Minor Detail
By Abigail Leskey
The villain was dying, pressing his hand over the slash in his stomach and forcing his expression to be calm, even though nobody more significant was present than one stray black and white cat that was seeking crumbs of burger buns in this parking lot at three AM on a Saturday morning.
Not that the cat was negligible. The villain could not hide his wince as he pushed his other hand into his pocket, and pulled out a squashed, blood-smudged crispy fish sandwich (without tartar sauce. He hated tartar sauce). He tossed it weakly towards the cat, which skittered away and then crept back, creeping up on the sandwich and then pouncing on it.
“I forgot you liked cats,” said the hero. The villain turned his head toward the voice. The hero was sitting on the pavement, one leg out in front of him, the other bent up. He was wearing a Doctor Who t-shirt and cargo pants with pockets full of yarn and crochet hooks, just like always. “Remember that time when we stopped in the middle of a fight to rescue that kitten?”
“Remember how you wanted to name it Snuggles?” The villain rolled his eyes.
“I didname her Snuggles,” the hero said cheerfully. “I hope my sister took good care of her.”
Silence. The villain stared at one purple foam shoe that lay in the parking lot.
“It’s not too late for you,” the hero said, as casually as if he had been saying that the shoe was the color of a dentist’s glove.
“To make reparation?” the villain asked wryly, sotto voce. He lifted his hand from the slash in his stomach, letting the hero see his blood and organs.
“You can love goodness.”
The villain scoffed. “What were you before you became a ‘superhero’? A pastor?”
“An accountant,” said the hero. “Well, I was going to be.”
“You’re very young,” the villain realized.
“I still am. Only twenty-four.”
Four o’clock. The villain looked at the hero, and bled. “Why are you here?” the villain tried to snap out. His voice was too quiet to be heard.
“So you won’t be alone,” the hero said, a distant billboard behind him showing through his young face. “After all, you were with me when I was dying.”
The villain swallowed sudden blood and a sudden lump in his throat. “That’s because I killed you.”
The hero smiled. “Minor detail.”
This was very good. The characters (including the cats!) were quite interesting.
ReplyDeleteIt might be short, but I absolutely loved this. The whole idea of the villain/hero relationship here is just fabulous, and this story was super bittersweet on top of everything else in my opinion. My only real complaint was that it was not longer.
ReplyDeleteCompletely grand, this. You managed to pack quite a bit (even fine humor) into it, especially considering its rather less than extensive length. The characters are fantastic. And despite that unfortunate occurrence which apparently transpired between the villain and the hero, the villain comes across as a quite sympathetic person. Altogether, I do believe I wouldn't mind a bit of backstory. :-D
ReplyDeleteWhoooaaa. I kinda saw it coming, but when it came...nice and punchy. :D
ReplyDeleteI LOVE IT.