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Victimized
In the near future, Annabelle lives a fractured life, haunted by the shadows of her past, dark moments of abuse and freedom at the hands of her own kin. She has the opportunity to get into a boxing ring and fight her oppressor, to face the man that altered her, to beat him down with all of her rage. This is the way things are now, society given the chance to take on the murderers, the rapists, those that have tainted their lives, hurt their family, destroyed what was innocent and pure. Preparing to go to battle, Belle taps into her true identity, and changes, a warrior entering battle, unwilling to hesitate, ready to kill.
Length: 7000 words
(Originally published in Murky Depths #15 as a shorter version.)
Length: 7000 words
(Originally published in Murky Depths #15 as a shorter version.)
- GenresShort Stories
28 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
About the author
Richard Thomas
100 books697 followersRichard Thomas is the award-winning author of nine books: four novels—Incarnate (Podium), Disintegration and Breaker (Penguin Random House Alibi), and Transubstantiate (Otherworld Publications); four short story collections—Spontaneous Human Combustion (Turner Publishing—Bram Stoker finalist), Tribulations (Cemetery Dance), Staring Into the Abyss (Kraken Press), and Herniated Roots (Snubnose Press); as well as one novella of The Soul Standard (Dzanc Books). His over 175 stories in print include The Best Horror of the Year (Volume Eleven), Cemetery Dance (twice), Behold!: Oddities, Curiosities and Undefinable Wonders (Bram Stoker Award winner), The Hideous Book of Hidden Horrors (Shirley Jackson Award winner), Lightspeed, PANK, storySouth, Gargoyle, Weird Fiction Review, Midwestern Gothic, Shallow Creek, The Seven Deadliest, Gutted: Beautiful Horror Stories, Qualia Nous, Chiral Mad (numbers 2-4), PRISMS, Pantheon, and Shivers VI. He has won contests at ChiZine and One Buck Horror, has received five Pushcart Prize nominations, and has been long-listed for Best Horror of the Year seven times. He was also the editor of four anthologies: The New Black and Exigencies (Dark House Press), The Lineup: 20 Provocative Women Writers (Black Lawrence Press) and Burnt Tongues (Medallion Press) with Chuck Palahniuk. He has been nominated for the Bram Stoker (twice), Shirley Jackson, Thriller, and Audie awards. In his spare time he is a columnist at Lit Reactor. He was the Editor-in-Chief at Dark House Press and Gamut Magazine. His agent is Paula Munier at Talcott Notch. For more information visit www.whatdoesnotkillme.com.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 4, 2012
He really goes into darkness and takes you into the corners of a tainted heart. Into the psyche of a victim. He has created a place where crime and punishment and the whole prison system is changed. This could be the future the CITIZENS justice system.
Sweet bloody retribution.
Are you ready for it?
Is it what we want? would it be a solution to crime?
Fight Club on meth with the guilty in one corner and the innocent in the other.
It's dark and grim this story, with some nice payoff of revenge. The writer has made it visceral and an experience you will remember with memorable characters.
Short but written in a style of his own no word wasted. He has really left you with a lot to look forward to in his novels.
This poem i have written is from view of the main protagonist to sum this story.
"A victim we would all hate to be,
But it's a stark fact of my reality.
Tonight's the night for me,
for in the arena I will be,
where vengeance will be for me,
A kin of mine could not keep his hands to himself
But tonight he shall taste his bloody self.
A caged bird I shall no longer be
Once more I shall sing and be free
For freedom shall be claimed for me."
Review also @ http://more2read.com/review/victimized-by-richard-thomas/
How to Befriend a Writer: An Interview With Richard Thomas by Pela Via
Episode #23 – Richard Thomas: Warmed and Bound Session
http://www.transubstantiate.net
http://www.whatdoesnotkillme.com
Sweet bloody retribution.
Are you ready for it?
Is it what we want? would it be a solution to crime?
Fight Club on meth with the guilty in one corner and the innocent in the other.
It's dark and grim this story, with some nice payoff of revenge. The writer has made it visceral and an experience you will remember with memorable characters.
Short but written in a style of his own no word wasted. He has really left you with a lot to look forward to in his novels.
This poem i have written is from view of the main protagonist to sum this story.
"A victim we would all hate to be,
But it's a stark fact of my reality.
Tonight's the night for me,
for in the arena I will be,
where vengeance will be for me,
A kin of mine could not keep his hands to himself
But tonight he shall taste his bloody self.
A caged bird I shall no longer be
Once more I shall sing and be free
For freedom shall be claimed for me."
Review also @ http://more2read.com/review/victimized-by-richard-thomas/
How to Befriend a Writer: An Interview With Richard Thomas by Pela Via
Episode #23 – Richard Thomas: Warmed and Bound Session
http://www.transubstantiate.net
http://www.whatdoesnotkillme.com
January 3, 2023
Read as Part of the 2023 Gagents of Chaos reading challenge on Facebook: Richard Thomas.
This short story is the epitome of the saying “Seek revenge and you should dig two graves, one for yourself”.
This short story is the epitome of the saying “Seek revenge and you should dig two graves, one for yourself”.
