{"id":16373,"date":"2021-06-18T17:26:32","date_gmt":"2021-06-18T23:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/?p=16373"},"modified":"2021-06-18T17:26:32","modified_gmt":"2021-06-18T23:26:32","slug":"corinne-draws-the-short-straw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/?p=16373","title":{"rendered":"Corinne draws the short straw"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Corinne had to usher the last two out the door. There was always someone staying until the very last minute, someone who just wanted \u201cone more for the road\u201d that would put her well after closing time. At least she was getting these two out with little fuss.<\/p>\n

She was working to lock the door when a couple of burly men with loops of rope over their shoulders came to the door. A surge of panic made her attempt to lock it quickly. But it was too late, and they forced their way inside.<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry gentlemen; we\u2019re closed.\u201d She said it in the politest, calmest voice she could muster. Something about these two scared her.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I think you\u2019ve got time for us, missy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI really need to be closing up now.\u201d But the bigger one got in her way and ominously forced her back to the bar.<\/p>\n

Something told her this was serious. Maybe she could talk her way out of this. If not, maybe she could reach the phone to put out a call.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I don\u2019t have to close right away,\u201d she told him, gulping inwardly as the other one went to the door, flipped the sign over to \u201cClosed\u201d and then drew the shade. \u201cWhat\u2019ll you two have?\u201d<\/p>\n

The first one grabbed her by the arm and worked her behind the counter. \u201cWe\u2019ll start by having a look at the day\u2019s receipts. Your boss is way behind on his payments.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPayments? What payments \u2013 ow, you\u2019re hurting me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot going to show me the till; eh, missy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Corrine gulped in alarm. Clearly these two had something ominous up their sleeves. She sure as hell didn\u2019t like the sight of all that rope they\u2019d brought in with them.<\/p>\n

She went over and opened the till. The one with her gave it a cursory glance. \u201cThat\u2019s it?\u201d he growled unhappily. \u201cThat ain\u2019t nearly enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey made a run with the afternoon receipts to the bank before it closed. That\u2019s all there is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess he\u2019s not concerned about your welfare then.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy welfare?\u201d She gulped again as she fought against the shakes that were trying to set in.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour boss. He\u2019s behind in his payments to us\u2026 again. We told him we would be showing up to square accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I guess you\u2019ll have to take it up with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI intend to, missy. But first we have to remind him just how serious we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey \u2013 hey \u2013 HEY!\u201d<\/p>\n

The other one with his rope came forward as the first grabbed her arms and forced them behind her back. \u201cI\u2019m warning you; I\u2019ll scream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you really think that\u2019s wise?\u201d<\/p>\n

She gasped for breath at the first one\u2019s words as her heart pounded in her chest. Maybe screaming wasn\u2019t such a good idea after all. A moment later it became academic as the second one tied some sort of cloth over her face while the first worked to secure her arms behind her back.<\/p>\n

She grunted as she twisted and turned in place. \u201cStop struggling,\u201d the first one warned ominously. The other gave her a look as though she might want to follow his instructions.<\/p>\n

Corinne\u2019s heart beat fast as her arms were tied securely behind her back with loops of rope that also wrapped around her stomach. More rope was tied just below her knees and again at her ankles. Then she grunted in alarm as the second one fashioned a noose out of the rope he had left.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo hard feelings, missy,\u201d the first one explained. \u201cIt\u2019s just your bad luck you were the one closing tonight.\u201d Then he took the free end of the rope and threw it over a beam in the ceiling.<\/p>\n

He grabbed the noose from his partner and looped it around her neck. \u201cWe tried to warn your boss, but he just wouldn\u2019t listen. Maybe this will give him the message.\u201d And with that they both calmly pulled on the free end of the rope.<\/p>\n

Corinne let out a muffled cry that was cut off as she was hauled up into the air. She dolphin kicked as her feet searched for solid footing that was now 24 inches below. A tear rolled down her cheek as anger and defiance gave way to terror.<\/p>\n

She let out muffled rasps for breath as they tied the other end off. She swung back and forth, unable to believe how it could hurt like this. What the hell had her boss done for her to deserve this??<\/p>\n

\u201cNo hard feelings, missy,\u201d the first one told her again as they two men turned and headed for the door. \u201cYou just happened to be in here tonight stuck holding the short straw.\u201d<\/p>\n

They weren\u2019t even going to stay behind to admire their handiwork?? They certainly didn\u2019t seem concerned about making sure she succumbed, not that it was all that necessary. She was already starting to fade as the door closed behind them, leaving her all alone and strangling to death at the end of her rope.<\/p>\n

(Aug 17 \u201918)<\/p>\n

(Inspired by an art manip by Corinne)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Corinne is stuck holding the short straw when her boss is late making payments. She ends up paying dearly for it. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[29],"class_list":["post-16373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-asphyxiastories","tag-hanging"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16373"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16375,"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16373\/revisions\/16375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riwaslibrary.com\/story\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}