Choices Reap Consequences and Fame Chapter 2 - Risks Make Stars

Chapter 2 – Risks Make Stars

With a full belly and a positive attitude, Mindy heads out to school. It’s a normal school day today with a special event. Several representatives from the universities in and outside of Hillside City have come to see the talent in her school. Since Mindy is friends with the teachers, they bring special attention to her and Mindy does her best in front of them. She helps people, shows off her projects and reports in style. There are students who have been jealous of her efforts to become famous and have enacted their plan to embarrass her in front of the representatives. They take a bathroom break and use it to rig Mindy’s locker so that she’ll get dirty from the mud and dirty water when she opens her locker. Once the trap is triggered, it hits its mark and Mindy is covered in filth but gains the sympathies of the representatives especially since she doesn’t react too mad.

Her parents bring her a new set of clothes and she washes up in the school showers. Now she’s back to impressing the representatives as if the trap never happened. In fact, she thinks that the trap was a blessing because of how impressed they are with Mindy’s self-control. The current activity she is participating in is a race between her and the best athletic girls in the school.

“This should be a good way to work off my anger,” Mindy says to herself.

The race begins, and Mindy is already ahead of everyone. The pent-up anger, stress, and will to impress drive her to run her fastest. Her mind races alongside her as she sees clones of herself with the suffocating mask on their face. That same mask jumps onto Mindy’s face and starts to suffocate her.

“I’m just tired and stressed out. This is all this is,” she thinks to herself as she keeps running at full power.

From everyone else’s point of view, Mindy is way ahead of everyone and appears to be running at almost supernatural speeds. Some people are worried that she’s trying too hard and will exhaust herself. This is an interesting sight regardless and the representatives record this event on their camcorders. The first lap out of two is done as Mindy struggles to breathe in the mask. She is still running with everything she’s got but her body can’t keep up with her spirit. The other versions of her begin to catch up until they eventually pass her and win the race.  Mindy passes out as the suffocating mask jumps off Mindy’s face and runs away. When Mindy wakes up, she sees that everyone has disappeared and it’s later in the day. It appears that they just left her in the dirt of her defeat, but she wonders why they would do that. Curious about what’s happening, Mindy walks around the school until she hears noises coming from the atrium. She goes there to see one of her bullies being given awards, scholarships, and media attention. The girl thanks all of her friends, family, and teachers while throwing in a snide remark about Mindy before pointing her out at the entrance of the atrium.

People start to make fun of her. They throw things and insult her while they express their disappointment in her performance.

Mindy shields herself with her hands while saying, “No, no, no!”

She brings her head up to see that the race is still going on and she is still in the lead by a decent lead. People around her were wondering why she was running with her head down for a few seconds with her eyes closed. The suffocating mask is no longer on her face, so Mindy manages to run to the finish line with no problem. The crowd cheers for her as they take pictures of her. She looks back with a smile, but then there’s a loud bang that comes from across the street. It looks like there’s a break in happening to a neighboring house. Seeing the opportunity to impress people, Mindy continues to run and jumps over the fence to play vigilante. Even though her parents never taught her to do this, they still taught her how to defend herself. Some of the people at the school tell her not to do this while others watch. Just as the burglar runs out of the house because the owner is shooting at them, she runs at him and does a jumping kick to the burglar’s face and knocks them out.

The people from the school clap and cheer for Mindy. The homeowner thanks her then goes to shoot the burglar but is stopped by the adults from the school.

Back at the school, a representative asks her, “What made you sprint to help that person who was getting robbed?”

Seeing that she’s still being recorded, Mindy tries to give a memorable answer. “Because it was the right thing to do. The lives of people are important and invaluable to ignore especially when they need help.”

A particularly dressed man steps up to Mindy through the crowds of representatives with a smile. He wears flashy clothes like a celebrity and tells her, “You have the looks and voice to become famous. All you have to do is accept my offer and you will become a star!”

The rest of the representatives quickly try to get Mindy’s attention, but her eyes are set on this man. Her eyes sparkle as her smile grows until her white teeth show.

The look on her face shows the man that his words did their job. He holds out his hand with a welcoming smile and she instantly shakes it. The man’s smile grows as he takes Mindy by the hand and leads her away to his limousine.

Mindy asks as the car drives away from the school, “Where are we going?”

“I’m going to make you famous. Isn’t that what you want?”

“Don’t I have to get my parents’ and teacher’s permission?”

“I’m an official sponsor for my organization. Your parents and school allow this. Sure, it was in the fine print, but they were still notified about this.”

“I heard about it, but I didn’t think it would happen. Can I call my parents to tell them where I’m going?”

“Sure, but it’ll have to wait till after your transformation. You want to make your parents see you as the star you are, don’t you?”

“You’re going to make me look like a star?”

“Why wouldn’t I? It’s part of the job.”

