Sci-Fi Short Story Smack Down

Qualifier: Left in Jail

Author's note: This short story is a continuation of the prompt given. You can find the prompt at the attached link (its at the very bottom of this page). Enjoy!

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"Have you been off your medication again?"

Dave's eyes widened, "Why would it matter? I'm already locked up Frank."

"It's a good thing too. All those people you killed," He shook his head. "The world's better off where you are now." He stepped away from the cell.

"You were my partner in crime, my go to guy, Frank. Why are you talking like this?" Dave called out desperately.

Frank tapped his chest where his police badge used to be, "Does this look like I was your partner in crime to you? You were a noble police officer till you started thinking about saving the world you crazy bastard. The world's already gone. The last ships for migration leave Friday to Venus and thank God you're not going to be on them."

"No, it ain't," Dave grinned.

Frank gripped the jail cell bars, "I don't want any part of this, you hear me?"

"There's going to be a lot of pieces, Frank."

"Would you stop calling me that! Its Joey and I don't want to be picking up these pieces in community service."

"Franky, come on. You said it yourself, the last ship leaves Friday which leaves us an' this ashened world alone. Why not have a lil fun eh?"

"A lil fun? Is that what you call it now?" He lowered his voice as a guard passed by, "those people we killed was for a greater purpose. Sure I went along with it then, but I'm a changed man."

Dave belted out with laughter, "You got your sentence 36 hours ago, Frank. That ain't time enough for any man to change. Any decent one anyway."

Frank got real quiet, "My family is on that ship."

"Pff, what's left of them at least. So what?"

"So what? I would actually like to go down a decent human being."

"Decency was under us as soon as we hit up the first mall."

"No, decency was under you, Dave. You took the intel and exploited it. I wanted to get rid of the contaminant. You wanted to get rid of anything that possibly got contaminated."

"Not everything," he spit back eyeing Frank. "You act as if this is all on me, it ain't. For every trigger I pulled there was a guy named Frank standing next to me approving it."

Dave slipped out a detonation button from under his pillow, "Just like there is now."

"No, there isn't." Frank pulled out a stolen handgun and a shot rang out.

Guards rushed to the scene detaining Frank, but it was too late, Dave was already long gone.

***

The mop swirled the red liquid across the jail cell floor. "It's no use," the custodian grumbled, "no one else is going to be admitted into this prison anyway."

He sat on the bed and noticed a small box with a red button on it. He pressed the button in a couple times and nothing seemed to happen. "What an odd thing to keep around," he muttered.

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