The Puppet Master

'Bloody hell' I thought as I turned up for work 'another day in this fucking factory'.  I hate it, all my bosses are wankers, I hate my colleagues, and the only thing keeping me here is the paycheck!  I need the money I have a mortgage, 2 kids another on the way.  Before she got pregnant my wife didn't do any work, she just sat on her fat ass and watched the Jeremy Kyle show whilst collecting dole payments.  I want a divorce but she won't allow it I need a way out, but if I kill myself what will happen to the kids, no that's not an option.  I waved my ID badge as I passed through the security gates.

'Morning Jeff' said Bob, the security guard.

'Morning Bob' I replied.  I parked my car in the spot nearest to the door and walked in.  It is only a small factory, fifty employees max.  This factory makes clutches for the big car firms such as BMW and Audi.  Unfortunately I am only the janitor, and everybody treats me like shit.  I suppose I could show them all, would they like it if I stopped cleaning up after them, HA, lets see them make top quality clutches whilst trying to wade through swarf!  HA!

I turned up to my locker took my jacket off and placed it inside, removed my keys, phone and wallet and placed them inside my locker, and after climbing into my overalls slammed the locker door shut and closed the padlock, and went over to my store room and pulled out a brush.

'Jeff, report to my office!' came Steve's voice over the tannoy.  Steve my team leader, complete and utter TWAT.  I don't like him, every time I see him I feel like running my floor buffer over his baldhead.  I knocked on his office door; 'Come in!' came his raspy voice.  'Jeff,' he said 'sit down, we need a chat!' he continued.  'I believe you're wife is pregnant again, congratulations, but on a more serious note.  I feel like you are not happy here!'

Here we go he's going to start with the whole take a break, get some counselling bollocks!!

'You're standards have been slipping over the past few months, and we feel you are not up to scratch, I'm sorry we are going to have to let you go!'

'You're letting me go!'

'Yes' said Steve firmly 'you have had several warnings to improve you're standards, and yet you have not, in fact you have done the opposite!  Standards have decreased the workers are complaining, about poor working conditions, spills on the floor not being moped up'

'They shouldn't be retarded enough to spill them then should they!!' I shot at him.

'I'm sorry but it doesn't work like that!  We have no choice but to let you go!' he replied, I stood up I felt like twatting him!

'How the fuck do you expect me to pay off the mortgage, feed the kids, the wife' I shouted at him.

'That is not my problem' he answered, so I punched him, and stormed out of the office.  I went into my smaller office, and closed my eyes, hoping that this would all go away.  I had a feeling, a bad feeling, a feeling that somebody had come into the factory and had savaged everyone.  I heard a loud bang as my office door shut, and I woke with a start!

'Any one there?' I shouted there was no reply.  'Any one there?' I shouted again, and again there was no reply, I slowly crept out of my office and was shocked by what I saw, somebody had painted the walls red, they hadn't even done a good job at it, it looked as if they had just thrown the paint out of the pot onto the wall.  The more startling fact was that there was no one else around the place was deserted.  How long had I been asleep?  I cloud see a little streak of light between the red paint on the windows.  I knew I mustn't have been asleep this long.  A sudden thought came to me, if I had fell asleep had the sacking been a dream was I still employed.  I didn't want to be sacked.  An idea suddenly popped into my head.  If I clean this up they won't sack me because of the good cleaning job I have done.  I decided to walk to my store cupboard find a mop and mop all the paint off the floor.  As I approached the cupboard I noticed that the door was ajar, 'that's weird' I thought 'I usually close the door.'  I started to open a door and I jumped backed with shock, as an arm fell through the door.  'Do you think that this is funny' I shouted around me in hope that everyone was playing a trick on me.  There was no reply, I opened the door fully and a pile of bodies fell out of the cupboard.  I ran into the nearest toilet found the nearest cubicle and threw up into the basin.  I couldn't hear laughter so that proves that this is no joke.  I walked out of the cubicle, and washed my face, as I looked up into the mirror I saw a guy standing over my shoulder looking at me.  I turned around quickly and he smiled at me he was wearing the same overalls as me, he however was covered in blood.  'It's not paint then!' I thought to myself.

'Who are you and why have you done this?' I asked him.

'I am the puppet master and you are my puppet' he replied.

'What the fuck is that supposed to mean?' I retorted.

'Humph, you know exactly what I mean, that is why you haven't tried to kill me yet!'

'No the reasons I haven't tried to kill you yet is because I want answers, and I need you alive as proof that I didn't do it!'

