Two Page Shorts - Nick Venom (big ebook reader txt) 📗

me. He needs my help if he wants to survive.” Oz cruelly remarked. 

“H-He… He’s right.” He muttered before letting the staff fall. He slammed it against the leatherman’s head, not putting enough force to deal any serious damage, but enough to knock him to the ground.

“Stop!” Reaper shouted inside his mind. However, Zee didn’t heed his calls, slamming the staff at the leatherman and bruising him. All of his wounds were superficial, nothing more than some small healing couldn’t fix. 

Zee stopped beating the man, now turning to face Twenty One. He dropped the staff at Twenty One’s feet. “Done,” He coldly muttered.

“Beat him again.” Twenty One insisted, glaring at him.

Zee glanced at the leatherman who was in a fetal position. Oz and Reaper argued among themselves, but Zee ignored them both. The corruption stopped blinding him for a moment.

“No. I’ve done enough.

Twenty One glared at him for a few moments before smiling. “Good, I knew you were going to do good.” He remarked. “Merciful but violent. I like that.” 

Zee nodded his head in acknowledgment before Twenty One waved him away. He returned to his spot at the side of the throne.

Twenty One now focused his attention on his subordinates. “I suggest… that we have no future problems.” He insisted. “Otherwise, a beating would be the least of it.” His words echoed off the wall, now threatening to suffocate them.

“Any more reports?” He emphasized the last word, twisting it in a venomous way. His subordinates responded by shaking their heads vigorously. 

“I see… then Darkness, any final words? Before this meeting is adjourned?” 

Zee stepped forward, addressing Twenty One’s subordinates. “I am Darkness… right-hand-man of Twenty One. That is all.”

“Short and sweet, huh?” Twenty One said with a grin. “Well, with that, this meeting is adjourned. Get this idiot-” he pointed at leatherman, “out of here. Defend our territory from the Eaters. Anyone who comes back to report that they’ve been defeated and couldn’t even land a scratch will face this.” He picked up something laying on the other side of the throne. It was a war hammer, which resembled a sledgehammer except for the numerous spikes at the head of the weapon. 

“Leave.” He ordered. His subordinates scrambled away, disappearing with ease. Once they were gone, Twenty One faced Zee.

“We have yet to discuss your employment.”

“Wasn't it just to serve you?”

“For how long? A day? A month? A year?”

Zee nodded, noticing a resemblance between the gang and a normal job. He now hoped that he had holidays off and insurance covered. Some other benefits would help as well.

Twenty One grabbed a suitcase laying against the throne, picking it up and taking out a file of papers. He opened them up, scribbling into it and then handing it over to Zee. “Work for me until you achieve your needed sacrifices. No matter how long that is.”

“What if it takes me my entire life to achieve it?”

Twenty One devilishly grinned. “Then you work for me for your entire life.”

Zee bit his lip, unsure if the offer was tempting or not. He could achieve the sacrifices in one year or a hundred years.

“Take the offer. I’ll ensure that you achieve the goal quickly.” Oz declared.

“Take some time to think about it.” Reaper insisted. “How can you be so sure the offer’s a good one?”

“Jump for it. I’ll catch you if it fails.” Oz insisted.

Zee nodded his hand, sticking out his hand. Twenty One shook his head, grinning from ear to ear. “Welcome to the Striker Gang, Darkness. I welcome you as my right-hand man.”

Announcements 2:

Hello All!

 

Two Page Shorts: Volume III hasn't gone the way I expected as another short story has been cut due to it being a mess. Kristian: The Miner: Chapter Two - Dragonslayer needs to be polished more before I can release it with confidence. This leads to three out of twelve entries being delayed indefinitely as of now. However, there is some good news as both Jarvis Light: Chapter Two and Impossible Girl 2: The Vault will be re-released here, as well as a flash-fiction short titled "A Guide to Two Page Shorts: Episode Zero" released by the end of February. Thank you for your time and until next time, I bid you all a good day.

Jarvis Light: Chapter Two

“Where did he go?” Jarvis asked, looking around his destroyed apartment. His dog was nowhere in sight. “What do I do now?” He asked himself. He heard Andy coming down from his apartment, stomping down the rickety stairs. “What happened?” He heard Andy shout. “Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not. My life has changed,” he muttered while looking down at his hands. “What happened to me? Why is God laughing at me?”

“What do you mean?” Andy asked him before reaching the room. His eyes widened instantly as he looked at the damage of the fight. “W-Woah… what happened here?”

Jarvis shrugged his shoulders. “I wish I could tell you, Andy. I don’t understand… anything anymore.”

