Just an Average Day

The sounds penetrated Jack's ears, the sizzling and crackling of his frying flesh. The horrid stench wafted into his nostrils making him gag instinctively. His mind had strayed so far that he almost forgot that he was sitting in an electric chair. Everything seemed so slow and yet in reality the electricution was swift. What was he being executed for Jack wondered? He never did have a good memory, once again he was brought back to reality. The pain was unbearable and mind numbing, Jack knew this was the end.

Jack Gerris awoke at his dining room table in a daze, what happened to the pain? Then his senses came back to him, he came to the conclusion he must have fallen asleep waiting for his morning bacon to fry. Bacon? Jack jumped to his feet and ran into the kitchen and turned off the burner. The sizzling slowly came to a stop, and off in the distance the faint weeping of a woman could be heard. It was all too common for Jack, as his apartment complex wasn't the nicest place to live, so domestic abuse was a regular occurence. He looked down at the frying pan and realised he wouldn't be eating the burnt mess in front of him anytime soon. Jack slumped down against the oven and ran his cold hands through his sweaty hair. He needed a shower, badly as he was beginning to smell like a burning corpse. Along with the sizzling bacon, this had most undoubtedly been the cause for that horrid dream that plagued him, he thought as he laughed to himself.

Jack looked up at his clock, oh shit he was late for work. He climbed to his feet and paced the floor, looking for anything suitable to wear. Jack worked in a lousy job and so he couldn't afford a dresser, so he just preferred to leave his clothes wherever he felt they were convenient. Jack ran out the door, and off he went. Like the dresser a car was much too expensive and so he made the 'decision' every morning to walk. The walk was silent however every so often Jack could hear muffled whispers coming from close behind. But everytime he would turn the whispers would cease. Finally he had been listening so intently he could make out some of the words. Words such as 'murder' and 'enraged' became quite common, Jack was fed up. It was a good thing he had arrived at work when he did or someone would've gotten hurt. It's not like it mattered anyway as the shop was empty, Jack kicked a tuft of dirt and began to curse. Fourty-five minutes of walking just for this? When he arrived back at home the sun was already setting, a very strange occurence considering it had only been morning a few minutes before, but Jack didn't care.

He was so tired, he almost fell into his chair. Jack turned on the television with the remote, the channel was tuned into someone's funeral. 'Ashes to ashes, dust to dust' the priest read as they lowered the coffin into the ground. Just then the power went out and Jack could hear the sounds of dirt hitting wood and digging shovels. Jack was worried, he frantically searched the table beside him for a flashlight, but his hand bumped up against something that fell off. Jack reached down to pick it up when suddenly the lights came back on. The silence was palpable, nothing could be heard, nothing at all. Jack looked down at what he was holding. It was a newspaper, the headline read: 'Man kills wife, after catching her in the act of cheating'. Jack froze, man kills wife? The words echoed in his head and then it all came back to him. 'Man kills wife'. He had caught her doing a most dispicable act. 'Man kills wife'. She began to accuse him of all people. 'Man kills wife'. Why did she have to run? 'Man kills wife'. There was so much blood. 'Man kills wife'. Why, Gretta, why? 'Man kills wife'. It was all her fault. Jack sobbed to himself silently and looked down, although he knew what was coming next. Jack read further: 'Man kills wife, after catching her in the act of cheating, man sentenced to death'.

'''It wasn't a dream, his wife was dead... and so too was Jack'.''