of nurture’s wildness - a novella (ch. 11)
by Tom Starkey
XI
So life went on, for those that chose to take their part in its play. Some, however, had chosen, if that was actually possible, to end their participation. Some people came to the centre because they were physically very unwell, but most did because they had simply become too lost to come back to life. Jimmy was one of those people, and James tried not to judge as his ceremony was beginning. Something had gotten hold of Jimmy from a young age and his rebellion had led him to the point of death, it was willing to take him beyond the pale of life that is. At this moment, however, there was still life in his eyes, and it showed as he began his last words. “Life is a joke, I wish you all luck with it, I was not meant to be here with all this shit, no one wanted me.” He paused briefly and held back some tears, but then resumed the rebellion, “So, I want nothing from anyone or anything, anymore.” Jimmy had also chosen the bullet, most people did, and the drum began again, and the walking to Cheps who waited by the wall.
"Ready, aim, - 'WAI-' - Fire."
It was unclear, or at least everyone sided with denial of Jimmy having changed his mind at the last moment. But maybe in the last moments, a little spark of hope within him had ignited and tried to save him. Cheps looked more disturbed than usual, it obviously affected him, one minute someone is talking, smelling, and breathing, and then next, matter on the ground and wall.
Later that evening Cheps was seen loading his gun, packing his belongings and leaving the centre. James, in his room, had not looked at his phone since he had arrived at the centre, and remarked that he was glad, so glad in fact that when he opened it to the social news app, and saw that a rebellion was in full force against the regime in the capital, the city that now burned at the hands of a large homeless community that had grown in such numbers that they had little trouble in over powering the army, which had been slowly weakened over time. Just as the economy had taken homes, it had also taken the food out of the soldiers’ mouths, and no one fights when they are truly starving.
THE END
*Read Tom Stuckey’s next installment of Of Nurture’s Wildness (Book II) on July 22, 2025, at 6PM CST.
Photo of Tom Starkey
BIO: Tom is a writer from Devon in England. His work can be found at A Thin Slice of Anxiety, Bristol Noir, Nut House Press, and Pulp Magazine. He is the author of The Canary in the Dream is Dead and The Sun Marches upon Us All. Learn more about Tom Stuckey at www.tomstuckey.com.