Plodding Herd

Plodding Herd
By: James Dubeau

Plodding herd
Slowly stumbles
Through savanna grass
No beast
Of hoof or claw
Can make it through
The massive bodies
Clogging the valleys
Meaty bodies
Shrugging off
Predator teeth
With labored huffs
As the herd
Slowly plods on

The Last Time

“What the fuck!” Mike shouted in desperation. “How could you do this to me? After all we have been through together. After all that you meant to me.”

“Mike, I’m sorry—“ she tried to interject.

“I promised myself no more. No more of your shit. I’m done with you. I’m done with us.” Mike gathered his belongings as he ranted. “You have hurt me enough. More than enough. I can’t handle it anymore.”

“Mike, please no,” she grabbed his arm while pleading. Hoping her actions would calm him down. He pushed her away and continued removing every last detail of his existence from the apartment.

“I’m done. I’m out of here.”

“Please Mike, I need you, I love you.” She reached for him again. His hand came up, slapping her across the face.

“You never meant it. Not now, not ever.”

“I love you,” she sobbed as she reached for him again.

Night Driving

What on earth possess you to repaint your old bedroom?” The grizzled man demanded as the black sedan screamed through the darkness.

“I don’t know… I always wanted my room to be blue…” The girl replied staring out of her window.

Jack took one last long drag off his smoke before flicking it out of the window. An exploding starburst was all that remained when the sparks hit the pavement. A starburst that quickly faded.

The car was silent. Jack calculated what their next move was. His mind took each piece of the jigsaw puzzle that was laid before him and tried to fit the pieces together. Each piece seemed to belong to a different puzzle.

Beth was staring up into the night sky. A look of bewildered awe on her face shone in her reflection off the car’s window. How could something like this happen to a girl like her? She was so innocent.

A twin pair of white orbs passed the sedan in the other lane, disappearing in a red glow of the tail lights in the rear view mirror.

Jack sighed then broke the silence. “I’m sorry for jumping down your throat. It’s just that I’m trying to figure out how to get you… us… out of this mess.”

The girl didn’t say anything and just kept starring out into the darkness. A single tear ran down her cheek; a tear, that to Jack, was a sign of gratitude. If nothing else he will get her out of this mess, or die trying.