“What do I need to pay? I’ve been saving up money for something like this.”

“Haha, aren’t you a good girl. You don’t have to pay for it. It’s on the company and don’t worry, you’re worth the price.”

“Thank you so much, mister…”

“Just call me Adrian, beautiful. The good life starts now for you.”

Mindy gets giddy as her dream starts coming true. She is driven to an expensive hairdresser in the city. At the hairdresser, Adrian gives Mindy several hair and makeup options that would fit a star and she makes her choice. As she takes her seat and looks into the mirror, Mindy sees the suffocating mask on her face. She is startled for a second but then shakes it off.

“Excited, Mindy?”

“Very.”

“Good. Now, close your eyes, and when you open them up, you’ll be a completely different person.”

Mindy smiles as she closes her eyes. She feels a brush go over her face. Suddenly, she feels like she can’t breathe in or out as if her face was just erased. Not wanting to ruin the makeover, she stays calm and thinks positively. She can then feel someone carve new eyes into where her old ones used to be with what feels like a pencil. Then a nose, then a mouth. Her hair is pulled off then a new set of hair stabs its way into her skull.

“Ok, now open your eyes.”

When Mindy opens her eyes, she sees a crazy new version of the suffocating mask for a split second before she sees her new face in the reflection. She couldn’t see it for long, so she doesn’t bother remembering the details and focuses on her new face. The edges of her hair are slightly spiked up. Her hair is also now colored pink. She has dark pink eyeshadow and darker eyeliner. Her lips are colored with dark pink lipstick and her cheeks have some light red blush on them.

“Well? What do you think?” Adrian asks.

“This is amazing! This is exactly how I imagined myself looking like a star.”

“I’m glad you enjoy it. Now you look even more beautiful than before.”

“Thank you so much! I can’t wait to show my parents!”

“We still have to get your new clothes before you do that.”

“Oh, of course.”

Adrian takes Mindy to an expensive clothing store in the city. At the store, Adrian presets Mindy several options. She doesn’t approve of many of them, so she just chooses the one that looks the best to her. Mindy chooses to wear a short red jacket with a white tank top, black miniskirt, with thigh highs, and red heels.

“Isn’t this a bit too showy?” Mindy asks while trying to stretch out the outfit, “I mean my stomach is showing and this shirt is a bit too short.”

“I think it’s absolutely perfect! But you are missing…this!”

Adrian gives Mindy a black choker that she puts around her neck. The outfit seems a bit more complete to her now, but she can’t help but feel a bit weird and uncomfortable.

“Are you sure that a fourteen-year-old like me is allowed to wear an outfit like this?”

“I don’t see why not. Dozens of stars wear outfits like yours at your age. Besides, I thought you liked showing off your legs, which is a great choice by the way. It doesn’t hurt to show a bit more to show people how confident you are, does it?”

“No, not at all!”

“Now you can show your parents what you look like. I’m sure they’ll love it.”

“They will? I hope so.”

Mindy takes a picture of herself and sends it to her parents. Seconds later, her parents respond and say they don’t like the look too much, but they’re willing to accept it because she’s a star now.

“What did they say?”

“They don’t like it too much, but they’re willing to live with it.”

“Oh, well they don’t know true beauty when they see it. Now we’re going to get out of this city and bring you to your new home.”

“Um, ok. Where are we going?”

“Los Angeles, California, where the brightest and best stars live.”

“That’s really far.”

“What? Did you think we would make you stay in this crazy city? You have to be among stars to shine even brighter.”

“I guess.”

“You’re not thinking about backing out of your dream, are you?”

“No, not at all! Let’s go! I’m ready to show the world what I’m capable of!”

“That’s the spirit!”

Adrian takes Mindy on his private plane out of Hillside City. Mindy looks out the window as she leaves her hometown and enters into her new life.

Choices Reap Consequences and Fame Chapter 1 - Suffocating Fame

Chapter 1 – Suffocating Fame

People want to have their voices heard. Some people want to be noticed for their voices and be famous for it. A young girl named Mindy is one of those people. She wants to be famous so that she can bring attention to ideas and causes she thinks needs attention. She’ll use her skills and talents to achieve this, but like most people, it’s unlikely that she’ll get it.

Mindy is just another girl in Hillside City with no connections to people in entertainment. Despite this, she still wants to become famous and does everything in her power to do this. She does well in school, is friends with most people in it, takes part in dozens of extracurricular activities, and such. To get people to look at her more, she makes her eyebrows prettier, uses eyeliner, and shows off her legs when she can since that’s another thing people notice about her. Her commitment to becoming famous has affected her to the point where her dreams are starting to become nightmares. She tells herself that it’s just her stress affecting her and nothing more.

