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The unintended (and terrible) consequences of good things [Odd Musings]
The Bureaucrat — a story cut short
You look down, just a second, and you’re filled with dread. You knew you were really high up, but the act of looking down made it all the more real.
Heights were never scary for you…but then again, you had never dangled off of a 23rd storey balcony before!
It’s obvious now — you should have never gone to check on the noise in your neighbour’s apartment. You should have just called the police. Had you done that, you would have avoided the masked men altogether. More importantly, you wouldn’t have been flung over the balcony rail in the ensuing chaos.
The men seem determined to leave no witnesses behind, and one of them approaches you cautiously. You’re dangling off the balcony ledge at an awkward angle, so he can’t really attack you.
He has an idea, gathered from years of watching action movies no doubt. He starts stepping on your fingers — putting his full weight behind it. In a needlessly dramatic gesture, he doesn’t just stomp your whole hand, but rather goes after one single finger at a time.
And just like in the movies, each finger gives way right after he stomps on it. Pretty soon, your left hand has lost its hold and you’re hanging on…
