"Losers INC."A Story by Cody Williams Paul Richards is so humiliated about only losing five pounds in a year that he commits to join the new weight loss regiment LOSERS INC. But is he willing to pay the ultimate price? “Losers Inc.” By Cody Williams 1. Paul Richards stepped on the weighing scale wearing just his long black dress socks, a quite too large pair of blue boxers, and a white under shirt. The needle spun around a couple of times before finally stopping on 495. He let out a deep sigh and stepped off of the scale. Paul walked over to his closet and opened the door. He pulled out a long white dress shirt that was about a 4XL and had a 22-inch collar measurement. Along with it he pulled out a silk black necktie and a pair of plain black size 50 dress pants. He carried them over to his bed and laid them down on it. Paul first put on the white dress and buttoned it up barely reaching the top collar button. He flipped up the collar and placed the black silk tie around his neck. Paul tied the tie and attempted to pull the collar down but was unsuccessful. He sighed again and picked up his pair of pants and slid them over his pasty white legs. He pulled them up around his waist and was barely able to fasten the top button. The threads in the button began to starch before finally letting go and snapping. The button flew across the room and into a glass lamp. The lamp shattered and fell off onto the floor in a loud crash. “God damn it!” Paul screamed and then hung his head in shame. His wife Mary burst into the room in worry. “Paul? What was that? What’s wrong?” She asked him running over to him and grabbing his face with concern. “Nothing honey! I just ripped my God damned button and broke that God damn lamp over there!” Paul shouted pointing towards the broken glass pieces on the floor. “It’s okay honey! Here, let me get you another pair of pants!” Mary said walking over to the closet. “No! There’s not enough time! I got to go to work!” he said grabbing his brief case and walking over to the closet. He turned his back to Mary and motioned for her to pull his collar down. She did and reached up pulling out a size 13-dress shoe. Paul walked over to the bed and sat down on it lifting up his left foot. Mary knelt down and began putting his shoes on for him. “Did you weigh yourself today honey?” Mary asked Paul looking up at him. Paul sighed and nodded. “What did the scales say?” She asked him putting on his other shoe. “495” Paul mumbled ashamed. “495? Paul you started the diet a year ago only losing five ponds total!” She said standing up and putting her hands on her hips. “Are you ready to admit that you can’t do this on your own? Are you ready to do it my way?” Mary asked him. Paul nodded yes and then hung his head down once again in shame. Paul hated to admit when he was wrong. It named at him like a flea on a dog. Mary smiled at him and rubbed his baldhead. Mary reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a brochure that read LOSERS INC. on it and handed it to him. “The first meeting is tonight at six! Go there right after work!” Mary said to Paul as she kissed him on the cheek. Paul nodded in agreement and walked out of the bedroom. He thumped down the stairs and out the front door to his Hummer. He got in it, started it and pulled out of the driveway. He put the car into DRIVE and drove off to work. 2. At 5:55 pm that evening, Paul pulled his Hummer into the parking lot beside Losers Inc. He unbuckled his seat belt and waited a moment for it to toll back up before finally opening the door and getting out. He walked over to the front door of the building and walked in. The room had a slimy feel and was quite warm. It had white tile floors and white painted walls. Paul walked over to the woman with red hair. She looked up at him and smiled. “Do you have an appointment with Mr. Little?” The woman asked Paul. Paul nodded. “Yes at six o’clock.” Paul told her. “Okay, have a seat and I’ll get you when Mr. Little is ready for you.” The woman said pointing over towards gray padded seats that sat along side the walls. Paul smiled and walked over to the chairs. He squeezed down in between the two armrests with fat over flowing them. He looked over at the people next to him. One was an overweight African American woman with long black hair. The other was an overweight teenager. The woman looked back at him. “Are you a new member?” The woman asked him. Paul nodded and smiled at her. Her face remained blank. It showed no emotion what so ever. “You would be wise to walk out of here right now and never look back.” The woman told him. “It’s too late for me. I’m stuck here! But you need to go! Now!” Paul