September 2023

Family Business

Short Story

The cold breeze felt nice on Eric's skin. It wasn't often he would be up at two in the morning, but this was a perfect time. His father, Hector, drove as Eric sat in the passenger seat. They were in the truck for his father's business. On the side of the attached trailer were big red letters that read Labin’nac exotic meats.

The freeway they drove on was clear. Eric hung his arm out the window and felt the chilled breeze. He noticed a car on the side of the road a few miles down the highway with its hazard lights on. They flashed through the darkness of the early morning. Eric looked to his father, who squinted and poked his head towards the direction of the broken down car.

The headlights crawled across the highway, and revealed a person standing by the car. They waved their hands in the air above their head.

"Looks like they aren't having such a great start to their day." Hector snarked.

Eric rolled up his window and his chest tightened.

"Are we stopping?"

"We sure are."

Hector turned the steering wheel and eased the truck along the side of the road behind the car. The person by the car was a man in a long beige pea coat. He wore black leather gloves. His arms relaxed down to his sides and let out a large sigh which left his mouth as a white cloud. The man smiled and walked over to the side of the truck.

The engine rumbled the rig until Hector turned the keys and put them into his pocket. The truck expelled a hiss of air and rested on the side of the road. The man stood a few feet from the truck with his arms clasped together in praise. Hector looked over to Eric.

"Why don't you hop out and join me. You really want to be part of the family business right?"

"Yes… but…"

Eric's body felt heavy and sluggish.

"Well c'mon then."

Hector cracked open his door. It squealed.

"Thank you so much for stopping." The man said.

Hector stepped out of the truck and onto the road. Eric wiped his face with his palms and took a deep breath. He opened his door and creeped outside. The air nipped at his face. He zipped up his jacket and walked around the front.

His father and the man walked up to the back driver side wheel. They all looked down at the tire. The rim touched the gravel, with the tire flattened underneath. A piece stuck out from under the rim.

"I think I hit a nail or something."

"Well do you have a spare in the back?"

"Yes but I don't have any tools. I was on a drive for work but I didn’t pack any tools."

"It just so happens I’m working right now. It's my son's birthday, he wants to join the family business, so we're out doing the morning pickups."

The man smiled and looked at Eric.

"Trust me work isn't everything. You're going to meet great people and the money will help in the long run, but don’t forget to make memories."

Hector cleared his throat.

"Alright let me grab my tools. Mind helping me… uh"

"Steven"

"Mind helping me Steven, manual jack is a heavy son of a bitch."

"Sure, it would be the least I could do with you helping me and all. I have been here for almost the whole night, I thought I would see the sunrise before someone stopped for me."

"It is our pleasure, and of course, it's a teachable moment for my boy."

Hector and Steven walked along the side of the trailer. Eric stood with the tire and watched them. His legs were heavy. His breath burst through the air. Hector opened a compartment along the side of the trailer.

Inside was a tire iron, manual jack, and a crowbar. He grabbed the jack and handed it to Steven. His shoulders slouched in and he let out a heavy gasp. He turned to his car and walked along the side of the trailer.

Hector grabbed the tire iron out of the compartment. He twirled it in his hands and walked along the trailer behind Steven. The gravel crunched under their shoes. Eric's stomach filled with an aching emptiness as he watched. Hector eased the tire iron above his head.

His jacket made a screech as the material rubbed against each other. He let out a low breath and swung down onto the base of Steven’s. The impact let out a sharp crack, and Steven dropped to the ground. The manual jack slipped from his hands and crashed against the gravel.

His lower legs smacked into the jack as he slumped over. Steven's body came to a rest, one leg propped on the jack, his arms tucked under his body, and his head facing out to the road. Eric's eyes grew wide as the emptiness grew.

"Did you see that?! Did you see what I did there?"

Hector stepped over Steven's unconscious body and placed his hand on Eric's shoulder.

"The trick is to catch them when they aren't looking, and make a firm impact right on the spot where the skull and spine meet."

He pointed the tire iron to the spot.

"Just one isn't enough to put them down though. It's only enough to stop them in their tracks so you can land the final blow."

Hector held the tire iron to Eric's chest.