Tonight is another night that Mindy dreams of fame. She puts a sort of beauty mask on her face against her will. This mask has green eyes like her but it’s completely white and has pink lipstick. The mask attaches itself to her with three straps that are tightly wrapped around her head with a fourth strap that suffocates her neck. A black cloth in the mask covers the rest of her head so that she can’t really take it off or breathe in any air. She’s on a timer as she lives a life of fame. Before she’s tried to take it off and has succeeded, but once she does, she no longer is famous and becomes forgotten, so she tries to get around this every time. One time she cut holes in it, but this only made people mock her.

This time, Mindy tries to keep it on until she can find a different mask. She enjoys talking in front of large crowds about what she thinks is important.

“The poor of the world should be given homes to live in and jobs to work,” she says to a crowd, “These people do nothing but beg and die in our streets. We should treat them as fellow humans who deserve our love and respect.”

The crowd cheers and takes pictures of her as she continuously loses air. To draw out this dream, she calmly breathes in her mask though she hates that she can’t make this go on forever. Mindy attends a fashion show next. She wears dark pink heels and a pink dress that shows off her legs that has part of her shoulder showing. This outfit is somewhat painful to wear because of how tight it is, but she bears it because people like it. Mindy wins the competition hands down and gives another short speech.

“My parents and teachers are the ones who taught me to live my life the right way. That is why I am donating all the money I’ve won today to animal rescue groups and cancer research. Money is a tool to be used and not kept. That is why I vowed to always stay in the middle class in order to stay humble.”

Again, she gains the approval of the crowds as they cheer their praises and love of her. The air in Mindy’s mask begins to grow thin so she quickly heads backstage and tries to get it off. The mask’s straps tighten themselves to stay on as Mindy struggles to take it off. She manages to, but when she looks into it, she sees dozens of eyes within the mask, which makes her drop it. Despite her disgust with the mask, something compels Mindy to take it with her. The people around her now stare with either disgust or disinterest at her. Security sees her as an intruder and kicks her out of the building and throws her into a muddy puddle.

The city Mindy is in now is unfamiliar. She doesn’t have a way to get back home or contact her parents, so she walks the streets cold and alone. While wandering, she comes across pictures of her in the trash and people who talk about her as fake. There are some that try to pick up for her, but they are made fun of by people who start to rant about how they were let down by Mindy who they thought would give them hope. Shamed by their words, Mindy walks by them as she gets more upset as time slowly passes by. Eventually, she comes across her parents in the streets. They’re dying and unable to move from their place. Mindy tries everything in her power to get her parents help, but no one listens, and no one cares. Tears form in her eyes as she sees that they’re clutching a photo of her as if they were the only ones who still supported Mind. Without any other options, she puts back her mask on. Now people respect her and come to her aid without a word coming from her. People arrive to clothe and feed her parents and take them to a hospital. Her old fans apologize for their weak faith in Mindy and clean her and give her a new dress.

After all is said and done, Mindy is brought back to her house and left alone. Now that no one else can bother her and her parents are safe, Mindy tries to take off the mask again. She’s breathing in it as if she never took it off, which means she is on the edge of suffocating to death. The mask’s straps dig deeper and deeper into her neck and head. It seems to have already crushed both as Mindy feels a cracking sound and can no longer breathe. In a complete act of desperation, she takes a knife and cuts the mask off not too worried about the harm the blade might do to her face. She does end up cutting off the mask, which she throws at her couch. Once she’s properly breathing again, she checks social media to see if there are any adverse effects. People online still seem to love her and are positively talking about her actions today. Mindy breathes a sigh of relief and goes to the nearest mirror to see the damage done to her face, however, she gets more than a surprise. Her face is completely missing and all that’s left of her face is a black hole where it once was.

Confused about how she can still see and breathe, Mindy goes to find her mask and sees that her face is inside of it. The mask grows a body which is wearing the same dress that Mindy is. It looks at her before walking outside to a crowd of fans who carry her off. Mindy tries to get through the crowd, but they block her, making her unable to get her face back. With nothing she can do, she heads back inside and thinks of a plan before a curious idea enters into her head. Mindy puts her entire arm into the black hole of her face until she can feel something. She pulls at that something until her face comes out of it. In complete amazement, she stares in the mirror for a while.

“Mindy! How much longer are you going to take to do your makeup?” Mindy can hear her mother saying, “You fix your looks more than a fashion model. Come on and eat breakfast already. A young beautiful woman like you needs to eat. We made your favorite!”

Mindy snaps out of looking at herself and sees that she’s been looking into her own mirror in her room for a while now. She’s all dressed and ready for school, but it appears she wasn’t dreaming and was daydreaming instead.

“That was weird. That never happened before,” she says aloud to herself.

“Mindy!”

Mindy puts the strange occurrence aside, for now, to focus on today.

“Coming mom!”

