Loop

    In the middle of nowhere, snow has the inhabitants of this lazy town trapped. Two gentlemen sit at a bar, one has a cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other. The other one, sits with an ashtray and is playing with a business card.

    “I assure you will be well compensated.”

    “But what do I say? Ill have a hole in my resume.”

    “We have everything under control.”

    A few beeps come from the first guy’s temple, then he hands over the glass, takes the ashtray, and leaves to the bathroom. The other guy takes the business card and puts it into the coat pocket and takes a sip. A car pulls into the parking lot, and an older man gets out with a brief case. He walks inside and goes directly to the second man. Sitting down, he gets prepared by pulling wires out of it and taking the second man’s hand and hooking him up to the brief case.

    “Name?”

    “Jack”

    “Where do you come from ‘Jack.’ Have any relatives?”

    “I am an orphan, born in Hugo Minnesota. Currently a traveling sales man that got lost in the snow.”

    The third man got up and took the wires off of Jack’s hands and took the glass. The first man comes back dressed casually, grimy, with a hole in the bottom right of his shirt. The third man spoke while getting his stuff, “Get this kid a beer, and Id like scotch on the rocks over there with the pretty lady.” The lady smiles and offers him a seat, and says “The man of the hour is short to arrive. We better do all the bickering now.” He holds her chin and says, “No bickering love, only a job well done.”

    The bartender got done getting the two love birds their drinks, then goes over to the sign and flips it from closed to open. As a couple of hours passed, the bartender attends to the guests that rolled in.

    A car pulls aside and into the parking lot. They stop in front of the door and the driver opens the car door for a man, then the front door. As the business man walks in, the chauffeur parks the car and goes inside to follow the man. The man sits next to Jack, as the chauffeur sits at an empty booth watching the both of them.

    The bartender walks over to the man and asked, “Can I get you anything?” The man looks at him and smiles, “I want your most expensive drink you got.” Turning around, the bartender grabs a glass and puts it in front of the man, then pours a dark liquid that has a snake, and a few leaves in the bottle. He grabs the drink and makes a toast, “ To this storm to finally be over,” and drinks the liquid.

    The night continues with the man keeps getting drinks and she chauffeur only sitting and watching. Looking towards the man, Jack tries to fill in the silence that the man had between the bartender.

    “When do you think the storm will let up?”

    The man laughs and turns away, “ask a weatherman, I don’t get payed to entertainer thoughts of stupidity.”

    “Then what do you get payed to do?”

    “I do some of this, and some of that. Bureaucrat work.”

    Jack makes a small laugh before looking into the bottom of his bear bottle.

    “Hay tender, get me something stronger for my friend overhear. He looks like he needs it.”

    “NO, I’m good”

    “Come on, you look pale. Drink.”

    The bartender pours a drink of vodka for Jack, and he hesitates before drinking it all in one go. The man laughs, “You will feel better in no time.” He continues to laugh, but it gets slower and slower. The third man walks over to the chauffeur and they both walk outside and into the car. One of the guests goes over to the man and injects something into the back of his neck before holding him up so that he doesn’t fall down.

    They pull the car to the front door and Jack and the guest carry the man into the car, with Jack getting in and sitting besides the man. In the front seat, the third man is driving while the chauffeur is sitting in the passenger seat. “We got a long drive,” the chauffeur says while preparing a needle, “Your are going to inject this into your arm like heroin.” Jack takes the needle and does what the chauffeur says to do. He drifts off as the third man drives to their destination.

    When Jack awakes, the man is standing over near the bathroom door and is horrified. But as he stands there, his face begins to become static; he falls into the floor. Jack goes over there and picks him up and drags him back to the bed. He picks him up and slide him upwards onto the bed moving the covers. After he gets him onto the bed, he stands over him in grief. He gets into bed and spoons him.

    Later when they both wake up again, Jack is the first to get up. He goes over to the kitchen and makes breakfast. The man follows suit by waking up, rubbing his eyes and going to Jack. He grabs him by the hips and kisses him on the lips. A long pause between the both of them as Jack is turned around and he is shocked. “Everything is alright honey?” The man asks. “I… I am okay,” Jack turns back to continue cooking as the man sits down to eat.

    They ate breakfast and was a sweet couple until the sun set. Jack is getting ready for bed, as the man is already asleep. The front door to the apartment opened as the first and third man comes in and goes into the bedroom.

    The third man opens up a long, rectangular case and lays it besides the man. The first man injects a liquid into the man’s arm and helps plug him into the case. They put selves around his arms, fingers, and neck. Then they turned on the machine inside the case and the man jolted a few times, but the screen turned green.

    “Its all good?” Jack asked.

    “No, the chip didn’t initialise on first boot.” The first man said.

    “Is that why he looked weird this morning?”

    The first man nods.