Got You in a Stranglehold Baby

A sliver of light shone in through the dirty, cracked window pane. Dust motes flitted through the air. The air smelled stale and earthy. Julius lay motionless on the ground. He was in jeans and an olive green t-shirt.

Something bumped into the wall. Julius woke from the noise. He knew he wasn’t in the hospital again, his falling into the lake happened months ago, when snow still covered the ground. Looking around, he realized he was in some kind of tool shed. Shovels, rakes, and a random assortment of gardening tools were placed randomly in the small 10 foot by 5 foot shed.

Another bump against the wall, this time in front of Julius, by the door. He walked over to the tiny window. The sun was setting, turning everything into a hazy golden yellow.

He could hear shouting coming from outside. “What the hell is going on?” Julius thought. He couldn’t remember how he got into the shed. His head didn’t hurt, so he couldn’t have walked in to the shed during a drunken stupor.

He peeked through the window again. He could see what looked like two people wrestling. “Maybe just some stupid fight. People fight.” Julius thought.

The two people continued to grapple for a couple of minutes. Julius was getting bored. He hadn’t tried leaving the shed. He sort of enjoyed watching. It was an amateur fight. He could’ve knocked both out on one foot with a hand tied behind his back. Finally someone seemed to get the upperhand. The victor then rummaged through the pockets of the victim and ran off around the corner.

Fighting was one thing. Julius didn’t have a major issue with conflict, it wasn’t his go to, but he understood the need. However, theft was unacceptable. Julius tried the door handle but found it locked. He threw his shoulder against the door. Nothing happened. Once again he threw himself against the door. Nothing. “Shit, I’m getting old.” Julius said. On the third attempt, the threshold splintered with a crack. One last time Julius threw himself against the door and burst into the open air. Someone turned to him with a blank look. It wasn’t everyday that someone broke through a shed door. The thief, on the other hand, was long gone.