Jerry was sipping at his soda as we walked across the street to the music store. When he reached the gutter beside the sidewalk, he stepped in something liquid.
"What the hell..." Jerry said and stared down at the asphalt by his feet.
He'd stepped directly into a pool of blood, puddled next to a dying cat.
Its meows were retching, spine-shivering noises of confusion and agony. There was very little left of it. It'd probably been hit by a truck, considering the damage. I could see the white bone of its spine where the skin had split from the force of the impact. One of its hind legs was missing and it no longer had a tail. Just a flicking, meaty nub where the end had ripped off.
I was really thirsty. I probably should have gotten a soda back at the gas station, but I forgot.
"Fucking shit!" Jerry swore, lifting up his sneaker to see the damage. "I just bought these today."
I looked down at the shoe. The blood had soaked into the white stitching on the sides. The Nike symbol was half-pink now and little clots were sticking to his untied laces.
"Dude, that shoe is ruined. Bloodstains are a bitch."
"Dammit!" Jerry stomped back and forth, his face maroon from rage. "It's just my luck. I paid forty bucks for these things!"
"Seriously," I agreed.
He glared at the puddle of blood and the twisted animal lying beside it. The cat, sensing a human presence, amped up its meows. It managed to lift its head, at least a little, and I saw that it had a blue collar around its neck.
Somebody's pet that they'd let wander outside. Retards.
"Goddamn sneakers," Jerry said.
"Yeah."
He pushed past me and gave a starting run towards the cat. Lifting his back leg, he punted the animal from the crevice of the gutter like it was a football. It gave a wailing screech as it lifted into the air, then landed with a silent thud about fifteen feet away.
"Dude, now your sneakers are definitely ruined."
"Fucking cat," Jerry said, rubbing his shoe on the cleaner cement of the sidewalk.
We continued walking towards the music store.
"Hey," I said, "can I have a sip of your drink?"
Author notes
I wrote this for a contest to describe a word. The word I chose was "evil."
I wanted to do something about the banality of evil. When cruel acts are accepted as everyday occurances, then evil truely does exist. I was originally going to write about a dying homeless man, but then I realized that a dying cat would be infinitely more disturbing (and thus memorable).
Please leave a review telling me what you thought.
A contest entry
- Get under my skin by Tizriz.
195 points, ended May 11, 2007, 6 entries
• next story in this contest, remove from contest - A story by jtnbuck.
130 points, ended May 16, 2007, 7 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next story in this contest, remove from contest - Disturb Me In A Flash by Chemical Imbalance.
175 points, ended October 5, 2007, 7 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next story in this contest, remove from contest - anything decent less than 600 words. by Anonymous Shadow.
100 points, ended January 24, 2008, 26 entries
• next story in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 7 of 7
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Wow, this is so disturbing! The horrifying images are so vividly conveyed by your brilliant descriptions. Bravo, a really powerful piece!
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"What the hell..." Jerry said and stared down at the asphalt by his feet. ...if you changed it to Jerry said, staring down at the asphalt by his feet. it helps the flow and gives more of a show rather than tell feel.
He pushed past me and gave a starting run towards the cat. ...right there I was like "oh god no"
Okay ya this was disturbing and oddly enough you are right...had this been a human instead of a helpless animal I don't think the impact would have been the same. This story will stick in my head for a while. *goes to try to think happy thoughts*
Good job with this and good luck in the contest!
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That, like Tizriz's contest is titled, got under my skin. It's just so cruel and heartless. By the means of 'memorable', it will probably stick in my head for a while.
Now, the story itself is cruel, cruel and very well done. Great job.
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oh wow this was great just what i was lokking for nice and god bless and keep up the great work good luck in the contest
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OMG
Poor little cat, they didn't even care about it! They are rude, careless, monstorous, cat-hating, stupid, crazy, mean, cruel, un-caring, un-loving, and most importantly... EVIL freak people who like to torture ALREADY tortured cats. Do I need to repeat? They are rude, careless, monstorous, cat-hating, stupid, crazy, mean, cruel, un-caring, un-loving, and most importantly... EVIL freak people! But it was good, even though your characters are totally EVIL! Dude! That's not cool! -
Good
good and not too long!
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nice :-) this is short, sweet and sick - love it
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