Lifeless 44
The Long Awaited Epilogue Of 43 Shadows
They are here to tear down the long deserted building. The owner has given them permission to search for anything valuable that can be sold. So far they've found several antic chairs in the upstairs bedrooms, a wobbly oak table in the dining room, and some framed photos. Now it's time to explore the dark vast basement.
The air smells stale and wet. They can't help shivering when they hear rats and cockroaches scuttling around in the dim darkness. They find some rusty tools inside the drawers. They open the old wooden chests along the wall and find more useless stuff. They are about to give up when they found the beautiful carved wooden box at a dark corner. They go back upstairs and carefully examine the box. They like the feel of the wood. It feels cool in their hands. They know they can sell it for a good price to a willing buyer. And maybe, if they are lucky, they can find some long forgotten jewelry inside.
With much excitement and expectation they open the box and let out a collective sigh. The box is completely empty except for a Magic-8 Ball. They stare at the offensive object until one of them bursts into laughter. Summer is here, the weather is nice, and they've found some good stuff that will help them make extra cash. They are all healthy. They are all happy(well, sort of). They have a job to do. They will have better luck next time, they're sure of that.
"Wanna ask a question?" The youngest of them asks.
"Sure. Why not?" The oldest man, the leader of the group, smiles and grabs hold of the Magic-8 Ball with his gloved hands. "Should we have pizza for lunch?"
The man's smile freezes. The others' laughter abruptly stops. Cold shivers creep down their spines as they gape at the small black plastic ball in complete silence. Instead of "Without a doubt", "My reply is no", or "Ask again later", the answer in the display window is: "Cupcake..."
"This thing is broken. Let's get the hell out of here and get to work." The oldest man forces a grin on his face, drops the Magic-8 Ball on the hard bare floor, and starts giving out orders. The men soon set to work. They work fast. They work hard. No one is in the mood for jokes. And that day, instead of pizza, they have Chinese take-out for lunch.
