Heed the Slighted

Round 2 Entry (300 word limit) Crazy Mega-Insane Contest


His opportunity had arrived. Sam stretched his lungs with air, closed his eyes, then opened them again to read the email once more for confirmation:


To: SimCo Staff
Subject: Alarm Testing

Please be aware that Fire Inspection Safety Services Corp. will be conducting tests on our fire alarm system tomorrow. Please disregard the alarm as it may go off several times over the course of the morning.


Yes, he would be dead this same time tomorrow, and so would scores of his colleagues. He smiled.

Sam left at 5:05 as he had done every workday for the past twelve years.

"Goodnight, Joanne," he said to the operations manager as she turned out the lights.

"'Night, Sam. Don't party too hard," she said without a glance.

He didn't answer. He knew she was in on the office's ongoing joke: "Sam, Sam, the middle-aged man. Lives with his mom and his right hand, Jan."

It ate away at his insides. Didn't they know not every target of their ridicules wore high-heeled shoes to warn of their approaches from around corners? No matter; by tomorrow night, Joanne's two small children would be in tears.

At 11 pm he returned to the office, coolly unlocked the door and disarmed the security system. It took mere minutes to get everything set. When he returned home, he enjoyed his final date with Jan, sank deep in his twisted sheets, then slept contentedly for the first time in years. For now he would be a victim by choice.

The following morning, Sam sat in at his desk and waited. The blistering flames shot along the floors, walls, and cubicles as though from a slingshot. Few on the lower floor had a chance to escape. The fire alarms roared for evacuation, but those on the upper floors found out too late; this was not a test.



300 words
Prompt "Make us fear the offended in 300 words or less."