He looked around and sees nothing… yet he can hear footsteps… he can sense someone breathing… so close

The alley is too dark, and the moon hiding behind the evening clouds isn’t helping.

No sweat. He’s tough, he’s a mean guy, and everybody fears him.

He put his hand in his jacket and pulled out a sharp six-inch silver that has been his companion for the last five years of scaring people out of their wits, until he gets what he wants – money, clothes, jewelries, sex, and sometimes even just to see frightened eyes.

Holding a tight grip on the dagger’s handle, he turns around in the hope to surprise an unsuspecting attacker… yet he saw nothing. No movements, no shadows.

“Hah! I scared him!” he said to himself, so he continued to where he is going… but when he turned around he saw a figure in front of him.

He saw his face, “You!” but before he can react, a swift motion lands a baseball bat right on top of his skull…

As he lays on the ground and blood freely flowing from his head, he tried to look once more at his attacker… only to see another bat assault coming to him. Darkness.

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!” laughter fills the dark alley, “that should teach you not to mess with me! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!”

“Ho-hum…” Ricky yawns and stretched after clicking the ‘Publish’ button. He has just posted another creation in his short story blog.

“There,” he said, “I can sleep now…” and soundly he did.

The next morning, while walking on his way to his work, he saw people gathered in an alley opening. Curiosity got the better of him and went to see what the commotion was all about.

He saw three policemen scanning the ground for some evidences… and right in their middle was a dead man lying, his face almost covered with blood… wait! He recognizes the man…

It was the man who attacked him just two days ago and robbed him of his hard-earned salary… he can’t be mistaken… it was him!

And beside the dead man, there was baseball bat… with blood all over it.

Ricky had goose bumps… he felt cold… he left the crowd immediately and went on his way… all the while the scene keeps on flashing in his mind.

In his work in a 24-hour convenience store, Ricky can’t seem to concentrate. As he was arranging the bottles of juices in the shelf, one slipped off his hands… and in his attempt to capture it, he hit those on the shelf… and more bottles fell, one after another… all broken, and a few broken glasses even pierced Ricky’s body, hurting him so bad.

His boss quickly rushed to the sound of breaking bottles and found Ricky in the middle of it, “You idiot! Look what you done! Get out of my store! You’re fired! Get out before you wreck the whole place! Get out!”

“But sir,” Ricky pleaded, unmindful of his wounds, “I need this job, please….”

“I don’t care! Get out!”

And he pushed Ricky out of the store, still with some pieces of broken glass in his body.

Ricky went home… hurting, and without a job.

“I’ll go back tomorrow. Maybe he’ll have a cooler head and he would take me again,” he said to himself.

The next day, he went back to the store. But even before he can approach his boss, he already saw him.

“What are you doing here?! Didn’t I fire you already?! Get out of my place! Get out!”

So Ricky just went home… thinking of what could happen to him now.

To take his mind off his problem, he went to his computer, logged on the internet, opened the control panel of his short story blog, and clicked ‘Write a new post.’

He feels like writing a story… and he did, as if his fingers have a mind of their own… keying in every letter as the story develops right before his eyes…

“No! Please! Don’t kill me! I beg you! I have a family! Please forgive me! I’ll take you back in my store I promise, just don’t kill me please!” the character in the story begs.

“Too late Mr. Santos… you had your chance yesterday. But now… just pray that you have saved enough for your family….” and he strangled him with the rope he’s holding… tightly… choking him to his death…

The next morning, Ricky woke up early. He thinks of going back to the store and ask his boss again. But when he arrived at the store, it was closed.

He knocked, hoping that somebody would be inside… soon his friend Danny came out.

“Why are you close?” asked Ricky “Where’s Mr. Santiago? I’ll ask him to give me another chance, I really need the job.”

“Sorry Ricky,” Danny replied, “he can’t give you a chance no more… the man’s dead. They said, he died in his sleep last night. Must be a bad nightmare… what’s strange though was that they said they found a rope beside him in his bed. The man must have choked himself to death, don’t know.”

“So we won’t be open for a few days, sorry buddy,” Danny continued.

Ricky walks home… his face blank… shocked…

Two events couldn’t just be coincidences?

He reached home still shocked… dropped himself on the couch and thought about what’s happening… yet he couldn’t understand anything…. everything’s vague… senseless.

He was deep in his thoughts when somebody knocked at the door… loudly…

“Hey Ricky! Open up! Open the door!” it’s Mrs. Penny, his landlady

As soon as he opened the door “So, do you have the money now? You’re three months overdue and I need the money! Where’s my money?!”

“I’m really sorry Mrs. Penny,” Ricky explained, “but you see, I’ve been robbed the other day, and I got fired and… “

“Oh! Don’t give me that crap! If you don’t have the money, I want your ass out of here by tomorrow. I have already talked to some people with money and they want to take this place. Got that?! Tomorrow, out!”

“But Mrs. Penny,” Ricky tried to reason to her…. but she already turned her back and walked away.

Ricky couldn’t believe what’s happening to him… three bad lucks in a row… what will he do now?

Seems like everything’s hopeless for him, he couldn’t see any solution to his problem…

Wait a minute! There’s a solution!

Ricky’s face lights up, and he now wears a grin on his face. He went to his computer and accessed his blog… and clicked ‘Write a new post’

He tied the old lady on the chair tightly, she couldn’t move… “Please… what are you going to do? Are you out of your mind?”

As if not hearing anything, he poured gasoline all around her… and all over her…

“Please stop… don’t do this! Please, I beg you! Stop!” the old lady begged….

“When did you say you need the money?” he replied, as he lighted a matchstick and threw it on the old lady…

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!”