The Deep End

Tony laid back on his bed trying to relax, but last night's memories wouldn't let him. Just another night on the town with the boys, had turned into an evening filled with fear, pain, and death.

It was Friday. Tony and the boys worked their dead-end jobs for the sole purpose of partying on the weekend. Tony finished work and cashed his check on the way home. Then he called his best friend Ritchie.

Ritchie told him that he had scored some dank weed from a brother down the block and had just finished twisting up a blunt.

"I'll grab a six-pack on the way over. Call Mark and Johnny, tell them to bring some beers too and we can get nice before we hit the bars" Ritchie said. It was business as usual.

The weed was passed around and everyone had a Budweiser in their lap. Johnny suddenly yelled. "Let's hear some fuckin Lamb of God!" The CD changed and so did the mood. Everything got heavy.

They finished the blunt and the beers and decided it was time to hit the bars. Looking back on things, Tony realized they should have stayed home.

They went to a dark, dingy hole in the wall with a pool table, a loud jukebox and a toilet that was always out of order. Tony and the boys loved this place.

After a few shots and a couple games of pool, they all decided to hit another bar down the road. On the way there, Ritchie wanted to smoke some more weed, so they ducked into an alley and he twisted one up.

They were about halfway through it when a homeless guy stumbled upon them. "Get the fuck outta here you nasty bastard!" Johnny said, "You smell like piss." The dude didn't like this. "Listen you little punk, I've killed motherfuckers just for looking at me the wrong way."

Johnny's response to this was a straight right to the man's throat and he went down gasping as if he'd been shot. It was hysterical.

They had pulled themselves together and were now on the prowl for some ladies. Tony quickly struck up a conversation with a girl and her friends and the two groups were introduced to each other.

Julie was tall and slender with wavy black hair and green eyes. Tony liked her.

Ritchie hit it off with Lisa, a short blonde with curves in all the right places. Then there was Angie. She was the obligatory fat friend that always tagged along.

Julie suggested that they all move the party to their apartment. Tony and the boys were all too willing to take them up on the offer. When they got to the girl's place, Julie took Tony's hand and led him to her room without saying a word.

Ritchie had to put in a little more effort to get Lisa to do the same. She was being flirtatious but didn't seem ready to go the distance. After a few more cocktails however, she gave in and they left the room.

This left Mark and Johnny alone with Angie. Mark was fucked up and more interested in what was on TV than anything else. But Johnny had his mind in the gutter, and he wanted a piece of ass.

"Why don't we go somewhere where we can get more comfortable?" he whispered. Angie giggled nervously. She wasn't used to having attention thrown her way and she liked it. Another drink and some more not so subtle suggestions from Johnny and she agreed.

Tony and Ritchie were in the saddle so to speak. The girls were experienced and knew what they liked and the guys were only too happy to give it to them.

Johnny had his work cut out for him though. Angie was hesitant. They kissed, and she let him cop a feel or two, but when he tried taking her shorts off she stiffened up and tried to push him away.

Johnny, in his drunken state, wasn't feeling that. He smacked her face and snarled, "Who do you think you are you fat bitch? You should be happy that someone wants to bang you at all."

Mark turned up the TV a little louder so he couldn't hear what was happening. The crack of gunshots brought him to his senses.

Turns out that Angie's uncle had given her a pistol the year before, which she kept in the nightstand. While Johnny was busy groping at her, she managed to pull it out and shot him in the stomach.

The pain was intense, but Johnny was too high for it to put him out. He twisted the gun from Angie and shot her in the face.

Tony came to the door just as Johnny came staggering out. "What the fuck is going on?" Tony yelled. "The bitch shot me" Johnny moaned as he slumped against the wall. Lisa began screaming hysterically.

"What are we gonna do Tony?" Mark asked, visibly shaken. "Should we call 911?" Ritchie looked in Angie's room and it was obvious that she was dead by the blood and brains all over the pillow.

Johnny had gone into shock and he was fading fast. The girls were freaking out. "We have to call the police!" Julie kept screaming over and over. Tony couldn't think straight. His mind was racing.

He told Ritchie to grab the girls. They gagged and bound Julie and Lisa with duct tape they had found under the sink.

Before they left, Tony knelt beside Johnny who was barely conscious. "I guess I really fucked up this time" Johnny croaked. "We finally went off the deep end didn't we?" Ironically, none of them could swim.

Tony was startled out of his thoughts by a loud banging on the door. "Police, open up!" This was followed by a crash as they forced their way in. Tony put his gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.