The Deal

Snap, crunch, crack. The dead leaves and twigs in Chesterfield Hollow Cemetery broke under James Johnson’s enormous feet. His face beaded with sweat, and his hands bloody and wounded, James was returning home at half past midnight after a hard day’s work of digging graves. But he had an errand to run first. He had to go meet his boss to see if the deal was met to standards yet.
“Is it finished?’ asked a laid back, dark, shadowy figure from behind a street corner with a scratchy, Italian accent. James jumped.
“Yes sir, I even finished early, I’m on my way back.”
“Good,” replied the dark shadow.
“Where are you keeping my wife and children? We had a deal,”
The dark figure laughed. He glared searchingly into the night, handed a photo to James from his back pocket, and disappeared into the moonlight, leaving James on his hands and knees pounding his fists to the ground. His boss had conned him and outsmarted him, he knew it had been finished. The photo was of his wife getting raped by other men, and his son and daughter watching their mother suffer. The deal was that after he dug five graves, his wife and children would be let go. The next day, after sleeping alone in his empty house, James woke up to his wife and children asleep on the couch. They were bloody and an overall mess, but they were his family.
“Jessica! You’re here! You’re alive!”
James gave his wife, whom he called Jess, a long, loving kiss as if they hadn’t seen each other in years, which it had only been one day.
“Sydney! Jonathan! My children! You’re safe!” James bawled. His brother finally got out of prison the next day, got moved in with the Johnsons, and everyone was happy. Except the boss. The dark figure lurking in the shadows one night. What did he want with the graves? James did his part and earned back his wife and children. Why did he urge to know? A part of him had to know and another part of him was happy with his life. He just couldn’t resist. One night he snuck out of his house and was on his way to the gravesite. On his way out he shut the door too loud and woke up his daughter. Sydney then told his mother and all four of them followed close behind James. When they all got there, what they found was horrifying. It was graves, with James’s family names on them. James Johnson was the first, Jessica Johnson after that, Sydney and Jonathan following, and lastly, his brother. They tried to run, but it was too late. They were surrounded by hired assassins. With the hired workers holding James back, the boss slowly tortured them until they died and kick them into their graves. James was the only one left and they let him live. Right after the murders, after everyone had gone, James shot himself at a certain angle so that he would fall into the fifth grave. The police still to this day think it was a murder-suicide. Take care of your business and your business only, you could get caught up in the same situation.