Chapter 5

It's a slippery slope.

Previously: Zack has found himself in a spot of trouble in his new role at the bank and is on probation during an investigation.

It was a Tuesday when things began to unravel. Zack locked up after finishing his shift at True North Canadian and swung into Splitz for dinner, the last family owned local fast food joint in town that served his favourite burger and onion rings.

It was rainy and wet in the city, the deep freeze of late winter giving way to the deep thaw of spring. The mountains in the distance were completely obscured by the storm that had hung around for days.

Zack pulled out of the parking lot of Splitz in his navy blue ’04 Civic, dodging the potholes that had formed in the freeze/thaw cycle. He slurped at the chocolate milkshake that he bought on a whim. Things were going well at the bank. All the stress of the investigation had subsided somewhat and he deserved some dessert once in a while.

The Civic’s windshield wipers squeaked as they brushed away the misty rain, and the sounds of car tires splashing through puddles threatened to overcome the house music he played on the aftermarket speakers. Zack whipped down the highway as the sky darkened.

A set of lights turned amber, and Zack shifted down and pressed the brake. To his surprise, the Civic skidded a little bit. The temperature was close to zero, but Zack hadn’t thought that ice would be a worry. When the lights shifted to green, Zack wound through the city and turned onto the street that led to his apartment.

The road was blockaded by bright orange barricades and an ambulance, police cruiser, and fire truck with half a dozen first responders attending to a car accident. An officer walked over to Zack’s car and he rolled his window down.

“Evening, sir. Where are you headed?” The officer shone a flashlight towards Zack.

Zack squinted and pointed. “My apartment is just over Baker Hill.”

The officer looked over his shoulder at the mess on the road. “Mmm. Might want to take a different route. Careful, it’s slick out there.”

Zack nodded and rolled up his window. The officer walked away and Zack made a U-turn and planned a way to go around. He drove through the dark rain, taking care to take the corners slowly.

Just past the corner that Zack was planning to turn at was another bank, True North Canadian’s competitor, Grand Canada. Zack’s eyes locked onto the blue and red building, his mind drifting immediately to the foreign currency room at True North Canadian. Did Grand Canada have the same policies and procedures? That would be worth looking—

Zack’s eyes snapped back to the road and he swerved, narrowly keeping his Civic on the road as the unfamiliar route twisted up the backside of Baker Hill. Zack’s milkshake fell out of the cupholder and onto the mat on the passenger side.

“Shit!” Zack said. He alternated quick glances between the milkshake, slowly seeping onto the already stained rug, and the wet, dark road.

Zack wasn’t a clean freak by any stretch of the imagination, but he kept his stuff…tidy. There was an intuition for people to reflexively pick up messes, especially when that mess will eventually begin to stink.

Zack took a chance and reached over to pick up the milkshake. His hand grasped the cup and he pulled it up in one quick motion, then let his attention shift back to the road.

Which was not out the front of the Civic, but out the driver’s side window.

Zack yanked at the wheel, but it was too late. The Civic slid over the black ice like Bambi taking his first steps on the icy pond. There was a hard thump-bump as the Civic hopped up onto the curb and then a smash as his car struck some decorative boulders lining the street.

The engine made a clunking noise, wheezed, and then smoke began pouring out from under the hood.

Zack sat in the driver’s seat, mouth agape. He ran his hands over his body quickly, just to ensure that he was perfectly fine. Slowly, he reached up and popped the transmission into neutral and then turned the engine off.

The door creaked as Zack opened the door and stepped out. It felt like he was in a dream, the misty fog mingling with the smoke emitting from the engine, making the environment feel surreal.

Zack left the door hanging wide open as he shuffled around the hood, the annoying ding, ding of the door ajar filling the night air like an ignorant siren. He stared down at the fluorescent fluids that had begun to bloom out from under the car, creeping towards his black business shoes like his car’s dying wish.

“No. Nonononono,” Zack murmured. He softly cradled his cheeks with his palms.

He remembered when he finally had scrounged up enough money to buy the Civic. His parents had even helped pay for half of it, so Zack only had to work for a year while he was in school to raise the $2500.

Now, his only form of transportation might be dead.

Zack rounded the side of the Civic and took a look at the damage. The wheel was folded over, tread jutting out sideways like the rubber bumper of a bumper car. The fender was smashed and crumpled, with the passenger side headlight dangling by some wires like an eye out of its socket.

Zack pulled his phone out of his pocket with shaking hands. What should he do? Who could he call? He furiously typed his password into the phone and tapped on the phone app.

The phone rang and rang. Zack wiped wetness from his face. He wasn’t sure if it was rain or tears.

“Hello, you’ve reached James and Ann Cooper. We aren’t able to come to the phone right now, but—”

Zack mashed the hang up button on his phone. “Shit!”

Who else could he call? He scrolled through his phone and looked up a few towing companies, but he felt paralyzed by the choices. They were all the best and fastest and friendliest.

An alert popped up on his phone. Five percent of battery power remained.

Zack abandoned the web browser and frenetically searched his contacts. His thumb hesitated over a name for a moment, and then he hit the call button.

“Hello? Zack?”

“Hey Sydney, I’m really sorry for calling. I’m in a tough spot right now.”

“Oh? And you need me to swoop in and take care of da widdle baybee? Is this a work thing?”

“No, I’m being serious! I crashed my car. Syd—hello? Sydney?” Zack took the phone away from his ear and stared into the black screen of despair.

“GOD DAMMIT!” Zack bellowed into the empty street. Sydney had been very understanding of his situation, and very helpful to him. She would have helped calm him down.

He stuffed the phone back into his pocket and rounded the car again. He grabbed everything he could think of possibly needing, then locked the door and began the trudge to his apartment. As the rain bludgeoned his face and ran down his back in rivulets, Zack reflected. A fix like that would cost a lot of money. He didn’t make a ton as a teller, and he hadn’t even been able to enjoy the seven dollar an hour pay raise that came along with being a supervisor, due to the stupid investigation and probation period at work. He only had a few hundred bucks in his account at the moment; it was mostly paycheque to paycheque these days.

What was he going to do?

Zack turned into his apartment complex and hurried across the wet, black parking lot. He scanned his fob that let him inside and marched to his door near the end of the beige first floor hallway.

When he opened the door, there was an unmarked envelope on the floor. It had been slid under the door. Zack shook out his coat and hung it up. He paused to pull at a thread that hung loosely from the sleeve, then he stooped down and picked up the letter before plugging his phone into the charger on his kitchen counter.

‘113’ the envelope read, in handwritten blue pen. There was no return address or anything. Zack tore it open and unfolded the letter inside.

“Dear Park City Apartments Resident,

Re: Notice of Rental Increase

As per the government of BC’s legal requirement, please accept this letter as written notification of rental increase, beginning June 1 of 2025, three months hence. The previous rent was $1750 per month, due on the first of the month. The Park City Board (PCB) has spent considerable amounts of money on re-roofing the building and repairing the elevator. In accordance with BC rental law, the new rental amount, beginning on June 1, will be $2750 per month.

Thank you,

Management”

Zack let the letter flutter to the floor. He walked over to his kitchen table and slumped into the chair. Wham! He slammed his fist into the table. The pain felt good. Wham! Wham! Wham!