Cheater's Gallery Ep. 03: Kelli

"Perhaps," she said. "But that's no guarantee this wouldn't have happened anyway."

"So, what do you think I should do?" I asked.

"If you want, I can help you get a measure of justice," she said. "Would you be up for that?"

"Of course," I said. "But how?"

"You had a pretty good idea last night," she said with a wicked grin.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. She smiled that wicked smile again, then got up from behind her desk and came around to me. She took my hand in hers and indicated that I should stand.

"You know their ship already sailed early this morning, right?" she asked. I nodded my head.

"Yes, I know," I told her. "I paid for that cruise, remember?"

"That's right, you did," she said. "Maybe we should pay them a little visit." I looked at her, stunned. How could we do that, I wondered. She smiled as she took my hand in hers. The next thing I knew, we were standing on the deck of a very large cruise ship.

I looked around and didn't see very many people on the deck, but I did see Kelli and the Asshole, standing by the railing. She wore a tiny two-piece bikini that showed off everything, while Asshole wore a small pair of trunks. They were locked in an embrace and Kelli was stroking the front of his suit. I "coughed" to get their attention.

"Sam?" Kelli asked when she saw me. "How did you get here? And who is that slut with you?"

"Slut?" Adrestia asked, her face red. "How dare you! I'm no slut. I'm Justice. And I'm here to make sure you pay for what you've done to your husband." Kelli and Jake laughed.

"And what will you do?" Jake asked in a threatening tone of voice. They started walking toward us, but slipped on something as they walked, lost their balance and ended up tumbling over the railing. I ran to the railing, and Adrestia joined me. We looked over the railing, and Adrestia held me back. At first, I didn't understand why.

Just as they got about 15 feet down, the largest shark I could ever imagine emerged from the water, its mouth wide open, revealing row upon row of large, jagged teeth. The maw of this thing had to be easily thirty feet wide. I couldn't remember ever being so afraid.

As I looked, Kelli screamed loudly, her eyes wide with fear. Suddenly, both she and Jake were in the shark's mouth. The monster clamped its mouth shut, sending geysers of blood back up to the deck. Then it silently slid back under the water. I heard screams from the deck and looked to see other passengers throwing up on the deck. I noticed some had phones out, probably taking video.

Adrestia pulled me back and I heard klaxons going off. Crew members rushed to the railing to see if there was anything that could be done, but it was too late. Adrestia grabbed my hand, and the next thing I knew, we were back in her office. I felt sick to my stomach, but she quickly took my head in her hands and the nausea passed almost immediately.

"Did that really happen?" I asked, shocked. Adrestia sat me back in the chair and poured another cup of tea.

"Yes, it happened," she said, handing me the tea. "Drink this, it'll help." I took a sip of the tea and felt much better. I was still trying to reconcile what I had just experienced, but the feeling of shock was no longer there. I noticed something else at the same time. I felt no remorse whatsoever. No sadness, nothing. I felt nothing for what happened to Kelli and Jake. I looked at Adrestia, hoping for answers.

"The tea I gave you will help you deal with the situation," she said. She was right. By the time I finished the tea, I felt much better about the whole situation. Oddly enough, I didn't even feel any sadness over Kelli's death. Shouldn't I feel something, I asked myself. After all, I was married to her and there was a time I had been madly in love with her.

"Don't worry about any lack of emotion over her death," Adrestia said as if reading my mind. "That's a side-effect of the tea I gave you. It tends to numb any negative emotions you might have."

"I know this will sound like a stupid question, but where is Kelli now?" I asked. "I know she's dead, but..."

"I know what you mean," she said. "You were raised in a religious home and were taught to believe that people either go to Heaven or Hell when they die. Come, let me show you." I followed her back to the show room where she first unveiled the portrait. She took the cover off the painting and I saw it had changed -- drastically.

The portrait now showed her face frozen in fear, her eyes wide, her mouth open in an eternal scream. Behind her face was the shark's maw, row after row of sharp teeth waiting for her. Adrestia pointed to the painting.

"This is where she is now," she said. "Forever captured in the final moment of life. She will spend eternity here, forever regretting her decision to do you wrong. I suppose you could say she's in a hell of her own making." As I watched, she took the painting off the easel and walked to a blank spot on one wall, where she hung the portrait.

I looked around and saw row upon row of portraits very similar to this one. Men and women, captured in the final moments of life, forever regretting that one decision that sealed their eternal fate.

"And all these people," I began.

"Were cheaters," she said, finishing my sentence. "Every last one. And they, too, will spend eternity regretting what they did. For me, this is justice. It's who I am and it's what I do. And believe me when I tell you these walls aren't even halfway filled up."

