Free Short Story – Old Tom | Barry S. Brunswick

Hey friend, this week I have a special treat for you, you lucky thing! I wrote this short story for a competition last year and while it failed to win, now I get to share it with you. YAY! It won’t be published anywhere else but here, on my blog. It’s only about a 10 minute read or so, so feel free to enjoy at your own leisure. If you love quick reads this is the free short story for you. You can read it right here or click for a free PDF download.

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So, without further ado, introducing, Old Tom.

Old Tom

“Morning, Tom. Good day for it.”

“What, being in the air conditioning?”

“Yep, that’s it. Hotter than the surface of Venus out there today.”

“Sure is. I think I saw some lead melting earlier, or it could have been Terminator Two, I’m not quite sure. You’re more than welcome to sit in the walk-in, my friend.” He pointed to the room-sized fridge, stacked high with boxes of beer.

“I think I’ll take you up on that, and I might open up my boardie legs for a breeze up the old wahula for a while.”

The bottle shop filled with laugher as it so often did when old Tom was working. All the customers adored him and who wouldn’t? In the five years he’d worked there, he’d met them all. He was kind, funny and charming. He was the type of man that, should he ever offer you a kind word and a smile in the morning, you would carry them forward throughout a day that was sure to be brighter for them. His grey eyes sparkled with a mysterious mixture of intelligence and mischief to match his grin. His silver hair ran long down his back, and his face adorned a well-kept beard. His skin had the deep wrinkles of life, bringing a type of chiselled wisdom to his face. He was approachable as well as presentable, even in his orange branded polo shirt with his name badge upon the chest. When he spoke, his accent was mixed, but the Australian twang was far stronger than his European one which still lingered there, somewhere in the background. Nobody could really understand why he, a gentleman beyond the age of retirement, would work for peanuts in a bottle shop, but Tom loved every moment of it.

“I’ll just get a six pack today, mate, or her at home will start moaning again.”

“They say ‘happy wife, happy life’ for a reason.” Again, they chuckled. “Have a great day, Erne.”

“Will do, see ya next time, Tom.” Ernie left the shop, grinning from ear to ear. His day, like everyone else who shared a moment with Tom, was well and truly made.

The shop had been busy, but once the Friday night rush was over, Tom was free to go home. He said goodnight to the manager, Shirly, and headed out into the night. The streets were fairly quiet, as everyone who was out and about that night was in the hotel or in the Chinese restaurant opposite it. They were the only places to go for a night out in that small town.

He strolled along, greeting the odd person that he did see along the way with his trademark smile. Even though it was late, it was still a hot and muggy night. He headed down the street and finally, out of the streetlights and into the darkness. The backdrop was filled with the chirps of crickets and cicadas. There were so many it became a constant buzz. He stepped along the dirt track that he always walked down, surrounded by bushland. He loved it so much when he left the town and the bustle of humanity ceased to make way for the music of nature. Those were the times when he was at his happiest, in his element, in fact. That was exactly why he had moved there. Sometimes he’d hear the snakes slithering in the undergrowth, or goannas in the trees, and each sound made him smile. He never felt fear, just an appreciation of the life all around him.

This night was to be different from most, for once it wasn’t the beasts of the bushland he heard, but a woman’s scream. A scream of fear that entered his ears and then surged like electricity through his entire body, making his blood run cold. Immediately, he was alert as his heart thudded in his chest. He ran the situation through his mind and in less than a split second, he started walking briskly towards the sound. Now, his heart raced wildly, and his breath quickened. Adrenaline rushed through him, almost heating the blood in his veins. Again, the scream rang out spelling terror with its harrowing tone. It was louder and clearer this time. He sped up marching towards the scream, and soon broke into a run. In seconds he was there, on top of the noises.

He didn’t hesitate. “Hey, you there. What ya doing?”

A giant silhouette turned toward him. It was a man, huge and menacing, towering over Tom. He took a step back. The moonlight was the only reason he could see anything at all, but the foreboding presence standing there and the imminent danger he was in, didn’t require the use of his eyes.

“Get out of here!” Tom yelled to the woman to whom the scream belonged. “Get back to the town. Now!”

The woman, scurried past him, whimpering, too afraid to thank him, and ran off down the track. Now Tom stood, chest puffed out, facing the much younger, and larger man in near total darkness. He never so much as had a thought of running. He was to face this foe, here and now, despite the odds.

There, on that old dirt track, surrounded by bushes, the two shadowy opponents stood for a lingering moment, and then with a roar they rushed towards each other. A second later, they clashed like thunder in the darkness.

“Justin, have you seen Tom this morning?”

