Abner shouldered into the door and turned the heavy key in
the knob’s lock. Then he threw the deadbolt above, and latched the sliding bolt
above it. He kicked the doorstop down for additional resistance, wondering if
he had time to install a bar like those old French castles used to have.
When he decided he didn’t have the time, he trudged into the
living room and dragged out the heaviest chair he owned, wedging it under the
doorknob. Abner surveyed the mess with approval for a few seconds before
thinking better, and ran back into the living room and dragged out the chest of
drawers, heaving the oak monstrosity up behind the chair just in case.
He leaned against the wall, panting and perspiring into the
floral wallpaper. He rested his head against the security panel, fingers
hitting the code to turn it on. Even with the syndicate after him, he’d never
felt so safe as just then.
That’s when the bomb went off and took down his entire
apartment complex. Mercifully, the explosion was so needlessly huge that Abner
never had the moment to register that he was unsafe. He died feeling almost
clever.
Abner seems the type that would take a knife to a gunfight.
ReplyDeleteYou have to feel sorry for poor Abner. All that trouble and he forgot to check under the sofa.Your story plays like a cartoon farce. I'm thinking Itchy and Scratchy at speed. Wah, wah, waaaah.....
ReplyDeletePoor Abner, just when he thought he was safe.. - lets he went out with a bang! ^_^
ReplyDeleteOh lets should read least - damn this keyboard - it's its fault not mine - truly! ;0
ReplyDeleteWith the title and the attention paid to the front door I felt sure he was going to have left the back door open. Of course, being a flat, there probably wasn't a back door.
ReplyDeleteThe bomb felt a little cheap, for me, but I guess satisfying me is hardly one of the syndicate's major concerns... ;)
he died feeling almost clever.. great line.. but you have to feel sorry for this idiot..
ReplyDeleteOh, Abner. At least you gave him peace of mind!
ReplyDeleteWonderfully compact tale here — "he died feeling almost clever." Indeed. Not one for planning ahead much, was this Abner. Especially when dealing with people who think nothing of using a cannon to kill a fly. :-P
ReplyDeletePoor Abner!
ReplyDeleteSuperior firepower is always a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI hope that when I die I feel almost clever!
ReplyDeleteNice one.
Poor guy. Just when he thought he was safe, he goes boom.
ReplyDeleteMedia reports blame the explosion on gas leak. I suspect.
ReplyDeleteOn the bright side, surely he could've felt a lot worse just before his death. On the not so bright side, he's dead.
ReplyDeleteah, poor abner. funny in a three stooges kind of way. peace...
ReplyDeleteOh well, at least the poor guy won't be worrying about the syndicate being after him any more. :)
ReplyDeleteHe must have REALLY pissed off the syndicate if they took out an entire apartment complex for him.
ReplyDeleteCompact with a great last line. Good stuff as usual.
What a great piece in such a small number of words - nice one Wiswell. Poor Abnar, he did seem clever, but being academic doesn't automatically mean you have much common sense - something I often come across
ReplyDelete