It's time for the Something Wicked Blogfest! This one is hosted by Krista McLaughlin and Krista Wayment. What happens when two Krista's get together to coordinate wicked things? Chaos!
Anyway, the rules for this one are simple. You have a maximum of 400 words to share a villain. The villain can be real, or created by you! They don't have to be evil or murderous, either. Villainous things can be small, as well. Remember the kid who used to pull your hair or try to trip you when you were in school? You would have labeled them a villain once, right?
This is a piece of flash fiction I wrote. Here I wanted to show the villain that resides in all of us. Through the realm of fantasy, we can explore all those villainous deeds we'd never dream of doing in real life. Enjoy!
“The
troops are in position, Dom.” Stan
Wilcox’s voice came in clear through the headset. He’d been Dominic’s best friend since preschool,
and they did everything together. They
even went to war together. Stan was his
right hand man, the one he could count on to make sure the job was done.
“Our
enemy took the bait,” Dominic observed. The
map before him illustrated the troop placements, and he saw the opposing forces
outnumbered theirs 3 to 1. Gilderblue
was an important town, after all. This
was a center of commerce. The person who
controlled Gilderblue controlled the supply lines to half the country.
The
fight would be gruesome. If it were
allowed to take place, that is.
The plan will work, Dominic assured himself. The thought of sending anyone to their
certain death would normally leave a sour taste in Dominic’s mouth. What kind of person would he be if it didn’t? Yet, here he was, poised to do just that.
This is war, and it will be
won that much more quickly if we do it this way, Dominic reminded himself.
“Ready
to do this?” Stan asked, his voice gleeful.
He always got worked up at times like this. Seeing plans he helped devise unfold before
his eyes ignited something in him, and that kind of excitement was contagious.
Dominic’s
hand hovered over the button that would end the battle before it began. “Let’s do it.”
One
keystroke later, the deed was done.
The explosives they’d planted in the cliffs above Gilderblue unleashed an
impressive volley of boulders upon the town.
Dust obscured the screen for several long moments, but the stats soon
blazed across the screen. Gilderblue was
rubble, most of the men from both sides were dead, and a crucial supply line
had been severed.
“All
in all, a good day’s work,” Stan declared.
Dominic
smiled, then glanced at the clock. “I
have to go. If the dishes aren’t done by
the time my mom comes home, she’s going to flip.”
“That’s
cool man. Want to get ice cream later?”
“Yeah,
I’ll text you when I’m ready to go.”
Dominic shed the headset and shut down his computer. He’d return to battle later, but for now
there were chores to do. He hoped that
he might even get an extra hour to play later that night if he folded the
laundry too.
I wrote something similar to this as part of my dissertation last year; the story opened in a video game, but the reader didn't know it was a video game. Great job!
ReplyDeleteIt was a game! So chilling when we thought it wasn't.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea for a Blogfest, I do so love a good villain.
ReplyDeleteThat bit you wrote in the intro, "Villainous things can be small, as well" made me think you referred to one's own children (a sentiment with which I can readily agree, even though my kid's taller that I am, and has been for some years, now). ;-)
ReplyDeleteGreat fake out in this flash fiction, lady. I had a dark feeling in my gut till I got the punch line. Well done!
Oh how cruel, you had me! I thought it was real. Great job!!! Thanks for participating in our blogfest! :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on winning! Please email me (author [at] kristawayment.com) with the email address you want me to send the prize to.
ReplyDelete