86.
It was late and Manhattan wasn't going to wait for us to wake up.
We stumbled off the train — a few puffs of smoke left in our lungs and perfectly disheveled hair that made us look like we were comfortable with our anxiety.
Steps weren't getting any easier as we climbed up the numbered streets that had been known to eat men alive and leave their dreams full of blood splattered hands.
Struggling to find a reason to try, we 86'd our plans & headed home.
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Other stories by Anthony Van Hart
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Flash is a strange form. It requires, they say, more revealed in what is not said than what is said. I searched during a few readings for what was not spoken in this story.
Curious about the title...
Thanks for the comment, Sheldon. I agree with you whole heartedly and I guess my question for you is - did you find it?
Oh, I see... word count. 86 is actually an old term... slang. Heard it in the military. It was a verb. "86 that b____." meant, "Lose it." or "Drop it."
Which is why I was drawn by the title... and why I couldn't make any connection to the content. Must be one of those generational disconnects. My bad.
James, thanks for the comment - Not sure if it comes across that well but I 86 refers to the word count and the content.
My understanding is that 86-ing someone originally meant serving them the lesser-proof whiskey (though obviously still high by modern standards) when they started "acting the fool" in the saloons of the Old West, and the term evolved into what James stated.
I think it works here.
Oops, sorry. This was intended for another story I read earlier today.
Anthony, I didn't find it.
Cool. Regardless, thanks for the comment Sheldon - I'll work on the reveal.
(or this, from wiki:
The origin of the term 86ed is not clear, although some[who?] point to the bar Chumley's at 86 Bedford Street in the West Village of Lower Manhattan, as a source. The 2006 book The History and Stories of the Best Bars of New York by Jef Klein tells the story that, when the police would very kindly call ahead before a [ prohibition-era] raid, they'd tell the bartender to '86' his customers, meaning they should scram out the 86 Bedford door, while the police would come to the Pamela Court entrance.)
I heard the first explanation while working in a bar...