Chapter XIII: The Glory Days

Chapter XIII: Glory Days

Samson

“Samson? I don’t know if you can hear me, but if you can, I just want to tell you that I love you, and I was looking forward to reconnecting with you. I wish we had more time together, I can’t believe you’d kill yourself. You must have been in more pain than you let on.” Maggie’s voice echoes.
“What’s that?” Samson asks.
“Mom’s talking to us out in the real world. I’m surprised she came down here.” Other Samson says.
“I agree with her, it sucks that we were just starting to talk again, and then this happens.”
“Yeah, I definitely regret not getting to know mom and our other siblings more.”
“We were too obsessed with ourself, plus, the war kept us occupied for awhile, then things went downhill when we got home.”
“I just want to let you know, that even though we were apart for longer than we were together, I still love you, you’re my first baby and I will always love you. I’ll donate in your name to the veteran’s fund. I hope this isn’t the end, but if it is, goodbye, my sweet boy. I’m going to let your father talk now.” Maggie’s voice echoes. Samson sr., aka TMR, speaks next.
“I can’t believe you’d be selfish enough to do this. But to take out your girlfriend and then yourself? You’re a f*****g coward! He says, his voice echoing.
“How could you say that to him?” Maggie’s voice echoes.
“Because it’s true, he’s a coward. He couldn’t face trial like a man, he goes and kills himself.”
“This is hard enough as it is, why do you always have to make things worse?”
“Oh, what? I’m supposed to feel sorry for him because he tried to kill himself after killing his pregnant girlfriend?”
“Doctors did brain scans, they said it was possible he was asleep when it happened?”
“So, what, he just sleep killed?”
“If he was dreaming about the war, it’s a possibility.”
“They found her next to the door and him next to her, the light was on, I’m thinking accidental discharge and so he shot himself over the guilt.”
“Why do you have to think so badly of him?”
“Cause he’s always been a dick, and he always took what he wanted. You weren’t around for his constantly taking my money and blowing it on stupid bullshit for him and his friends, getting him out of trouble, and I only gave him money when he tried to help that hobo cause I was high.”
“Oh, when aren’t you?”
“Hey, it’s only cheeba now, I cut out all the other stuff years ago.”
“How many years ago?”
“After you divorced me.”
“It’s a miracle.” she says sarcastically.
“Look, all I’m telling you is that kid cost me way too much. At least Luxor knew to save his money, and he has a good job. Proud of my boy, captain of the Homicide division.”
“He always was your favorite.”
“That’s cause he’s always been a genius, just like me, I knew he’d make something of himself. Not like this one, I’m ashamed he has my name, Luxor should have been named after me, not this pathetic lump of taxpayer’s money. We should just unplug him and just be done with it.”
“You heartless b*****d! No wonder Luxor lacks emotion, he’s exactly like you. He still hasn’t forgiven Samson for burning down his apartment.”
“Yeah, well, he deserves it, what idiot throws a flaming pot at the curtains?”
“Someone panicking!”
“Whatever.”
“I cannot believe you. Your oldest son-” she starts crying, “-is lying here with a hole in his head, dying and you don’t seem to care at all, at f*****g all! This is one of the hardest things a parent has to deal with, and it’s not even affecting you!”
“It’s his own fault, what else do you want me to say?”
“That you give a s**t! The man put his life on the line to protect this country, did you forget that?”
“See, now if he died in the line of duty, I’d care more. But this? This is just selfishness right here.” She smacks him hard across the face, stomps out, then slams the door. “Well, see ya. Probably in Hell.” He walks out.
“Wow, dad’s even more of an a*****e than I am.” Samson says.
“Where do you think we get it from?” Other Samson asks.
“Yeah, and we let everyone know it.”
“Yes, we certainly did.”
“High school was fun.”
“Yeah, dude, remember when you used to kick people’s asses for no reason?” The scenery changes to the high school.
“Hey dumbass!” Young Samson shouts at a kid in the hallway.
