The Captain's OrdersA Story by starfast A boy is told that one day he will have to kill people whether he wants to or not I first saw The Captain when I was six. He came to me when I was colouring in my room and told me that when I was older, it was going to be my job to kill people. I told him that I didn’t want to kill people. He just laughed and told me not to worry; He would tell me who to kill and that I would get used to it. I ignored him at first, but he kept coming back to tell me the same thing insisting that I had no choice in the matter. The following year I told my parents about The Captain. At first they didn’t believe me. They couldn’t see him like I could. When I brought him up a few more times they finally tried to do something about it. They took me to a doctor, who prescribed some pills that would make The Captain go away. They didn’t work, but I pretended that they did. When I was twenty, he told me it was time to start my job. He gave me a list of names of people that I had never heard of. He told me to write them down, which I did. Then he told me to kill them, which I did not. One week passed and The Captain told me that if I didn’t try to kill the first person on the list then he would try to kill me. The following week I woke up in a hospital after being hit by a car. They never found out who did it, but I have a feeling that The Captain had something to do with it. My suspicions were confirmed when he came to visit me in the hospital. “I told you I would try to kill you,” he said to me. “I don’t want to kill anyone,” I said. “Do you want to die?” “No,” I said. “Then you will do what I ask,” He said to me. “Why do you call yourself The Captain?” The question just sort of slipped out. It was something that I had always wondered, but had never bothered to ask. “Because I am the one in charge,” The Captain said, “I am The Captain, and you are part of my crew. That means you will do what I tell you whether you like it or not.” I wish I never asked. It was a little over a month later when I finally got around to doing what The Captain asked me to. I was standing at the bus stop one night, when he appeared. Standing tall, with his black hair slicked back like always. The streetlights cast harsh shadows on his grinning face. “Are you ready?” He asked me. “Yes,” I lied. “The first person is inside that convenience store behind you,” The Captain said, “Go inside, and follow my instructions.” The store was almost empty. There was the cashier, and two other people. I had to kill at least one of them. “The gun is under the counter,” The Captain said, “Take it, and shoot the cashier.” “Why?” “He is a bad man, Joshua.” I shuddered. It was the first time The Captain had addressed my by my name. “His name is---” “Aaron Reed, yeah I know,” I said. I had memorized the list he had given me so that I could make it my life goal to avoid everyone on it in the hopes that I would not have to kill anyone. “He’s been stealing money from the register,” The Captain said as he stroked his beard, “He’s really big into child pornography. Did you know that he’s raped people? He’s gotten away with all of this. He deserves this Joshua.” I looked over at Aaron, who was glaring at me. My jaw clenched. How could people get away with stuff like that. He did deserve it. I slowly made my way up to the front of the store. I pretended I was browsing, but once I was close enough I ran up to the register, pushing Aaron aside. “Hey,” He shouted, “What are you doing?” I found the gun under the counter, right where The Captain said it would be. I pointed it at Aaron. “I don’t really want to do this,” I said. Then I pulled the trigger. The bullet went straight into his chest. He was dead before he hit the ground. “Oh my God!” A girl shouted, “Someone call 9-1-1!” I panicked and without thinking I shot her too. She clutched her arm and started screaming. The Captain was standing by Aaron’s lifeless body. “Nice work,” He said, grinning. “I hate you!” I shouted, “I hate you so much!” I began firing at him, but the bullets just passed through him with no effect. “I hate what you’re doing to me!” “Don’t worry Joshua,” The Captain said once I stopped shooting, “This is just the beginning. You’ll get used to it.” © 2013 starfastAuthor's Note
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