Choices Reap Consequences - Full story now out to download for free

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/896881

Be wary of your decisions.
People would love it if the solution to all their problems fell into their laps. Ten million dollars fly into the hands of a young boy named Jorge, but what happens later might make him regret it. He loses the people who love him, and his mind constantly forces him to accept his guilt with monsters and psychological challenges that will test him to his breaking point.
Are you as good of a person as you think you are?

Choices Reap Consequences Chapter 5 - Confession then Absolution

Chapter 5 – Confession then Absolution

Now more directionless than ever, Jorge walks the streets of Hillside City waiting for something to happen. There is something urging him to go forward in a certain direction. A light that he can barely see ahead of him that’s bright enough for only the soul to notice. The screams of the executioner announce its approach and Jorge is not as afraid to face it this time. It lands in front of him and raises its ax with all four of its hands in a praying position. With nothing left to his life, Jorge closes his eyes and allows the executioner to strike him. Once it does, another body of Jorge’s falls to the ground behind him as the ax phases through him. The old Jorge burns into ashes as the new one lives on.

The Divine Executioner now looks more like an actual angel with its wings back and a more human look to it. It bows before Jorge and he bows in return.

The mouth on Jorge’s head says, “You know, people see angels as devils when they try to tear away their possessions that are causing their souls to decay. They're trying to free your soul from the vices that lead you to ruin. Thankfully, you were able to be freed.”

“What’s going to happen now? Why do I still see you and the executioner?”

“You’re going to need our help with something that’s coming up.”

“What? When? Or is that a dumb question?”

“Actually, you’re going to need our help right now. Look behind you.”

A group of people is running towards Jorge. They appear to be the same people who were trying to take the ten million dollars off of him. They’re smug since he doesn’t move from where he is. Right now, they can’t see the executioner, but they do once it strikes the ground. They all look up to it and scream in terror. They call the angel a devil, a demon, and a monster as they try to uselessly fight against it. The executioner hangs several people and mercilessly hits them with its ax. They can’t take the sight of their previous body nor can they stand losing the vices that give them so much joy. The ruckus gets the attention of the cops that were looking for these criminals.

A group of officers arrive to find a bunch of people gone mad scraping the ground while Jorge stands above them and is trying to walk around them. The police arrest the many criminals and bring in Jorge who says that his parents were killed, and he needed a place to go. The families of his friends actually called the police after the shooting and are coming to the police station to see Jorge. While he is waiting, Jorge admits to the police that he was one of the people who caught the million dollars that were flying in the air. The chief of police, Harley, talks to him personally in her office.

She asks, “Do you still have the money with you?”

“N-no, I let go of it because having it got my family and friends killed.”

“I don’t know why you had to confess then. Do you still feel guilty?”

“I do.”

“Well, you shouldn’t. You did something that not many people would do.”

“Are you going to arrest me?”

“I don’t see a reason too. That money you had was blood money anyhow held by a person we didn’t exactly like so I’ll give you a pass.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you so much.”

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

“I uh. I don’t really know yet.”

“That’s fine. Not many kids do at your age. Maybe you should be a police officer when you grow up. We could use officers who can make hard decisions like you do.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Just keep it in mind. We have a lot of women in the force who like men like you. How did you get in that situation with all those criminals at your feet?”

“It’s complicated to explain.”

“Then make it as simple as possible.”

“It involves the Divine Executioner that hit them with an ax that killed a part of them and there was a mouth on the back of my head that liked to talk a lot and-”

“Okay, stop. Make it less complicated.”

“I don’t know how to.”

“It’s fine. I understand what you went through.”

The families of Jorge’s friends knock on Harley’s door.

“Come in.”

The families tell Jorge how thankful they are that he’s alive, but he shakes their hearts when he admits that he was the reason why their children died. They don’t know what to say so they awkwardly tell him again that they’re thankful he’s alive before leaving the room and the police station. The only family that Jorge thought who might’ve accepted him has just left him alone.

Harley puts her hand on Jorge’s shoulder, and says, “I’m sorry Jorge.”

“It’s okay. I forgive them.”

A man enters the room without knocking.

Harley turns around. “Leo, so you decided to show up.”

“That’s right, Harley. I had to see this remarkable young man.”

Leo holds out his hand with a smile and says, “Nice to meet you, Jorge. Do you know who I am?”

Jorge hastily shakes Leo’s hand and says, “Yes, Mr. Mayor.”

“Just call me Leo.”

“Okay, Leo.”

“Harley told me what you did, and it seems like you don’t have anywhere to go.”

“The families of his friends just left.”

“They did? Idiots. Those people don’t see the potential in you. Why don’t you come with me and live with me at my place? I could help you become a great man.”

Jorge thinks about it then says, “I’ll do that, but you have to promise me that you won’t give me money that I didn’t earn. I want to earn everything I get no matter how small it is.”

“I promise. You’ve actually started becoming a great man with that mindset. You’ll accomplish great things if you keep thinking this way and growing in it.”

“I will?”