“Huh?” the kid asks.
“What are you doing, crowding my hallway?”
“What are you talking about? I’m just getting stuff from my locker.”
“Yeah, and your s**t is everywhere!”
“Sorry.” The kid moves his backpack closer to his locker. Samson picks it up, opens it, and dumps it in the nearest garbage can.
“Dude, what the-”
“F**k you, a*****e!” Samson starts beating on the kid and shoves him in his locker. “Haha, what a piece of s**t.”
“I didn’t know that kid, and I don’t know why I beat him up.” Samson tells his doppelganger.
“Yeah, you just didn’t care, did you?” Other Samson says.
“No, it felt so great, like I was king of the world or something.”
“But there was that one...” The scene changes again to a locker room.
“Hey crazy boy.” Young Samson approaches Sydd.
“Why don’t you stop with that? One of these you’ll regret it.”
“Is that a f*****g threat, you piece of s**t?”
“More like an inevitability.”
“What is that like, a promise?”
“It means one day I’m going to snap, and you won’t be able to stop me.”
“Yeah, whatever. Yo! Leo!” Leo approaches them. “Grab his legs. Leo grabs Sydd’s legs, and Samson grabs Sydd’s arms. Sydd struggles, but to no avail. The boys dump Sydd in the garbage can, then Samson takes Sydd’s clothes and throws them in the toilet. “C’mon, guys. Let’s grab the girls and go out, my allowance is burning a hole in my pocket!”
“I still don’t know what it was about Sydd, but I hated him so f*****g much, just the sight of him made me want to kick his a*s.” Samson says.
“Have you ever wanted to go back in time and kick your own a*s because you were being stupid or you did something stupid or something?” Other Samson asks.
“But I feel bad about what I did to Sandra. It flashes to the cafeteria of the high school.
“Hey everyone! I fucked Sandra Zircon in my pool! She’s a s**t and open for business!” Young Samson yells to everyone. The seniors start making hooting noises.
“That’s not true!” Sandra says, as she starts crying, and runs out of the cafeteria.
“Now you’re eligible for legendary status, come to the woods tonight, and we’ll make you a BRO.” A senior tells him.
“A bro?” Young Samson asks.
“Yeah, one of us.”
“Alright, I’ve heard you guys throw awesome parties.”
“See ya there dude. Around 8, at the southeast section of the city, there’s woods back there where we party behind the storage units.”
“But it wasn’t worth it, was it?”
“No, no it wasn’t. My parties were way better in comparison.”
“At least you made it up to her.”
“Yeah, I wish I could kick this version of me’s a*s, I was a total dick for no reason, and I don’t know why.”
“Because you felt entitled to.”
“Yeah, you’re right, I thought it was my world and everyone else was just in it. I’m surprised I didn’t get in as much trouble as I should have.”
“Well, that was mainly thanks to dad, he was paying off the principal and teachers and administration.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right. Man, am I really that s****y of a person?”
“Well, the military didn’t fix the problem...” The scene changes to Iraq.
“Sure it did, I obeyed all the orders and everything!”
“But you still had attitude.”
“Alpha, did you clean the latrines yet?” Kait, the CO asks Samson.
“I made Jose do it.” Marine Samson says.
“it was your job, you were in rotation.”
“Why does it matter who does it, as long as it gets done?”
“Because we follow protocol here. I know about your rich daddy, and that you think you’re special, but you’re not. What did they call you in boot camp?”
“Maggot.”
“You just got here, you’re going to need to prove yourself if you’re going to get anywhere. When I tell you it’s your turn to clean the latrines, it’s your f*****g turn. Now guess what? You’re on latrine duty all month, and you’re now night shift for the next two weeks, starting tonight.”
“Whatever.”
“What was that?”
“I mean, yes ma’am.” The scene fades.
“At first, I gotta admit, I hated being ordered around by a woman. It felt, it felt...” Samson says.
“...emascutlating?” Other Samson says.
