Hey, guys! First time posting my writing on Reddit so I’m excited for some great feedback. I made this short story not long ago, and I might pursue continuing it because I greatly enjoyed writing it. Please enjoy!
John walked outside and looked up at the sky as he was wont to do every day on his morning walk to work. It was 7 am and the world was rife with life – birds were singing, people were waking up and going about their daily business, and there was an air of business all around him. The sun looked the same, though, he thought. It was always like this. Every morning the same ritual of waking up and doing things throughout the day that must be done. He wondered if things would ever change, if the world would ever be different. It was an unusual thought for John. He usually just wondered about finances the entire walk. He shrugged it off and continued towards where he needed to be.
Work that day was particularly uneventful. It was something that John hardly ever noticed. Time would flow in the blink of an eye and he would think nothing of it, but for some reason today was going by slower than it ever had. His co-worker, Emily, never talked much but today she was babbling on and on. She talked of her friends and her recent fling that she complained never paid much attention to her. John supplemented the conversation with the occasional, “Uh huh,” or, “No shit?”
When John finally made it home well past sunset he was tired. Normally, he was tired from just the day at work but today he was tired of everything. A plateau divided him from when he was younger, when he had dreamt of doing great things with his life. Saving up money for the past several years had given him no more traction with achieving them than even not doing anything at all.
He lit up his nightly cigarette out on his balcony. The air was cool and relaxing. He then opened up his laptop to see if Reddit had anything that could possibly cheer him up. The news was particular depressing this afternoon, he realized, scrolling through several posts about disasters around the world that day. He clicked on ‘random subreddit’ and immediately noticed one he had never seen before. It was called “r/thelife.” The first post read, “Tired?”
This was interesting, but at this point had not made any particular impact on John. He bemusedly clicked the link to explore and found himself awestruck at some of the comments on the page. None of them were directed at the post, but seemed to be directed at John, almost as if everybody on this sub knew him. The comments went, Going to work today, same ol’ same ol’.”
“You should be doing something, man..”
“Gotta go to work.”
“Let him live his life.”
“No, he’s got to leave, c’mon, man, go somewhere John.” Seeing his very own name on the page made him sit up a little in his seat. A chill ran down his back.
“I know what we can do.”
“No we can’t.”
“We’re going to get him.”
“But its his life.”
“No rules, too, you kow.”
“Ah, you’re right.”
“Somebody’s got to do it.” John looked at r/thelife’s posting rules and found it said, ironically, “There are no rules in the life.” By this time, John was somewhat scared, but not alarmed. He was so used to nothing happening at all that he felt that the alarms ringing in the back of his head were nothing but false alarms.
Then the doorbell rang. John’s head whipped towards the sound. Who the fuck… he thought to himself. He tiptoed towards the door subconsciously, and looked through the peephole, but there was no one there. He opened the door a crack to look outside, but then a hand grabbed it forced it open. Several adults in jackets with dress pants walked in, rather forcefully, and began to mull about the small apartment. John rang his hands together and looked around extremely nervously as the strangers made themselves comfortable. Finally, he found himself getting angry and yelled, “Who are you people?!”
One bald man with an orange beard looked up as if he had just noticed John and smiled ecstatically, “Well hey John we thought you were still outside, how ya’ been? John appeared confused.
“Don’t worry John, we’re friends!” The bald man said.
“But..but, how’d you..with Reddit?” John stuttered out, looking about nervously at his so-called friends. The bald man’s eyes drooped in misunderstanding.
“Not sure, what you’re talkin’ about, man, but hey! Take a seat!” Ignoring the strangeness at being asked to a seat in his own house he sat down. Everybody else followed suit.
The bald man sighed and said, “You’ve been dreaming John, and you’ve got to wake up. You’ve done absolutely nothing yourself the past 7 years, and you’ve begun to realize it. You hardly speak to anyone, or even go out. And there haven’t been too many girls around either, huh?” At this the bald man looked around at the general untidiness in the apartment. John couldn’t help but flush slightly.
“Anyways,” he continued, “ you are going to wake up now with our help.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun. John stood up and pointed at it.
“You can’t just carry that shit around with you!!” he barked at the bald man. The man’s eyes never wavered.
“If you do not find yourself in a better position by next week.. If you do not break the chain of uneventful events in your life then we,” at this he nods around to his posse, “Will be forced to come back here and kill you.” He stood up abruptly and his group quickly filed out of the apartment. Right before the bald man left he put the gun back in his jacket pocket, and smiled at John.
“Trust me, man, we’re doing you a favor.” His narrow eyes gave off the visage that he could be trusted, but John was terrified.
John found himself again after staring at the door for a while, absent-minded with the flurry of craziness that had just ensued. He had no idea what he should even do. But he figured he’d start by lighting another cigarette.
[WP]