“No, I just assumed he was off today. He’s never late.”

“Hold on a sec, Justin.” Shirly turned to face the figures entering the shop. “Hey, Clyde. Deb.” She nodded at the two local cops. “Bit early for drinking, isn’t it?”

“Not here for the imbibement I’m afraid, this time at least.” Clyde joked. “But we were wondering, is Tom here at all?”

“No, not yet. I guess he’s running late.”

“Well, I hope so Shirl, because he’s not at home either.”

“Did something happen? Oh, please tell me nothing’s happened.”

“We had a report, that a young lady was nearly assaulted out on the dirt track, obviously, I can’t give her name or any details.”

The wide-eyed Shirly gasped, instinctively putting her hands up to her mouth. She was awash with fear from every word that was to come from then on.

“She wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but someone rescued her, and she thinks it was Tom. She thought she recognised his accent.”

“Did you check the dirt road and surrounding bush?”

“Shirl, we’ve been at this a while, of course. I’m sure everything’s fine, let us take care of it. Try not to worry, okay?”

Shirly nodded but the tears welling in her eyes told another story altogether.

“Get him to call us if you see him, okay?” Deb placed her hand on Shirly’s arm and gave a half-hearted encouraging smile.

“Okay.”

“Oh, his phone’s still not on. This is driving me insane! What if something terrible’s happened to him?”

“Shirl, freaking out won’t do any good.”

“I know, but I’m just so worried.”

She was pacing the aisles, turning her head quickly every time she heard the beep of the shop door opening. Each time she hoped beyond hope it was Tom, yet each time it was not. The poor customers got firmly interrogated as they entered as to whether they’d seen or heard from him, or knew anything at all. They left with a mind to keep an eye out for him and tell Shirly if they heard anything.

It was midday when Tom finally nonchalantly strolled in and apologised for his lateness like nothing at all had happened. Most days he was greeted with a smile from Shirly—on this day, it was a hug.

“Oh my god! I’m so glad you’re okay. You had me so worried. Where have you been?”

Tom broke free from her grasp. “Can we go out the back? I need to chat to you, privately.”

“Of course.”

“So, what’s been going on?” Shirly asked, but soon she would wish she had not.

“Last night, when I was walking home, down the dirt track, I heard a scream. It was some girl. She was being attacked.” His voice was eerily calm considering the magnitude of the things he was describing. “I didn’t think. I just ran towards her. I ended up in a fight. He was huge. I had no choice.”

Shirly gasped. “Are you hurt?”

“Nah, not a scratch on me, but this is where I run into trouble. I was forced to make him disappear. It was purely self-defence, I swear.”

“You didn’t? Are you saying killed him?” her eyes were wide, her hands were shaking, and her mouth was agape in utter disbelief.

“No, I didn’t kill him.”

“You hurt him then?”

“Well, not really.”

“What do you mean, not really? What did you do? Where is he? You’re not making any sense. What the hell have you done, Tom? It’s okay, you can tell me. Whatever it is, I’m here for you. I’m your friend.”

“I know Shirl, and I appreciate you for it. He’s not dead or hurt per se, more kind of stuck in between places.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Look, I’ve got to go. I came here to thank you from the bottom of my heart, for everything you’ve done for me. This has been my favourite job. I’ve loved every moment of it. I’m just sorry I can’t stay longer. I really wish that I could. I appreciate the job so much and your friendship, Shirl. Thank you. I’m afraid that once I leave, I can never return here. You will never see me again.”

He smiled that infectious smile that never failed to warm her heart.

“Where will you go? What shall I tell the cops?”

“I shall go where I am needed, my friend. Tell the cops, I was here, and I went again. Tell them I’m alive and well. That is all you know and that is all you should say. No need to cover for me, they won’t ever find me.”

“But what about…” He interjected before she finished another wasted question that he would never answer.

“There’s nothing else to say, Shirly. I’m so sorry that I could never fully explain to you. I wish I could, you deserve an explanation, but it’s one I could never give. Goodbye, Shirl, I’ll miss you so much.” He hugged her warmly and through his body she felt the glow of gratitude and the love he felt for her. The embrace left her skin buzzing all over like static electricity.

He released her, took a step back, looked around the old storeroom one last time, and gave her a final smile for the road. It was a smile that instantly warmed her soul, one that would from that day, forever be etched in her memory. He wrapped his long slender fingers around his staff, and like the roaming spirit that he was, the wizard headed out the shop door and forward to meet his destiny.

The End

Thank you so much for reading and if you’re a fan of Old Tom feel free to check out my other short reads, Home, The Hairy Man or The Savage Wild on Amazon today!