Tag Archives: flash fiction

Painter

To say it caused a sensation in the art world would be an understatement.

The first painting from Laurent Saint Michiuex in over 30 years. An infamous recluse, Michiuex had a meteoric rise to art-world notoriety with his first exhibition, simply and bluntly titled: ART.

And then he never painted again. Until now.

A single painting. A single stroke of red paint. A singular masterpiece, the critics agreed.

It would break all of Sotheby’s records for a painting.

Decades later on his deathbed, Michiuex would make a terse confession to his nurse. A confession people either did not believe or did not want to believe.

“I was born Earnhardt Jones and 20 years ago a bumped into a table, spilled some paint on a piece of canvas, and became a millionaire.”

And then he died.

Title

His name was The Grand Supreme Leader Of Everything That Is, Was, Or Will Be.

He promised us inner peace, knowledge of things heavenly and worldly, a profound sense of purpose.

We could have all of this, The Grand Supreme Leader Of Everything That Is, Was, Or Will Be said, if we just trusted him completely.

That trust, he said, could be earned easily, quickly, and with a few strokes of a pen.

Just sign on the dotted line. Don’t read the document, just sign.

And so we did.

After two weeks of intense seminars, meditation, fasting, we signed.

And now we are the proud owners of a pristine beach-front property.

In Kansas.

General

“Alright, listen up you maggots! There’s no room for weakness in my platoon. You got that! I said do you god damn got that?!

We will advance on the enemy. We will fight the enemy. And yes, some of you may die. And some of you may lose an arm or a leg. And some of you will never be the same.

But ask me if any of that matters to me and my answer will be that it fucking does not matter to me what happens to you. Not one god damned bit. Do you understand?

What matters to me is that you don’t act like a bunch of motherfucking, cocksucking, wet pussy wimps. That’s what matters to me.

Do you understand, maggots?”

Reflected in the beady, black eyes of the bears and giraffes and one white and pink bunny was the image of a six year old kid in a way-too-big-for-him Army uniform, perhaps belonging to a man 30 years older than him who never came home.

Organise

It was all wrong. The face didn’t look quite right. The proportions were somehow…off. And one of the arms seemed to be longer than the other, which didn’t make any sense. He’d been trying to arrange the parts for what seemed like hours, but still. It was all wrong somehow.

He couldn’t try much longer. His hands were sticky and slippery and the parts kept slipping through them. He had to get it right. He knew they were on his trail and would find the body soon enough.

Climate

Sure, the seas were boiling and some of the water in some of the lakes had turned to blood and locusts were eating all of the crops and on some days it was too hot outside for human safety, but the new portable Bluetooth speaker Max ordered on Amazon Prime just arrived, so he really wasn’t concerned right now.

Rifle

Aim: Align your sight with your target. It’s important that you keep both eyes open so you can see clearly and without distortion. This will also reduce the stress of eye strain. Keep your aiming time brief. This is the moment. Don’t second guess yourself. Align your sights on your target.

Preparing the Body

Wash the body in a disinfectant solution. Massage the limbs to relive stiffening in the joints and muscles. Shave where necessary.

Control Your Breathing: Your breathing can move the firearm enough to make you miss your shot. When you’re ready, and you are, draw a deep breath, feel it inside you, and exhale about half of it. Hold your breath as you squeeze the trigger. Remember, today is the day. The excitement of this fact might make your heart beat faster and increase your pulse. If this happens, just relax and remember why you’re here, and try again.

Set the Facial Features

Close the eyes with glue or use plastic eye caps to hold the lids down.

Hold Steady: It might be hard for you to hold the firearm steady. This is understandable. Focus your attention on the movement of the target and try to minimize the area that the target can move around in.

Artierial

Remove the blood from the body through the veins and replace with formaldehyde-based chemicals through the arteries.

Squeeze the Trigger: When you’re ready, and you are, hold the gun comfortably and grab the wrist of the stock firmly and with purpose. Remember to squeeze the trigger without jarring the gun. This requires slow, steady pressure. It was slow, steady pressure that brought you here. It is slow, steady pressure that will end the slow, steady pressure.

Cavity

Make a small incision in the abdomen. Insert trocar into the body cavity. Puncture the organs in the chest cavity and drain gas and fluids. Inject chemicals. Suture.

Follow Through: After the bullet fires, you must continue. You must continue to squeeze or follow-through to avoid the gun jerking before the bullet leaves the barrel. You must continue. You must follow-through.