"How long have you been doing this?" I asked.

"Longer than you can imagine, Sam," she said sadly. She took my head in her hands and looked at me intently. For a moment, I thought I saw a tear in her eye. "The next few days will be rough, but remember, Sam, I will always be with you. No matter how old you get, I will be here, in your heart. Go now, live long and find a new love. Trust me, she's out there, waiting for you." She kissed my cheek and I felt... content. I can't explain it, even to this day. She walked me to the door and closed it after I left.

Shaken, I drove to my second job and turned in my notice. The manager wasn't too upset, but he understood and wished me well. We left on a good note and he said he would have my final check mailed to me. I drove back home, grabbed a beer and sat in front of the television for a while. I thought it strange that I still didn't feel any remorse over Kelli's demise.

I turned on the television and found that video of the shark incident had already made the news. It turned out that several people had taken video of what happened. As I flipped through the channels, I saw that several news programs were already talking about the feasibility that such a large beast could exist. All of the reports said they were still waiting for the identity of the victims to be released.

Going online, I found that video of the shark had also gone viral on social media. It was everywhere -- YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, you name it. I couldn't watch the video, so I turned my computer off. I grabbed a pile of trash bags and went through the apartment, collecting all of Kelli's things. Before long, I had everything packed up and stuffed in her car. I called her mother and told her that she needed to come get it.

"Why, Sam?" she asked. I told her about Kelli's cheating, but didn't tell her about Kelli getting eaten by a giant shark. She was understandably upset and said her and Kelli's father would be by to pick it all up later that day.

They came by that afternoon and left after making a tearful plea to patch things up with her. I made it clear that no reconciliation was possible. I still didn't tell them about her getting eaten. I figured they would learn about that soon enough. After they left, I dressed and went to a bar and grill where I consumed a juicy burger and several beers.

I got through the rest of the weekend, somehow, and woke up late Monday since I was technically on vacation. I sat in front of the television with a bowl of cereal as a news report came on saying the offices of AA Travel Agency had been destroyed by fire. According to the report, everyone got out okay, but just barely.

An hour or so later, I got a call from Julie, who was more than a bit shaken up.

"Sam," she cried. "Did you hear about the office? It burned to the ground. We're lucky to be alive."

"That's what I heard," I said. "And before you ask, no, I didn't do it."

"I know," she said. "It was the strangest thing. Kelli's desk lit up and exploded in flame and the whole inside was filled with fire within a minute or two. We barely got out alive. No one knows how it happened. By the way, have you heard from Kelli?"

"No," I said. "And I don't care if I ever do. Why? Have you heard from her?"

"I got a strange text from her just before the fire broke out," she said. How was that possible, I wondered.

"Yeah?" I asked. "What did it say?"

"It didn't make any sense, just something about sharks and the hounds of hell," Julie said. "Any idea what that's all about?" I smiled to myself.

"Nope," I said. "No idea whatsoever." We ended the call and I sat back, smiling. I took a drive to see Adrestia and ask her about the fire, but the Victorian mansion that housed her gallery was gone. I sat there and looked at the empty lot, wondering what happened. After a while, I shook my head and drove home.

Epilogue:

It took a couple weeks, but I eventually heard from the cruise line. They informed me of Kelli's death and enclosed a check they said included the price of my tickets and the payout from the accidental death and dismemberment policy I had purchased with the tickets. I contacted Linda and told her the separation was no longer necessary. She offered her condolences, but they meant nothing to me.

A couple weeks later, I heard from the headquarters of the travel agency. They offered me a large sum of money in exchange for my silence and a promise not to file a lawsuit. They also told me that everyone in the office where Kelli worked had been fired and a new team was being considered for their new office. I thought about their offer for a while and decided to accept it.

Kelli's parents held a memorial service for their daughter, but I chose not to attend. I didn't even send any flowers. They weren't happy, but said they understood how I felt.

Life went on, but it took a long time before I started dating again. Since I didn't have to work the second job any more, I started going to the gym to get back in shape. It was paying off, and I found myself getting hit up for dates by a number of women where I work. I dated a few of them, but held off on starting a relationship. It took a couple years before I felt I could even trust another woman at that level.

Eventually, though, I found someone -- Marcy, a co-worker who divorced her husband after she found him in their marital bed. We've been dating now for some time and I'm seriously thinking about asking her to marry me. All in all, life is looking better.

...

Adrestia moved on to the next case that came before her. One day, however, she sat down at her desk and took a long look at everything. All the pain, all the anguish, and all the cries for help. As she looked at it all, she was suddenly overwhelmed. She put her head in her hands and did something she hadn't done for two millennia.

She wept.

...