The beginning....
356 Words
Joe and Mike had been a bad influence on each other since high school. And when neither could hold down a job, they devised a vicious scam to make some easy money. Find someone old and get in and out of their house as fast as you can with whatever loot you can carry. Joe told Ms. Grantham some sob story about car trouble to get invited into her home. Once inside, Mike asked to use the phone while joe kept her busy talking. Serviced the living room as the old lady rambled on. The place smelled like mothballs and was cluttered with a long lifetime's worth of junk. But the Joe noticed the wooden box on the mantle. It was beautiful. Ornate carvings of winged creatures danced along each side of the small chest. An iron latch held it shut. Maybe there was something valuable inside. Maybe....." I see you have found the family coffer." came a voice from out of nowhere. Joe had forgotten about Ms. Grantham. She'd been talking the whole time but none of that mattered until she mentioned the box. "What's inside?" Joe asked. "I couldn't tell you, it's sealed shut"." Been in our family for years. Grandma used to say it was Cursed..... protected". The old lady traced her fingers over the box as she spoke, "See the insects on the sides?" Joe scoffed, "They looked like moths. Those are harmless". "Harmless?" the old woman chuckled, "Young man, there's a species of Moth in Britain that feasts on human skin. "Other species are so incredibly toxic there touch will shut down your respiratory tracts and cause and cause anaphylaxis". "Harmless appearances.... can often be quiet deadly". Ms. Grantham then smiled and left the room. Quickly, Joe grabbed the tote bag and hanging by the door and stuffed the box inside. He whistled for Mike. Their signal that it was time to go. They drove back to Mike's run-down apartment to divvy up the loot. Joe had to use a hammer and screwdriver to force open the latch and once opened a lone moth fluttered out of it.
To be continued.....
- Writer
