Joshua Hates Mirrors

Leigh killed their “Queen.”

Joshua scoffed and summoned a barrier to wall himself from the rest of his team. A choir of victimized tongues played as some slapped themselves to shake off that fever dream. A mellow rage filled the air. And the gleam in their eyes made everything a bit darker.

They looked at each other. Joshua thinned his lips. And like a ball of fart held down by someone’s asscheeks for so long, everyone bared their teeth in full tension to scream until Leo snapped his fingers and decapitated three of them before they could do anything. None dared to move after.

Joshua scoffed and sat. “Man…”

Leo’s swords flashed and ricocheted from Joshua’s barrier. The man clicked his tongue, took a step forward, and tried his luck again. It didn’t work.

“I’m on your side.” Joshua raised his hand behind the barrier. “And I’m actually as confused as you are.”

“I chose to trust you.”

Leo reeked of desperation. Joshua’s used to this.

“The same way you chose to trust those who would be guarding your queen, right?” Joshua added and shrugged at the girl with the cat ears headband. “We don’t know anything. But I do need to remind you that our end-goal remains the same.”

“He… He’s not lying. I think,” the girl averted her gaze and hid behind the larger man.

“Well… I guess that’s the thing. I did find it hard to refuse her ‘requests’ after I did the deed,” the larger man followed. “Might be the only reason this group was formed. But that’s her thing. I’m only worried about my health after this.”

“None of us are sick… man,” one commented.

“Either way, the new guy is right. Mind-controlled or not, we’re still in the same boat. None of us gets a shot at winning if me, Leo, or that Juan Montefalco are alive.” He cracked his knuckles and grinned at Leo. “It just so happens that our chances of winning are much smaller if we have a spoiled brat hurling rocks at us from above like some sort of God.”

Leo pocketed his hands. “That goes the same for everyone. Right,” he glared at the larger man. “Jeremy?”

“You mad, bro?” Jeremy widened his grin. “Oh right… This guy was the original simp. Sorry to hear that your idol was something worse than… Actually, let’s not talk about that.” He clapped Leo’s shoulder. “That must suck, and rubbing salt on some fresh wounds ain’t my type of thing.”

“We’re not the same.”

Jeremy scoffed. “Sure.”

Leo sighed and walked away from the group. “I swear most of us feel the same thing. I’ll try and see if I can remind our ‘allies’ of the reason why we got together.”

“Endgame, huh… You got something on your mind?”

“Nothing much.” Leo waved his hand goodbye and disappeared outside. “I’ll see if I can come up with something after we all get together.”

“Alright,” Jeremy looked at the girl with the cat ears headband and faced the rest of the crowd. “You guys stay put. Don’t kill yourselves. Try not to die either. I’ll try to see if I can pay our little worm back in the Police Station for a small kind visit.”

Jeremy left with his girl in tow. Joshua retreated into a corner and re-established his barrier in case someone got a bright idea to betray them.

And not even an hour later. It was announced that Leigh blasted the girl, whose name was actually Krissy, with a shotgun. Soon, a blast rang from afar. Their phones beeped again. It showed that Leigh blew Jeremy’s head with a cannon.

Everyone’s face fell dead. Silence overflowed. Joshua laughed nervously and inched himself deeper into the corner, and a cascade of explosions rumbled from afar before eating everything around him until it turned dark.

Too fast. A rain of metal and concrete crushed their cover and flattened everything that’s between it and the ground. These people didn’t even get the scream. He had one second where everyone looked at him for solace, but he’s only human.

It didn’t last long. There were cries here and there, but that didn’t matter. He could be sad about this, be mad that luck was once not on his side, but he’s too tired for this. He felt empty. He had no people in his back anymore.

Joshua chuckled.

“Mom… help…”

That voice lead Joshua to a dying man, barely escaping the death that only managed to destroy half of his body. His eyes were losing color. He’s mumbling. Though, for a dying person, his voice was still pretty loud. Magic might be real.

“I’m sorry… mom… I won’t be… going home…”

Joshua patted the man’s head. He grinned and shaped his mouth, aiming for that perfect curve to deliver a girl’s voice, which ended up having him sound like Marge from the Simpsons. But his chest burned with this certain feeling that made his disgusting smile go away. He failed to find his words, so he leaned forward, propping himself with one arm and a knee so he could hold that man’s dying hands.

The man squeezed back and smiled with his tainted lips. His callouses were the same. No. He’s even more tired. Dark. Cold. This man couldn’t see him. He couldn’t even move anymore.

“Mom,” he continued to mumble. “I won’t be home… anymore. I’ll… leave my brothers… to you… so...rry.”

Joshua didn’t find it in him to keep his smile. The man was desperate to cling to his warm hand.

“I’m… scared. Mom—”

“I’ve always been so disappointed in you,” Joshua whispered, pinching his throat in a failed attempt to sound motherly. “Why can’t you be like our neighbor’s kid, being so well off in life? Ah… it must be because he’s smart. Unlike you.”

The guy’s hand trembled. That didn’t matter. He had to pick himself up. He had to get angry. He had to live and slap his face. That’s what this man needed to do.

“Don’t make me laugh.” Joshua smiled. “You’re a disappointment. You think that everything is gonna work itself out by working hard? That’s all you did and nothing changed. You’re nothing. Even if you’re here or not… It doesn’t change a thing.”

The guy tried to pull his hand away. Joshua stared at the man, begging for him to raise his head and to glare at him. It wasn’t hard to hold that man’s hand back.

“A pig. That’s what you are. You’ve never even considered changing or doing something more. Even a cockroach is smarter than you. You…” Joshua’s eyes blurred, his lips shivered as he breathed. It’s getting harder to talk. “You thought that you could spend your day doing nothing more—”

“Please…”

The hand stopped moving.

Joshua heaved a bit of excitement drugging his heart. Again. He wanted to do that again, but there’s a lack of half-dead people around him. He had to know.

He fell flat on his back, gazed at the tired and resigned face of that man before gazing back into the moon. Now, he had more reasons to hate mirrors other than being flat-out ugly.

That man’s face was tired, dead, already. But maybe he didn’t resign to his fate. Maybe it was acceptance. Maybe he wanted to be hopeful until he couldn’t anymore.

“Please…”

Joshua parroted that man’s final words, half-closing his eyes and pouting his lips to mimic a dying person’s desperation, only to not finish it. No more words came to mind. A part of it would be regret for not being able to do what he wanted to do. And there was nothing else.

“I wonder what I should say… to everyone.”

Joshua chuckled and clutched his chest. His eyes teared as that disgusting smile rose to the surface. He did nothing more. And nothing changed.

Maybe reviving everyone wasn’t so bad of an idea.