looked at the woman surprised with what she was saying. “What do you mean?” Paul asked her. “Just leave! And never return.” The woman said pointing towards the door. She returned her attention back to the magazine she was reading and ignored him. Paul grabbed her armrests of the other chairs sitting beside him and pushed himself up. He hobbled over to the front desk. “Mr. Richards, Mr. Little will see you now!” The woman said pointing towards the door of Mr. Little’s office. “No! I’ve changed my mind! I think I’m just going to go now!” Paul said turning away from her and walking towards the door. Before he could reach it, Mr. Little came out of his office and grabbed him by the shoulder. “Ahh, Mr. Richards, My name is Mr. Little and I am the founder of Losers Inc. Why don’t we step in my office and get started.” Mr. Little said to him. Paul pushed him away and began backing towards the door. “No! I think I changed my mind! I’m going to try doing it on my own again.” Paul said to him. Mr. Little grabbed him by the shoulder and began leading him towards his office. “Nonsense!” Mr. Little said as the opened his office door and lead Paul inside. He showed Paul to his seat and shut and locked the door behind them. 3. Paul sat down on the black leather sofa that was lining the walls of Mr. Little’s office. Mr. Little walked over and sat down at his desk. He crossed his hands and stared down Paul. “Mr. Richards, we here at Losers Inc. are go getters! Our mission statement is NO MAN OR WOMAN LEFT BEHIND!” Mr. Little began to explain to Paul. Paul crossed his hands and listened. “So, you want to lose a few pounds do you?” Mr. Little asked Paul. Paul nodded and looked down at the floor. “You will do that here! At least, you better hope you do.” He said to Paul. Paul looked up at Mr. Little. “What do you mean?” Paul asked him confused. Mr. Little grinned at Paul and stood up from his chair. “We have a weekly goal of ten pounds goal!” He started to explain. “You get three strikes Mr. Richards! You have to weigh in every week and if you don’t meet the ten pound goal, that’s strike one! Then strike two and so on.” Mr. Little continued. “What happens if you don’t meet the goal?” Paul asked him. He grins again and walks over to Paul. “Strike one, you lose your arms. Strike two, you lose your legs. And strike three…” Mr. Little started as he turned to his desk and grabbed a 4X neck bracelet. He stood up and placed it around his neck and locked it. “Well, let’s just say, your out.” Mr. Little stood up and walked back over to his desk. “What the hell is this?” Paul asked as he attempted to remove the fat to see the neck bracelet. “That is your neck bracelet!” He informed him. “What’s it for?” Paul asked. “You’ll find out soon enough!” Mr. Little said walking over to the door and opening it. Paul pushed himself up and walked over to the door. “Have a good day Mr. Richards! I’ll see you at weigh in’s next week! We’ll be watching you!” Mr. Little said to Paul pushing him out the door. Paul turned around and walked over to the door and out of them. He walked over and got in his Hummer. He started the engine and drove off. 4 A week later, Paul once again drove his Hummer into the parking lot of Losers Inc. He got out of the Hummer and walked into the building and to the front desk. “I am here for the weigh in!” Paul said to the lady at the desk. She smiled at him and mentioned him to Mr. Little’s office. He walked over to the office door and knocked on it. “Come in!” Mr. Little shouted through the door. Paul turned the knob and walked into the office. There sat Mr. Little at his desk smoking a cigar. “Mr. Richards! Come in come in! Step over there behind the blinds and disrobe so we can get this ting started.” Mr. Little said pointing over to the blinds. Paul walked behind them and began to undress. He put on a blue hospital gown and walked out from behind the blinds. Mr. Little smiled and pointed over to the corner where was a shite digital scale. Paul walked over and stepped up on it. The red light blinked a couple of times before finally reading 487. Bullets of sweat began running down Paul’s face. “Hummm, that’s only eight pounds. I believe that’s shrike one!” Mr. Little said disappointed. He reached over to his desk and grabbed a machete. “This is going to be very painful Mr. Richards.” Mr. Little said as ran his thumb along the blade. Tears began running down Paul’s face. Mr. Little pulled back the knife and slashed it through right arm cutting it off at the shoulder. Paul screamed out in terror as blood squirted out of his arm socket. “Shhh, we are half way there!” Mr. Little said as he lifted the knife once more and chopped off the other arm. Paul fell down to the floor and sobbed. A pair of rescue workers came into the office and placed him on a stretcher. They wheeled him out of the building and put him into the ambulance. The siren began to ring as the ambulance drove out of sight. 