Chapter 1
Danny Goes Devil
Danny was losing his hard-earned bucks with every single game. This day was very harsh on Danny. (Which day was not?) But this day was different. He lost his job, his reputation, his family. All that was left sat in his pockets waiting to be lost. 250 dollars would be vanishing in a moment. The card dealer has seen people like him before. Card dealer has dealt cards to such people for thousands of hours. He could easily spot a loser’s face. A face which screams for help but remains silent while wasting all that can be wasted. Other players were busy fighting for the chance to rip the poor guy. Everyone was ripping him in the last 10 years. Every single person needed him for utilizing their own needs. Danny was a little puppy which would run for any ball that would be fetched. Soon he realized that balls are not soft, distances are not short and fetchers are not that lovely. Although he knew no other way. With less interest and passion, he kept running again and again.
Game was over. Money was gone. Card dealer finished his night shift. Everyone left the poker table. Everyone except Danny and his devastated face.
Security would soon politely kick him out of the venue. He would walk a mile or two with no idea where to go. He would laugh hard to his loss. Not because it is hysteria but because he is not good at poker. It is a rule of thumb. You lose when you are not good at something. As he walked by downtown streets, one question would not leave him alone. “When will I ever win?”
Danny wanted to win in life. He had to figure out many things. What is left of his life? What is his definition of winning? When will his definition and public opinion match so that both parties settle forever. Is that even possible?
Streets of Denver were quiet at night. Momentarily you could hear someone laugh to a TV show or family member comment. Some families were so quiet that you would think they are all dead. Danny enjoyed this dead silence. There was no one to criticize yet another time. No boss, no wife and no annoying workers would say something horrendous. So awful that it is hard to keep your emotions still. So hard to keep yourself from punching any face that tells him how to live his life.
Everybody tells you how to live your life. You end up guessing if these people were taken hostage by UFO and transformed into YODA like creatures hiding in people’s bodies. Everybody had an opinion nowadays. There were days when only people like Socrates or Plato would say stuff. Now every dumb-minded, two-legged and one-dicked organism would have a go with opinion. They would tell their useless minds in such a confident and proud way that Danny would be amazed. Stupidity had no limits and internet was breeding even more of it.
Young teacher approached an ATM in his attempt to get some money. He knew that there was none, but with his never ending enthusiasm he started punching his PIN code. 4,6,0…
- Hey, bro?
Danny had an uninvited company of 4–5 hooligans. They seemed to be drunk. Danny did not know what being drunk is. He never drank in his life. He was not a Mormon. He had plenty of reasons to grab vodka or scotch or some other fancy “let me kill your pain and numb you down for a day” kind of a drink. Although he did not see a point. This part scared him so much. He never lost his reason. Never was a time where Danny would go out of his logical orbit. Everything had to make sense to his mind. Late night hooligans were making sense. Their attempt to rob him was also making some sense. The only guy that did not belong to the story was him. He looked at the group and then took a good look at the screen. He decided to show the screen to these drunkards.
- I have not even a single penny. You see the screen?
- You loser! Broke ass loser!
These words triggered something evil that was crouching inside young teacher. Something that he always tried to hide and managed to do so.
- Broke ass loser, you want some money? We can give you some?
Danny stood still for only one minute. He would let these people go if not for the hand which parked itself on his left shoulder. He turned and knocked the stranger out.
-Broke ass loser, broke some big ass nose! (Laughter and shock was in the air.)
- Leave me alone! Let me continue my walk!
Danny knew that this was not going to happen. He saw too many scenes like that. There is not a movie where drunk bastards leave the person alone. He was about to explode from his anger that was neatly put aside for 10 years. It was systematically building up and this night was the night for his demon to make some move.
Soon he was locked in a circle. The biggest guy of all rushed to smash him to ATM. Danny was quick to react and he dodged. Although he felt some pain in his kidney. One of these men kicked him with a metal rod. He fell with face down trajectory. They laughed harder. Pinning and kicking him from many sides they did not forget to remind Danny how broke he was. No job, no reputation, no family and no bones scenario was about to happen. He covered his face and waited for this drunkard festival to be over. One of them stopped and stepped away. Danny could see some banner light. Soon he felt some urine coming his way. This was it. Total humiliation in dead silence with only drunk bastard sound add-ons. This was not a life he dreamed about. He did not study for such end. He did not marry for such finale. He did not work his butt off for such shame.
Soon they let him lay on his back with what was humanly left of him. Proud they were and happily singing they were. 50 steps later one of the hooligans did something very stupid. He shouted “broke ass loser” again.
Covered in blood and urine, crying his heart out Danny heard these words. Last 10 days for him were very tense and he tried to escape the inevitable with listening to music. He could not stop listening to Eminem’s “Music to Be Murdered by” album.
He could not control his passion for the part where rapper would rapidly say:
“You don’t want to mess with the demon within me.”
There was a strong sensation that followed after this punchline. Danny loved Eminem. His life was like many other lives. He grew like every poor kid grows in Detroit. Eminem was going all in with his music. Music was his only truth. Or lie. But he still managed to get out of his rat race. He was his own boss. He was Godzilla…Rap God and many other things that millions of wannabe rappers would never be.
That last drunkard who shouted woke that demon inside Danny. 10 years of waiting were soon to be compensated by some evil that was to be done.
There was no logic left in Danny and his cognitive orbit. There was only his madness and despair. He was not loser and he was not going to lose this one.
Soon he approached these bastards with a metal rod that was left by the side walk. You never leave such rod next to a person you beat. (Unless that person is dead.)
Dead silence was vanishing knock after knock. Screams of men begging for help were soon waking people up. Danny was the devil and he was not going to settle down. They were finished. He was finished as well but his face was smiling with a strange smile. Confident and proud smile which he always prepared for other occasions that never happened.
I do not know…
Until this part I typed like crazy. Danny guy seems to be doing well. I feel that he will turn into a character. Shall I continue or stop for today?
Kids are screaming their guts out. Playing and running around. My wife is calling to kitchen so I grab the plates and prepare the table for the late dinner. It is chicken legs again. Quarantine days are adding up and we feel like prisoners who get to eat fancy meals.
I wonder what Danny will do next? Will he run away and hide? Will he go to police station? Will he call his wife? I do not know yet. Let’s see what comes to my mind at night time. I should go and listen to Eminem for that bar. I think I wrote it wrong. Need to correct it.