'But you did.' He replied, 'you killed them after I killed you're wife and children' he replied.

'You bastard' I screamed as I ran at him!! I jumped at him and missed.

'You cant hurt me and don't pretend you don't know why' he laughed. 'I have decided that I am going to help you!' he said.

'Why would I want you're help, you're a murderer!'

'So are you' he replied 'has it not sunk into you're thick head yet.  I am the puppet master and you are my puppet!' He answered.  'I am going to help you find every family member of all the staff here' he replied.  'You will then kill them all'

'Why?' I asked

'Revenge' he said.

'What have they done to you?' I asked he did not answer he just grinned, and walked slowly into one of the cubicles.  'Hey!' I shouted 'I want answers.'

'You already have them' he replied as the door closed.  I ran into the door and it flew open he, however was gone.  I decided to go and see the CCTV footage to see exactly what happened here so I walked over to the security portacabin and found the interior covered in blood as well.  I pressed rewind on the security monitor and when it reached the end I pressed play.

I watched as I stormed out of Steve's office after clearly being sacked.  I forwarded it a bit, I walked back into the factory I had Steve pinned against the floor with a floor buffer on his head.  I watched myself as I piled the bodies into my storeroom.  I noticed some blue and red flashing lights I looked up to see the source of the lights just one word ran through my head

'SHIT'.

It was a perfect day, the sun was out, there was a gentle breeze coming through the air, bringing with it the smell of freshly cut grass.  As I walked home from the local corner shop eating my ice-lolly, I noticed that a stranger was standing outside my house; he was dressed in a long old faded black cloak, which was blowing in the breeze.  I looked at him and noticed some dark cold eyes staring back at me.  I couldn't see the rest of his face as it was covered in the shadow of the cloaks hood.

I decided to walk past him and go round the estate to try and avoid this guy, he was creeping me out.  As I walked I realised that a fog was closing in all around me, I didn't know why there wasn't a cloud in sight a few minutes ago.  I looked over my shoulder he was following me, it didn't look as if he was walking, he was gliding a few centimetres from the floor.  I broke into a jog to get away from this guy, but he kept gaining on me.  I couldn't see past my nose, the fog was so thick.  All of a sudden everything went black and I knew no more.

As I woke I looked up at an unfamiliar ceiling.  I felt bad, like I had just run 20 miles just to be hit by a truck at the end.

'Nurse, nurse' I heard a voice say 'He's awake'.  I realised that it was my daughter's voice.

'Ahh, good, you're awake' said a nurse as she walked into the hospital room, and propped up the pillows behind me.

'What happened?' I asked as I saw my family around me.

'You had a heart attack!' stated, my grandson.  'What could of caused it?' he replied.

'Well I was walking home after getting myself an ice-cream when I saw a cold, dark pair of eyes looking at me.' I paused for a moment as the memory of those eyes came back, then I realised that, the image wasn't a memory it was real.  The eyes where staring at me from the corner of the room.

'And, who did those eyes belong to?' said, my wife.

'HIM!' I said pointing at the tall figure in the corner of the room.

'But granddad! There is no one there!' said my grandson.

'What can't you see him!!' I said, with extreme panic in my voice.

All of a sudden I was in pain, it was a sharp stabbing pain that shot down my left hand side.  Then as suddenly as it came it went, and I was standing in a white hall, the roof seemed to vanish miles above me, the sides seemed to vanish around me, I couldn't see where this hall finished, all I could see was columns rising up to the non-existent roof.  I was alone.  I started walking slowly and carefully, after what seemed like hours I came to what appeared to be a set of pure white stairs leading up to the roof.  I decided to climb the stairs, when I eventually got to the top there was another room, the same as the one below, but, with one difference.  A man dressed in white, sitting on a white, stone, throne.

'Hello' I said 'Who are you?'

'I am God' he replied 'Welcome to heaven' he continued.

'Prove it!!' I shouted 'If you are God, and this is Heaven you should be able to prove it!!'

'I don't need to. You have known since you entered my palace that this is heaven. You have just chosen not to believe it.' He answered.

'Then, that guy wearing black, was he the grim reaper?' I asked

'Yes! He was.  You gave him quite a chase the first time; I know I was watching it!  But unfortunately he had to finish the task, that's why he went to the hospital.' He replied.  'And these' he said with a smile as he pointed round the room 'are you're ancestors'.  I realised that coming out of the white mist where my parents and grandparents, and those who I presumed where their parents and grandparents.  Rather than looking old, and frail as I remembered them, they looked youthful, healthy, and happy.

