Fiction: For the Love of God, Montressor!
Sep. 23rd, 2014 08:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
clare_dragonflyTitle: For the Love of God, Montressor!
World: Extranormal Crimes
Word count: 375
Rating: R for mentioned horribleness
Prompt: Thimbleful Thursday: add insult to injury
Notes: The prompt is something that I first encountered in Poe, so it always makes me think of "The Cask of Amontillado." This story went more "The Black Cat," though. And I went past the wordcount, but this is still really short!
Maggie was no longer certain she was cut out for this work.
She got out of the building, leaned against her car—still hot from the drive and the sun—so that her shaking legs wouldn’t betray her completely. She closed her eyes, then immediately opened them again. That had been the wrong idea. With her eyes closed, she could see every detail as clearly as though she were still down in that basement; the emaciated form, the dried, mummified skin, the staring eyes, staring as though accusing Maggie: why did you take so long?
Footsteps crunched the gravel beside her. She turned her head slowly, not knowing what to expect, only to see Hugh approaching her. She winced inwardly, not wanting to deal with him right now, but he said nothing for a while, only leaned against the car next to her.
“I thought you liked Poe,” he said eventually. “And this guy’s straight out of Poe.”
Maggie swallowed dry bile. “I love Poe, but I never liked the stories where someone got walled up. I guess I’m claustrophobic. They were always just too much for me.” She took a deep breath, then asked the question she’d been afraid to ask. “Is it always like this?”
“Of course not,” Hugh answered quickly. Maybe too quickly. But then, in a more measured way, he added, “This is definitely one of the worst I’ve seen. And I’m not leaving out what happened to the other vampires.”
“But you didn’t freak out and run away.”
“Well, I’ve had more experience than you have. You’re what, twenty-four? Twenty-five? And you didn’t sign up to the FBI to investigate murders. You got dragged into this because of your powers.”
“But it’s what I wanted to do.” The words felt dragged out of her. “I wanted to find—people. Good people and bad people.”
Hugh pushed himself off from the car and held out his hand to Maggie. “Then let’s go find who did this to her.”
“And then will I stop seeing her eyes when I close mine?”
He shook his head. “I can’t promise anything. But it will help.”
Maggie sighed, put her hand in his, and let him lead her back to the crime scene.
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World: Extranormal Crimes
Word count: 375
Rating: R for mentioned horribleness
Prompt: Thimbleful Thursday: add insult to injury
Notes: The prompt is something that I first encountered in Poe, so it always makes me think of "The Cask of Amontillado." This story went more "The Black Cat," though. And I went past the wordcount, but this is still really short!
Maggie was no longer certain she was cut out for this work.
She got out of the building, leaned against her car—still hot from the drive and the sun—so that her shaking legs wouldn’t betray her completely. She closed her eyes, then immediately opened them again. That had been the wrong idea. With her eyes closed, she could see every detail as clearly as though she were still down in that basement; the emaciated form, the dried, mummified skin, the staring eyes, staring as though accusing Maggie: why did you take so long?
Footsteps crunched the gravel beside her. She turned her head slowly, not knowing what to expect, only to see Hugh approaching her. She winced inwardly, not wanting to deal with him right now, but he said nothing for a while, only leaned against the car next to her.
“I thought you liked Poe,” he said eventually. “And this guy’s straight out of Poe.”
Maggie swallowed dry bile. “I love Poe, but I never liked the stories where someone got walled up. I guess I’m claustrophobic. They were always just too much for me.” She took a deep breath, then asked the question she’d been afraid to ask. “Is it always like this?”
“Of course not,” Hugh answered quickly. Maybe too quickly. But then, in a more measured way, he added, “This is definitely one of the worst I’ve seen. And I’m not leaving out what happened to the other vampires.”
“But you didn’t freak out and run away.”
“Well, I’ve had more experience than you have. You’re what, twenty-four? Twenty-five? And you didn’t sign up to the FBI to investigate murders. You got dragged into this because of your powers.”
“But it’s what I wanted to do.” The words felt dragged out of her. “I wanted to find—people. Good people and bad people.”
Hugh pushed himself off from the car and held out his hand to Maggie. “Then let’s go find who did this to her.”
“And then will I stop seeing her eyes when I close mine?”
He shook his head. “I can’t promise anything. But it will help.”
Maggie sighed, put her hand in his, and let him lead her back to the crime scene.
Did you enjoy this story? You can read more stories in this world or see all my fiction posted at Dreamwidth!