Love Hurts (Rated R)

At a midnight showing of a movie, something happens that wasn’t part of the script.

                                                             Love Hurts

                                   ( Rated R)

I grabbed the collar of my shirt and flapped it a few times.

“Cologne, check, breath… check.” I said to myself as I held my palm to mouth walking towards the door. I had prepared all day for this midnight movie date with my ex. It’s been months since we had communicated, so I was surprised when she called a couple days ago. Now things had to be perfect; it was obvious she missed me, missed us, so I wanted tonight be and feel perfect, destined.

“Kristina.” I said with a childish smile as I stared at her in the doorway. There seemed to be this illuminate glow around her silhouette as if she was the Mother Mary; but with the vulgar memories that danced in my head, that analogy may not be appropriate.

“Ummm, are you going to invite me in, or would you rather stand there looking like Bambi?” Kristina joked as she brushed by me playfully. I stood beside the door and watched her navigate to my ‘L’ shaped couch; I’ve watched this scene play out in my head all day, and it was even better live.

“Sooooo, what type of movie are you in for?” I asked as I made my way towards the couch. She was doing something with her phone and didn’t seem to hear the question.

“I’m sorry, what was that? Movie? Ummmm, you’re the host, you pick.” Kristina said as she shoved her phone deep into her purse. Her whole demeanor seemed to have changed at that moment. She wasn’t as relaxed as she was initially, and now she was sitting on the edge of the couch like an anxious mom watching her kid at a Spelling Bee.

“Are you ok?” I asked. She was beginning to rock slightly back and forth; I knew this to be her body language for discomfort.

“No, I’m not nervous… it’s just that…” My doorbell interrupted her. I was startled myself because I had warned all of my friends not to bother me tonight, and usually they were great followers of the code of men. As I attempted to get up Kristina stopped me.

“No! Please don’t answer…” This time the banging from the door cut her off. Now my mind was in a pretzel. Who could possibly be banging on my door like a ‘Mad Man’? I stood up and headed towards the door, but Kristina grabbed my wrist.

“Look, I have to tell you something. Please don’t answer the door… He’s crazy.” The banging continued with amplified volume.

“He!? He who?” I asked, though I knew the answer to this question wouldn’t turn out good either way.

“My ex… He must have followed me.” Out of anger I snatched my wrist from her grasp. Walking towards the door I heard her grab her belongings and bolt towards the rear of the apartment. This night was getting stranger by the second. As soon as I opened the door I saw stars… Love hurts.

Reggie Manning

Tower 2

'Tower 2'

Tower guard in Afghanistan was painful when you knew you weren't qualified to be there. I was Air Force but attached to an Army infantry division. Some over paid suit in congress thought it would be cute to get the Air Force involved in combative operations alongside with the Army. Avoiding pointless G.I. Joe action was the main reason I joined the Air Force. Now here I was, choked with irony, sitting in a fifty foot tower staring into the night beside an overly anxious to kill Army soldier.

"So, what are you writing over there brother?" Asked Private Enriquez. After numerous night shifts of tower guard duty, I had mastered the art of writing through night vision goggles.

"Ummm, nothing really. Just a letter to my ex." I replied not even looking up. I could feel his stares piercing my helmet.

"Your ex!? Why in the world would you write a letter to an ex?"

"Because I still believe."

"In the relationship?" Erinquez asked, sounding like Jerry Springer questioning a battered victim of domestic violence.

"No not the relationship... I still believe in love." I replied finally raising my eyes in his direction. He shook his head and stood up to glance over our perimeter. I started back into my letter attempting to resume my thoughts like a paused video game.

"Get on the radio!" He said in a loud panicking whisper. I stood up to see what he was referring to, and panic swept me off my feet like drunken charm. There were a group of men, well judging from their height and animated agility, teenagers, climbing over our camps fence. I was nervous and fumbled for the radio.

"Call it in!" Enriquez shouted.

"S.O.G., this is tower two, over." I waited for a response before I began; none came.

