Madder Still
By
Amy Grech
A typical afternoon
at the Smith Haven Mall,
a sprawling suburban mecca devoid
of doom. You hear your heart go
boom, boom, boom.
Arresting neon lights delight
a mother and her daughter
clutching a red balloon.
Childlike whimsy on display
at KB Toys. Something
for all the girls and boys.
Teenagers canoodle.
Kids play with
pool noodles in a ball pit.
Management doesn’t give a shit
as you hit rock bottom.
You’ve got a short fuse
and nothing to lose.
The voice in your head
suddenly shrill shrieks
kill, kill, kill!
You’re a culpable bystander
who lacks free will.
You had a good job on the
second floor at Waldenbooks.
You had a propensity to stare
at customers too intensely.
A heinous act they
despised immensely.
You loved the work,
but your boss,
a real jerk, didn’t care.
He said you did as
you pleased, and
put customers ill at ease.
With that, you were fired,
so, you conspired.
The overbearing voice in your head
insists you’d be better off dead.
Instead, you opt for a treacherous thrill.
Commanded to kill, kill, kill!
You pull your father’s gun,
a police-issued .38 Snub Nose Smith
& Wesson Revolver out of
your trench coat,
taking aim at everyone.
Bullets rain down,
a lethal hailstorm, hitting their mark.
The world goes dark as hapless
shoppers fall like dominoes,
riddled with pinpoint precision holes
spouting blood amongst the
incessant shouting as
their shopping bags
crumble withering, like flowers
cut down before full bloom.
The little girl with the red balloon
along with her mother, promising
lives ended too soon.
Swiftly declared criminally insane.
You only have yourself to blame.
Rife with mortal shame.
Alone in a padded room,
you hear your heart go
boom, boom, boom,
loudly sealing your doom.
Now you’re under lock and key
at St. Johnland Hospital,
left to wallow in abject misery,
amidst heinous dirt and grime,
forever mired for your grisly crime.
By
Amy Grech
A typical afternoon
at the Smith Haven Mall,
a sprawling suburban mecca devoid
of doom. You hear your heart go
boom, boom, boom.
Arresting neon lights delight
a mother and her daughter
clutching a red balloon.
Childlike whimsy on display
at KB Toys. Something
for all the girls and boys.
Teenagers canoodle.
Kids play with
pool noodles in a ball pit.
Management doesn’t give a shit
as you hit rock bottom.
You’ve got a short fuse
and nothing to lose.
The voice in your head
suddenly shrill shrieks
kill, kill, kill!
You’re a culpable bystander
who lacks free will.
You had a good job on the
second floor at Waldenbooks.
You had a propensity to stare
at customers too intensely.
A heinous act they
despised immensely.
You loved the work,
but your boss,
a real jerk, didn’t care.
He said you did as
you pleased, and
put customers ill at ease.
With that, you were fired,
so, you conspired.
The overbearing voice in your head
insists you’d be better off dead.
Instead, you opt for a treacherous thrill.
Commanded to kill, kill, kill!
You pull your father’s gun,
a police-issued .38 Snub Nose Smith
& Wesson Revolver out of
your trench coat,
taking aim at everyone.
Bullets rain down,
a lethal hailstorm, hitting their mark.
The world goes dark as hapless
shoppers fall like dominoes,
riddled with pinpoint precision holes
spouting blood amongst the
incessant shouting as
their shopping bags
crumble withering, like flowers
cut down before full bloom.
The little girl with the red balloon
along with her mother, promising
lives ended too soon.
Swiftly declared criminally insane.
You only have yourself to blame.
Rife with mortal shame.
Alone in a padded room,
you hear your heart go
boom, boom, boom,
loudly sealing your doom.
Now you’re under lock and key
at St. Johnland Hospital,
left to wallow in abject misery,
amidst heinous dirt and grime,
forever mired for your grisly crime.
Amy Grech has sold over 100 stories to various anthologies and magazines including: 10 by 10 Flash Fiction Stories, Apex Magazine, Gamut Magazine, Punk Noir Magazine, Roi Fainéant Press, Space & Time Magazine, Tales from the Canyons of the Damned, Yellow Mama, and many others. Alien Buddha Press published her poetry chapbook, A Shadow of Your Former Self. She is a 2x Pushcart Prize nominee.
She is an Active Member of the Horror Writers Association who lives in Forest Hills, Queens.
Connect with her on Bluesky: @amygrech.bsky.social, Medium: https://crimsonscreams.medium.com, X: https://x.com/amy_grech, or visit her website: https://www.crimsonscreams.com.