“Yeah. And then I got my wake up call.” The scene of Iraq fades back in, but it’s night time. Samson is sitting on a chair, just leaning back. Out of nowhere, flashes of light approach him. The rest of his unit gets on their feet.
“What’s going on?” Marine Samson asks.
“Incoming fire!” His comrade tells him. Samson picks up his gun, and runs with the rest of his unit. Samson’s target is in his line of sight, and is unaware Samson has a bead on him. Samson stands there, frozen with his gun in his hand, his comrades telling him to move it, to return fire, but he still stands there. His target becomes aware of his presence, and Samson fires, killing him. He gets cover, and listens to the dying gunfire. Cease fire is called. The scene fades out.
“That scared the s**t outta me, literally Samson tells Other Samson.
“Yeah, I know.” Other Samson says.
“I wish I could forget that part.”
“You will soon.”
“Really?”
“I don’t know, you tell me. Do you think you’ll live through this?”
“I guess not.”
“How many times did you think you were going to die out there?”
“Every damn day.”
“And yet you outlived so many others.” Samson watches comrade after comrade, each dying by enemy fire and other types of war atrocities. Finally, it reaches the point where Leo snaps.
“Ok, I don’t know if I can see this again. This was the hardest day of my life. I could have saved Kait’s life.”
“You didn’t know he was going to shoot her.”
“No, I hesitated. Look at that smile. That demented smile of his. As soon as he did, I knew what was coming, I’ve seen that look on his face before. If I hadn’t hesitated and shot him right then and there, she could have been spared.”
“And things could have gone differently for you. You would have been charged with murder and dishonorably discharged because he didn’t stand trial. If he had stood down when she asked, and you shot him, you’d have been charged with murder and dishonorably discharged. It’s sad she had to die for him to die, but the second she died, rank changed.”
“I still don’t feel like I deserved to be promoted for it.”
“Luckily, there was enough witnesses on your side that all told the same story you did.”
“It still hurt to kill my best friend.”
“It was a necessary evil.”
“I wish it wasn’t.”
“But you knew deep down that-”
“-that I’d be the one who’d have to take him down. I wish Johan didn’t have to die. Damn Leo for killing him, I bet he would have survived.”
“We’ll never know now, will we?”
“Maybe we can ask him on the other side.”
“If there is one.”
“And then came the day that really humbled me.”
“Getting your leg blown off, yeah, that sucked.”
“That grenade should have just killed me right then and there, it would have spared so many people. Scott, Greg, Kat, Christy...” He starts to cry. “Why???”
“Because believe it or not, we influence other people’s lives as much as they influence ours. We forget that, and then things like this happen.”
“God, I can’t believe what a selfish a*****e I am, seeing it like this, I’m ashamed of myself.”
“It’s alright.”
“I f*****g deserve this!”
“Do you really?”
“Yes! I’m a f*****g piece of s**t! Dad was right! I’m not worthy to have his name!”
“Don’t forget, you were improving your life before this happened. You could have redeemed yourself.”
“Yeah, could have. And what happens? I kill my pregnant girlfriend because I went crazy!”
“It’s not your fault though.”
“Yes, it is!”
“You didn’t know this was going to happen. Just like everything else in life, you can’t control anything.”
“Yeah, and what happened after I got home? I failed epically.”
“Look, I don’t know what else to tell you.”
“I’m a piece of s**t.”
“There you go again, you sound like dad.”
“Because he’s right, he’s always been right.”
“Dad lost mom because he had his priorities wrong. You started to get your priorities straight, this was an unfortunate accident.”
“I didn’t even get the chance to be a dad or a husband...”
“Did you really want that out of life?”
“With Christy, definitely. I couldn’t see it going any other way.”
“What about Kat?”
“I don’t know, I didn’t get that far. Maybe it’s not about the person, but I wanted to be better than my dad at it.”
“That’s the answer I was looking for.”
“We’re in my twenties now, I’m scared.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re nearing the end."