Finding Balance

This is a short story I submitted many years back. It had to start off with the beginning paragraph to satisfy the rules. !!PG13 Material!!

Finding Balance

A group of college students played yet another loud game of Mixin' Fixion. After his second winning revelation, the youngest, Danny, decided to retire to the back of the crowded bus to get some rest before their big tornament in the morning. Four hours on the bus combined with the Vodka-Cranberry cocktail they smuggled aboard was enough to put him into an instant sleep.

Danny woke abruptly when the bus hit a pothole causing his head to slam against the metal handrail he had been using as a pillow. Now dark outside, the remaining students slept peacefully as the driver pulled to the side of the road and promptly exited the bus to inspect for damage.

Moments later a strange man entered the front of the bus slinging a large black bag over his shoulder. As he stepped onto the bus, he turned his head toward the bag, slapped it, and yelled, “Is there anyone awake on this bus!”. Such an outburst was sure to wake someone, but mostly it just rustled a few of the students into a more comfortable sleeping position. The man caught sight of the only person awake, who stared in a curious manner at him. He walked to the rear of the bus and sat down directly behind Danny.

“Your driver out there says it’s alright for me hitch a ride into the next town with you guys. My piece of shit car broke down again. … Name's Buddy.”

Danny, turned to the man. “Hi, my name’s…” But he stopped suddenly when the driver climbed back into the bus mumbling something about paying to fix the paint job.

The bus was soon back on the road and an hour had passed before Buddy broke his silence.

“You know why this world is out of sorts Danny? … Because the people in it are all out of balance.”

It surprised Danny to hear this man use his name as he had never actually finished introducing himself.

“How do you know my name?” Danny asked in a shaky voice.

Buddy did not respond and continued with his thought, now agitated from having been interrupted.

“See … the problem is we're all a bunch of sinners without accountability. Our sins start out small, but when we get away with those sins, new ones develop with greater severity. So then the question becomes, how do we balance out these bad deeds?”

Buddy’s voice grew deeper, more serious. “Well, we punish our selves of course.”

Danny started to get up, thinking it was the perfect time to rejoin his friends at the front of the bus.

“SIT THE FUCK DOWN OR I’LL CREATE A NEW PASSAGE WAY FROM THE BACK OF YOUR HEAD TO YOUR MOUTH.” Buddy returned to his calm manner of speaking. "And I should probably tell you that saying anything to these people will yield you the same results.”

Danny instinctively followed the man’s orders and returned to his seat.

“Now, I am going to show you an exercise I like to do to keep myself in balance.”

Buddy picked up his bag and moved into Danny’s seat, which blocked any chance of escape. Buddy rummaged through his black bag and pulled out a knife as Danny trembled.

“Just need a little balancing, Danny. One of my most recent sins was sleeping with a married women … so I need to punish this act, and I think it would be best if you assisted.”

Buddy handed Danny the knife and instructed him to carve the word “Adulterer” into his left forearm. Danny’s refusal angered Buddy to the point that he grabbed hold of Danny’s hand, knife clentched tightly, and guided the knife's sharp edge into his arm. Blood instantly covered Buddy’s entire forearm as Danny watched in horror, struggling to maintain silent.

“Now, wasn’t that easy Danny-Boy!” Buddy said in a morbidly satisfying tone.

“But, I’m afraid I’m not quite balanced just yet. You see, I have also been extorting this same woman for money by threatening to tell her extremely rich husband about us.”

With this, he again coerced Danny’s hand into carving the word “Extortionist” – this time into Buddy’s right forearm. Buddy then calmly wiped the blood off his forearms, bandaged them up, and put his knife back in the bag.

“Danny, I hope you follow my example and start making retribution for your sins.” His voice grew more menacing. “OR I’LL DO IT FOR YOU!”

Anxiety flooded Danny, darkness came over him.

As Danny woke the next morning, he instantly surveyed the bus for Buddy, but the mysterious man had vanished. His friend John stumbled to the back of the bus and slumped in the seat in front of him.

“The driver says were about twenty minutes away so be ready.”

Danny, wanting to tell his friend what had happened, couldn’t seem to find the words before his friend droned on.

“We drank the rest of that Vodka last night. I’m afraid I might have said something I’ll regret playing that 'Mixin Fixion' game.”

It was then that John leaned over the back of the seat and discovered Danny’s current state.

“IS THAT BLOOD! WHAT HAPPENED!? ARE YOU OK?”

The bus arrived at the school, where two patrolmen and an ambulance waited. After reciting everything that had happened to the police, they sent him to the hospital as a precautionary measure, his friend John accompanying him. In the back of the ambulance, John kept up the conversation to keep his friend occupied.

“You really ruled that game yesterday, but I have two questions for you. Why didn’t you ever tell me you were sleeping with a married woman and what was with you wanting to be called 'Buddy' yesterday?”

Danny glared at John and then at a large black bag sitting in the corner of the ambulance with the name “Danny” embroidered across the front of it. Seeing this, he bolted upright and teared off his shirt to find bandages covering his forearms. Under them were two bloody words scrolled across his forearms: “Adulterer” and “Extortionist”.