A Job Well Done (Revised 2025)

by Chris Dämn

Chris woke up around eight AM with a headache that could kill a elephant. He took two aspirin, but knew that wouldn't help him any. Today is the first day doing a construction job with a guy he met last week. He doesn't know much about the guy and has no idea how to do construction.

Fred is about 5'7" and 180lbs. Brown hair, a mullet to be exact. Went right along with his pencil mustache. He was strong, at least stronger than Chris. Which is nothing really. Fred showed up at ten AM to pick Chris up for the job. As soon as he got in his car Fred passed him a joint. "Here", he said with a smile. "This will make the day go by smoother." They started going down the road and smoking. Seemed to Chris that today wouldn't be as bad as he thought it would be.

"So what kind of job are we doing?", Chris asks.

"We're taking the floor out of an apartment and replacing it. Ever done work like this before?"

"No, this is my first time."

"Well, don't worry. It's not that hard."

A few moments passed by of silence. They pull into a parking lot. "Alright, we're here." They walk up to the house. The keys were already in the door. They walk in and see the floor in the living room had been sunken in. "The floor in here has been warped from the septic tank exploding. Our job is to replace the floor."

"What should I do?"

"Go get the radio out of the car. I need some music."

Chris did as he said. When he got back inside, Fred was busy tearing the carpet up. Chris' main job was to carry whatever he tore up to the truck, and get Fred whatever he asked for. The carpet took about twenty minutes to pull up and discard.

After the last piece of carpet was taken to the truck, Fred started using an electric saw to cut up the floor boards. The saw was so loud Chris couldn't hear the radio, and it was on the highest volume. When he finished, Chris carried all of the wood to the truck. Underneath the floor boards was nothing but dirt. They decide to take a break.

"How do you like the job so far?"

"Seems alright so far."

Fred pulls out another joint. "Here, fire this up." Chris did as he said. They smoked it, then got back to work.

"I want you to go get the two shovels."

"What do we need shovels for?"

"We need to dig up the septic tank and replace it."

"I thought you said we were just going to replace the floor?"

"We are, but first we need to replace the broken septic tank."

Chris went and got the shovels even though he didn't want to. He was starting to get a bad feeling about all of this. He ignored the feeling and blamed it on just being stoned. He handed Fred a shovel and they got right to digging. The job was really starting to suck for Chris, but he kept at it. He needed the extra cash. After digging for a while, Fred stopped and told Chris to keep on digging. Fred got the saw back out.

"Whats that for? I thought we had all the floor up we needed to take out?" Chris asked while still shoveling.

"You know, you ask a lot of questions. I don't like that."

Fred started the saw and swung it at Chris. It cut into his right arm. He screamed but couldn't even hear himself over the sound of the saw. He turned around to get out of the hole they dug, but Fred was too quick. He slashed at Chris again. This time, cutting into his back. He fell into the hole and just laid there in pain. He knew screaming would do nothing. He couldn't even hear himself. Fred stopped the saw briefly. "Thanks for helping me dig your grave." He started to laugh and turned the saw back on.