You All Sound the Same

by Scott O’Neill

Buzzing fluorescent tubes fitfully illuminated the dank, cluttered hostel basement.

“The washer’s munted.”

Whirling and dropping laundry, the American girl gawped at Noah. “Jeez! You scared me! That accent… Australia?”

Leaning against a red-spattered freezer, Noah grimaced. “New Zealand.”

Her brow furrowed. “Not Australia?”

“Decidedly not.”

“Our exchange student had an Australian accent like yours.”

Noah opened the freezer.

“Getting shrimp for the barbie?” she asked, giggling.

He yanked out a bloodied screwdriver, scattering an arc of frozen peas. Surging forward, he plunged it into her heart and snarled, “New Zealand.”

Noah put her in the freezer, beside the Canadian.

Scott O’Neill

Scott writes reports and memorandums by day and speculative fiction by night, with short works published by various presses. You can find him on the socials as @wererooster.