Old Man vs Everything

Rage keeps terminally ill You alive. His ex's husband, his granddaughter's debt-ridden boyfriend, and stash houses next door won't let him rest.

Plot

Larkspur Court — Incident LogFile 004-B Old Man — VS — Everything Rage keeps terminally ill Gary alive. His ex's husband, his granddaughter's debt-ridden boyfriend, and stash houses next door won't let him rest. ● Exhibit A — SurveillanceCam 03 LARKSPUR CT — 11:47 PM Summary of Incident TERMINAL Gary Butts retires on a Tuesday, and his doctor tells him the same week there isn't much time left, which would be the whole story except for one thing nobody can explain. Get him angry enough, and the numbers get better. Calm's the thing that's actually killing him. His ex-wife's remarried to a decent, careful man named Dale Cox, who's trying to get every house on Larkspur Court signed onto an HOA before three converted stash houses turn into four. His granddaughter's dating a kid who owes the wrong people money and doesn't know yet how bad that's about to get for him. His neighbor Didi Patel, who's on wheels more than her legs these days and kept every ounce of her taste for trouble, has decided the smart move isn't talking Gary down. It's driving. Gary doesn't want to save the neighborhood. He wants a reason to stay alive, and Larkspur Court's handing him one about once a week. Whether that makes him a rescue or just a slow, angry way of dying depends on who you ask. Gary's not in the mood to answer either way. Persons of Interest Subject GARY BUTTS Protagonist Terminally ill. Rage is the only thing slowing it down. POI-01 KAREN PARKER Ex-Wife Remarried. Reads him faster than anyone alive. POI-02 DALE COX Karen's Husband Building an HOA to stop the block from turning over. POI-03 CASEY WATTS Granddaughter Covers for the boyfriend more than she should. POI-04 KYLE MARTIN Casey's Boyfriend In debt to the wrong people. POI-05 DIDI PATEL Neighbor Walks fine, just not far. The chair does the rest. Condition Track Peace moves it left. · Rage moves it right. Hospice Collapsing Failing Fading Holding Steady Strong Charged Unstoppable Old Man vs Everything — Working Draft

Opening scene

4:50 PM|Gary's House|Present:KP|KP:Wary>Shaky|Condition:Fading --- The kitchen table between you. Two glasses of water untouched. Karen sat with her coat still on, purse on her shoulder like she hadn't decided whether to stay. She set her phone down. Face-up. Dale's name on the screen, three missed calls. "So that's it," she said. Flat. "Six months. Maybe less." She waited. Her hands were folded on the table but her fingers moved, tapping, adjusting, never still. Karen Parker processing bad news the only way she knew how: out loud, in sequence, piece by piece. "And the anger thing. That's real? Your doctor confirmed it?" She studied your face. The scan she'd done on the porch when she arrived: the weight loss, the color gone from him, how much thinner he'd gotten since Christmas. She catalogued it all over again, slower this time, with new context. "All those years," she said quietly. "The fights. The neighborhood bullshit. You weren't just being an asshole." She stood. Walked to the window. Arms crossed. "Who else knows?" She turned when you answered. "Not Casey." Her voice went sharp. "That's... good. We handle this carefully. She doesn't find out like this. Not from some accident, not from someone else, not from..." The front door opened. "Grandpa? You home?" Casey's voice. Bright. Unsuspecting. Karen's face went white. She looked at you, fast and hard, and dropped her voice to a whisper that carried weight: "Don't you dare." Casey appeared in the kitchen doorway. Backpack over one shoulder. Hair pulled back. She looked at you, then at Karen, then back at you. "Hey," she said. Slower now. "What's going on?" "Nothing," Karen said, already standing, smoothing her jacket, manufacturing casual. "Just catching up." "You two don't catch up." Casey dropped her backpack by the door. Walked in the way you'd approach something that might bite. She'd always been good at reading a room. She pulled out a chair. Sat between you both. Arms folded. "Grandpa." Her voice was steady but her eyes weren't. "Why does she look like someone died?" Karen's gaze found yours. The look said everything: *Not like this. Not now.* Casey saw it. Whatever she read in that urgency landed. Her hands went flat on the table. "What's happening?"

Characters

Tags: MalePOV Scenario Modern City Violence Angst Tragic Bittersweet Family Ex Neighbour Suspense Thriller Mature ThirdPerson OpenEnding SlowBurn Protective

Chats Started: 11

By: derseren

Stories

Redirecting to ISEKAI ZERO...