Edited Paths that end up in endings 5A through 5D

1A Selamile

John meets Mary.  What happens next?

They have an affair. Mary has been married to Patrick for seven years, but one month before their eight-year anniversary, she cheats on him with John. She meets John at a train station and loves the way he says the word ‘necessity.’ Honestly, that’s it. That’s the only reason she cheats on Patrick. John says the word ‘necessity’ with a reverence Mary has never heard before, so she cheats on Patrick because she loves the way John says ‘necessity.’ She waits until the third date to sleep with him because she’s believes that decent women should wait until at least the third date before they open their legs and open their goodie jars. Besides, she already has enough sex with Patrick, anyway. Mary respects Patrick. She always leaves John’s apartment two hours before Patrick is due home so that her beloved Patrick will always finds her home. She makes sure to shower after she has sex with him so that Patrick doesn’t taste John in her mouth. She makes sure John wears a latex condom every time. Despite the philandering, Mary really loves Patrick. After two months, she decides to end the relationship with John. She gets bored with John and his sex. Even the word ‘necessity’ slipping gloriously from his tongue isn’t enough to sustain their relationship. She tells John that it’s over, but John has other ideas.

Option A: John follows Mary home the night after she tells him they’re through

Option B: Mary discovers she is pregnant 

2A by Alison

Mary descends the stairs, looking like a dream. She’s wearing the yellow dress Patrick always loved to see her in and the lingerie he bought her for Christmas. She’s always hated the set—the bra squeezes in all the wrong ways and the panties gave her a perpetual wedgie—but her breasts double in size and her ass is accentuated in all the right ways, and how can she fail to appreciate the effort Patrick puts into finding her such a beautiful, practical, and expensive present? So Mary wears the lingerie, at least regularly enough to avoid any accusations of ungratefulness.

The house smells delicious. She has made pork chops and apple pie, his favorite, and runs frantically between the various rooms lighting candles that promise scents of rainshower and warm sand before his arrival. Everything has to be perfect. It is, after all, his special day, his birthday, and everything has to be just the way he likes it- including her, which is why she rushed up the stairs to shower and change as he headed through the front door.

She is taken by surprise, though, by the sound of not one but two male voices in the living room. The effort she has put into her makeup and attire goes unnoticed. Her very presence goes unnoticed until she puts an arm over Patrick, kisses him hello with as much enthusiasm as is expected from a loving wife. His lips respond but his eyes don’t, still engaged in conversation with the man lazily sprawled on the loveseat across from the couch. Mary doesn’t recognize the man at first because she is so focused on her husband:  does he like her new earrings? Is he crinkling his nose because the candles are too strong? But then she hears the word “necessity,” spoken in that captivating way, floating across the room. He continues talking about something boring—stock options, probably—but Mary feels like she can’t breathe. She swallows hard. It can’t be. Patrick and John sitting across from each other, enjoying each other’s company and ignoring her. She imagines all the worst possible scenarios.

“Honey, I should probably introduce John,” her husband’s voice breaks her out of her reverie. “We were best friends back in high school. I didn’t even know he was in the area until he stopped by today. Isn’t it great that he got a chance to stop by for my birthday?” He chuckles to himself. Patrick was the kind of man who loved to hear himself talk. “Say, you should stay for dinner. Honey, shouldn’t he stay for dinner?”

Option A: The three sit down for a potentially disastrous dinner.

Option B: Mary sneaks into the kitchen and equips herself with the necessities. 

3A by An

Mary, Patrick, and John all sit down for dinner. Tension is in the air and so thick you could cut it with a butter knife. Things start out with small talk. “How was work today, Patrick?” “Did you see the game last night, John?” The conversation proceeds smoothly as the only people aware of the full situation are Mary and John. And they hide it well.

Throughout the entire dinner, John continuously tries to play footsie with Mary. He moves his foot sensuously up and down Mary’s leg beneath her yellow sundress, and although she slaps his foot away each time, John doesn’t give up and continues flirting with her. He wants her back, and he's ready to perform whatever foot motions necessary to have her back in his arms. Annoyed, frustrated, and feeling as if she’s run out of options, Mary reaches for a pair of scissors, reaches down, and cuts off John’s big toe with one swift motion.

“FUCK!” squeals John. Pulling his foot back, he tries to stand up but loses his balance, cause he’s missing a toe.

Twisting, bleeding, and toe-less, John lies on the ground with an expression of pure agony on his face. A twisted smile slowly forms on Patrick’s mouth as he stands up. He picks up the kitchen knife. 

Option A: As Patrick approaches John with the knife, Mary backs away, shaking her head.

Option B: Mary dashes in to intervene before Patrick can hurt John. 

4A by James (following 3A)

“No, Patrick!” Mary screams as Patrick drives the 9 inch santoku into John’s ribs.  

