There was no way out of this situation.'''

'''"How many guys will be with me?" Michael asked, hoping for a little reassurance.'''

"Three," Mitch said, "They'll be parked around the corner, you'll be in a small alley. They'll be in a van, and what you do is when you have the two guys at gunpoint, you get your walkie talkie, you call the driver to come around the corner. The other two guys will tie them up and stuff them in the van."

'''Michael let out a deep breath, it actually didn't sound so bad. The plan was tightly tied together.'''

'''"Okay..." Michael said, "I'll do it. But how much am I getting paid?"'''

'''It was a bold move. Michael didn't care, his life was on the line and he wanted four or five figures. '''

Mitch laughed, "Oh, Mikey. You never change, do ya? Okay, how 'bout this? Five grand."

'''"Hmm..." Michael thought about this. Of course he wasn't happy with five thousand dollars, but he didn't want to show his disappointment to Mitch. '''

He had no choice but to accept.

"Fine," Michael agreed, "Five grand, and I'll bring you your guys."

'''Michael took the gun from Mitch, tucking it in the back of his pants. Mitch stood up, as did Michael. Mitch walked around the table, and guided Michael towards the door.'''

"The plan is going ahead tomorrow," Mitch said, "So be ready, I'll give a call and you come straight to the warehouse. I'll show you the plan in detail then."

Michael nodded, walking out of the office.

When they were at the front door, Michael outside and Mitch inside, Mitch grabbed Michael's arm, who was about to walk to his car.

"I forgot to show you something," Mitch said, dragging Michael towards the garage.

'''It was already open, so they just walked right in. He had already seen the Camarro... almost every day for the past six months.'''

'''"This is where I keep it," Mitch explained, "You’d think I'd have it locked down more securely but... nope." '''

"Ah... the infamous garage," Michael joked, "Why don't you fix this place up, make it more secure?"

"Because if I fix this place up then it'll feel like home," Mitch explained, "I don't wanna live here much longer."

'''Michael nodded, remembering that Mitch wanted a beach house. He understood what Mitch wanted, some peace and quiet, but that's not the lifestyle Mitch was suited for, maybe not even Michael.'''

"Listen... erm," Mitch said, walking towards Michael, "The wife's going to bring the baby out Friday night, how about you and Reese come over and if you've done your job right, I'll think about bringing you two up in the business. A promotion."

Michael thought about it for a minute, it wasn't exactly the type of business he was hoping to do the rest of his life, but damn did he need money.

'''"Fine," Michael said, "Is Reese gonna be doing the job with me tomorrow?" '''

"No, he has other things to do," Mitch scoffed, "And hell, he's been here so long and hasn't caused any trouble, he deserves it. And, he brought me you..."

'''Mitch placed his hand on Michael's shoulder, squeezing it gently. Michael felt uneasy, more uneasy than he has ever felt when with Mitch. Mitch stared at him, giving him a weird, obsessed look. His pupils were big from the shadow in the garage, Mitch was so close that it was all Michael could notice.'''

"You have no idea how grateful I am to him for bringing you to me," Mitch continued, "If tomorrow goes as planned, not only will your family live, but I'll keep you safe after that. You won't need to do anything dangerous. I just need to know that you can take care of yourself, tomorrow will be your final test."

'''Michael's scrotum literally jumped back up into his body. He didn't know what to think at the moment, the fear of what he had hoped wouldn't happen was taking over his body like an infection. Mitch's face was way too close, Michael could feel the heat from Mitch's nostrils breathing on him.'''

'''He finally backed off, after a very awkward and intense couple of minutes. Michael didn't know what to do, so he did what he usually does. He kept quiet, nodded, and left.'''

Fear. It's an amazing emotion...

Fear can take over one's body, make them freeze, or scream, or run. It can also kill someone, although rarely. Everyone feels it. Not just when there's a monster under the bed or the bogeyman in the closet, it's always there. Always in the back of our minds.

But at this moment in time, fear was the only thing controlling every movement of the situation. Take Danny, for instance. A hand on each shoulder, slowly reaching around and grabbing him by the neck, pulling him against the tree. He fears death.

Now Michael, watching as what could possibly be the last person alive on earth is about to be ripped to shreds by a horde of zombies. He didn't want to be alone, but fear took over his body, paralysing him. There were too many to shoot. It looked as if Danny was done for, which seemed like a waste to Michael considering the conversation they had just had about trusting each other. But this could be his moment.

Michael could save him, he could raise the gun, shoot the zombie who had a hold of Danny, shoot a couple more and leg it. He had no idea why not to do it, though. But he couldn't move, he wasn't as brave as he thought he was.

What was he afraid of? He didn't know. All he had to do was shoot a couple zombies, it's not as if he hasn't killed one before. But the last time he used a gun... or at least, the last time he held one, wasn't the best of moments.

Suddenly, a loud boom echoed through the woods. It sounded extremely close, as if it had come from Michael. Michael managed to move his eyes down a little, seeing the gun in his hand. It was raised in the direction of Danny, and when he looked at Danny, he saw the zombie behind him fall to the ground. He never even realised that he had raised and even aimed the gun.

It was as if his subconscious took over.

Danny ran as fast as he could towards Michael, as Michael now had full control over his body. He aimed at one of the zombies. Boom, headshot. They began dropping like flies, and were boosting up Michael's adrenaline. He didn't even hear Danny shouting at him.

Danny slapped Michael's hands down, now able to get into Michael's head.

"Don't waste the ammo!" he shouted. Suddenly, Michael's heart started racing, realising he had used a lot of it.

Michael had no other choice, but to run. He ran as fast as he could down the road, not even taking any notice whether Danny was behind him or not, but he knew he was. Danny wasn't going to stay behind.

 After the Murder, In the Prison

'''Here they are again, facing each other in the same white room... again. Opposite each other, one handcuffed, the other with a bunch of files in front of his face. Michael and Ted's second meeting.'''

This time, Ted made sure that Michael wouldn't be handcuffed to the table, and was very determined to get going on what he wanted to do.

'''"You miss me?" Michael asked, starting off the conversation.'''

"Extremely," Ted joked, "I was up all night wondering what I was going to say."

'''Michael smiled, he was surprised with Ted. He wasn't expecting him to be a nice guy, and was slowly warming up to him.'''

"So, Teddy," Michael said, but quickly realized he called Ted 'Teddy' the same way Mitch calls Michael 'Mikey', "Erm... So what's going on?"

"Well... Michael," Ted began, "You're one of five inmates that has gotten a second session."

'''"Lucky me," Michael smiled. Ted barely smirked before glancing at some of the files on the desk. He was ready to begin, but knew Michael would waste a lot of time talking about irrelevant subjects.'''

"I was hoping we'd actually begin today," Ted suggested, "What I want to do is start from the beginning with you. I want you to tell me your story."

'''"Isn't my story in all of those files in front of you?" Michael asked, pointing towards the piles of paper on the table.'''

Ted sighed, "Yes. But I want you to tell me your story. I want to hear from the moment you met Mitch, or even how you had gotten involved with Mitch, up to when you got arrested."

'''Michael stood up, his legs were aching from sitting down on the bed all day. Believe it or not, prison is boring. He waited for Ted to press the play button on the tape, but he wasn't doing it yet so Michael had to remind him.'''

'''"Ain't ya gonna press play?" Michael asked, a sarcastic smile on his face.'''

'''Ted felt quite embarrassed. It wasn't as if he had forgotten to zip up his pants' zipper or anything, but it felt unprofessional having the inmate remind you how to do part of your job. Ted pressed play nonetheless, waiting for Michael to tell this story.'''

So Michael began with words that not even he wanted to hear, "Just before we start, Ted... This is going to take much longer than one session."

Hyperventilating. Horrible feeling. Michael was on the ground, he had run so fast and so far that his legs felt like they were broken, and his chest felt like it was going to explode. He just lay down, flat onto the ground. He'd let a zombie eat him, he was too tired to keep going.

After three minutes of being face down on the ground, he turned his head towards the woods. Immediately he thought, Why the hell did I not just hide in there?

He tried to get up, but his legs refused to cooperate. So, he dragged himself along the hard cement, stones making their way into the skin on his palms. But he marched on, finally landing on the cool grass that felt like heaven. He kept going until he reached the tree line. He leant against a tree, feeling the gun lay into his ass, he almost forgot he put it into the back of his pants.

His heart skipped a beat the second he remembered Danny. He left him alone back there. What if he was dead? What if he didn't run as fast or got lost? One road. Michael felt stupid thinking Danny could get lost. Michael did his best to lift himself up a bit and look down the road.

He couldn't see anything at first, but then a small figure. It was coming quickly towards Michael's direction. Eventually he could make out that it was Danny, all that Michael could think about was how stupid Danny ran. But then the image had gotten worse. There were more figures behind Danny. Michael managed to stand up, and was shocked to see that the zombies were much faster than before, and there were more of them too... dozens.

One quick snarl, Michael rapidly turned around. Face to face with a zombie, closer than Mitch was that one time he was at his house. Michael pushed it backwards, it falling on the ground. He took out the gun, and aimed it at the zombies head.

"Fuck all of you," he said, pulling the trigger. Click.

''Oh... shit.''

"Fine with me," Ted said, waiting for Michael to begin telling his story.

'''Michael walked towards the chair, sitting down as if he was going to be there forever. He looked Ted straight in the eye, before putting his hands towards the tape recorder. He pressed stop, there were a few things that needed to be done before he began his story.'''

'''"But first..." Michael sighed, "I want to find out about you. I want to be able to know about your life just as you know about mine. I don't feel comfortable talking about private stuff to strangers."'''

Ted had no choice but to agree to Michael's deal, "Fine. Ask me whatever you want, but it's my choice whether or not I want to answer them."

"For every answer I'll give you a significant amount of the story," Michael explained.

"I... I suppose that's fair," Ted agreed, although he'd rather keep his private life to himself.

'''Michael was ready with a bunch of questions. They had all come to him straight away. He leant back on his chair, as if he and Ted were old buddies having a drink together.'''

'''"So... Ted," Michael began, "You married?" '''

Ted hesitated, he didn't know what to say, and didn't expect that to be the first question.

"Erm... no, I'm not," Ted answered, his stuttering was making Michael suspicious, but Michael already knew what he was doing.

"But you were", Michael said, as Ted looked up at him, "There's an indent on your finger, the one you'd usually wear a wedding ring. And guess what? It's in the shape of a ring."

Ted looked down at this finger, rubbing it softly, "I... I don't like wearing it here. It makes me feel as though my family is safe if I leave it at home."

'''Michael stared into his eyes. He knew. He knew Ted was lying, and had actually felt offended by that. But it was now time to confront him.'''

"Stop lying," Michael muttered, "Tell me the truth."

"I already did, now you start telling me your story," Ted snapped, it was blatantly obvious he was getting uneasy, but Michael was just getting started.

'''"You divorced?" Michael asked, as if he had already known the question.'''

'''Silence. Ted had his head down, hanging in shame. It was a difficult topic, and not one that he wanted to talk about.'''

"I'm not answering that question," Ted said quietly, his head still facing the ground.

'''Michael smiled, but it quickly faded. He felt like an ass, but maybe that's what he needed to do. Maybe it would make it easier to tell his story knowing Ted hated him.'''

"Okay then," Michael scoffed, "Instead, I'll ask you another question... those are the rules. You got a kid?"

'''Ted looked up at him. He looked angry, which scared Michael a little. Ted was close to snapping, and Michael didn't want to push it any further.'''

"Yeah... Michael," Ted said, he was staring Michael straight in the eye, Michael finding it hard to keep eye contact, "His name is Billy. Nine. Brown hair, brown eyes. Not very tall for his age so he gets picked on by some of the boys in his school. And to top off all of the bullying that he receives in school he comes home to his mother and father fighting... In the middle of a divorce. No kid should ever have to endure bullying, and no kid should ever have to see a divorce happen. But you and I... we both know that shit happens. I just answered two questions... start talking."

He pressed play.

'''"Wait..." Michael said, he honestly felt like crying after hearing that, "Can I just ask one more question?"'''

Ted was pissed off, he was tired and didn't want any of Michael's stupid jokes, but the serious look on Michael's face made him say, "Fine..."

'''"Mitch..." Michael coffed up, "You met him right?"'''

Ted nodded, waiting to hear what Michael's question was.

"You know that he and I are... you know, we have history," Michael said, "I got him caught after I... after what I did to his..."

'''"What do you want to know, Michael?" Ted asked.'''

'''"What did he say? Did he say anything about me?" Michael quickly asked, feeling nervous about his answer.'''

Ted leant forward on the table, staring at Michael closely, waiting to see what his reaction is going to be, "He said that one day he's gonna get his revenge. It's not enough for me to say anything to the warden, so just do this... watch your back."

'''Michael's fear that was haunting him ever since the murder has now sprung up and entered his throat. This was it, he was going to die for sure. But for all he knew Mitch probably wouldn't end up killing him... he'd just keep him in fear for the rest of his life.'''

"Now start from the beginning," Ted snapped.

The zombie was strong, pushing Michael backwards and falling on the ground on top of him. It was snarling, its mouth flying over Michael's face. Michael did his best to push it away, but the zombie was too strong, and it slowly got closer to his neck.

A loud slap, Danny's boot going through the zombie's head, the zombie was no more.

Danny lowered his hand towards Michael, offering to help him up. Michael took his hand, finally putting his trust into Danny, as if he had a choice.

"We're even now," Danny remarked, as they both looked at the dozens of zombies on the road coming towards them. It was time to run.

It was getting dark, no way would they lose the zombies easily and get somewhere safe, so the only way to go was through the woods, which still wasn't a great plan.

"Come on, let's just run," Michael suggested.

As Michael began to run, the wind pounding against his face, Danny looked at the gun in his hand. The ammo was gone, and this worried him to an extent. Unfortunately he didn't have time to think of anything, so he just ran, letting every problem, other than the group of zombies behind them, go.

'''In the cafeteria, a scary but rewarding place, Michael sat down next to Lance and a few others. He placed his tray on the table, keeping his head over his shoulders. Lance and the others looked at him, as if they knew something he didn't.'''

'''"What?" Michael snapped, looking around to get a view on Mitch.'''

'''"You didn't hear?" Lance asked, sitting surprisingly still.'''

Michael stopped looking around and looked at Reese, "Hear what?"

"I thought that was why you were so paranoid all of a sudden," Lance said, leaning in closer to Michael, "You know about... you know... Mitch, right? And... the thing he wants to do?"

Michael's expression led Lance to continue, "Supposedly... and this is just, as far as I know, a rumour... He's gonna kill you, dude."

'''"The fuck are you talking about?" Michael interrupted.'''

"There is a lot of talk going around, trust me, keep one eye open at night," Lance warned him, "Not even I would want a death threat from Mitch."

Michael scoffed, "He's just trying to scare me, and he doesn't."

'''Lance couldn't say anymore, he did as much as he could... but Michael wasn't going to believe him. Michael had a plan just in case, but it was risky, and probably wouldn't even work.'''

'''As he put his hand down to grab the fork, he looked at the food, and then looked back up. He tried once more to find Mitch, and eventually, saw Mitch's infamous face staring at him with his blank grin. Michael looked back down at the food, dropping the fork.'''

Pitch black, middle of the night. The crickets were out, chirping louder than Michael and Danny were dry-heaving. They stopped running, finally rid of the zombies... at least, they think they were. They were bent over, their legs barely able to keep them up. They needed food, water... sleep. But it wasn't possible, they were in another world, a world where only zombies, trees and crickets exist.

"What's the plan?" Danny asked, barely able to breathe.

"Why you always asking me?" Michael asked, "Take some initiative for once."

"Initiative? You're talking to me about initiative?" Danny managed to laugh, "Man, you have no clue, do you?"

Michael stood up straight, "No, I don't. You haven't told me anything about you, and honestly, I'd like to keep it that way."

"Why?" Danny asked, "You hiding somethin'?"

Michael smiled, "I don't need to hide anything."

Danny noticed the smile on Michael's face disappear in an instant. Michael was looking over him, noticing something in the woods. Danny looked back, seeing exactly what Michael saw. Before Danny could say something, Michael was gone, already running again. Danny sighed, not ready to run again.

They came up to a lighthouse. The light on top of it still on. Finally, civilisation... kind of. But it was somewhere they could sleep, and... They just noticed the sea behind it, forgetting that's where lighthouses usually are. Michael couldn't remember seeing any sea or lake or anything like that on the map he saw at Reese's.

It was time to go.

As they walked in the door of the lighthouse, not even knocking, they were surprised to see the lights on inside there. It felt like a relief. The bottom of the lighthouse was surprisingly cosy, well lit, dimmed a bit. They looked up the stairs leading to the top, seeing if anyone was up there. They both shouted, hoping someone would answer.

"Hello?!" Danny shouted, waiting for an answer.

After a few seconds silence, Michael piped up, "There's nobody here..."

"Why not just go up?" Danny asked.

"You go up, dude," Michael said as he went over to a couch that was laying by them, "I'm sleeping, I have no energy left in me."

Danny didn't want to go alone, but hell, he didn't want to seem like a wuss either.

'''Michael sat in his cell, thinking of his plan. It was all he could think about, Mitch getting his revenge. It wasn't as if Michael didn't deserve it, but staying in prison for the rest of his life seemed like a better type of punishment.'''

Three dings, a guard hitting his baton against the cell door.

"Gunn, you got a visitor," the guard announced, then shouting, "Open on 42!"

'''This wasn't the normal procedure for getting visitors, which made Michael anxious. Maybe Mitch had a deal with the guard, maybe they were going to shank him or hit him with a sock filled with batteries. His head was going crazy.'''

'''As he entered the visitor’s room, the one where you need to talk into a phone because you're separated from the outside world with a piece of glass, he noticed a man at the end of the room. He was sitting down, on the other side, of course. He waited patiently, not even looking at Michael as he walked towards him.'''

'''Michael knew the man, the man was an important part in Michael's past. Michael sat down opposite him, feeling scared and nervous about what was going to come, whatever conversation he was going to have.'''

'''The man finally looked up, his sharp suit not even moving a millimetre. He had a very stern look on his face, like he was above Michael, like he was satisfied that Michael was there.'''

'''He picked up the phone, keeping his eyes on Michael. Michael followed his path, picking up his phone.'''

"Hello, Michael," the man speaking calmly.

'''"What do you want?" Michael asked, not in a mean way, more like a curious way.'''

"I want you to know what you did, and to know what's going to happen to you," the man said, his voice sounding like a robot, like there was no emotion or humanity in it.

"I already know what I did," Michael said, his voice sounding like he was going to break out into tears.

"Good," the man snapped, "So here's the deal. Mitch is in there with you, and he's going to kill you."

"Too late, buddy, I already know that," Michael affirmed him.

'''"Yeah, but uh..." the man smiled, "I just want you to know that there is more than just Mitch in there who's gonna kill you. There are a lot of people who know what you did, even the psychos think you're sick. They've already agreed to help, hell, maybe even your best friend is in on it."'''

'''Michael had enough of this. This was ridiculous, but now he knew that he had to execute his plan, and live.'''

Michael leant forward, staring at the man's eyes, "I just want you to know this, Tommy. I'm glad for what I've done. I'm proud of it. Every day I wake up and I feel like a God, because I know what I did was the best thing anybody has ever done. Yeah, Mitch can kill me, but nothing is gonna change what happened, and sooner or later, when I'm dead, you'll still feel that hole in your chest, getting wider and wider until you put a gun to your head... and pull the trigger. And guess what, I'd still win."

'''Michael slammed the phone down walking away. Tommy sat there, anger reaching to every nerve in his body to the point where he thought he was having a stroke. He screamed throwing the phone against the wall.'''

'''As Michael walked away, a tear fell down his eye. He didn't mean what he said, or at least he didn't want to mean it. He didn't want to believe everyone, but now that's three people who told him the same thing. This was it. His mind was made up. He'd finish what he started with Ted, first making a request to somebody, and then... he's out of there.'''

Michael and Danny were fast asleep. Danny had checked upstairs, accidently almost blinding himself with the lamp at the top. As soon as he went downstairs and closed his eyes, he nodded off. It was peaceful, no sound at all, as if they were deaf.

They could stay there forever...

''A white light... shining brightly in front of them. Both of them didn't know what was happening, both in separate dreams. ''

''The light got closer, as did the sound of hundreds of people screaming. Michael recognised some of the screams, leading his memory back to the night of the murder. Danny recognized the screams too, him thinking back to his sister.''

''Suddenly, the light went out, the screaming stopped. A voice spoke, saying one word. It was hard to tell if it was a man or women, but they couldn't see whoever it was, or sense if anyone was there. But the word that they said had a significant meaning to both of them.''

"Redemption."

  Previous Issue: Issue 2|Next Issue: Issue 4

Credits

 * Michael Gunn
 * Danny Miller
 * Mitch
 * Lance
 * Ted Grey
 * Tommy
 * Reese (Mentioned)

Deaths

 * None

Title Meaning
"A Chip on Your Shoulder" means being angry about something that happened in the past. This can relate to both Michael, Mitch and Tommy. Michael, of course, is angry because of what he did. Mitch is angry about what Michael did too, as is Tommy. Ted's story about his family could also relate to this, although it's more of him being angry at something that is happening in the present.

Trivia

 * First "official" appearance of Tommy.
 * First time the dream segments have appeared. They won't appear too often, but will have a significant meaning to the story.
 * There is a slight hint of something in Michael and Mitch's relationship.
 * This can be taken in a few different ways, and actually may not mean anything at all ;)
 * Fear plays a prominent part in this issue.