- Text Size +
Death #58 – Falling Down

“Nick, will you stop messing around?”

“Dude, no way! Look, this glass can’t break. I love fucking with it.”

AJ rolled his eyes. “One of these days that shit’s gonna break and you’ll be fucking cursing me out for being right as you keep…” He held his arms out dramatically, impersonating Nick as he sang in a nasal tone, “falling down…

“You’re an ass. Is it cause you’re trying to make up for not having one?”

“How would you know if I had one? Shit, you been looking?”

Brian rolled his eyes at them both, running at the shatterproof glass and falling back unharmed. He laughed. “See, Nick’s right, it’s not going to break. Feel better AJ?”

AJ grunted but said nothing.

Howie sat down in one of the easy chairs. They were in just another of a series of meetings with Universal records. There had been talks and discussions about them signing the Boys on, but it was becoming quite the effort. All of them were beginning to wonder if they shouldn’t just go indie and be done with it. Brian was saying labels weren’t going to last much longer with the way the industry’s gone digital anyway. Howie had a hunch he was right.

Nick snickered and prepared to run full force at the window again. “This is fun.”

“They’re going to be here soon!” Howie chastised, he was sure the executives thought they were crazy enough.

“But they ain’t here yet!” He replied with a grin, running. This time however, was different. The window, weakened from Nick’s fun, finally gave way. It shattered upon impact, Nick going flying out into the air.

“NICK!?” He could hear them scream as he plummeted down.

For the first time in Nick didn’t know how long, he prayed as time seemed to slow. He knew he was falling to his death. At least his life had been a good one. He continued to sink towards to ground, he slammed into a full dumpster with a resounding thud. His head smacked roughly against the side.

Everything went black.

****

It was a loud roaring noise that brought Nick back to the land of the living. He sat up slowly, rubbing his head and trying to reorient himself. He breathed slowly, his head was throbbing, and his leg was twisted at an odd angle as he tried to ignore the blinding pain that was shooting up and down it. He was alive after that fall from the window.

It was simply a miracle.

Thank you Lord, I’m letting Brian drag me to church from now on! He mused as he glanced around. The roaring noise grew closer. What was that?

“We need to find Nick, see if he’s okay…” He blinked. Was that Brian?

“Rok, I don’t want to say it but…”

“No, he’s alive, I know it.”

“Brian!” He screamed, as suddenly he was jerked forward and hit the side of the dumpster. With a growing horror he immediately realized just what that noise was.

“BRIAN!? ANYONE! I’m in the dumpster! I’m in the fucking dumpster! He banged his fists against the side, desperate to make any noise as it got lifted into the air. “STOP! I’m in here!”

No one could hear him over the noise of the garbage truck.

As it was tipped over and Nick fell amongst a load of garbage, the last thing he saw in this word was the machinery coming in to crush down the trash. The last thing he was an agony beyond comprehension. It was only moments before his screams and his life, were cut short. He was finally heard then, but at that point, his body was mangled beyond any semblance of recognition.

Now, Nick was nothing more than part of the daily trash heap.