Plundering life

"I want to sleep!" Axel sighed; he knew more than anything that his wish wouldn't be fulfilled. 'How nice it would be if I could just disappear... at least I wouldn't have to bother putting in effort for my future.' Axel sighed, lying back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He looked out the window idly. The light coming down on his face made his brown eyes and hair look magical; they were a crimson red in the light. His room was a bit messy, with his clothes in the corner and a painting he once did when he was a child hanging on the wooden wall. The warmth of the evening light filled the room, which overflowed with comfort, making Axel embrace his laziness and the bed.

Axel was a young man who had just passed his 24th birthday. He had a well-built body and was a witty kid; that was what the neighbors gossiped about among themselves. But he just wanted to laze around and do the bare minimum of what was expected of him; he never wanted to work for any sort of dream; they were only a bother to his actual dream of living the life of a sloth in peace.

Axel heard someone coming into their home by the creak of the door opening. He was annoyed to deal with Mr. Max, who was planning to open up a diner with Benny Fletcher, Axel's father. Axel forced himself to sit up on his bed; he was still feeling very sluggish and definitely not interested in joining a conversation with Mr. Max. He didn't want to bore himself with the random stuff Max keeps talking about. But the sound of the ruckus outside made Axel startled and a bit restless. He immediately got up and was about to mediate the conflict between Benny and Fletcher.

"Come on, Dad! You haven't even started the dinner with him yet, and you already pick a fight with him?" Axel muttered to himself. The door was slightly open, so the voices were audible, even if barely. Axel decided to just take a peek before he decides if he has to go and greet Mr. Max or not. He still didn't want to get caught up in the stories of Mr. Max. But looking at the imposing figure standing in front of his father, who seemed taller than everyone in the room, sent chills running down his spine. It was Drake, a gangster who was notorious for getting rid of people he found to be nuisances: He was from the Reapers, a mafia group that has been overruling their town of Sogris for three generations.

Drake's men had knives in their hands, and Drake had a pistol in his. Axel was frozen; his legs felt like they could give out at any second. He tried to listen in on what they were saying and was as quiet as he could, but his breathing was rapid; he felt like he was out of breath and thought that he was about to faint, but he held on; the shock of processing what he had witnessed was too much for Axel.

Drake looked furious, while his father, on the other hand, looked scared, confused, and filled with regret. Drake took a deep breath, put his hand on his father's shoulder, and looked him in the eyes; he looked like a tiger that would kill the rabbit in front of it if it moved even a muscle.

"Look here, little Ben, I don't run a charity, nor am I a saint, and even if I were, I don't think I could forgive you." He paused a bit, but that silence was even heavier than his talking. Benny was about to say something, his eyes starting to tear up and his fear making his face paler, but Drake continued without giving him a chance to utter a sound. "It hurt, you know…? Maybe I should just kill you along with your family to make it even, what do you say?" More than a question, it felt more like a statement. Hearing those words broke Benny; it was driving him insane. He bowed down, held Drake's hand, and begged him as if everything depended on it.

"Anything but that!" Benny looked desperate with tears in his eyes and that brought a smirk to Drake's intimidating face even in that situation. "I will do anything you want; just please leave my family alone".

With a smirk on his face growing wider, Drake took out a vial from his pocket and said, "Well, that works for me; why don't you do a taste test for this important sample of mine? Sounds fair, right?" Benny looked confused at what Drake was saying. "Well, this is important to my business, and I will even forgive you for what you did. It's not like you have a choice in the first place." He shoved the vial in his hand and went back to staring daggers at him; it was obvious that the vial was poison, and if the infamous Drake gave it to him, the chances of finding an antidote were way lower than hell freezing over. Benny looked at the vial and gulped. He closed his eyes and wept, then looked back at Drake, desperately looking for his mercy. "Could you just give me a day? I wish to speak to my wife and son before I leave."

The word 'leave' struck Axel like a hammer hitting his head; he felt like his heart had stopped beating and like there was just a vacuum inside. Axel realized that he would just die if he went there, but staying there, unable to do anything, made him feel worse. Axel put both his hands above his chest and pressed down on them to suppress the excruciating pain he felt ripping through his lungs.

With a thunderous sound filled with fury, Drake shouted, "You take me for a fool? Drink it up before my eyes. NOW!" Benny closed his eyes for a bit, like a final prayer and the sincerest one he had made in his entire life, and he gulped down the vial in one gulp. Benny started to wobble around and fell to the ground in a minute or two. Drake broke out in laughter as he felt relieved; he seemed to take pleasure in watching things play out as he wanted. He threw at him a bag that was the size of Axel's head. "Let it be my farewell gift to you; rest in peace." Drake left with his men, and suddenly the house felt like the loneliest place in the world. His father's being still on the floor was the only thing that Axel could see.

Axel ran toward his father and was glad to see him breathing. He tried to wake him up, but to no avail. He cried his eyes out desperately, calling him. The more time passed, the more pain he felt in his chest; he felt like his world was collapsing, and indeed it was; Axel fainted right beside his father, his face wet with tears just like his father's.