“We talked about this Mary,” Patrick says coolly over the screams, stabbing John again and again. “You promised this wouldn't happen again. Besides, we have a business to run.” John’s last breaths bubble out of his mouth.

“I didn’t want to kill him, just hurt him a bit,” Mary wails. “Oh god! Why?!”

“Shut up and get to work,” Patrick says, handing Mary a hacksaw from the garage. “You started this, you finish it.”

Mary gets to work, sawing through skin, muscle, and bone to section the man she had once known and loved. A dark red puddle coagulates on the floor of their home. Patrick fills a beer cooler with ice, and they pack dripping cuts of John into it.  They place the cooler into the trunk of their car and drove off to the diner.

“At least we won’t have to buy meat this week,” Patrick says.

“Stop it,” Mary says.

"It’ll be so fresh,” Patrick says.

“Stop it,” Mary said.

“Just think of the margins,” Patrick continues, “Ca-ching! We can go to Dorsia this week and you can get the lobster.”

“Stop it, stop it, stop it,” Mary cries.  

Patrick looks over at her with his flat blue eyes. She sobs against the passenger window. A strange light came over her face.  He turns to find its source and is blinded by bright headlights careening towards them.

Option A) They are grazed at 20 miles per hour and the trunk pops open.

Option B) They are T-boned at 45 miles an hour. George remains conscious, but Mary does not. 

5A (following 4A)

(1A>2A>3A>4A>5A)

A short, balding man emerges from his beat-up Subaru.

“Jesus I’m sorry guys, are you okay?”

Patrick spears him with a haughty look. “What do you think you were doing?”

Mary’s face, however, has turned ash pale. She stares at the open trunk, the open cooler, the pieces of gore splattered across the fabric and onto the street. The man hasn’t noticed yet. She tries signaling to Patrick, but he is too busy guilt-tripping the man.

Suddenly, the man catches a glimpse of the trunk. “What in the world—“ he starts, and begins to back away. Patrick realizes what is happening—he knows he can either kill this man and make a break for it, or he can just leave now. He decides to spare a life.

Patrick and Mary dump John’s body in the street, seeing no point in trying to hide it anymore. They speed across the country, cross the border into Mexico, and spend the rest of their lives as fugitives. Mary is so unhappy that she hangs herself. Patrick becomes involved in a drug cartel which ultimately results in a scuffle where he is fatally shot, seven years after Mary’s death.

The end.

5B (following 4A)

Patrick looks at Mary’s body, slumped across the dashboard in front of her. She still wears her yellow dress. He can see a glimpse of his favorite lingerie, peeking out from under the yellow fabric. He feels blood trickle down his forehead. Is this the end? His life flashes in front of his eyes. Far off, he hears the distant scream of sirens. His vision begins to fade. He closes his eyes. He just wants to sleep.

4B (following 3A) by Katherine

1A>2A>3A>4B

    Patrick looms over John, serrated steak knife in hand, kicking the severed toe aside nonchalantly. John whimpers and scuttles back against the wall.

    Suddenly Mary throws herself between them, arms flung out like an exquisite martyr.

    “No, Patrick! Please!!” she begs, bright red lips contorting like a bouncing rubber band. The scissors drop from her hand and clatter to the floor.

    Patrick ignores her and brings the knife closer to John’s face.

    “Please don’t, Patrick!” she blurts out.   “I…I love him!”  She gasps at the sound of her confession.  The words sound so right now that they’re spoken.

    “Love me?! You cut off my fucking toe!” John squeaks. She shoots him a look and he zips right up.

    Patrick hesitates.  “Is this true, darling? Is this really what you want?”  She nods and he drops the knife. His eyebrows knit together.

    “Yes,” Mary says. “I didn’t realize it at first--it was just a fling, a silly little affair. I liked the way he said ‘necessity’ is all--how silly! But now I know--I could never live without John!”

    She turns and throws her arms around John, who is still hunched against the wall, one hand clamped over the bleeding stub of his big toe. She kisses him, leaving a big red stain on his cheek.

    “Oh, I love you John! I love you!”

    “Alright, alright,” he moans. “Just--just get me to the hospital. I’m losing a lot of blood.”

    Patrick and Mary smile and nod, and John slumps down with relief.

    “This is…this is all fucking crazy, you know? But I bet in a few years we’ll be laughing about this, right?”

    Patrick and Mary laugh. Then they keep laughing.

    John looks up weakly. The two have matching grins on their faces. Mary’s shoulders shake, and she staggers back to stand by her husband, still chortling.

    “Oh--Oh darling, this is really too much.”

    “You outdid yourself, dear. Yessiree, this one’s an extra special one!”

    “Just a little b-day gift for my big man,” she coos, cozying up and kissing him.

    “Wait--what?” John says.

    Patrick grins down at him and holds up the steak knife again.