"S.O.G, this tower two. We have a group of kids climbing the fence.” I could tell Enriquez was becoming impatient.

"This is life or death!" I frowned at Enriquez’s choice of wording.

"That fool is probably sleep! We have to take matters in our own hands!" Enriquez said as he charged the machine gun. Without thought I leaped towards him and moved his hand away from the trigger. He looked up at me with a puzzled look.

The most important briefing we received was the one on Rules of Engagement. This preached on the negativity of war crimes. Basically the worst thing you could do in this situation is 'take matters into your own hands', especially if that involved an unauthorized slaughter of mischievous kids.

"What are you doing? This isn't training. There is no pass or fail here!" Enriquez ministered his Army jargon.

"Those are just kids man! Kids! We can't open fire on unarmed teenagers." I pleaded.

"Kids? You think bullets know age? You think that the trigger has a security mechanism that requires a birth date like a porn site? No" Enriquez shoved me back and refocused on his task. I tried S.O.G. again received nothing. There was nobody to stop Enriquez. I put my hand on his shoulder to try and get him to wait a second; hopefully S.O.G. would wake up in time, but Enriquez snapped and grabbed me like he demanded lunch money.

"Look you coward, you can climb down the tower and go stop the kids with verbal kindness if you want; just beware that I’m shooting. I’m not dying here because some Air Force vagina has a heart..." thankfully Enriquez was cut off by S.O.G’s sluggish voice.

"Tower two, this is S.O.G. you do not have authorization. I repeat, do not fire!" I was saved, well not me, the lives of a group of daring kids were. I will never forget the look in Enriquez's eyes as he released my collar.

Business is Business

                                                'Business is Business'



{PROMPT: Pretend that there is a small man/woman in your brain. Explain their everyday task.}

0500hrs:

Chaos is slowly turning in the Command Center located on the top floor of a building titled Mr. Manning. Established in 1986, this company has been running smoothly with only a minor downfall a few years back, in which that head Commander was relieved of duty. With a new General in command, this classified operation has been getting the task done on day to day basis.

This particular morning, the command center is dealing with typical morning issues: the neck center just reported a slight ache in its lower mid region. The CC quickly sent a response for comfort, saying that the problem was simply sleep position; a bad decision made by the CC's late night crew.

The Feet Office, located in the basement of Mr. Manning Inc., reported a cold draft that is rendering the workers from charging up for projected tasks. The CC replies and instructs the Hands Office, located separately on the east and west wings on the building, to provide additional cover over the Feet Office. This would sacrifice cover over the neck region and creates an unneeded conflict, so the CC orders the Knees Office the bend to a 45 degree angle. This resolves the temperature issue.

In the CC, the overworked, underpaid, crew works vigorously over control panels, ensuring that all sections of the building are working properly. Lieutenants stare at heart meters, making sure that the Heart Office, which is a 24hr section along with the CC, is still pumping blood to all the other offices. The Heart section went through a breakup recently when a neighboring building decided to relocate. This affected the entire faculty of Mr. Manning Inc. Rumors had spread of the potential merge, getting everyone’s hopes up. This would mean increased pay and a shared work load. But the business deal went bad when the potential partner found a partner with a bigger budget. So now the CC has to keep a close eye on the productivity of the Heart Office, due to low morale.

Every morning the CC is swamped with minor problems from back itches in which the Finger Office cannot reach. The mouth Office reports leaks that spread into the Face Office. The Arm Office reported that its storage compartment has a strange odor; maybe the combined complaints of the Arm and Face Office are the reason that last Business merge failed.

The CC has a heavy load of responsibility, and the members of the Brain Office work Day and Night dealing with issues form minor to major, from breakfast decisions to pillow slobbing. No matter the problem or issue, the CC handles it. They can't afford to take time off. Even in their sleep they have to work on creativity of dreams and costume designs of nightmares. No lunch breaks in this office, no holiday breaks, no rest, because even in a coma, Business is Business.