“Yes, you’ll see.”

The End

Choices Reap Consequences Chapter 4 - Wanted by Some, Loved by None

Chapter 4 – Wanted by Some, Loved by None

Despite everything that’s happened to him, Jorge remains somewhat unshaken by his decision. All remains quiet for a while as he walks the streets. There aren’t many people out at this hour besides the police, and criminals that live in the shadows. Jorge’s mind makes him feel that people are staring at him in the dark. This makes him walk uneasy and with caution until he sees a woman on the corner. She’s scantily dressed, and Jorge is old enough to know what she is.

“Maybe I can get her out of this life if I offer her the money,” Jorge thinks to himself.

“Maybe or maybe you could make it worse.”

“Tch.”

Ignoring the mouth on his head’s advice, he walks up to the woman.

She curiously looks at him and asks, “Is there something you need, kid?”

“Yeah, I can get you out of this job if you take me in.”

Jorge lifts the millions of dollars in his pockets just enough so that she can see it. Her eyes widen, and she smiles a bit.

“Well, aren’t you the sweetest thing in the world. I might even just marry you right now if you asked me.”

“Uh…you’re welcome.”

“Aww. So shy.”

The woman kisses Jorge’s lips, which makes his face turn red. He rubs off the kiss as the woman giggles.

“What’s your name, kid? My name is Candice.”

“Jorge.”

“That’s a nice name. Let’s go to my or should I say our home.”

“Okay.”

Candice takes Jorge by his hand and he passively allows it. They walk a short distance and enter an unclean looking apartment. Jorge can smell the potent smell of Hillside City depravity in the air around him. Despite holding hands with a stranger, he’d rather have someone near him than no one. Candice unlocks her door and leads Jorge into her apartment room. It’s a mess like the rest of the apartment building, but at least he won’t have to live in it for too long. A young girl walks out of her room in her PJs that look more like would fit in her mom’s closet. She appears to be a little younger than Jorge.

“Natty honey, we have a new man in the family,” Candice says while hugging Jorge from behind.

Natty looks at Jorge funny as he blushes again and tries to keep eye contact. “H-hi Natty. I’m Jorge.”

“This boy, who would be perfect as your husband just saying, has the money we need to live easy lives.”

“Really?” Natty asks with a glimmer of hope sparkly in her eye.

“That’s right. Make him feel welcome while I run a few errands.”

Candice hits Jorge in the butt and winks at him before leaving. Natty leads Jorge to her room then closes the door behind him.

“Nice, Jorge. I’m jealous,” the mouth on the back of his head says.

“So uh, Natty. You got a nice mom.”

“Not really. How much money do you have on you?”

“Uh. Ten million and twenty dollars.”

“Oh wow! No wonder she wants you here. Hey, how did you get all that money? You weren’t at the robbery today, were you?”

“I was actually. I caught all this money.”

“Dang it.”

“What is it?”

Natty opens the door and eavesdrops on her mother who is talking on the phone outside the room. She puts her finger on her mouth to tell Jorge to be quiet. Once her mother is done talking, Natty hurries Jorge back to her room.

“What’s happening?”

“My mom knows people who ordered those robbers to steal that money you have. They might kill you and take the money you have for themselves.”

“How do you know?”

“Because that’s what we usually do with whoever we bring in.”

Jorge gulps. Only he can hear the mouth on his head laugh. “You really hit the jackpot now didn’t ya Jorge?”

“What should I do?”

“We have to see. I’m not sure what mom is going to do.”

The kids can hear a man enter the room.

“Oh no. He’s here.”

“Who is?”

“It doesn’t matter, just hide!”

Natty moves Jorge behind her closet which leads to a hidden escape staircase.

“Wait here for a second.”

Natty moves the closet over the escape route. It sounds like from Jorge’s side that’s she’s opening a window to make it look like he escaped through it. The two adults sound like they enter the room and ask Natty about what happened to Jorge. She tells him her answer and it appears that the man is upset. Candice sounds worried as well, but then it sounds like someone gets pushed up against a wall. Jorge can then hear what sounds like someone biting into bone. Screaming is heard for a while which includes the screams of Natty who sounds like she’s telling Jorge to run, though it sounds like she’s screaming outside the window. Another bone biting sound is heard along with screaming.

More afraid than ever, Jorge runs down the escape stairs while trying to make as less noise as possible. He escapes out a small door in an alleyway. He starts to run but is then stopped by the shadow of a man in the distance. Jorge hides in the shadows as he observes the man. The man is standing in the streets and appears to be wearing a mask of some sorts. The underneath of his mask appears to be oozing blood. He looks around and hastily walks as it appears that he’s the one who’s looking for Jorge. There’s an urban legend about a man who’s known to eat the necks of people in Hillside City. He would offer you your heart's desire and after you enjoy it, he would eat your neck as payment.