'Welcome son!!' said my parents as they pulled me into a tight hug.

'But, what about my wife, kids and grandkids?' I asked.

'Don't worry about them' said God 'You're wife will be here soon, but the rest will lead a happy life and will live for a few more decades yet'.

THE END

Rain was pouring on my face.  I looked down to see the pile of tangled meat at my feet.  The meat until recently was standing alive and well.  I looked round the battle was still raging and as I looked at my last opponent I realised that war was not what it seemed.  'Glorious' they told me 'to die on the battlefield, is the most glory anyone can obtain in their life'.  I looked at the body on the floor, this wasn't glory.  There is nothing glorious about the way he died.  It was painful, it was torture, I should know I heard his screams, screams that will surely haunt me for the rest of my life.  At least he is at peace.  I have to commit murder again, he was only defending his homeland, I on the other hand was trying to take it from him.  Not only from him but also from everyone else in his village.  I wondered who he was, what he had achieved in life.  Did he have a family, Wife? Kids?  I fell to my knees; I heard the screams of other dieing people around me, as the battle raged on.  I can't take this anymore.  He had his life sorted, I didn't.  I don't want to kill anymore!  I thought.  I placed my weapon on the ground and broke down crying.  I withdrew my knife from its holder around my waist; I untied the straps from my breastplate and let my armour fall to the floor.  I held the knife in front of me and before any other thought had ran through my head I had pulled the knife towards me and pierced my flesh, I felt his pain, I screamed his scream.  I will soon be at peace with the world.

THE END

It was an accident; I didn't mean to do it.  He had only stopped and asked why I had it, and offered to take me back home, it was all my brothers fault, but he always blames me for everything!  My parents are going to go mad.  Like they did last time, only this is different I have done something worse, something much worse.  Last time, my daddy punched me again and again, and my mummy locked me in a wardrobe.  I only went into mummy's bag for sweeties, which I had found, only I was caught, as I was about to eat one.  She went mad at me yelling 'their grown up sweets, their not for little brats like me, I couldn't handle them'.  It was them sweets that had started this, my brother heard about the incident and he came to me, he told me why they would not give me any of their sweets, 'they make you do and see things' he said.

'Any bad stuff?' I replied 'will they hurt me? Will they make daddy hurt me again?'

'No these are good sweets' he replied as he smiled.  'I can get you some'

'I really want to try some' I said.

'I have some with me, if you come with me, I will let you have some' he said.  'But you can't have any inside the house we must go outside!'

'Is that why mummy went mad at me, I'm not allowed to eat them inside the house?' I asked. 

He smiled 'follow me' he said.  I followed him down the street and onto a field behind the house. 

'Can I have some now?' I asked.

'Yes, here you go' he said handing me a sweet.  I put the white sweet into my mouth it was powdery it tasted horrible.  I saw horrible images.  I did not like these sweets! I thought.  I wanted more, I thought I hated them, so why did I want more.  'Do you want another one?' he asked

'Yes please!'  I said.

'Here you go then!' he said as he handed me another one.

'Are you not having one' I asked as I ate the one he had just give me.

'I've had plenty, I don't need any at the moment' he replied.  'Here take this', he said handing me something, I could not make out what it was, all I could see was a glint of light, 'What is it?' I asked.  There was no-reply, my brother had left me all by myself.  That's when the accident happened.  I heard a soft barking, as everything went blurred.

'Here, son! Why do you have a knife?' a strange voice said.  My brother had given me a knife and gone, he wanted me to get in trouble.  'Can you give me the knife kid?'

'I'm not a kid!' I shouted 'I've just had some grown-up sweets!'

'Grown-up sweets?' The man said quietly 'has some one given you drugs?'

'No just grown-up sweets,' I said I could see again, my brother had given me a knife, the man was old, about granddaddy's age, and he was walking a dog.

'Come here son, where do you live, we need to get you home!' he said.

'No, I want sweets' I shouted.

'Here, have these' he replied.

'I don't want M&M's!! I want grown-up sweets!' I shouted

'I don't have any grown-up sweets' he said, they aren't good for you.

'Give me grown-up sweets!!' I shouted

'No' he said.  That's when it happened, I jumped at him.  I heard him scream and fall to the floor.

'Please, sir! Stand-up' I said.  The man did not move.  He was on the floor a pool of red water was forming underneath him.  I looked at the knife there was some red water on that too!

'HA HA!  You've done it now!'  I heard my brother say 'You've killed him, you're in big trouble now'

THE END