This is My entry for JAMRIOT's Writers Jam with the Prompt being HEADSTONE
My name is Organ Manor, I am 45 years old, i used to be praised, and now i am heading to a grave.
How did it lead to this? well it didn't start with some unfinished business but it definitely started from a misunderstanding.
It was a morning, It was the fourth anniversary of the foundation of the city where i lived, to celebrate people drunk alcohol and threw fragmentation grenades everywhere as part of tradition, I lived in the city for two years now and i got already used to it (with great help from the neighbors).
I was preparing myself to go to work, somebody has to carry road rebuilding material and nobody is risking their life for it, which makes the job quite profitable, after i reached my workplace, i asked my superior for information about my upcoming cargo carrying duties, this had caught the attention of the boss, which he stopped my superior from speaking and if that wasn't shocking enough, he started to ask me if i was crazy to work on this day specifically, my superior had to then interrupt the boss remembering that the company doesn't pay for assurance, after getting this information the boss apologized for the intrusion and let us go.
After getting my order i got in the truck and started to do deliveries, it's mostly the usual stuff: Blast-proof concrete, Micro nuclear generators, Pleasure dolls and Rocks. My delivering day went as well as anyone could have hoped, the truck was fragmentation grenade proof and the cargo was well protected.
The first 3 deliveries went pretty well, but then it came on with the final destination for the day, it was for the Rocks, the company that needed it was one that i never heard before, so i asked one of the clients in regards if before heading, but what they said was not very useful only saying: "It's closer than you think.", i tried asking for more information but they didn't help me much, So the next step was to ask my superiors about it and all they said when asked, they felt surprised on the fact that i didn't know anything about it, still they wrote the directions and thanks to those i arrived at the final destination and what i saw was definitely not normal.
It was a gravestone factory, one that by far would make the Cyberpunk with some distinct Eastern influence look simplistic comparison, the Building looked like a living mechanical monster made of floating golden circles, its eyes were glowing red and acted as spotlights to see, its mouth was formed with half circles that somehow dripped with water (or at least i hope its water), the mouth would open to lead vehicles inside the building.
All of the workers seemed to be dressed for a cult with their long robes and they were all very busy, which makes me think that today is a busy day for them.
Regardless i enter the building and deliver the rocks,
to my surprise i recognize one of the workers being my neighbor, while i waited for the truck to be emptied i decided to take this moment to ask a few question with him, it was clear by the way he answered my questions that this was not the first time somebody asked, to keep it short all of the stuff seen outside of the building is all for brand recognition, the monster (which apparently is a dragon), the cult like dress code, the dripping water, the main reason all of this is made is because the CEO needed to get shown right in front of those who enter, who are they dealing, apparently it was quite profitable as he is now quite rich, even if that made me feel a little bit of envious i decided to accept it and move on to get on with the job and call it a day, or at least that was the plan, my neighbor stopped me on my tracks before exiting to hand me a lighter, saying "It's a free gift for visitors!" afterward i finished work and returned home to sleep for the night.
The next day i woke up, at first it felt like it was normal until i exited my home, as i then saw a TON of people outside near the front door, when i mean a ton i mean a TON: there was my neighbors, the mayor of the city, My boss etc.
They all looked at me with excitement, so as soon as i tried to ask why they were here, i get all of my answers from everybody as they start to say "ALL HAIL ORGAN MANOR!" in unison, it made me more confused so i demanded an explanation and my neighbor provided one, the lighter that was given to me is seen by everybody from the city as "the selected", which is like the second coming of God… sort of, legend said that the selected would live for a thousand years (or at least that was what i have heard) and as long as it gets treated with respect they will get a prosperous life, as such they all treated me like i was their king and i could request anything that i desire, so to test it, i ordered that we prepare a feast for lunch at the city hall and they all said "IT SHALL BE DONE!" a lot of people headed there and soon enough begun working on the feast, i order them to take me to the city hall too and they dragged me to the a limousine to get me there, after arriving at the city hall i saw cooks working tirelessly to get the food ready, tables were already set and they were already starting to put plastic cups to for every seat.
from that moment forward i understood i had power beyond what anyone could have imagined and with this power i used it for my pleasure of both me and those who were in need… but mostly me.
But of course like all good things in life, they don't last forever. The next day after being selected, i wake up in the sounds of chanting, and as soon as i woke up i realized i was in another place altogether, it was a prison cell, i was tied to a metallic bed, but soon after, someone entered the cell, it was my boss, he was silent but sad from what i saw, he started to tell me that i was one of his favorite employees and it was sad to see me go. I gave a confused expression and asked him where i was going, my Boss answers with just "Where all selected end up.".
I was even more confused now, and decided to ask about the "would live for a thousand years" and he responded with just "Live in our hearts for a thousand years" and suddenly i now understood what they meant by "It's closer than you think.".
My neighbor soon after arrived, wearing the cultist robe he uses for work, his entrance put a deafening silence to the room (not counting the chanting), until he himself broke the ice and said that it was time for me to go and with a press of a button, i slid into a chute, one that would lead me falling into a seat in a dark room, my legs and arms were tied up by the seat once i landed, soon after it begun to move, the chanting begun to grow louder and louder as my seat moved forward from there a the dark room, which then it would open up from the front wall to show the light of the sun and from there i saw with my own 2 eyes where the seat was heading… to my Grave.
This was my first time participating for a Writing jam it was fun even if writing in a rush isn't my kind of thing, Still, i am glad to have participated in this.
