ROOM 108

This one's not a war story boys and girls.

Cody took a long drag on his cigarette and blew the smoke up into the ceiling fan that was slowly circulating over his head. The smoke quickly spread through the small bedroom. There was a sharp knock on the door.
"Cody please don't smoke in my house. I Can't stand the stink."
"I'm sorry ma." Cody replied "I'll put it out."
Cody sat up on the edge of his bead and put the cigarette out in a coffee cup that was sitting on the night stand. He glanced around the room. A claustrophobic space with a rickety bed, cheap dresser and ugly curtains that always made daylight seem uninvited. Nothing had been changed for the nearly two years he'd been away. The room was his mother's shrine to him and it made him feel sad. Like she was waiting for him to come back home and be her baby boy again. Cody took a long, deep sigh. He hadn't been away from his unit a week and he was already bored out of his mind.
     Cody had wanted to be a Marine for as long as he could remember. Handsome, athletic and smart he went out for force recon and excelled at their rigorous requirements. After his basic reconnaissance training he qualified jump school, ranger/ pathfinder school, SCUBA school, special weapons and explosives, scout/ sniper school and counterinsurgency training. The corps had trained Cody well. He was a cunning warrior.
    Cody's unit had just come back from Iraq where they had been employed in their black ops role waging a secret counterinsurgency war over the boarder into Syria. Syria was crawling with foreign fighters and force recon were going in to engage them before they crossed into Iraq. Cody's platoon saw plenty of action and he distinguished himself earning the ominous nick name "Sling Blade" for killing an insurgent in a knife fight. Cody loved to push the limits of danger. Pitting himself against the odds in situations where he came out on top. It was in these moments Cody felt fully alive and in some strange way pure. Like he was being cleansed of ordinary humanness and being lifted to a higher plane of reality where kill or be killed made legends. Within the Corps rigorous attention to protocol, discipline and detail with constant new challenges Cody functioned well but in the civilian world he aimlessly drifted. Quick to master skills and figure things out he took to new projects with great enthusiasm only to get bored and wander off into something else. Cody needed constant excitement to feel alive and about the only things in the civilian world that held his interest was racing, hunting and p***y. He got up off his bed and logged into to his computer:
"Backpage escorts, Richmond Virginia"
 Cody scanned the ads  of girls promising things like "A great time" and "The ride of your life." He'd been on the site a good twenty minutes when he came across Misty's ad. A petite, heavily inked girl with long black hair and delicate features hardened by a life of abuse. Her ad said "back door friendly" and that was his favorite. His eyes widened as his loins tingled with anticipation. Oh yeah, she was the one.
He sent her a text:
"Hi Misty. My names Cody. I'm looking at your BP ad and I'd like to meet you."
Misty text right back.
"Sure honey. What time is good for you?"
"Three o'clock" He replied
"Great." She sent back. "I'm at the Seabreeze hotel off Alexandria drive, room 108. See you then."
The Seabreeze hotel was a notorious dive known for prostitutes and drug raids. Cody had been there with other girls before so it was business as usual. He hopped in the shower and got ready for his date.

