Due cause is what I search for… That is if i could only understand what it meant. I guessed as i looked at a post sign, that due cause would mean i would wait, and that’s wait unaffectedly as more of my life’s bullshit piled up. Or wait while more bullshit happened to me. Did i have it in me to stop and fight? I doubted it, my fight or flight mechanic seemed to wane as any would be attackers cursed my life force. I looked over my shoulder for those same would be attackers. “Sigh” I think I reflexively let the “sigh” out loud in conflict with any sane emotions that may be building up in my surrounding area. It wasn’t like I was tired nor was I entirely bored with the idea that somebody might “off” me. So trying to reason why i made the sound that in some cases seemed almost romantic. I came to the conclusion that maybe it was me taking my last breath before hand. Reconsidering maybe it was just a regular human emotion. Trying to settle myself I felt that just a, “sigh” being only a “sigh” was enough.
I began focusing on my upcoming schedule. With my coming days in my mind, I wondered at how many people were in on it? Would I be able to guess at the many faces that I see through my days, which ones wanted me dead? Feeling a stab or blunt object whop me over the head made me wince. A stabbing would be to sloppy I think and seemed to random, but maybe that was how they wanted it to seem. I imagined how it would read to the police. With them only stating that “a thirtyish man was found slain today”. With no real details given to spice up the coverage, i decided to not add any flavor to the story by doing anything to make myself seem like i deserved it. I mean I didn’t feel like I deserved to die. I went into my pockets to look at my cell phone. Looking over my contacts and scrolling through my apps didn’t seem like I was worth being murdered. But here i am a few days after getting a death threat with a photograph of a previous victim. The color had long since left the corpse and I remember the shock while i looked up and down my apartments corridors reading the death threat that also served as a warning.
I did not got to the police about it and in this world, Murder was completely legal. I mean to a degree. I couldn’t off chance remember all the legalities in deciding to take a life but in lamens terms the easy things to remember could read in a list like this; 1. It is legal to murder/kill, 2. It is legal to plot murder, 3. It is legal to prepare to murder, 4. It is illegal to be caught, 5. You can’t directly talk about murder, and finally 6. You can’t threaten all the time *( but there are certain issues that I can’t understand). So with this letter and picture I was sent. I am pretty sure that I am next on whosever these peoples hit list was. I was wondering if it was legal to tell, heading towards the coffee shop I was pretty confident that “telling” fell some where in the realm of numbers 7-10 and maybe even might be an amendment. I could only imagine Abraham Lincoln or one of our more recent legislators licking the blade after pulling it out of some poor saps back. I would get an expresso and take a few more minutes out side before heading back to my apartment.
I am going to give some of my buddies a call. Maybe one of them would feel the excitement and give in to the plot and decide to spring themselves into a murder spree. Giving me time to escape and save myself all the while finding a love interest who then gives into my loving embrace. I called a couple of my female compadres to make it easier for this to happen. I had a pocketknife that i kept on me. This world didn’t feel as safe as I thought it would be carrying one. I thought about how long things had been this way. Thinking about previous news segments that spoke about murders. Even though it was legal it still seemed completely taboo for it to be openly discussed. Things seemed cramped at times and way too transparent , and at others completely dark and isolated. I think that in some ways it was people’s way of either protecting themselves or a way to hide that they wanted to stab and kill the guys sitting next to them.
I got a few answers and invited them over to my apartment for pizza and cards. I had come to the conclusion that I would not go quietly. Not only did I think it was unfair that somebody decided to try and take me down. I think that I should feel even more worried that I couldn’t date consistently but could find some murderous stalker who may have killed before. Thinking back on the photograph I could see that the corpse did not belong to anyone I knew. I didn’t think about just “Due Cause” anymore I began to think about “Due Process”. Knowing that in the end both may come into play with my life….
I am working on more stories for my upcoming books thanks reading.