To ere is human they said, made it look like there was redemption for every mistake made. I wish I had known better, How did they find me?
It wasn't always like this, I grew up in a good neighborhood with God fearing parents. I was a good child, the ideal child. I never got into trouble, always had good grades and I had friends my parents were proud of. Then they died in a freak for accident. I was old enough to live on my own but I never went back to church, it reminded me of them and I blamed God for what happened to them. It wasn't long before I started hanging out with the wrong crowd, drinking and smoking whenever I could.
Life was easy, simple, I didn't have to care for anybody, not even the ones I called "friends". We took things to the next level, joined a cult and started robbing small stores. The police paid little to no attention to us. We went well for a while until one of us decided to get greedy and made us rob a bank. We got out safe but had every authority looking for us. Life became hard, had to sleep with one eye open. We didn't even trust ourselves anymore.
I got tired of that life on the run. It wasn't what I envisioned even with my parents gone. I had enough. One morning I sneaked out and made a call out to the authorities to meet me somewhere secret so I could rat out my "friends" and in return, they would grant me safety from them and from other authorities. I don't know how but word got out I snitched. My life was in danger. I was moved to a secure location, "witness protection" they called it.
I moved out of there 5 years ago when they thought it was safe and started a whole new life, had a wife and two beautiful angels to call daughters. I never knew they'd find me.
Outside my door stands two people from my former cult group, it sent shock wave in-between my bones. I called the police but they don't get here for another five minutes. I knew my past would catch up to me but I didn't think it would be this close. I know my fate if I open that door but how long do I keep running? How long before they find me again? what do I tell my wife, my kids? I see them walking towards the door, this is it, my fate. They want me, not my family. We go by a code, or we did, they won't touch my family if I give myself in.
door opens
The law of karma can always finds its way no matter what. This is why we must always follow the truth and do what will make us very far away from the wrong
Your story explores a lifestyle and fears that most of us will never know, thankfully. The narrator followed a fork in the road away from danger and crime, but he still ultimately succumbed to it. A tragic tale!
Thanks for sharing your story in The Ink Well and for reading and commenting on the work of other community members.
I was intrigued by this story, @treasure-joshua. I'm always interested when an author can make me care about the well-being of someone who has made bad choices and done bad things. But I really did hope that once he made the choice to straighten out his life, he would be safe!
This story could have benefitted from a little more development. We have some great resources in our catalog of fiction writing tips. For example, we have tips on developing characters in your stories, and integrating action, dialog and narrative. These resources can help you learn how to include the important elements of fiction in your stories. Good luck and keep writing!
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The wrong road always seems like the easiest, the sweetest but it hold dark knowledge; tragedy and pain. Well done. I was captivated by your story.
No matter how deep one fall into the ditch of the wrong lifestyle, there is always a way out. The guy could have face is fear a number of other ways than he did in the story. Thank you @treasure-joshua for coming up with the story