Re: Devil Like Me
Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2019 5:39 am
Erika's response had been to pack up her shit.
Michael watched her stick the old-timey rifle into her bag. He watched her stick the food and the coke can into her bag. He watched her open the rifle's case. He watched her stow away the ammo. He watched her take out the rifle and do some clickity-clackity gun stuff with it.
He could've sworn he'd seen that gun in a video game or something.
"That’s interesting."
He was surprised Erika hadn't shot him yet, but here he was, not dead.
Erika said she wasn't sure which Michael was real. They were... they were both real, sort of. They were as real as Michael could still get. No matter what he did or what he said he still felt like he was lying.
She said she thought he'd reached his goal. That was nice of her, Michael thought. He got the fuzzies again.
"I’m fine with this… moment, staying peaceful. I’m glad I got some of that shit off my chest. After we leave though, I don’t have any reason not to put you down if our paths cross again. The best I can do is tell you that it’ll be quick and you won’t see it coming."
Quick and a surprise was the opposite of how Michael wanted to die. He had final words planned. He wanted to know how it felt to die. He wanted to savour it.
He wanted to be okay with it.
"Unless survival isn’t what you’re after. Then maybe, I have a reason."
...nice okay yes this was good.
He raised his eyebrows; snapped double finger guns. "Aces." He smiled. "Cool cool, yeah. I, uh, I've been through too much to go back. I'd rather die here than anywhere else in the world. Like, I'll be cool with going back home only if I'm the most mentally intact person left alive, which, uh... oof, y'know? I -" he blinked. He was being completely candid. "- I'm living for other people. Michael Froese is dead, I guess. I dunno, we're basically all gonna die here. We're all just trying our best to die happy. I'm just trying to help with that. People..." he paused. "...People build narratives in their heads to cope with life. We're all our own main character. Everyone has a story. Stories need villains. The announcement made me sound like a killing machine, and it's like... that's who everyone thinks I am now, so... I'm gonna try to own it. I'm gonna try help people to die feeling like their lives have purpose."
He paused.
"Also, like, it's kinda a little fun being bad when it has no consequences, so..."
Michael watched her stick the old-timey rifle into her bag. He watched her stick the food and the coke can into her bag. He watched her open the rifle's case. He watched her stow away the ammo. He watched her take out the rifle and do some clickity-clackity gun stuff with it.
He could've sworn he'd seen that gun in a video game or something.
"That’s interesting."
He was surprised Erika hadn't shot him yet, but here he was, not dead.
Erika said she wasn't sure which Michael was real. They were... they were both real, sort of. They were as real as Michael could still get. No matter what he did or what he said he still felt like he was lying.
She said she thought he'd reached his goal. That was nice of her, Michael thought. He got the fuzzies again.
"I’m fine with this… moment, staying peaceful. I’m glad I got some of that shit off my chest. After we leave though, I don’t have any reason not to put you down if our paths cross again. The best I can do is tell you that it’ll be quick and you won’t see it coming."
Quick and a surprise was the opposite of how Michael wanted to die. He had final words planned. He wanted to know how it felt to die. He wanted to savour it.
He wanted to be okay with it.
"Unless survival isn’t what you’re after. Then maybe, I have a reason."
...nice okay yes this was good.
He raised his eyebrows; snapped double finger guns. "Aces." He smiled. "Cool cool, yeah. I, uh, I've been through too much to go back. I'd rather die here than anywhere else in the world. Like, I'll be cool with going back home only if I'm the most mentally intact person left alive, which, uh... oof, y'know? I -" he blinked. He was being completely candid. "- I'm living for other people. Michael Froese is dead, I guess. I dunno, we're basically all gonna die here. We're all just trying our best to die happy. I'm just trying to help with that. People..." he paused. "...People build narratives in their heads to cope with life. We're all our own main character. Everyone has a story. Stories need villains. The announcement made me sound like a killing machine, and it's like... that's who everyone thinks I am now, so... I'm gonna try to own it. I'm gonna try help people to die feeling like their lives have purpose."
He paused.
"Also, like, it's kinda a little fun being bad when it has no consequences, so..."