Break From Reality. Daily.
This story is by C. W. Murphy and was part of our 2022 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. “ALPHA TEAM IS PINNED DOWN! REPEAT, ALPHA IS SURROUNDED AND PINNED DOWN! REQUEST IMMEDIATE EVAC, OVER!” The sound of heavy gunfire nearly drowned Captain Maxwell’s voice from the headset. The…
After years of inactivity, I decided to follow my doctor’s orders and start exercising to prevent my heart from “exploding out of my chest,” as he so gently put it. I figured the blood test results were going to be considerably less-than-awesome but those cholesterol numbers and the doc’s grim predictions of my inevitable heart attack definitely got my attention.
Well, that and the mirror-related trauma I experienced when I accidentally caught a glimpse of myself while exiting the shower.
I couldn’t deny my physique was a product of my unwanted divorce. Three years of depression apparently has the same effect on your physical health as it does on your emotional well-being. Still, my doctor and my mirror had given my waning willpower and determination a much-needed boost. Armed with a growing resolve to stay alive, I entered Hell (henceforth referred to as “The Gym”) to begin my new, death-defying lifestyle.
