XIII. Death.

A Village—DAY

Later, I am cruising slowly through the village looking for a spot to park the van. Iris yells suddenly “You drove right past the Boss!”

I scowl and look for a place to turn around but there are a bunch of protestors or something around and I must weave through them looking for a space to pull into. As Iris yells again for me to turn around, one jumps out in front of the van and is thrown under the wheels. I jam the brakes, throw it in park, and get out. The protestor is smeared into an unnatural lump on the pavement. Iris screams and jumps out of the van, “Look what you did!”

“I don’t understand how I could have obliterated her while moving under five miles per hour!” I pick up the remains of the protestor’s head. But the smear of her face, a flap of skin with an eye and part of a nose is unmistakable.

After I moment, I call to the crew in the van. “Load the rest of the woman into the van and let’s get her to a hospital immediately!”

Not that I think she is savable!

Now, the Boss has made her way through the crowd. “I am in charge. There will be no seeking of medical attention until I have surveyed the situation and decide that that is the right thing to do.”

With that the Boss pushes me aside bodily slamming me against the brick façade of the adjacent building. I see the wall teetering but I am not fast enough. It falls and I am trapped under a ton of bricks The Boss pulls a few bricks away to uncover my head. She bends and whispers in my ear, explicitly, yet with a sly kindness.

“Let’s say that I make all the decisions now.”