"Here, you get to do the honors."

Eric raised his hands and grabbed onto the tire iron. His father stepped onto the road with a smile. Eric kept his eyes fixed on Steven's body. He gripped the tool in his right hand, but it trembled. He took a deep breath and looked up at his father.

"I don't know if I can do this."

"Of course you can. Trust me I wasn't sure my first time either but there is nothing to it."

Steven groaned and coughed. His hands slid against the gravel, and he raised himself up a few inches from the ground. He coughed and looked at Hector.

"You need to do it now! He's getting up!"

Steven tried to speak but all that came out was a low grumble. He followed Hector's eyeline and looked up at Eric. A sharp pain exploded throughout his left leg and the back of his head. Eric looked down at him and took a deep breath. His brows furrowed.

He screamed and slammed the tire iron down onto Steven's skull. It left a gash along his forehead. His hands slid and his face smacked onto the ground. Blood trickled from the wound and seeped into the gravel.

"Alright good job, should have aimed more for the spinal cord, but not to worry you did better than I did my first time."

His father applauded and walked up to Eric. He gripped the tire iron tighter. All the tension in his body released, like he was floating. Completely relaxed. He let out another grunt, and swung down again. The skull cracked and blood splattered against Eric's face.

"Eric that's enough, put the tire iron down!" Hector’s voice ruptured through his mind and broke the buzz.

He dropped the tire iron and fell back into the ground. He leaned himself against Steven's car and took deep breaths. Hector walked up, grabbed the tire iron in one hand, and the manual jack in the other.

"Grab him by his legs and drag him to the back."

Hector walked the tools back to the compartment. Eric stood from the floor, and grabbed onto Steven's legs. He pulled the body around the trucks passenger side, away from the road. Hector opened the doors of the trailer. The inside of it was colder than the night air. He walked around Eric and picked up Steven by his shoulders.

"Okay we're going to lift him in here, get him hooked up and we are ready to go."

They both took their time and placed Steven's body inside the trailer. Hector climbed into the back and reached out a hand to help Eric inside. Along the sides of the trailer were hooks, five on each side. They looked clean, almost brand new. Hector picked up Steven's legs and dragged him to the back. Eric followed.

"So, after we gave them two good hits and they are incapacitated, we put them up on these hooks for easier transportation back to the restaurant."

Eric watched Hector without taking an eye off him. He flipped Steven onto his stomach, and held his arms behind his back. He wrapped his arms arms him and lifted him. A large pop echoed through the trailer as a shoulder dislocated. Hector grunted and grabbed onto the top of Steven's head and pulled it back back. He put the tip of the hook against the front of his neck.

"You see you want to insert the hook just where the neck and jaw meet, this gives it the best support."

Hector shoved the hook inside, and guided it through Steven's esophagus. He let the body rest along the wall of the trailer. Steven's mouth propped open and Eric saw the blood stained tip of the hook as it poked out. Hector grabbed onto Eric's shoulder and walked him out of the trailer.

"You did pretty good for your first time. I’m really proud of you. I think your going to be a natural."

"Thank you dad. This has been really great."

"Of course, son. I hoped for this day to come for a while now."

Hector let go of his son. Eric jumped out of the trailer. Hector stepped down, grabbed Eric, and pulled him into a hug. He hugged his father and felt a sense of achievement he had never felt before.

"Happy Birthday, Eric."

Hector closed the door to the trailer, as Eric sat in the truck. He wiped the blood from his face, and his dad sat down and started the truck . He backed it up and pulled it back onto the highway. Eric stared at Steven's broken down car in the side mirror with a smile across his face. It slipped away as red and blue lights shined against the mirror.

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The Hallow

Movie Review #16

The Hallow is a 2015 film about a family who move into a remote house in Ireland, and the things that creep through the woods at night. It was directed by Corin Hardy and written by Corin Hardy, Felipe Marino and Tom de Ville. This film has some good acting as well as good effects, but in some parts I think it could have been a little better. It starts as a slow burn and turns into a fun suspenseful ride. I think everyone should watch The Hallow at least once. It isn’t a film I would watch a lot, but I would be down to rewatch it at some point.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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