“Come on, Jorge. You have to move. You can’t be frozen in fear. It’s too warm for that,” the mouth on his head says as it urges him forward.

Jorge cautiously walks forward. He peaks out of the alleyway and starts walking when it looks like no one is around.

Someone behind Jorge, says from the shadows, “There he is! Get him!”

Multiple shadow people come out from the darkness and begin to chase Jorge. He runs away and keeps running until he reaches another alleyway, in which he can lose them in and since they’ve always been his escape. A woman who looks similar to Candice catches him.

She looks at him with a smile and says, “Calm down, boy. I’ll keep you safe.”

The woman kisses Jorge as she uses one arm to hold him and the other to take the money in his pockets. He breaks away from her and knees her in her crotch in response. Jorge tries to run away but is caught by another older woman who does the same, but she bites his neck right after. Another woman comes by and bites into the other side of Jorge’s neck and more come to feel his pockets for his money.

“Just take it and leave me alone!” Jorge screams.

A familiar scream is heard as the Divine Executioner comes down from the sky and lands on the ground. The women scatter as the executioner defends Jorge. They try to get around the angel, but they are flattened by its large ax. Jorge, who is still scared out of his mind, runs away further into the alleyway. The executioner chases him as it defends him while trying to catch him. There’s a mouth at the end of this alley. Jorge runs through it and ends up near the edge of Hillside City.

Now that he’s away from the action, he sits at a nearby park bench in front of the famous hills of the city.

“You tried helping people and they ended up getting killed, Jorge. What are you going to do now?”

Jorge reaches into his pocket and he can feel the blood on the money he has. He pulls it out and looks at it. The money is now biting his skin and making him bleed, so he takes all of it out and releases it out into the air.

“Atta boy.”

“What do I do now?”

“The choice is up to you, but at least you're better off now than before.”

“I hope so.”
Jorge gets up then resumes walking to whatever destination and fate await him.

Choices Reap Consequences Chapter 3 - Not your Typical Angel

Chapter 3 – Not your Typical Angel

As Jorge makes it way to whatever destination he’s thinking of, he comes across a church. He sees that the lights are still open inside. The thought comes to him that he should go inside and confess his sins or seek help from a priest, but he’s not sure if his sins are forgivable so he walks away. A noise draws his eyes to the cross on top of the cathedral. He sees a monster that’s almost indescribable. It appears to be a reaper with a single eye and a long mouth that can split. The monster has four arms in the center of its body and one long arm with an ax and another with a noose. All of its body is cloaked in a black robe and it has two wings that are half clipped with feathers falling off it.

“What is that thing?!” Jorge asks as he slowly backs away.

The monster focuses its eye on Jorge as two hands pray, two other hands are lifted into the air and the ax and noose are lifted into the air.

“You’ve heard of your guardian angel before. Now, behold the Divine Executioner as he cleanses the wicked.”

The executioner screams out as everything, but the church is affected by its screams. It flies down to attack Jorge as he runs away. Jorge moves out of the way of the fast strikes delivered by the heavy ax. He runs into an alleyway thinking that the monster can’t fit into it. The executioner flies over him as it chases him. Trash and other objects in the alleyway start forming themselves into obstacles like the ones Jorge and his friends made. The obstacles form as Jorge approaches him which forces him to quickly react to them. Adding to the danger, the executioner lowers its noose every now and then to try to catch Jorge in it. Fortunately, he manages to get through them, but he gets a few scratches from the sharp objects in the alley.

Unnerving laughter comes from the executioner as it flies down and manages to fit in the alley. The executioner only appears large because of the cloak over its skinny body. It raises its ax in preparation to attack.

“Watch it, kid. The alleyway splits off ahead. One way leads to a mouth that will lead you far away from the execution, but is the least dangerous, while the other is more dangerous, but doesn’t get you too far away from it.”

Seeing as the approaching executioner forces Jorge to choose the least difficult route. He goes through an obstacle course that only has one way to get around it.

“I thought you said this was the least difficult!”

“But I didn’t say that it wasn’t difficult.”

Jorge manages to get through the obstacle course and run through the mouth, but the executioner’s ax manages to slice through Jorge’s bag as if it wasn’t there and cut Jorge’s back. He reels in pain as he tries to keep moving. The mouth has teleported him back to where he left his friends. He goes back to where he left them and sees blood on the ground. It appears that a crime scene was set up here and the bodies have recently been taken away by the authorities.

“Why am here? Haven’t I seen this enough already?”

“Apparently not. I shouldn’t bother you though, right? You’re a big boy now who’s made this important decision not only once but twice.”

Not wanting to deal with this again, Jorge turns away and starts walking again. Suddenly, he hears the laughter and flapping wings of the executioner in the distance. Jorge turns around to see it approaching at a fast rate.

“I thought you said I would be far away from this thing!”

“But I never said you would get away.”