    “Just a little extracurricular, to toast my health I guess! Sorry, pal. I know we’re friends from way back and all—”

    “Really dear, he was screwing me.”

    “--but then you were screwing my wife, so I guess you had it coming. No hard feelings, right?”

    John looks from one to the other, confused. “You’re--you’re in this together?”

    “A match made in heaven!” Mary trills. “I’m the honey pot. I reel them in, Patrick here flays them up. Shall we have him butterflied? It is your birthday after all. Birthday boy’s choice...”

    “Oh, you spoil me. I have the ax all sharpened up, just in case we need it. John, old buddy, this is just a bit of fun. You’ll be... number nine I suppose?”

    “Twelve, sweet pea.”

    “Ah, yes. I’m no good with numbers. Yes, you’ll be number twelve. Eleven other gents, same as you, came in here for a shag with Mary and--well, I guess you could say they’re permanent residents!”

    Mary picks up the scissors and snips the air a few times, grinning demonically. “Men are so stupid. They fall for the ass and legs trick every time. They think they’re all big and clever, the ones in charge. So tiresome, really, playing into all that ego. But it’s all worth it for the party afterward! Shall you do the honors, Patrick dear?”

    “Yes, yes, I think I shall. The host carves the turkey, after all.”

Option C: Patrick and Mary start by snipping off John’s most treasured digit.

Option D: John flees the house. Patrick dials up a contact. "It's on," he says.

5C following 4B (written by Kyle)

1A>2A>3A>4B>5C

John moans in the corner, aware of his impending demise.

"Necessity!" he shouts. "Sweet necessity!" 

But his tone is more desperate than seductive. The couple begins to sharpen their knives, whittled out of balsa wood and mammoth tusk. 

"Wait, Mary," says Patrick.  “It occurs to me that this would be a great time to employ... the fantastic device." 

Mary freezes with joy. The fantastic device only emerges on special murders, the ones that fall on prime numbers. 

"Necessity! Necessity!" shouts John.  

Patrick wheels out a machine the size of an MRI and straps John into it. A flip of the switch, and John’s body is wrung through the machine and turned inside out. Quite uncomfortable now, he knows this is his last chance to save himself. He inhales sharply (actually exhaling due to his body's reorientation): 

"NECESSITY!" 

Instantly, Mary feels a cramp in her abdomen. The word is so seductive that Mary ovulates, not once, not twice, but ten thousand times. Every egg from her ovaries avalanches down her fallopian tubes in an incendiary cascade of fertility. She knows instantly that she has made a mistake. 

"John!" 

She sends John back through the machine and reattaches the toe. Patrick looks on in shock. 

"Well," he says, trying to regain his composure, "I guess...uh... I guess we'll be getting back to dinner now, huh?" 

THE END

5D by Ashlee (following 4B)

John jumps five fences and is well on his way to the main road when he notices a little boy on a bicycle. He bumps the little boy off the bicycle, then picks him off the floor and hurtles him into the bushes shouting ‘this is for your own good, son!’

Not a moment after he says so, his prophesy is proven true as two Escalades squeal to a stop in front of John and Mary’s house. 8 men jump out holding machine guns and they start to pepper shots in the direction of John. John is now riding away madly on the bicycle, dodging bullets, swinging side to side.

A tan sedan pulls up in front of him and brakes, making a half circle as it does so. John jumps through the window of the car, and the bicycle gets crushed beneath the tires.

The driver is an older woman, and she looks as glum as they come.

"So, it isn't enough that you don't pay for anything, you don't take care of little Scotty, and you don't do shit on a whole? You gotta have me picking you up from random houses, with bullets raining in the middle of the night. You're begging for a divorce, but I ain't giving you no alimony asshole."

John remains silent, looking at the floor, trying very hard not to start bawling from the unbearable pain where his toe used to be.

But his wife hears his intake of breath as they go over a speed bump, and she looks over at him. Her face contorts into disgust and pain, when she sees blood seeping from his sneakers.

"Ohh myy fuckkk, what happened to your foot?!" she moans.

John remains silent, not wanting to reveal the whole sordid affair, even though he knows that silence will only anger her further.

She punches his leg, and pain spirals into his toe, and words spiral into his mouth, revealing the truths of his affair with Mary.

His wife laughs a bit, then opens her pocket book and hands him a pocket knife.

"Cut the other one off,” she says.

He stares at her until he realizes that she is dead serious.

He refuses, calling her a crazy bitch.

"So you lose a toe for that whore, but you can't lose one for your wife,” she said braking suddenly.

"Get out or I'll chop it off myself,” she shouts at him.

John exists the car, looking back one last time at his wife, realizing that he had lost his family now too.

He stands on the side of the road alone, contemplating his next move, toe-less and family-less.

"Kill me now,” he mutters to the Gods.

Then from around the corner comes the tan sedan, it jumps the curb, and runs him over.

Mary and Patrick live happily ever after.