Death Riders (standard:other, 906 words)
Author: kendall thomas	Added: Oct 27 2005	Views/Reads: 3195/2231	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Acquaintances ponder the death of a married couple.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

He shrugged offhandedly, “wind, slant of moonlight . . . flapping of
butterfly wings.  All that came together at that exact moment in time 
and space to cause the accident.  Ironically, if Brenda hadn't tried to 
talk Mildred out of going with Jim, they both would have left earlier 
and would still be alive (assuming they wouldn't have had another 
accident somewhere else) because the exact circumstances that caused 
their accident wouldn't have existed at an earlier moment.  Their 
accident could only have happened at the precise ‘time' and place on 
the road that it did -- not at some other time.  It's also true that if 
the person who cut down the tree, however many months before, hadn't 
left the log lying about the motorcycle wouldn't have flipped killing 
them --” 

“Booze.  That's what killed them,” I cut in.   “Any damn fool can see
that.”  I chuckled harshly. 

Morty paused for a moment; one of those far-away, pondering, hollow-eyed
looks.  Then continued.  “It's really impossible to say what killed 
them.  It wasn't any one thing that you can put your finger on.” 

He sighed softly and lifted up his arms in a resigned gesture.  As a
poker player does after tossing in a losing hand.  “It was a 
meaningless convergence of unknowns.   I guess one could say that from 
the day they bought the motorcycle they were death riders . . .  from 
the first murmurs of beginning time even.” 

Now you see what I mean about Morty, don't you? 

Harry was all ears though, like some tail-wagging hound at the foot of
its master.  It was too much to bear. 

I went and got me a beer. 

Humph.  Even damn fools know that butterflies don't fly at night. 

fini 


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