1 DEATH TRIP: Piece A

A man and a woman sitting in a Motel room, laughing and drinking to pass the time.

 "Y'know, the whole time I've known you you've never told me what you do," the female says drawing a cigarette from her leather jacket ."Well, I do many things, darling..."

"...For a living, I mean..". The man pauses while he grabs his lighter, " I'm a Debt Collector. Been doing it for about... 16 years now." He says as he lights his friend's cigarette. The 23-year-old prostitute wants out. Her keys to freedom lay in the hands of whatever street dweller would pay for her service. If only she could dodge her Pimp and his gang for a couple of days in order to cover the Train ticket. Little did she know, her company Kayden Furlong was planning to gift her, her lucky break. "Debt collector?...never met one of those before...well, a legal one anyway" the two shared a laugh, and then there was silence once more. Kayden knew of Emma's struggle to scrounge up cash, he also knew it was her intention to travel to her family and leave this dreaded life she'd made for herself in the city of Kuja. He also noticed the bottle of wine that they had been sharing was practically empty and it was still early in the night. "How about I fetch us some more wine, I know a place just down the block" " Yeah sure I could go for another bottle, Thanks Kay" Emma embraced Kayden in a tight squeeze and pecked him on the cheek. She then opened the sliding door "see you in a bit okay, be safe out there" Kayden checked his pockets to make sure he had his wallet "don't worry sweetheart I will be."

Debt collectors in Kuja weren't permitted to carry firearms, as such Kayden felt naked walking through the eastern city streets, the absence of other humans only made the somewhat rundown area seem even more eerier. As he neared the Bright lights of the 'Liquor Shed' two men could be seen arguing over something indistinguishable. He ignored them and carried on about his business. Entering the store Kayden made quick eye contact with the store clerk before picking out the best bottle of Pinot Noir. After paying for the bottle he exited the store, it began to lightly rain. Before he makes it to the footpath however, one of the two men who was arguing, firmly shin kicks the back of Kaydens leg. Kayden turns around to confront the culprit, "Hey!! you're the arsehole that stole my whip!..yeah! you're the guy alright, snapped your mug on camera" Kayden rolled his eyes, "It was either take your car. Or if you resisted...Beat you down and take your car. Now I don't know about you, but If I were you I would much rather have just-" A row of knuckles grazed Kaydens left temple, as he was mildly intoxicated it was hard for him to block the initial hook, however when the stranger came to do the second Kayden swiftly crashed the bottle of wine onto his head, seemingly shattering both parties. A mixture of blood and wine splattered onto the concrete pavement below, the man's knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground unconscious. 'Damn' he thought, 'that was an unopened bottle, now I gotta buy a new one...' But as he looked inside he saw the store clerk had engaged the security lockdown and was on the phone to what was most likely the authorities. And so he quickly turned and sprinted away empty-handed.As he arrived at the motel room doorstep he stopped running and instead stood on the spot thinking of what he would say to Emma. he came to the conclusion that he would say 'they were closed'. He felt disheartened, he really wanted it to be a good sendoff. None the less he had the cash and that was what mattered the most. As he turned the doorknob, nothing could be heard. As he entered he noticed Emma slumped across the King spread, Kayden chuckled "I know I was anxious about not getting another bottle but it seems one was enough eh? hahaha.." The laughter stopped when he noticed her fingertips purple and coated in white powder. Now frantic he rolled her onto her back, her face looked numb, her eyelids were ajar but no life could be seen. She had clearly left this world, and it was most deffinetely an overdose.The freshly dead body of his friend laid across the bed. Before he was able to freak out too much he did the smart thing and locked the door, the word "Fuck!" clouded his mind the whole Time. he returned to Emma's side he sought for what had killed her, as he checked her handbag he found an empty bag containing the last of what he suspected was cocaine. He also found her phone, conveniently it didn't have a passcode and so he searched her recent messages, the most recent of which was to a contact simply named "Fix" however no names were mentioned throughout the entirety of the conversations. He pocketed the phone as he knew he could track the grimy bastard with a simple message telling him or her to meet up and they would. But he'd have to wait a day to avoid suspicion. He knew that if he went to the Authorities they would do everything but play nice, hiring a prostitute in the city of Kuja was a charge that would result in Prison Time, they would also take Emma's phone as evidence and leave the sleazeball dealer to roam free. No. He had no choice but to dispose of her body and take the dealer out himself. He took one last look at Emma's lifeless face, her blue face sent a jarring chill down his spine, not 20 minutes prior they had been conversing, now not even a whisper would escape her pale lips. First came sadness next came anger, infuriating anger, the kind that doesn't leave without action. He would make the dealer squeal and cry for forgiveness, and watch as the life drained from their eyes. But first, he would have to dispose of the body.

The hard part was getting her to his car in the parking lot. Luckily enough, as he  journeyed  from the motel room to his car with the body in his hands, he did not run into a single soul. However, there was the chance that the motel had cameras, he somehow doubted this, however. The place looked like it was one hail storm away from falling to the ground. He laid her down in the backseat instead of the boot just in case someone came out of the motel and saw him doing so. As he started the ignition he checked once more to see if there were any bystanders before leaving. The Radio music did little to ease Kayden's tension, so instead he turned it off and spoke to Emma. "I know I never told ya Emma but I had this cash I saved for you, but unfortunately...this... happened. Life's crazy huh, one minute its as smooth as a straight narrow, next... it's just plain cruel. You deserved better than what life supplied girl." It wasn't long before he reached a suitable bridge with no one around. Popping the trunk he grabbed the chain he usually used to tow vehicles along with a lock, "Sorry Em, I've gotta tie you up so you'll sink..." As he was doing so he couldn't help but feel numb, it was his way of coping. "Shit I Sure know this is gonna keep me up at night," he dragged the young woman out of the car shoulders first. As he heaved her up over the steel railing the 40-year-old couldn't help but wheeze. It took a moment or two for the body to reach the  water, he watched her sink and almost vomited a bit in his mouth. He'd never disposed of a body before, he sure as hell wasn't planning on starting tonight. He then hopped back in his car and began to drive himself to his home.