Jorge can’t run so he tries to hide. There’s an abandoned house not too far from the school that his friends used to explore. He finds his way into the house through the basement window and hides in the darkest corner of the basement.

“What’s the plan, Jorge?”

“I’m going to hide here for now.”

“Do you really think that’s going to help? It doesn’t track you by sight you know. You staying here will only give you a few moments of safety.”

As Jorge begins to think about what to do, he hears the executioner land outside. The sound of its robe can be heard gliding across the grass then across the floor upstairs. It phases through doors and through walls and floors to find Jorge.

“It knows where you are. It’s just playing with you to see if you’ll come out to face it.”

“That’s what I’ll do.”

“That’s the spirit, boy.”

Jorge recalls an old rifle in the bedroom that he and his friends found. They fired it once not too long ago and found out that it still works. Thankfully, no one got hurt that day, but right now, Jorge needs it to. Jorge exits the basement through the window then quietly walks up the stairs, which attracts the attention of the executioner. It chases Jorge as he runs into the bedroom with the rifle. He dodges its ax swings as he tries to find it. When he does, he shoots its eye, which makes it scream in pain. The recoil makes Jorge drop the gun. He scrambles to pick it up until the executioner uppercuts him with its ax, which makes Jorge fly out the window and into a giant gaping mouth outside. It transports him back to where he was outside the church. He’s still staring at the cross on top of the holy building.

A priest notices Jorge blankly staring outside, walks outside, and asks, “Are you okay, my son?”

Jorge then focuses on the priest whose entire face is now a mouth who constantly says, “Confess, confess, confess.”

People start gathering around Jorge say things like, “Confess.”

“Give it up.”

“Selfish child.”

“Uncaring friend.”

“Dishonest boy.”

“Confess.”

Their voices spin Jorge’s head around and around until his left arm falls off then the other. After, his head falls off, and the crowds gather around him and pick up his head and put his head and arms back on his body. They are silent as this happens.

Once Jorge is whole again, his friends and family whisper into his ear, “Confess.”

Again, Jorge is staring blankly at the cross on top of the church.

A priest notices Jorge blankly staring outside, walks outside, and asks, “Are you okay, my son?”

He snaps out of it this time and says, “Y-yes, father.”

“Okay, but you don’t seem to be. Isn’t it a bit late for you to be out by yourself? Do you want me to call your parents to pick you up?”

“Oh, no. I’m fine. I was just heading home.”

“Alright. Good night and bless you.”

Jorge nods his head and walks away from the church.

“Was that really the smart decision to make, Jorge?” the mouth on his head asks.

“No, probably not, but there’s always another way.”

“But you might not get to it. The priest is walking back into the church. It might be embarrassing, but at least your problem will be resolved.”

“…”

“Or is that not the way you want it to be resolved?”

“I…uh.”

“Oh, keep walking if you want, but know that it will get worse if you do.”

Jorge can’t help but keep walking in his directionless quest. It’s too easy for him to keep walking with his aching legs but it’s hard for him to stop and turn around.

“So be it then according to your will.”

Choices Reap Consequences Chapter 2 - Living with Everything and Nothing

Chapter 2 – Living with Everything and Nothing

“What am I going to do now? I have all of this money but what am I going to spend it on? Can I even deposit the money into a bank account? I don’t have one and I could one, but the bankers would be suspicious of me. The news of people taking the stolen money is still fresh news so they might report me to the police if I give them even a one-million-dollar bill. I could go to Hillfall Town or some other place where the news hasn’t reached yet. But still, a kid like me going into a bank will tons of money would be weird. I could go to jail for life for having this money on me!”

“I guess all that money in your pocket isn’t as valuable as you think, don’t you think? Wouldn’t it be easier to just throw it all away?”

Jorge thinks about it for a second then decides against it.

“All I have to do is find a way to use this money and then I’ll be set for life. I could make it up to my parents and friends by using it for good!”

“But it can’t bring them back to life.”

“I won’t need to, to make them proud of me.”

“Is that what you really think?”

Jorge doesn’t answer the mouth and gets up. The main idea in his head right now is to get to Hillfall Town to deposit his money into a bank account. He’s just old enough to have a bank account but he still needs a guardian that will have to share a joint account with him. Jorge is sure that he can get someone to share his money with him especially if he finds a nice family who will accept him. Not too long ago, a popular author lost his wife and has now lost his daughter. Jorge thinks to himself that he can bring this money to him and be adopted into this author’s family relatively easily, but that’s only one of the thoughts in his head so far.

“Maybe there’s even a poor family in the city that could use the money I have. Yeah, this’ll definitely help them out.”

“You’re such a hero, aren’t you?”