April 8, 2011
**People I know get the customary five stars.**
I can't tell if the Kindle singles will take off, but I find the format really well-suited to short stories. Typically I want to read a single short story, not a collection. It's also nice because it encourages artists to release their best short work, since someone has to directly pay for it.
Victimized is pretty damn brutal. It has a sort of bloodsport structure, but spends very little time fixating on the premise. It's an act of sensory overload that will leave you rattled at the end.
Well worth the tiny price of admission.
I can't tell if the Kindle singles will take off, but I find the format really well-suited to short stories. Typically I want to read a single short story, not a collection. It's also nice because it encourages artists to release their best short work, since someone has to directly pay for it.
Victimized is pretty damn brutal. It has a sort of bloodsport structure, but spends very little time fixating on the premise. It's an act of sensory overload that will leave you rattled at the end.
Well worth the tiny price of admission.
December 22, 2012
I am biased, just that you know. Two days ago I stumbled upon Richard, reading one of his reviews and was dumbstruck how well written it was. Sucking up every word what he had to say. A guy that writes such awesome reviews must be a pretty damn fine author too, right? Right!
"Victimized" isn´t pretty. It will kick you out of your comfort-zone with a shot; and its damn bloody.
Richard Thomas takes the "eye for an eye" from the Old Testament a step further down the road. Bringing a not-so-far-away future into reality where victims have the chance to fight their oppressors and evil-doers in a ring. It´s fight or die, sometimes its fight and die. Not that I would call that justice exactly, but dude, I won´t survive such a fight for a minute.
A first-POV narrative as the title already very subtle suggests, it is the tale of Annabelle. It gets straight into the matter of things. A fight. Belle sucks in the atmosphere, prepares herself, steels herself what will come. A cheering crowd, enjoying the spectacle, surrounding the ring, out for a kick, a punch. They want blood!
How she prepares for a fight, telling her story how it even went that far. Fast paced and economical in style every word, every sentence is tight. It´s grim, it´s dark and there are moments when you feel safe. You think you have heard and read it all before, and bang Richard punches you straight in the face. And he punches hard. Very hard.
Don´t get me even started about "Fight Club". I like Palahniuk but it is pussyshit against "Victimized". It´s more like these old Jean-Claude Van Damme movies (Bloodsport ? don´t remember) while listening to Nine Inch Nails full blast. You know the days when Trent Reznor was still good. "Head Like A Hole" and stuff.
Halfway through the story I needed to pause, to take it in. One feels sympathy for Annabelle, empathy even. Don´t screw it up girl, simply don´t.
Names my father used to call me: princess, bunny, doodlebug, sunshine, honey, baby, sweetheart, angel.
I slide the blade down my left bicep and forearm, all the way to the wrist. Just enough to break the skin. Then I do the other arm. Down my ribcage, the bones protruding, just a fraction deeper, a bumby ride to my navel. Bending over it glides down my left thigh and then my right. I stand up straight and place the sticky razor on the dresser. I run my hands over the seeping cuts on my arms, and spread the paint around. I´m an Indian now, redskin. I dip my right my index finger in the expanding droplet at my knee, and paint a line under my left eye. Then my right.
Names my mother used to call me: whore, tramp, slut, loser, waste, darling, pervert, sick.
Pretty freaking awesome!
"Victimized" isn´t pretty. It will kick you out of your comfort-zone with a shot; and its damn bloody.
Richard Thomas takes the "eye for an eye" from the Old Testament a step further down the road. Bringing a not-so-far-away future into reality where victims have the chance to fight their oppressors and evil-doers in a ring. It´s fight or die, sometimes its fight and die. Not that I would call that justice exactly, but dude, I won´t survive such a fight for a minute.
A first-POV narrative as the title already very subtle suggests, it is the tale of Annabelle. It gets straight into the matter of things. A fight. Belle sucks in the atmosphere, prepares herself, steels herself what will come. A cheering crowd, enjoying the spectacle, surrounding the ring, out for a kick, a punch. They want blood!
How she prepares for a fight, telling her story how it even went that far. Fast paced and economical in style every word, every sentence is tight. It´s grim, it´s dark and there are moments when you feel safe. You think you have heard and read it all before, and bang Richard punches you straight in the face. And he punches hard. Very hard.
Don´t get me even started about "Fight Club". I like Palahniuk but it is pussyshit against "Victimized". It´s more like these old Jean-Claude Van Damme movies (Bloodsport ? don´t remember) while listening to Nine Inch Nails full blast. You know the days when Trent Reznor was still good. "Head Like A Hole" and stuff.
Halfway through the story I needed to pause, to take it in. One feels sympathy for Annabelle, empathy even. Don´t screw it up girl, simply don´t.
Names my father used to call me: princess, bunny, doodlebug, sunshine, honey, baby, sweetheart, angel.
I slide the blade down my left bicep and forearm, all the way to the wrist. Just enough to break the skin. Then I do the other arm. Down my ribcage, the bones protruding, just a fraction deeper, a bumby ride to my navel. Bending over it glides down my left thigh and then my right. I stand up straight and place the sticky razor on the dresser. I run my hands over the seeping cuts on my arms, and spread the paint around. I´m an Indian now, redskin. I dip my right my index finger in the expanding droplet at my knee, and paint a line under my left eye. Then my right.
