Bargain
I didn't recognize the guy, but I let him in. He felt familiar; the name would come to me in a bit. Probably a historical reenactor. The height and beard made him a perfect fit for the Viking encampment.
The eye patch was overdoing it. But who am I to judge?
He accepted a beer--last of the Rahr--and settled into the easy chair before bringing up his business. "You said something at the party Saturday."
I looked down. "Oh. That. You're right, I was totally out of line. I shouldn't have said that to him."
"You didn't believe it?"
"It's not that I don't... look. Losing a child is horrible, it's the worst thing ever. But telling a guy in a wheelchair that he doesn't have it so bad, look at me, that's wrong. I was rude and selfish and I shouldn't have said it. No matter how much I had to drink."
"You meant it."
"Yeah." I downed a slug of my Shannon.
"I accept your bargain," said one-eye.
Enjoying this story? Don't miss the next one!
SUBSCRIBE TO DSF
I looked at him. He'd taken a wood saw out from under the long leather coat and held it out to me handle first.
A pair of birds flew into the room and landed, one on each of his shoulders. Amazing given that all the windows were closed. They were crows. No, too big. Had to be ravens. They looked at me as if I was a doubtful meal.
Good thing I'd been hospitable.
I took the saw. Tested the edge with my left hand. Sharp for a saw. Not scalpel sharp, but then it had to go through the bones. "I'd probably pass out before finishing the first cut."
"I'll take care of that."
I laid the edge against my thigh, about a hand up from the knee. The first stroke was wimpy. Slashed a hole in my jeans while scratching my skin. Barely even drew blood. I put some muscle into the second cut. Damn it hurt. The third carved deeper, almost to the bone.
It hurt with hope.
The End
This story was first published on Thursday, February 2nd, 2017
We hope you're enjoying
Bargain by
Karl K Gallagher.
Please support Daily Science Fiction by becoming a member.
Daily Science Fiction does not have a paywall, but we do have expenses—more than 95% of which are direct payments to authors for their stories. With your $15 membership, less than 6 cents per story, we can continue to provide genre fiction every weekday by email and on the website to thousands of readers for many years to come.
Tell me more!
Support Daily Science Fiction
Please click to rate this story from 1 (ho-hum) to 7 (excellent!):
Please don't read too much into these ratings. For many reasons, a superior story may not get a superior score.
3.6 Rocket Dragons Average
Please join our mailing list and
receive free daily sci-fi (your email address will be kept
100% private):