BLACK FATE

A wintry breeze swept through the house, droplets of moisture condensing on the dusty window as he reflected. A week ago…

***

He was lost amid the pouring torrents. The trees of the wood circled him dizzily; rain whipped about him yet it was an eerie parody of tranquillity. No howling of the wind; but silence, only silence. Johnson ultimately grasped his situation. His horror when the car failed was unparalleled, his mobile did not help: zero connection. He needed better shelter against the drizzling sky. Sighting a decrepit caravan, Johnson braced himself to abandon the metal shield of his car. Hailstones volleyed him as he ran the deceptively trivial thirty metres to the vehicle.

"Please, your phone?" Johnson yelled. "It's raining out here…" As the door swung open he broke off and dripped in, relishing the warmth.

"Hello."

 A silence ensued until Johnson noticed the seated figure of the woman.

"May I use your phone please?" Johnson repeated.

The woman held out her palm, face turned down. He hesitated but gave his own hand. The woman inclined her head and looked intently at Johnson. "Next week," she whispered, "you will be rich."

Alarmed, Johnson recoiled and was heading for his car before truly comprehending this exchange. Desperate to escape the copse, he turned the key and fled the woods. The car sped off. Johnson hadn't questioned this inexplicable incident at the time, as the milky hue of her eyes had startled him so.

***

Such irrational happenings - and it was now a week on. Johnson felt an impulse to go back. In truth, he wanted to prove mystic-woman (as he had christened her) wrong. The occult and cabalistic did not intrigue him; they disgusted him. So it was that he returned - the same wrong turn, the same familiar spluttering as the car faulted.

Suppressing his fervent religious fear, Johnson clambered out of the sleet-battered car in trepidation. The caravan was still there, but beside it an unfamiliar form loitered. Johnson made out the depressed figure of a man, head bowed. Nervously, Johnson approached the tuxedoed person, who glared at him with hollow eyes.

"She told me I would die. Tonight," the man divulged bluntly. He continued to observe the fidgeting Johnson.

"Who?" he asked, certain of the response.

The dressed man did not reply; his intense stare was reduced none. The man's movements were delayed, deliberate. He hoisted a heavy suitcase from the ground. "Keep it. I believe her. I've changed, but…" he exhaled sharply, shrugging.

Johnson could make no sense of his words or actions. Solemnly, he shook his head and moved to hand back the case. The man merely gazed through Johnson and shuffled into the vegetation, murmuring as he disappeared from sight. Weary, Johnson opened the briefcase.

Wads of the presaged cash dropped out as he looked on. Gulping, he gathered the notes and strained to control troubling uncertainties. Finally, he drew closer to the caravan and peered through the darkened windows, distinguishing the figure of the mystic-woman. She raised her face and smiled, pale, clouded eyes hauntingly bright through the pane.

*

The next morning Johnson had settled down and convinced himself that it was not a fantastical dream. Needless to say, his car was in incongruously perfect shape. The suitcase lay grimly on a stool, mirroring the stingy light and further pushing the events to the surface of reality. Johnson picked up today's newspaper, eager to forget the recent goings-on.

EX-GANG MEMBER MURDERED

A former gang member was found dead yesterday evening in his suburban home. The 'rehabilitated' 30 year-old was previously associated with the Black Fate syndicate that allegedly executed Haretire's Heist (1999). The perpetrators were arrested following a tip-off from the Salisbury Woods, though investigation proved no permanent dwellings were in the region.

Shortly after being apprehended, one of the men responsible declared to police that '…we would have let him off if he paid it back…pretended he didn't have it…'

The men are known to be from the Black Fate criminal group.

It is believed that the dead man held his division of drugs-money - hidden from police - which he failed to produce that night. The six men caught will face several charges including murder and fraud.

Police hope the breakthrough capture of Black Fate will bring further leads to other crimes associated with gangster groups.

                                                                                                                           

Hey, I hope you liked it. Please read & review – by the way, the 'ex-gang member murdered' is meant to be a newspaper article, but I'm not good at html…