A Guy Like Dustin

Remy has been waiting years for this moment. He finally found the one he was looking for, and he has no intention of backing out now. A short story.

Remy Kade lowered his gun and smiled to himself with sick satisfaction as he looked at what he had finally finished. He told himself no regret. As his friends, family, even his television, had been telling him for his whole life: "Listen to your heart." Remy was proud. He had done precisely what was expected, and it was his heart that had brought him here. In his mind it was fully justified.

 

 

                When Dustin had asked Jenna Roberts to stay to band practice with him, it had been a spur-of-the-moment idea. He'd planned to skip band that day. His friends weren't around, and he'd had no idea about his ride. But he saw Jen and went to talk to her.

              "You staying for band?"

              "I don't think so." Jenna had replied, "I have no ride. Where are Paul and Blake?" She wondered why Dustin was talking to her. They normally barely spoke.

                “Paul’s gone to the mountain, and I don’t care where Blake is.” Dustin didn’t see it necessary to explain that he now hated Blake. His girlfriend had left him for Blake. Blake could go to Hell. “I wanna do band if someone’s around.”

                “I’d stay if--“

                “I’ll get you home.” Dustin cut in, although he knew full well he probably couldn’t get himself home. He’d figure something out.

 

                So band finished. Dustin called everyone he could think of for a way to get home with no luck.

                Jenna didn’t seem too worried. “Worse comes to worst, we can walk.”

                “Nah, we can hitchhike or something.” Dustin grinned.

                Quite unfortunately, worse did come to worst and the two were forced to begin the long trek to the other town. Dustin had heard if you walked it was two hours, and so he was determined to get driven, especially since it was now snowing. Sucks the taxis don’t come to this godforsaken place.

 

 

                 Remy was driving down the road, hoping and searching. By chance he had been introduced to the guy he’d been searching for during the past two years by an acquaintance of his. Blake Duval had, unknowingly, twice contributed to the chain of events that would lead to his friend’s death.

                Through luck, Remy came across them that day. Emo-boy and his chick were alone by the road, and hitchhiking on top of that. There was no mistaking that it was definitely him. Hair dyed black, wearing skinny jeans and a black trench, along with the same purple shoes he’d worn up at Blake’s. This was the loser.

                Remy picked them up. He pretended to make conversation, waiting for the right moment to grab the kid’s phone and throw it out the window. Then he pulled his gun out from under the seat, and drove the disbelieving pair down the logging road he’d discovered the other day.

                Having no better ideas, he chose to do the stereotypical and tie Dustin to a tree. Remy held tightly to the girl’s arm, delighted that the stupid kid had given him the chance to make him watch his girlfriend dying, the way he’d had to see his die. When the kid begged to know why, Remy cursed at him and told him why.

                “Adrianna Harrison. Two years ago. You raped and killed her. Laced her drink with ghb. And now you’re gonna stand there and watch me do the same to yours.”

 

 

Dustin couldn’t believe it. Adrianna? Had he really had sex with that chick at the freaking party? He couldn’t remember. And who put the ghb in her drink? It was Blake. Blake again.

                “Dude I swear to God it wasn’t me!” Dustin saw Jenna staring at him horrified. Why did he have to get her involved? If only he’d known. “I may have met Adrianna at the party"“

                “It was your name! She said your name!” Remy shouted. He began a long string of curse words, and proceeded to call Dustin every bad name in the book. Dustin’s mind, for some reason, began to wander.

                Where in Canada does someone even get a gun? Canada… The easiest place on earth to get weed, despite the fact that it’s illegal. You can get a hold of any drug practically, but a gun? And where on earth do people get knives like that? Knives?

                Remy slammed the knife through his shoulder, and Dustin realized that he was dead serious. At first he couldn’t feel it, but then it hurt more than anything had hurt before.

                Jenna was pleading with Remy, begging him to stop; trying to tell him that she wasn’t Dustin’s girl. She was saying something religious to him. Dustin wondered how he’d missed the fact that Jen was religious. Good for her then, but it wouldn’t keep her from being killed. Then Jenna dropped her cellphone and kicked it to him. Remy didn’t see. Even Dustin hadn’t known she had one.

                How on earth was he supposed to pick it up? Tied to a tree, with a knife through his shoulder. He could see his own blood all over the snow. Ignoring the pain, he struggled to get out of the ropes. He couldn’t be responsible for Jen’s dying.

                 Fortunately, Remy hadn't bothered to tie them securely. It actually turned out to be relatively easy. Dustin slowly and painfully pulled one arm away from the tree and ripped the knife out from the other. Trying to ignore the agony, he grabbed the phone and called 911. He whispered the information into the cell, then Remy turned and he screamed the rest.

 

 

                  Remy smirked. Too late for that now. He shot Jen. It was sooner than he’d planned, but whatever. He had nothing against her personally. Sad that she was with a guy like Dustin.

                “What’re you gonna do kid?” He could see the pain in Dustin’s eyes and it made him happy. He shot him several times just for the heck of it.

                 He leaned against a tree. He could hear the sirens of the cop cars already. He’d planned not to get caught, but now he didn’t care. He’d shoot himself when the police arrived so they couldn’t arrest him. The idea made him weirdly happy. The cops hadn’t arrested Dustin. The stupid cops wouldn’t believe him. The said she took the ghb herself.

                 Cars drove up; the cops jumped out with guns drawn, and Remy almost laughed. He lifted his own gun to his head. He waited long seconds. He heard someone say that Dustin was still breathing, still alive. He’ll bleed to death soon enough…The police were shouting, yelling at him to drop it.

                 Something Jenna had said stuck in his mind.

                 Slowly, Remy obeyed. He lowered his gun and let it fall to the ground.

                 He knew it wasn’t fear that stopped him. What stopped him was the realization that he was, in fact, not afraid to die at all, and it dawned on him that maybe, just maybe, he should be.

 

Author's Note

If this seems lacking in detail, it's partly because it was 1500 word limit.

Reviews

[S. Walden]

Well, overall, I love the tone of the story, but I found it a bit difficult to understand Remy's motivation. Blake seems like a needless character as he adds little to the story. I'd rather have seen Blake in Remy's place. Also, there were a few little punctuation errors and this line really stuck out at me: "The said she took the ghb herself." I assume you mean the cops would say she took it herself. I find that really unbelievable unless she had any reason to make herself look like a victim, which I don't find apparent in the story. Add in a little description about the setting and characters and this could be really great. Nonetheless, it was interesting. Keep up the good work. ^^