Didn't Mean To

           I was staring straight into the face of a killer. They blinked nervously back at me as I fought to remain calm, hoping my expression wouldn’t give away my inner feelings of revulsion.

            Even as I stood there watching, the arterial spray that was splashed liberally across their face began to dry. Uncomfortably, they reached up to wipe it off, but only succeeded in smudging it over their lips.

            “I didn’t mean to,” they whispered, their voice a low hiss through gritted teeth as though properly opening their mouth would result in cracking the layer of blood. My heart raced, seeming to leap up to sit behind my collarbone. How could you not mean to kill someone? To watch as the victim’s blood oozed from the gaping slash where their throat once was. To laugh as that same fluid was slowly absorbed into the ground where it would then feed the grass and trees and who knows what other flora and fauna. The concept was sick.

            “I just snapped. I couldn’t take it any longer. It’s not my fault. I didn’t mean to!” they repeated in earnest, desperately hoping I’d believe the lies that were spewing from between their lips.

            “They started it,” the killer continued, changing their tactic. By shifting the blame maybe they could feel at peace with their decision to end the life of an innocent person. “How would you react if someone threatened you, huh? What would you do if they came after you?” I shook my head, staring down at my feet. I didn’t want to think of that possibility. I didn’t want to think of how instinct could override the morals that I held so dear. When I looked up, the killer was tightly gripping the back of their neck as though they too were off the same opinion. Maybe there was some remorse lurking behind those eyes after all.

            “I think I meant to,” they said finally, their eyes ducking momentarily as though afraid to see what I saw in them reflected in mine.

            With a frown, I set to work on washing the blood off my face.

Author's Note

Since is the result of a five minute spree because of a prompt in class, just ignore any spelling errors.

Reviews

[Stonewall]

This is a punchy little piece. Sometimes this theme can gravitate towards cheese, but you manage to keep it focused. I didn't anticipate the ending, which maybe means I'm slow, but I found the way you approached this write created palpable tension and sense of danger. Not bad for a five minute write, and I think it definitely deserves you giving it some more attention. A couple of edits and this would be really strong. Well done.