The Killing Name

[Rhoda]

"Oh, what you got there? Is it a four year old, an eight year old? You know, their soft-spots haven't grown completely closed yet, there's a danger with the thumb, but the... oooh... yeah, there's a definite... danger?"

 

The woman took a tentative yet firm hand off the car into which her admirer was peering into. Inside, an understandably scared and equally threatened woman traced her fingers around the lock mechanism just inches away from the fanatic's filthy knuckles. Before she could hit the plunger and drive away for the safety of her family's life, he began again.

 

"Do you know how hard you have to hit a skull to split it open with a wooden spoon? You-you can't mess around with kitchen utensils for a job like that, you got to get the real sh*t, bitch, that's what I'm sayin'!"

All the woman could do was shake her head; there weren't even enough muscles in the body to muster the small amount of strength needed to drive away. Instead, she shook her head, desperate to look at least appreciate of the disturbing information administered to her to avoid harm.

 

"No? Shame, yeah, shame..."

The man must have sensed the anxiety and sheer fear in her eyes. Either that or the sweat and tears that were surely imminent were showing but seconds early.

"Does that scare you? Hmm? Is that too much to handle? I'll offer you solace, how about that? How-how about... that, mmmm?"

The upward infliction was all the woman needed. She nodded briskly, a silent swallow trickling down her precious windpipe like treacle on a spoon. The man took a pause from his spiel and instead took a draw from his ragged cigarette. A crooked smile preceded the polite blowing of smoke away from the car's window.

 

"How about I tell you tale of the horror you see upon my face? This... this... this..."

The man stopped to let his index finger circle his head, almost struggling to find the correct words. It was as if he was going through a vocabulary of thousands of words, each one failing him. Finally, it came to him, and a snap of the fingers followed.

"Monstrosity!"

Pride rang out from inside the rubber mask.

 

"You see the teeth around the outside? Those are real. You really should stop shaking, all I wanted was someone to listen to me, someone who-someone who... cared, well not cared, you don't care! Haha! More... listen."

The woman froze. Real teeth?

"When I was small I used to smoke cigarettes with a girl called Smirk. She was actually called Angela Smirk, but because of her fucking cheeky grin we all called her Smirk. Bit of a coincidence, no? So yeah, we're on our third cigarette, just chewing the fat. She hated her dad, we never run out of subject matter. Anyhoo, this man comes over with his dog, and you have to understand... do you understand?"

His tone lowered as he moved closer to the car window. Naturally, the woman retreated but all the same, nodded to move the conversation along.

"Oh good! So yeah, you understand that this town is a small one and there's a lot of... weirdos! Weirdos? Weirdos, yeah, weirdos around. So long story short he tries to take her behind this tree for whatever men do to small girls. I imagine this is why her underwear was caked in blood when I got her home later on that night... but that may have been another man. May have been me, I don't know! Hee."

 

The man paused to take a much needed, restless draw from a limp cigarette stump. After a few seconds, he resumed his place.

 

"Anyway. Yeah, so I stand up to him because she's my friend, you know? You would've done it, and if you wouldn't have done, you're a fucking cunt and I'd just drive my fingers through your esophagus. He tries to get away because he's a filty bastard... obviously, and I'm just that bit quicker."

 

Another drag, followed by a harsh snort from one nostril.

 

"Just that bit quicker. What followed, well, his dog ran under a passing bus going further into town and I removed each one of his teeth with my bare fucking hands. Did I apply a sedative? Did I chuff, do I look like a fucking dentist? He was alive and kicking the entire time. Each tooth I removed I felt like the innocence of every girl he had molested had been restored. With each girl I felt stronger, and by the last tooth? I broke his fucking jaw."

 

The man leaned in even closer, discarding his cigarette on the floor as he did so, careful not to get smoke into the comfortable, clean car that served as his soapbox.

 

"Question is, was I wrong? No. You would do the exact same if those were your kids taken behind a bush and treated with as much dignity as a Christmas ham. Take care now."

 

The woman seemed to act on her cue; within seconds she had left, leaving the man with the bizarre mask to sit in the street, a smile plastered on his proud face knowing at least one more person shared his pessimism and outlook.

 

---

 

Note:

While I've not explicitly mentioned it, this is quite a familiar character to me and if you read carefully enough you'll pick out the clues. This is intended as a prequistite to a story I have planned, though this is in no way canon, merely a writing exercise. Hope you enjoyed and recognized it. Find the secret link and win a prize.

[Oxidizer]

 

He's baaa-aaack! And supersquishable than ever! I f*cking love this sh*t something hardcore. Also, the little easter egg at the end was a nice added touch.

[Oblivionz]

You never did show me that teaser.

 

I TOLD YOU HOW MUCH I LOVED YOU FOR THIS MULTIPLE TIMES THOUGH.

[mark-2007]

f*ck yeah, this is even better than I remembered it!

 

I was a bit sceptical at the start as to why the woman didn't drive away, but then once I began to realise who was speaking to her I understood that bit.

 

Brilliant, man. Looking forward to whatever comes next.

[Lochie_old]

I found that secret link, groovy mask.