flashquake Fiction - Seeing Red by Jonette Stabbert

flashquake
Seeing Red
by Jonette Stabbert

We were probably followed on our way back from the late night film, but were too busy arguing to notice. The city lay dark and silent. The oppressive heat had put most people to sleep. It made Beryl cranky as shit. First she’d bitched to the manager about the lack of air-conditioning in the cinema, then she’d whined at me all the way home because I didn’t have air-conditioning at the apartment. Now she was having a go at me for taking so long to find my keys. She fell abruptly silent. A wild-looking guy with red hair pushed his way into our foyer before she could close the door. He grabbed my shoulder and slammed me against the wall. Beryl was shoved next to me. The hallway filled with the stench of his sweat. The guy couldn’t stand still. He danced all over the small foyer as though the floor burned his feet – junkie’s jitters. “Okay, girls. Just listen and do what I say. I don’t want no screamin’ or I might have to cut you. Take off your panties.”

I saw the glint of metal in his hand and felt sick. I glanced at Beryl. She was looking at him with disbelief. Neither of us moved.

He jitterbugged closer, waving the knife back and forth. Beryl made a strange sound at the back of her throat. Then she made another. It was a snort! To my amazement, she let out a big laugh. “Whadda you call that? A knife? Hah! You call that a knife?”

I focused on the knife in the guy’s hand. It was a little penknife. It did look pretty ridiculous.

“Whadda you say, huh? You call that a knife? I sure hope your prick’s bigger than that! Huh? Well, let’s see it! Come on, big boy, take it out!”

She continued to chuckle, then yelled at him with more derision, “Well, are you gonna rape us? You don’t even got a bulge in your pants. You’re gonna rape us with that? You’re gonna have to try to find it first!”

“BITCH!” he screamed at her, then threw the knife at us and turned and ran.

My knees were trembling. I turned and looked at Beryl. She was smiling smugly. “Asshole”, she muttered. “Are you okay?” She stooped to pick up the knife, which really was quite small. “If I see that jerk again, I’m gonna use this to caponize him.”

The next day I bought an air-conditioning unit for Beryl. She was one cool broad.