comfortably numb

"Gunfight at the Frozen Pin" (an original bowling short story)

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GUNFIGHT AT THE FROZEN PIN


As they pulled Boomer out of the gutter of the frozen street, the digital time and temperature clock in front of the bank across from them said 1:30am and -33 degrees. Fairbanks was a nasty place to pass out drunk outdoors in the winter. Five cent beer night had taken another victim. Half pushing and half carrying Boomer, his buddies struggled mightily with the 280 pound man, as they headed back to the army barracks. As firefighters for the Army, they enjoyed a unity of brotherhood that many other servicemen never had.

Boomer woke up the next day, Sunday, with a headache that would kill a horse and a stinking pile of vomit on the floor beside him. He was glad that he had the day off. Sunday was his bowling day. As he dragged himself out of bed and headed to the bathroom, Boomer hoped he felt better before he bowled. Bowling was his favorite non-Army activity, next to drinking beer.

At 1:00pm, he headed downstairs and waited for the bus to take him downtown. The Frozen Pin Lanes was a good five miles from the base. Boomer sat next to Bill, one of his drinking buddies. Bill also looked half dead, but they had to laugh at each other. At least bowling would take their minds off their hangovers.

Arriving at the Frozen Pin, they carried their equipment inside and stopped at the front desk, where they struck up a conversation with Jennie, the weekend manager there. Jennie always had a way of making Boomer smile; she had been a manager there through many Army tours of duty and always took care of the servicemen, giving them priority and great service.

Being a firefighter, Boomer wasn’t always armed when he went out into public, but this morning he had taken the time to strap on his firearm. Fairbanks was turning into somewhat of a big city for Alaska, and crime had been on the rise lately. Boomer and Bill headed over to their usual lane, lane 7, and started to bowl. Boomer really loved his new Nano ball and Bill was a little jealous, since all he could afford was his old Columbia 300, which had seen better days. As usual, after four frames Boomer had a thirty pin lead.

Heading over to the food counter, Boomer ordered some tacos to fill his growling stomach. His hangover was just about gone, so he ordered a Pepsi to go with it. Just as he got done ordering, he heard three loud POPS coming from the middle of the lanes!! Looking quickly over to where the sound had come from, Boomer was horrified to see his buddy Bill crumple to the ground. Two armed men were starting to run toward the side door of the bowling center. Boomer grabbed his gun and started to chase after them, while shouting at Jennie to call 911 for Bill. One of the armed men turned around and saw Boomer chasing him, and fired a quick shot at Boomer. Ducking behind the counter, Boomer heard the round hit the wall above him. Getting up from his crouch he saw the second of the two men start to exit the glass side door, and Boomer pumped two rounds into his shoulder. Boomer ran up to the man as he slumped slowly to the ground and disarmed him. The first shooter was already a block down the street, and Boomer knew that with the weight he was carrying in his gut, he never could catch up, so he focused immediately on checking on his buddy. Running back to Bill, Boomer could see that Bill was dead. He heard the sound of sirens in the distance, and he started to sob. Bill was one of his best buddies, and Boomer couldn’t believe that he was dead.

Two other bowlers had run over to the shooter that Boomer had wounded and grabbed him so he wouldn’t think about running away. Blood was all over the floor under Bill and under the shooter. Boomer slowly walked over to Jennie, who had come out from behind the counter to survey the scene, and Jennie hugged him. Just then three policemen ran through the front door of the bowling center with their guns drawn. In all the excitement, Boomer was still holding his gun with a death-grip, and one of the cops saw it. Before Boomer could speak or move, all three cops opened fire on Boomer, hitting him in the chest and head. He was dead before he hit the ground. Jennie started screaming, and the cops surrounded Boomer’s body. The sirens from the ambulance shrilled in the distance.

And there wouldn’t be any bowling the rest of the day at the Frozen Pin.

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  1. Trex's Avatar
    Sir....you are very talented!!