Andy nodded, approaching Jarvis. He laid a hand on one of his shoulders, staring deeply into his eyes. “Let’s deal with this in the morning. I have no idea how this happened, but… there’s nothing we can do to reverse it. You can sleep in my apartment and we’ll discuss the consequences of whatever happened tomorrow. How about that?” 

Jarvis nodded. “Y-Yeah… That would be perfect.”

Andy nodded, turning around. He led Jarvis to his apartment, which was a direct clone of Jarvis’s apartment. Every apartment was painted, furnished, and organized in the same exact way, leaving no space for differences.

Andy brought Jarvis to the living room portion of the apartment, which was only the size of a small bedroom. He pointed at the couch, telling Jarvis to make himself comfy, before going to a closet in his minuscule bedroom to gather blankets and an extra, somewhat clean, pillow. He brought it to Jarvis, handing them over. “Good night, Jarvis.”

Jarvis nodded, muttering a thank you. He threw the blankets and pillow on the rotting couch before turning around to face Andy. “Hey, Andy?”

Andy turned around, staring at him. “What’s up?”

“Why did you trust me without hearing an ounce of my story?” He asked.

Andy grinned. “Because I don’t have a reason not to. Sleep well, Jarvis.” Andy told him before turning around. He headed off to his bed, leaving Jarvis in the living room - who stood dumbfounded at Andy’s answer, thinking it over. Because he doesn’t have a reason not to believe me? I could be lying and… No, he knows me. We’ve been friends for a long time, so I’m sure he could tell if I was lying or not. Jarvis smiled in the direction of Andy. Thank you, Andy. Thank you so much. It looks like God is only smirking. 

***

The next morning arrived faster than Jarvis expected. He could only get a few hours of sleep before the sun woke him up. He jumped up to his feet, finding Andy awake before him. He was dressed in dark blue jeans, a blue tee-shirt, and black boots - it looked as if he was dressed to leave. 

“Good morning,” Andy said once he noticed Jarvis awake. Jarvis nodded his head in acknowledgment, slightly drowsy. “I made some eggs, want some?”

Jarvis nodded. “Thanks,” He said as he approached the dining room table - which was a coffee table used as a dining room table. He sat down at a chipped plastic chair as Andy handed him a plate of scrambled eggs. 

“It’s nothing much, but the price of eggs went down and they should be nutritious, or so I heard.” He said before sitting down opposite him. “Eat as much as you can. Don’t worry about how many eggs I have.”

Jarvis nodded as he stared at the eggs. He couldn’t spend his money on eggs with the cost of cigarettes increasing by the days. It was a luxury to him - a sight beautiful enough to nearly make him weep tears of joy. However, the sight was tainted when memories of last night’s fight re-entered his mind. He bit his lip at the memories. 

After some time devouring his food and getting a couple of more plates, Andy intertwined his fingers and stared at Jarvis. “What is your plan now?” He asked him.

Jarvis furrowed his brows. “Plan?” He questioned.

Andy nodded. “You must have an idea of what to do. Whatever happened last night was something crazy. If you’re being tracked by a gang or the mafia… will you stay here or leave?”

Jarvis bit the inner part of his cheek. “I… I can’t stay here. I have to leave.”

Andy nodded. “Then… I’m going with you.” He declared. 

Jarvis tilted his head. “Was my brain damaged yesterday or did you say that you’re going with me?”

Andy shook his head. “I had been asking around and sifting through records and… I found out that I have an actual relative. An aunt who lives in the suburbs. I planned to leave as soon as I could to meet with her. Maybe she’ll let me stay with her or… something.”

“You don’t have a plan?” Jarvis said, mocking Andy.

Andy scowled at him. “Don’t you dare use my words against me!” He joked. Jarvis stared at him, smiling. “Anyways, before I was rudely interrupted, I was talking about my aunt. I don’t know much about her aside from her name and address, but… she seems like a nice person. I do want to meet her, even if she refuses me.”

Jarvis nodded. “Have you seen your other relatives before?”

Andy smiled a sad smile. “Nope… most of them died before I was born or later in accidents. My mother was struck by a drunk driver and my father committed suicide a month later. He couldn’t live in this world without her… but he never once considered his son. He was too caught up in his grief that he blocked me out.”

“W-Woah,” Jarvis muttered. 

“Yeah… I don’t have the best life. My parents are gone and many of my relatives are either dead or missing. The only person that I know about is my aunt. I want… I need to meet with her and see if I could learn about my family. She has to have something relating to my parents or my other relatives. Maybe I have a niece or nephew in a different state or maybe my father left me a note that I never found. Even if there’s nothing there for me, I still need to meet with her. I want to die knowing that I was able to meet, at least, one of my family