March, 2020 Honorable mention: The burial by luke desimone

I looked in my rear view mirror to make sure no one was following me. After making that loud of a noise someone must’ve heard me. If he had just shut the hell up, none of this would’ve happened. In my rush, I hadn’t even noticed that the radio was on, so I quickly turned it off. I had finally achieved silence, the oh so sweet sound of silence. Why wouldn’t he just shut up? What else was I to do? It’s not like I had any other choice right? I asked these questions to myself over and over again as I headed down the highway, not knowing exactly where I was heading. “Dammit Bill,” I said to what was left of my best friend in the trunk. I just couldn’t take it anymore. I told him to stop but he kept on going. “It’s not my fault.” I kept telling myself. I decided to bury him in the old woods behind the lake. I backed in as close as I could to the trees and put it in park. I got out, grabbed the shovel, and popped the trunk. There he was, still bloody from the shotgun rounds I had unloaded into him. “Dammit Bill.” I said again as I picked up the body and walked into the woods. He didn’t weigh much, but that wasn’t a surprise because he wasn’t a big eater. We had a lot of good times together. If he had just shut the hell up. I found a good spot and dug a hole. I placed his body inside and covered him with dirt. If only he had listened, none of this would’ve happened. “Why wouldn’t he just stop barking?” I said as I put the shovel in my trunk.