Taking Life Seriously

-9-

It was 12:49PM but the sky outside was almost black. A storm was coming, Anita thought, a big one, and she hadn't brought her rain coat. Those pancake shaped clouds, they seemed denser now, and blacker and more, well, pancakey than before. She better call her mom, she thought, tell her to bring in the dog. But there was this first. The future of Center Continent depended on her.

The Pack sat down at their usual table at the Visitors shopping center Food Court and the entire staff breathed a sigh of relief.

'Anyone want a cup of tea?' said Gordon.

'Gordon, you can not do this,' said Rajesh, 'you have made Dylan cry.'

'Hey!' said Dylan, 'it's allergies.'

'Coffee then?' said Gordon.

'Yes, fine,' said Rajesh, 'Dylan is allergic to breaking up with you.'

'Hey!' said Dylan again.

'Maybe a fruit juice?'

'Stop it you guys,' said Anita. 'Look, Gordon, you can't just walk out on your life like this.'

'I'm really sorry guys but it's already done. I quit the Savemore too.' said Gordon.

'No!' said Dean and Anita together.

'You quit the Savemore?' said Martin, 'are you kidding me? We're short staffed as it is. Rogers is going to make our lives hell now.'

'Don't worry about Rogers,' said Gordon, 'I already spoke to him. You're going to be just fine.'

'He's going to make me do stock counts now,' said Dean, 'I hate stock counts.'

'No, really, guys, it's not going to be a problem, trust me.'

'And charts, Jesus Christ man, charts!'

'No, Dean, I...'

'Those stupid looking ones too, in the shape of a pie.'

'We're never going to see you again,' said Dylan suddenly.

The outburst surprised Gordon. He looked at Dylan and said: 'Sure you will, sure. We'll see each other all the time, like at the pub and at Christmas and like that.'

'Like last year when you went to Denise's family for Christmas?' said Dylan.

'I... ' said Gordon,'Well, then on Boxing Day?'

'Like last year when Denise's dad made you clean their yard on Boxing Day?'

'What? I thought you went to the city with your parents,' said Dean.

'Thanks a lot for that Dylan, really, thanks very much.'

'You're welcome.' Dylan whispered. Gordon looked at him. 'At least we accept you just the way you are. We don't try to change you into something you're not all the time,' said Dylan.

'What are you talking about?' asked Gordon.

'Denise, Gordon. She's always giving you shit about us.'

'Mostly about you, actually.'

'The pathetic weasel man is right,' said Rajesh, 'your girlfriend is very judgmental. Just dump her and move on with your life.'

Gordon shook his head. 'Guys,' he said, 'I am moving on with my life. Isn't it time you all started taking life seriously?'

'Just hang on a minute...' said Martin. Dylan cut him off:

'I was taking my life seriously, you condescending bullock. You can do that and also have fun. I'm serious about that film, I am working on it. Don't you see? After you walk out that door today everything is going to change. Sure we'll meet at The Hub every 6 months or so but you'll be working a nine to five like a civilized adult with all the joy sucked out of you and you won't have anything to say to us anymore. You will become a life size replica of Denise's father and you are going to hate yourself for it but you're going to tell yourself it was worth it, because of she is worth it, but - and here's the worst part - you are going to change so much that eventually she is going to hate you too, and I don't want that to happen, Gordon. I don't want to lose you. And I'm not crying, it's just allergies.'

Gordon put his hand on Dylans back. 'Shit, Dyl, I didn't know you felt...'

And every window in the Visitors Shopping center exploded simultaneously with a deafening crash.

For Dylan it all happened in slow motion. He grabbed Gordon's hand off his back with a smooth cat like motion and pulled him down and under the table. The rest of The Pack dove down instinctively too, they were trained combatants after all, and formed a circle using their clip boards as shields. Glass shattered into a billion razors and cut into the lunchtime crowd. Women covered their children. Husbands covered their wives, or they didn't, depending on how long they've been married for. The floor ran red with blood and spilled ketchup, and that red curry they make at Jake's Jambalaya and which gives you gas for like a week after you eat it.

Have you ever seen glass explode? No, not shatter, everyone has seen glass shatter it just breaks apart into uneven pieces along the route of least resistance, but when it explodes, well, Dylan has never seen anything like it before. He thought must look like a new solar system being formed.

It was like the glass inhaled and then exhaled so fast that it was ripped apart into perfect deadly diamonds that flew straight out of the window as if pushed by a convex shape, like say, the end of a boot. It was like a billion tiny bullets made of ice or a hundred million shards of crystalline sugar shot out of a Gatling gun. It was the perfect weapon, and when it was over, the carnage was near total. The glass perforated every surface not protected by brick. It cut through plastic like butter and through human flesh like something softer than butter which does not taste as good. Twenty seven people died in less than three seconds. Their bodies looked like they had been pounded with meat tenderizers.

'Holy shit!' Dean said.

And then, things got worse.