Jorge chuckles while ignoring the mouth’s sarcastic remark. There are much more important things to think about to him. So many more important things to look forward to. He’s on the edge of living an easy life and now it only takes the permission of one adult to get it. With all of this pressure on him, Jorge can feel the stares of everyone, everything, and the nothing around him. Eyes feel like they’re peering at him from all angles as if they’re waiting for him to let go of the money in his pocket. A single slip of the hand could cause them to lunge out from the shadows and take Jorge’s easy pass, so he’s holding tight to it as if his existence depended on it.

“Aren’t you forgetting something, Jorge?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Your parents Jorge and your friends. What about them? You just cried about them minutes ago and now you’re completely fine.”

“I’m still sad about them.”

“It doesn’t look like it. You didn’t even think about visiting their houses to pay your respects. You have ten million dollars on you. I’m sure you can give them at least one of those to them as a way of saying sorry for getting them killed. Or wait, is that why you don’t want to see them?”

“That’s not it.”

“Why aren’t you doing anything about it then?”

“There’s nothing I can do that’s going to make it up to them! This money isn’t going to help them feel better!”

“It’s helping you, isn’t it? Maybe it isn’t?”

“Shut up. I’ll just wait for a while to talk to them.”

“Are you sure? I’m sure they’re worried about you too. Are you really going to let your guilt get to you like this?”

“I’m done talking to you.”

“I’m sure you are.”

He hasn’t noticed, but Jorge has walked into a graveyard.

“How did we get here?”

“You weren’t paying attention to where we were going. You don’t even know where you’re going.”

The wind seems to whisper to Jorge. It’s a quiet whisper that whispers Jorge’s guilts to him. It unnerves him to the point where he starts scratching the inside of his ears.

“You heard what they said. What are you going to do about it?”

The unnerving feeling in his ears spreads to the rest of his body until mouths start growing in his ears, on his body, and in it. They keep whispering the words of the wind. Jorge tries to pull off the mouths off his skin but can’t manage to. He rolls around on the ground desperately trying to quiet the whispers until he wakes up inside his room. For some reason, he’s back inside his house.

Jorge looks around and it appears that everything he remembers was just a dream. He no longer has ten million dollars in his pockets. He doesn’t even have the twenty his mom gave him. It’s like today never happened. Jorge smiles as he feels relieved. Everything was a dream and how could it not be with how crazy things were. To make sure he’s truly awake, he quietly walks into his parent’s room to find them sleeping peacefully. He breathes another sigh of relief, but then his eyes catch something strange in the dark. Jorge sees blood dripping from the bed. Panicking, he goes to wake up his parents.

He shakes their shoulder’s while saying, “Mom? Dad?”

They don’t respond and don’t even seem to be breathing anymore.

“Mom?! Dad?!”

Again, they don’t respond. Jorge rips the sheets off his parents to find that only their heads are on the bed that is now crimson red.

“No…”

In denial at what he’s seeing, Jorge runs out of the room and wakes up in his classroom. The bell rings for lunchtime and all of the students get up to get their lunches. Jorge no longer knows what to think and intuitively leaves the school to get lunch at a place that his parents used to go. Along the way he sees money flying through the air, he catches as much money as he can until he has ten million dollars in his hand. He then thinks to himself about what he should do. After a bit of thinking and hearing the gunfire in the distance, he walks away with the money and doesn’t go to get more, however, a thief that’s chasing the flying money sees him and chases him. The same things happen up to the point where Jorge and his friends are running away in the alleyway.

When he is again presented with the choice to save his friends or to run the other way, he again runs the other way. Instead of running into a continuous alley, Jorge runs into a dead end with an open mouth at the end that speaks of Jorge’s guilts.

“You’re going to have to run into it kid if you want to survive.”

Jorge is hesitant, but he runs through the mouth and ends up back where he was in Hillside City and walking towards to some kind of destination.

“What was that? I don’t understand anything that’s happening to me! Why?”

“You saw why. You barely changed your decisions when you went through them again in your head. You might feel guilty for what you did, but you sure aren’t going to change the reason why you got that guilt. That’s for sure.”

“No! That’s not it, I do feel guilty! I am sorry for what I did!”

Wanting to prove himself, Jorge takes five million dollars out of his pocket and throws it into the air, but once the money files out, it appears back in his pockets. He keeps trying to get rid of the money to no avail as it keeps appearing in his pockets.

“Jorge, Jorge! You feel guilty, but you don’t want to get rid of the money. It’d be one thing if you felt like you didn’t want to get rid of it but wanted to, that’s understandable, however, you are the opposite. You feel like you want to get rid of it, but alas, you don’t want to. You want to be rid of the guilt not the reason for it.”

Jorge breathes as if he were running on a treadmill and puts his hands on his knees as he thinks about what he should do. He then goes back to his original plan.

“I want to have a reason to get rid of this.”

“It’s more like you want a good reason that sounds good to you, but sure. Let’s go find a reason.”

He walks off while still gripping the cash in his pockets that also appear to have their thorns in his hand.