Broken Mirrors and Murdered Kings
He washed his shaking hands under scalding water, imaginary dirt and blood swirling around the basin. He had never actually killed anyone with his own hands. He had men for that. Hell, he had an army for that. None the less, he washed his hands after every battle. Every hanging. He looked up and into the mirror.
"Well?" He asked his reflection. "No questions for me today?"
"What does it take," his reflection whispered back "to turn a man evil?"
King Elias Godwin smiled slightly. The mirror frightened him. But at least it was consistent. The king exhaled.
"Too many questions. Too many...choices. Not enough answers. Not enough certainty."
The reflection cocked his head.
"Is that your answer?" Elias nodded and the reflection smiled wide. "Evil lives in you and therefore in me. And when in it is no longer in us, it will live in others. But there is a price to pay, King. I will pay it shortly. As will you."
King Elias slammed his fist into the mirror. Not out of anger, but out of fear. The reflection shattered around him and he looked at his fist. Blood. Finally. His reflection laughed a hundred laughs for a hundred shattered pieces.
"No matter my king."
The mirror paid its price in blood and glass. In a months time, Elias would pay his as well.
We Were(n’t) Prepared
On the first day of the outbreak, he and I had a zombie movie marathon. We thought nothing of the news coverage. "People wandering around in a zombie like trance. Be on the lookout for anyone showing the following symptoms...." We scoffed at the newest panic trend and proceeded to watch our favorites. Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later, and Shaun of the Dead. We threw popcorn at each other. Laughed at each other's shitty zombie impressions. Kissed.
As the news got more frequent and frantic, we had to stop calling the outbreak "swine flu two point oh" and take it more seriously. Day of the Living Dead came on. We changed the channel to the news. Laughed nervously. He kissed me on the forehead.
The news stopped playing. We boarded up the house. We watched our favorites again. This time..We took notes. Made jokes about how life imitates art imitates life. But we didn't laugh. And we didn't kiss.
We boarded the doors and windows. We stockpiled food. We learned where to hit a zombie to kill it. All from movies. But falling out of love during a zombie apocalypse? They didn't cover that part. And when the skin you both live in is endangered...Well. You don't laugh. You don't kiss. You live like human museums. Separate. Protected. Silent. Preserved.
Art imitates life imitates art.