5. The next week Mary, Paul’s wife drove the car to Losers Inc. “Honey, are you sure you want to go back in there?” Mary asked him. She opened the door up for him and he hopped out of the car. “Yes! I’m in it for the long haul.” Paul said as he turned around and walked into the building. The truth is he feared what would happen if he left the program. He passed the front desk and walked to the door of Mr. Little. With no arm to knock on the door he banged his head against the door. Mr. Little walked over and opened the door. “Ahh you’re back Mr. Richards!” Paul walked into the office. Your arms weighed 25 pounds each! That means 50 pounds! So your weight is now 437! That means you have to 427 or less!” Mr. little said. A nurse walked in the room and took Paul behind the blinds and began taking his clothes off. She blue hospital gown back on him and lead him to the scales. Paul stepped on the scales and the red light began flashing. It flashed for a moment more before finally reading 431. Mr. Little looked up at Paul disappointed. “That’s only six pounds! You know what that means! That’s strike two!” Mr. Little said. Tears once again began to poor down Paul’s face. Mr. Little reached over and grabbed the machete again. He pulled back the knife and slashed it through the legs of Paul. Paul fell to floor as Mr. Little began licking the blood off of the knife. He raised it again and cut off the other leg. Mr. Little began laughing as Paul slipped into an unconscious state. The paramedics walked in again put him on a stretcher and carted him out of the room. They placed him back in the ambulance and drove off. 6. The next week the ambulance returned. The rescue workers got out of the ambulance and carried Paul on a stretcher to the office of Mr. Little. Mr. Little pointed behind the blinds and the rescue workers carted him over there. They undressed Paul and placed the hospital gown on him. They wheeled him over to Mr. Little’s desk. “Mr. Richard, your legs weighed 86 pounds each that’s means that you now weigh 259. That means you must weigh in at 249 or less. They picked up Paul and placed him on the scales. The red light blinked for a moment and finally read 249. Paul finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Great job Paul you passed the first scale!” Mr. Little informed him bringing out another scale with a decimal setting. “Now let’s see how close you are.” Mr. Little said picking him up and placing him on the scale. It blinked several times before finally reading 249.1. “It seems you are a tenth away from your goal!” Mr. Little said as he walked back over to his desk and opened up the top drawer pulling out a small remote control. “Come on man! You can’t hold my for a tenth of a pound!” Paul began to protest. “I’m sorry Mr. Richards, but a deal’s a deal! That’s strike three! You’re out!” Mr. Little said as he pushed the red button in the center of the remote. Two large blades came from the side of the neck bracelet decapitating Paul. 7. Mr. Little walked over and grabbed the severed head of Paul. He carried it over to his office and placed it on a stick. He motioned for the paramedics to dispose of Paul’s body. They did and he carried the stick out of his office. Mr. Little walked down the hall to a door that read HALL OF SHAME. In the hall were thousands of rotting heads on sticks. He carried it to the end of the glass trophy case at the end of the hall. He opened the door of the case and placed the head on a stick inside. “You just can’t work with some people!” Mr. Little said as he shut and locked the door of the trophy case. He walked back down the hall and opened the door. He looked back at the heads and turned off the lights. “Tomorrow’s a new day here at Losers Inc.” Mr. Little said as he shut the door.
Copyright 2013 by Cody Williams Courtesy of TRUE TERROR PUBLICATIONS A division of TTP Entertainment
© 2013 Cody WilliamsAuthor's Note
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Added on October 28, 2013Last Updated on November 21, 2013 Tags: horror, short story, weight loss, Cody Williams Author
Cody WilliamsElizabethton, TNAboutI am in my second year at Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tennessee were I major in instrumental music education and minor in English. My passions include playing the trombone/euphonium an.. more..Writing
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