Lights, Camera …

07/06/11

The director sighed.  Already had a buyer for his usual fare, and now this happens.  One hundred thou offered to make a snuff?  An actual, honest-to-fucking snuff film?  The order’s from some big-name actor, so the money’s real enough.  The actor’s rep let Clyde look at it in his briefcase.  Let him feel it up for a sec too.  Even brought the gun he wanted to be used.  A nice shiny new 9mm Glock–loaded.  ‘Like your other films, please’ he said quietly, ‘except this time, when the girl puts the gun into her mouth and pulls the trigger…’

Clyde felt like he was going to be sick.  So far, he’d had no problem unloading his work.  He has the girl make herself feel real good, then she sucks on his old Colt 38 with the broken firing pin for awhile, pulls the trigger, looks right into the camera and laughs.  But this time?

He’d picked this cutie up at a bus stop on the edge of town and brought her out here to the cabin.  Told him she was 18, but he didn’t believe a day over 15.  Promised her a few bucks, make her a movie star, you know the routine, and she’d come willingly enough.  But, still.  A snuff film?

He took her into the master bedroom, where he had his lights and camera already set up.  Clyde told her to lie on the bed and get comfortable and try to relax.  He handed her a bottle of some cheap whiskey he had stashed there for just such occasions.  As soon as she unscrewed the top, she started gulping it down.  Clyde hoped to hell she wouldn’t puke it up later on film.  A scene like that would certainly decrease it’s value.  He told her he had some stuff to take care of in the other room, but he’d be back in about 15 minutes and then they would make the movie.  She just nodded and kept gulping.  Clyde went into the back bedroom he’d converted to a kind of office and sat down at the desk.  He really needed to think this through.

He put the Colt and the Glock on the desk and lit a smoke.  This should have been an easy decision, but he couldn’t just wave off a hundred thousand dollars.  At the rate he was going, that’s more money than he would see in 25 lifetimes.  But, we’re talking death for real here…

Clyde always figured there were two sides to everything.  Were there this time?

Nobody makes snuff films.  Not for real, anyway.

 

Apparently, there’s at least one guy out there who believes I would.

 

This kid can’t just disappear.

 

Told me she had no family–totally on her own.

 

I’ve never even punched anybody out, much less killed anyone.

 

I wouldn’t actually be pulling the trigger.

 

How could I live with myself if I let this girl die?

 

A hundred thou buys a lot of therapy.

 

Doesn’t matter how you look at this.  When all is said and done, it comes down to cold-blood, premeditated murder.

 

Yes.  It does.

Four o’clock.  Clyde thought the kid must be pretty well looped by now, considering she’s probably been gulping steady for the past 15 minutes.

Showtime.

He picked up the gun from the desk and went into the bedroom.  The girl had already removed her clothes and was on the bed, sitting up against the headboard.  Her eyes were barely open and lifeless in the room’s dim lighting.  The bottle of whiskey sat almost empty on the nightstand against the wall.

He placed the gun on the bed next to her and asked if she knew what she was expected to do with it.  She closed her eyes, nodded slowly, picked up the gun and began caressing it.

He positioned himself behind the camera and said, “Five, four, three, two…”

~ fin ~

J F Juzwik has had two crime fiction novels and a six-part children's fantasy series published by DiskUsPublishing, stories published in various anthologies, as well as flash pieces on various ezines. Her current projects include two crime fiction novels.

That was very disturbing and would make for a great read! :)
Jane Ullah
July 21, 2011
Dark and real nasty. Great job, Joyce.
Glenn Gray
July 07, 2011
Okay, Joyce. Which one of the six parts of the children's fantasy series was this in? You write for some really growed up kids, Lady J. They'd send the Addams Family screaming out the back door for sure. Perfect character study. I can a lot of Hollyweird producers nodding in agreement muttering "Well sure, what the hell. The money's right." Cool.
AJ Hayes
July 06, 2011
God almighty that was disturbing. I loved it!
Peter Farris
July 06, 2011
Perfectly, darkly done.
Paul D Brazill
July 06, 2011
Hardcore. No flinching and that's what makes it.
July 06, 2011
This story proves once again that there's an endless supply of fucked up shit to write about. Wicked.
Chris Rhatigan
July 06, 2011
yikes. i was hoping he'd stage it and scam the guy. but when it's only 700 words, there's an fast-approaching deadline to any decision. the reader knows the story itself is running out of time to do the right thing. only in flash. great stuff.
David James Keaton
July 06, 2011
What a skeezy bastard you dreamt up here... nice.
tpluck
July 06, 2011
It's always about the choices we make. I love that this story forces the reader to make one. Well done.
Brad Green
July 06, 2011
Joyce, this was the star of the Shotgun Honey week over at Flash Fiction Friday. Love the set up and the uncertain ending.
Ron Earl Phillips
July 06, 2011

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