{"id":2742,"date":"2015-01-08T14:23:29","date_gmt":"2015-01-08T14:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/?p=2742"},"modified":"2015-01-08T14:23:45","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T14:23:45","slug":"peter-crown-wynn-brothers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/peter-crown-wynn-brothers\/","title":{"rendered":"Peter Crown by The Wynn Brothers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Exit-of-the-Red-Death-020\"<\/a>
Exit of the Red Death by Duncan Long<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Peter Crown<\/h1>\n

by The Wynn Brothers<\/p>\n

\u201cSeventy hours,\u201d said the man across the table from Peter Crown. Peter had invited him in for tea on an impulse that didn’t feel like his own. He didn’t even remember hearing a knock at the door.<\/p>\n

Somewhere in the middle of the pouring, the man introduced himself as the Devil. He said it with a disturbing pride, and Peter opted not to argue.<\/p>\n

“Seventy hours,” the Devil repeated as he stirred his tea. “That’s how long you have to save your life.”<\/p>\n

Between sips, he explained the deal. The Devil had arrived precisely two days and twenty-two hours before Peter Crown was scheduled to die. But Peter could win back his life, if he could accomplish one simple task.<\/p>\n

\u201cShow me a reliable friend,\u201d the Devil said over the ceramic clink of his cup returning to its saucer. \u201cIt can\u2019t be a relative or a lover. Choose someone from your past, and I will grant this person’s greatest desire. Then, I will present a letter written by you, where you beg this person to give up the new gift in order to save your life. But choose carefully; on only six occasions have I seen . . . a reliable friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peter searched his past.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re thinking of Brian Leonard,\u201d said the Devil. Peter didn\u2019t know if he was guessing or reading his mind, but either way, he was right. Brian had served in the fire department alongside Peter. They had entered many burning buildings together.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe saved your life once,\u201d the Devil announced, \u201cAnd now you think he just might do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure he would,\u201d Peter replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure enough to put your life on it? You have time to think it over, if you\u2019d\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t need time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSplendid,\u201d said the Devil. \u201cYour friend Brian now has his heart\u2019s greatest desire. And you have exactly sixty-nine hours and fifty-three minutes to draft a letter convincing him to give it up. I\u2019d find a pen, if I were you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peter already knew what Brian\u2019s greatest desire was, and he knew exactly what he would write.<\/p>\n

Brian,<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sorry, my friend. It has been far too long since we spoke. My life has been in a stupor lately, but today I woke.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure this letter will find you watching your daughter walk for the very first time. I know that’s a hill you thought she’d never climb.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a miracle I cannot explain, but I know that tumor is now gone from her brain.<\/p>\n

As for the stranger who delivered this note, tell him this is number seven. I can\u2019t wait to share the full story, my friend, when we meet in heaven.<\/p>\n

This gift that I send you today was a wonderful lesson for me to learn. Enjoy it, and know that I want nothing in return.<\/p>\n

For me, my time has come to an end. But I’m proud to be your reliable friend.<\/p>\n

As for Peter Crown, he would never see the Devil again.<\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

Todd and Tim Wynn are screenwriters who have just released their first novel. They are two-time winners of the Silver Ace Award at the Las Vegas Film Festival, for two different screenplays. Their debut science-fiction novel \u201cTrespassers,\u201d is currently available in paperback through major bookstores (Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cSeventy hours,\u201d said the man across the table from Peter Crown. Peter had invited him in for tea on an impulse that didn’t feel like his own. He didn’t even remember hearing a knock at the door.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[168,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flash-fiction","category-short-story"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2742"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2745,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2742\/revisions\/2745"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}