Names my mother used to call me: whore, tramp, slut, loser, waste, darling, pervert, sick.
Pretty freaking awesome!
January 7, 2014
3.5 more like it. Almost a four. I love stories like these, and Richard is a truly talented writer of the Chuckie P. variety. His writing is very prose-like, and while it was beautiful at times, it was so metaphoric that I actually had trouble here and there trying to understand just what exactly was going on. I got the gist, and enjoyed it, but I left needing just a bit of clarification about certain things, especially the roles of a few characters. Anyway, great story and I already picked up his collection Herniated Roots based on this.
April 15, 2011
Richard Thomas has done what only the best can do--take something that feels familiar, it feels like you've read it or seen it before, and takes you to surprising and unpredictable places. It's a head fake before he curb stomps your teeth into the concrete.
You see, books and films have found many uses for inmates, most of them having to do with their disposability ("Gamer" and "Death Race" are just two of the more recent, schlocky entries into the genre). And usually, we center on a criminal anti-hero with stubble and a sob story, you know, so we relate to him--he doesn't really belong in prison. And usually the inmate has to beat impossible odds to win his improbable freedom.
But this is "Victimized." This is Richard Thomas. And this tale serves as a parable for our criminal justice system--the victims are usually overmatched, sucked into the vortex of rules and appeals, making justice seem far, far away. In this sweat-and-blood-spattered tale, the victims can choose to extract their own justice. And we are left to wonder if the rage and anger at being a victim can overcome being physically inferior in a ring where the battle is to the death.
What could easily descend into a glossy premise that would eventually erode itself by being too cute, Thomas digs into the human element, the victim element, and while there's always a place for revenge tales, rarely do they center on the dark corridors of the human heart that must be navigated to find the power to extract it.
And at the end, we are not left wondering who won or lost, but if victory is even possible. Once a victim, always a victim.
And I have to add--ninety-nine cents? For two bucks, you can get this story, a Snickers, and a coffee--and that sounds like a pretty awesome night on the couch to me.
You see, books and films have found many uses for inmates, most of them having to do with their disposability ("Gamer" and "Death Race" are just two of the more recent, schlocky entries into the genre). And usually, we center on a criminal anti-hero with stubble and a sob story, you know, so we relate to him--he doesn't really belong in prison. And usually the inmate has to beat impossible odds to win his improbable freedom.
But this is "Victimized." This is Richard Thomas. And this tale serves as a parable for our criminal justice system--the victims are usually overmatched, sucked into the vortex of rules and appeals, making justice seem far, far away. In this sweat-and-blood-spattered tale, the victims can choose to extract their own justice. And we are left to wonder if the rage and anger at being a victim can overcome being physically inferior in a ring where the battle is to the death.
What could easily descend into a glossy premise that would eventually erode itself by being too cute, Thomas digs into the human element, the victim element, and while there's always a place for revenge tales, rarely do they center on the dark corridors of the human heart that must be navigated to find the power to extract it.
And at the end, we are not left wondering who won or lost, but if victory is even possible. Once a victim, always a victim.
And I have to add--ninety-nine cents? For two bucks, you can get this story, a Snickers, and a coffee--and that sounds like a pretty awesome night on the couch to me.
August 6, 2011
This is a great two-fisted revenge tale, pretty dark, but then, what journey to redemption isn't?
March 26, 2014
Whether it is short stories or full length novels, Richard Thomas never lets me down. Dark, original, violent, twisted, and totally original. He is one of my favorites writing today.
November 20, 2023
“Victimized” is a short story that ran to just 22 pages on my e-tablet.
It still manages to pack quite a lot in.
Sometime in the future convicted prisoners can choose between trial by jury or to fight for their freedom.
For some it is a no-brainer because no sane jury would ever let them walk free.
Some will face the families of those they victimised, others a professional.
There's always the danger of death but there is also an informal sliding scale ranging from broken bones upwards.
Annabelle was abused by her uncle – now she has chosen to face him in the ring.
But she's as guilty now as he was then.
She has trained and thinks she's ready but it is only when the fight starts that reality sets in.
It's dark, gritty and far too short.
2.5 Stars, brought back to 2 Stars.
It still manages to pack quite a lot in.
Sometime in the future convicted prisoners can choose between trial by jury or to fight for their freedom.
For some it is a no-brainer because no sane jury would ever let them walk free.
Some will face the families of those they victimised, others a professional.
There's always the danger of death but there is also an informal sliding scale ranging from broken bones upwards.
Annabelle was abused by her uncle – now she has chosen to face him in the ring.
But she's as guilty now as he was then.
She has trained and thinks she's ready but it is only when the fight starts that reality sets in.
It's dark, gritty and far too short.
2.5 Stars, brought back to 2 Stars.
June 26, 2016
Annabelle has lived long enough as a victim. She finds the courage to face her giant, but there's no room for forgiveness in this boxing ring. Consequence of ones actions can be a sweet victory as is Victimized. I'm certain the controversial subject matter will be helpful to many. I recommend.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews