A Matter of Perspective

The gun was held firmly in my hand. I had it leveled right at his head and there was no way I would miss. The day’s events replayed through my head, but I forced myself to concentrate on what was going to happen within the next few seconds. It’s funny to think that clichéd action movie scenes such as this actually play out in real life, but I knew that there was no magical happy ending for this one… You would imagine that holding a gun at his head would put me in a place of dominance, but it’s really meaningless when he’s armed too, and his barrel is pointed straight as my head as well. The look of determination on both our faces was indication enough. I was going to die. But I was sure as hell going to take him with me.



I've been hard at work to give you few readers something brand new this month, but creative differences with my word processor and living in China will have to push that off until next month. Instead, I'll give you the exact opposite: possibly the first fully formed short story that I was really proud of. (Not including some stories about Voltron and the Ninja Turtles circa: 1990.)

I'm not sure how well it holds up all these years later, but there are still some elements of the story that I like. This may wind up getting completely redone somewhere down the line, but for now it can stand the way it is. Since I wrote this, it's undergone quite a few edits, but the one thing I've never been sure of was the ending. As presented here, I have what was basically the original ending to the story, but I'm going to ask whoever winds up reading this to please help me decide what to do.

The ending is presented on a separate last page. It's an extra paragraph that adds an extra twist to the whole story. When I was in High School, I thought it was a pretty neat twist, but now I wonder if the story isn't stronger without it. To honor my pimply High School self, I've left what remains of the original ending in, but have separated it from the story.

Which way do you think it reads better? Or does it suck both ways?



As always, comments about anything (typos, redundancies, spanish translations) are always welcome, but what I'm really looking for here is some closure on an ending that has been bugging me for years.

Hope you enjoy it,
- Shawn

The Black Hats

“Get out of my store. Now.”
“We are only here to…”
“I know why you’re here. Your buddies came in last week… tried to force me to…” The shop owner was livid.
“We force nothing on anyone.”
He wouldn’t let them muscle him. Not these guys. “Then get out.”
“Might I suggest…”
“Get out! Now!”
The three black clad men headed towards the door. “We think you should reconsider. This is your last warning.”
“Get out or I’ll call the cops. This is your last warning.”
The three men left.
Two minutes later, a flaming garbage can flew in through the window.


And so begins the 50+ page (double spaced) epic that I wrote in a day of doing nothing at my dead end job, probably around four years ago or so. This is a lot longer than the last story I posted, but rereading it recently, I really think it holds up. It's a lot of fun (I hope), and touches on some serious issues that I feel pretty strongly about. But if serious issues aren't your thing, the story features nerds and men in silly hats beating the holy hell out of each other. And if that doesn't sell it to you, then there is something seriously wrong with ya.

Just download the PDF from the box below and please, please, please leave a comment. Even to say that you dropped by the site and couldn't stomach the first page. Although if there's something you want to say about the story (or the last one for that matter), it'd be greatly appreciated.



Enjoy!
- Shawn