     Cody pulled into the Seabreeze hotel a few minutes before three o'clock. He did a quick scan of the parking lot looking for hookers, drug dealers, and police. It was a quiet afternoon so Cody parked in front of room number 108. He got out of his truck and knocked on the door. The door opened a crack and a girl peered out at Cody.
"Cody?" she asked.
"Yes mam. I'm Cody." He replied.
The door opened and Cody went inside.
Misty was hot but looked rode hard and hung up wet. She was wearing black shorts with a light blue top showing plenty of midriff. She noticed Cody's USMC globe and anchor tattoo peaking out from under his shirt sleeve. Along with his tucked in olive drab tee shirt, laced boots, perfectly fitted jeans, perfect posture, crew cut and intense vibe Cody was a intimidating young man.
"You some kinda Army guy or something?" Misty asked.
Cody gave her a broad smile and proudly said:
"Yes mam. United States Marine Corps Force Recon."
Misty didn't know what force recon was but it sounded hardcore. From other men she had met with Cody's type of formal politeness it was reassuring, even dorky but from Cody it was oddly frightening. There was something in his eyes that was sharp and penetrating. He didn't look at her so much as look into her. Like he was sizing her up for something when in fact that's exactly what he was doing. Cody sized up everyone, looking for weaknesses he could exploit to gain an advantage. Cody licked his lips and started stroking Misty's hips and thighs. He slid his hands down over her hips around to her a*s, pulled her closer to him and started kissing and biting her neck. Misty could feel his heated breath on her. The feel of his teeth against her skin put a shiver into her and she could feel his hard c**k rubbing against her pelvis. Fear began overtaking her like weeds in an unkempt garden as she tried to avert his penetrating gaze and play along. She playfully pushed him away:
"You really want some of this don't you baby?" She teased.
"Now you relax and get comfortable. I'm gonna go get ready. I'll be out in a minute." she said as she disappeared into the bathroom.
Cody sat down on the edge of the bed. He sensed something was wrong but he wasn't sure what. He was about to leave when the bathroom door flew open with a crash and a thug brandishing a Beretta 9mm pistol burst into the room pointing the weapon at Cody's head and said:
"Gimmi yo muney an jew-ery or I pop yo a*s!"
Cody slowly turned around to face the thug. He was a dark skinned youth in big, baggie jeans down past his a*s with a sloppy tee shirt and a blue bandana wrapped around his head. He  His eyes looked wild and unfocused. Cody sensed the thug's fear and felt the eerie calm he always felt in battle. Like his life suddenly had great purpose. Cody didn't move or say anything. He just glared into the thug's eyes and smirked.
"Yo tink I playin punk?" the thug angrily said.
"Gimmi yo f****n muney or I pop yo cracka a*s."
He took a few steps towards Cody in an effort to intimidate him but still Cody didn't flinch. This was making the thug very nervous. He'd never pulled the trigger before and wasn't expecting to but this guy wasn't scared like the others had been and Misty said she had a bad feeling about him. The two stood there for a few moments sizing each other up when Cody noticed the thug's weapon trembling in his hand as his eyes narrowing. He was about to pull the trigger. Cody threw his arm up knocking the weapon clear of his head and delivered a hard, inside sweep kick to the thug's knee. The thug went down screaming and dropped his weapon. Cody scooped the weapon up off the floor, placed the barrel to the thug's head and squeezed a round off. The bullet ripped through the thugs skull spraying blood and brain across the stained beige carpet. Misty was standing just inside the open bathroom door. She tried to scream but was to shocked by disbelief to do anything. Cody aimed the pistol at her head and squeezed off another round. Her neck snapped back like a broken twig when the bullet hit her face throwing her backwards against the bathroom mirror. The back of her head smashed a pattern of bloody shards in the mirror then her body hit the floor with a heavy thud. Blood was pouring from the exit wound in the back of her head. Cody scanned the room with the 9mm and tucked the weapon in his Jeans. Blood was splattered all over him.
"What in the f**k just happened!?" He thought.
 All he wanted was some sex and now there were two dead bodies laying in a sea of carnage at his feet. It took a few moments for what he had just done to sink in. He felt panic rising up from his stomach as his pulse pounded in his head.
He was in some serious deep s**t and he needed to do something quick. He found Misty's cell phone and took it along with the murder weapon. He exited the hotel room, got in his truck and drove away. No on was outside. Gun shots were heard everyday around the Seabreeze hotel so no one paid much attention to the sound of two people being murdered.
     He drove straight home. His mother had left for work so he was alone. He bagged his blood soaked cloths along with Misty's phone and the murder weapon. He packed his duffel bag, grabbed his hunting rifle, shot gun and pistol. He called his mother and told her he was going up to Pennsylvania to hunt deer. He jumped in his truck and headed for Chesapeake bay. Once he got there he put stones in his bag of evidence and threw it into the bay. Then he got on I-77 and headed west. He would be in Mexico in 48 hours. He knew it was only a matter of time before law enforcement placed him in that s****y hotel room at the time of the murders. He imagined what his mother's reaction would be when an onslaught of police descended on her home to tear it apart looking for evidence they were sure to find. There wasn't anything he could do to save her from her fate and that sickened him. What was worse was he was going AWOL. To Cody AWOL was for disloyal cowards and anyone who did it deserved a firing squad. He imagined what his commanding officer's reaction would be to his crime and what the men in his platoon would think. It was all to much to comprehend. Cody woke up that morning a hero and now he was a fugitive.
He lit a cigarette and headed into the darkness of the highway. For the first time in his life he was terrified and felt alone. "This is what I get for defending myself" He thought.

Author's Note

My philosophy for stories on the WC is short, get to the climax in as few words as possible and fuck your protagonist up. Feel free to praise and criticize to your hearts content. I might not agree with some folks suggestions but hey, what the fuck do I know and you're probably not much better so lets kick some ideas around and one of us might actually write a decent story.

Reviews

[Angi]

I like short stories that get right to the nitty gritty without a lot of rambling around. I wanted to see 'sling blade' show up when the thug was about to pull the trigger. More of a transformation. I also wanted to see 'Cody' snap out of it after he realized what he had done. More 'dazed and confused, oh s**t' kind of reaction. The ending kind of fell flat. leave us hanging some way. I think you have a good frame here. I am not a storyteller as a rule. I am a huge reader, though. I hope my take on this piece helps. Angi~

[Baby Ricochet]

Yeah I'm going to have to re work the ending. It is kind of ptth. Part of that is me not wanting a piece being to long but it could be better though. Thank you for your input.

[Mic]

Good story, Ric. It reads more like the first chapter of a much longer story than a short story. Only major thing I'd change is the ending. Love a twist in the end, but think you crammed too much of the unnecessary into the final paragraphs. Grab the stuff, hit I-77 west terrified and alone...and leave the rest to my imagination.

[Baby Ricochet]

Yeah. I did cram a lot into a few lines. It's a lot like me talking after I drink a gallon of coffee. Thank you for reading and for your input. I appreciate it

[AYVID N]

The narration was fast-paced and thrilling but the protagonist ending up in such deep s**t was a let down. I mean what could make someone lose their mind like that and kill two people when all they needed to do was kick them and flee the scene.

Nice read. I like dit.

[Baby Ricochet]

Kurt Vonnegut said when writing a short story move the plot along quickly and do terrible things to your characters. That's the idea I'm following here. Thank you for reading room 108 and for your input Divya. I duly appreciate it.

[AYVID N]

You are welcome Baby! It made for a very interesting read.

[Will]

I like the way you executed this one. Started out slowly, picked up, reached the climax, and slowly boiled down. Nice job. Grammatical errors sprinkled here or there, but not enough to detract from the piece. Good characters, nice description. Good job.

[Baby Ricochet]

I've been trying to edit the piece but the WC is giving me more than the usual amount of grief tonight. Thank you for reading Will. I appreciate it.

[Will]

Anytime

[Pryde Foltz]

It is certainly an interesting story. Immediate. Just a story idea. Rather than opening with his mom busting him for smoking and staring at the ceiling, start with the him searching for prostitutes and then intersperse the rest of the stuff. So he's looking online, looking online and then mom call through the door. And then he finds Misty's ad.

[Baby Ricochet]

Ah. So the reader knows what he's up to straight away then work his character development. Good idea.