Hello and welcome to a LATE day 16. This prompt could have gone in any direction, but I took it in this direction.
Today’s prompt: Begin a story with the phrase, “It only took five seconds to…”
Enjoy!
It only took five seconds for Mary to kill John.
She sliced his neck from ear to ear while he slept. She was sick and tired of John’s abuse and finally took matters into her own hands. The police, their families and friends never believed her. It is 6:15AM as she stands over his dead body, holding a bloody knife, and frozen with fear. After staring at him for a few seconds and realizing what she has done, she drops the knife and starts to weep.
“Look what you made me do!” she yells at John’s dead corpse.
The blood from his neck is running down his body and onto the sheets. While shaking and crying, she pulls out her phone and calls her friend Will.
Will picks up and says, “Hello?”
She shakingly replies, “Will…please, come over. I did something.”
Will pauses then says, “Mary…what did you do?”
Mary weeps, “Please, just come over”
Will agrees, and they both hang up. Mary gets up, stops crying, and starts to clean up around John’s body. She runs to the linen closet, gets a fresh sheet and lays it on the ground next to him. She then pushes John onto the sheet. His body hits the floor, and blood splatters onto her clothes. She then wraps him up and decides to change the sheets on the bed. To her surprise, the blood has not stained the mattress. She throws the sheets in the trash, goes back to the room, and picks up the knife.
As she is walking to the kitchen to throw away the evidence, there’s a knock at the door. She slowly walks to it, holding the knife, and looks through the peephole. It’s Will. She sighs in relief and opens the door. Will stands at the door and stares at a blood-splattered Mary in shock. Mary stands there, frozen. Will dashes inside and locks the door.
“What the hell, Mary?! What did you…?”
Mary’s whimper interrupts Will. She replies, “Nobody believed me, so I had to handle it myself.”
Will looks at her in confusion then looks towards the bedroom. He then looks at Mary, who looks to the floor. Will slowly walks to the bedroom and discovers John’s body wrapped in the sheet.
“Holy shit,” Will says to himself. He turns around, and Mary is standing at the bedroom door. “When did this happen?”
Mary pauses for a second. “This morning…” She pauses again and says, “All night…he came home drunk and beat me all night.” Mary drops the knife, falls to her knees and starts to cry.
Will walks over to her, bends down and places his hand on her shoulder. She winces in pain which causes him to look at her in confusion. She then lifts up her shirt and reveals several dark bruises on her body.
“He never hits me in the face. People would know,” she says.
Will shakes his head and replies, “This is my fault. This is everyone’s fault. I’m sorry, Mary.”
Mary stops crying, wipes tears, and nods. Will stands and pulls Mary up with him. “Well, we have to do something about…that,” Will says as he points to John.
Mary replies, “That’s why I called you…I don’t know what to do.”
Will nods and thinks for a minute. He then replies, “For starters, let’s get rid of the knife and then the body.”
Mary looks at him and asks, “How?”
Will then walks to the sliding door in the bedroom and looks out to the backyard. “You always said your backyard was private, right? The neighbors can’t see anything?” he asks. Mary nods.
“You get rid of the knife,” He instructed. “I’ll take care of John.”
She nods, then picks up the knife and walks to the kitchen.
Will then walks over to John’s body and says, “Ok. Time for this gym membership to pay off.”
He opens the door to the backyard, walks back over to John and grabs his feet. He begins to drag the body to the back door, leaving a streak of blood. He then lifts him over his shoulder. He slowly walks into the back yard and over to their garden. There are several colorful plants and flowers there. He drops John’s body on the ground and inspects himself. The right side of his body is covered in blood. He and Mary walk back to the room at the same time. Mary sees the streak of blood and panics.
“Relax, relax. Let’s just clean up then change,” Will says. After cleaning up, they both go to John’s body in the backyard.
“Where are your shovels?” Will asks Mary. Mary points to the shed. Will walks over and grabs two. He hands one to Mary and she gets the idea. They both begin digging the middle of the garden and after some time, they create a hole big enough for John’s body.
Will unwraps John from the sheet and grabs him under his shoulders. He signals Mary to grab the feet. They both lift him up and throw him into the hole. They stare at John’s corpse for a few seconds but Will breaks the silence. “Let’s cover him up.”
They fill the hole with dirt and pat it down. “Ok, this part is essential. Do you have any other plants and flowers?” Will asks. Mary nods and walks towards the shed. Will follows. She goes inside and finds a ton of plants and flowers. “Perfect,” Will says. He and Mary grab as many plants as they need and walk back to the garden. They begin to plant them over John’s burial spot. When they’re finished, they both stand and look at their work.
“It’s done,” Will says. Mary looks at him and smiles. Will looks back in confusion. They both walk back inside. Mary gives Will some of John’s clothes and he takes a shower then gets dressed. Mary then does the same. After, they both sit on the bed and begin to discuss their next step.
“Does John have any hats?” Will asks. Mary nods. She gets up and retrieves one of John’s hats.
Will puts it on and says, “John and I are built similarly, so here’s what we’ll do.” Will explains that he will pose as John, so the guard at the gate doesn’t get suspicious.
Mary replies, “What if he asks us something?”
“Tell him John was drunk, got alcohol poisoning, and I came over to help you take him to the hospital. Got it?” Mary nods.
They both get up and start to leave Mary’s house. Suddenly. Will notices a security camera at the front door.
“Damn! You weren’t going to tell me that was there this entire time?” Will panics.
Mary replies, “It doesn’t work, it’s just for show. He didn’t want anyone to know…” Mary stops talking and looks away. Will understands and nods. He opens the door, puts Mary in the lead then follows.
© Jormatic. All Rights Reserved.
Originally published at http://illthinker.wordpress.com on June 10, 2020.
