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Monday, October 13, 2014

A Fast Trip

This story is linked with  Two Shoes Tuesday, currently celebrating their 100th edition with an Amazon Card Giveaway.


A Fast Trip

"Why don't you drive a little faster?" Elena unbuckled her seatbelt and curled up close to Rob.

"Put your seatbelt back on."

Elena pouted, her hand sliding slowly up and down Rob's thigh.. "C'mon--pretty please?"

"Can't do it," Rob said nervously. "Now please put your seatbelt back on. I don't need another ticket today."

"Aww," Elena wheedled. ""What happened to that sexy daredevil I once knew?"

"He grew up."

"You can't CHANGE who you are, Rob! Remember that!"

Rob glanced over the empty seat where his pills lay, then looked ahead where memorial ribbons flailed. "I'd rather forget."

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Dead Diner

If you're a writer on Twitter, I highly recommend following Story Bandit  for helpful ideas to get started on a short story or get back on track on a current one. 

This is another story inspired by a #writingdare as shown below.



"After the tornado passed, they were still roaming the clocktower plaza," Elyse said, dusting over an old mint-green radio near a hanging empty order wheel.

Linda's expression furrowed as she leaned over the counter with folded arms. "I doubt they'd ever survive a tornado like that."

"Doubtful--if they weren't already dead."

"Now you're just being silly," Linda straightened and checked the time before saying, "I'm clocking out."

"Fine," Elyse shrugged and watched Linda leaving the diner. She turned a radio knob and sighed. "No one wants to know the truth, Victor."

"Patience, my darling," a voice crackled. "Patience."

99 Words

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

The Recruitment

This story is written for Story Bandit on Twitter and uses words featured in the following #writingdare tweet :

The suspect's recalcitrant glare appeared to ripple wildly under the flourescent lights, but Detective Reyes kept a cool measured eye on him from across the table.

"The concierge said you were being hostile toward the hotel guests," Reyes said calmly. "Telling all those horrified folks about how you were gonna blow up the place."

"Yeah, well he's a liar!" the suspect shot back. "I went into that place to take a leak--that's all. There's no law against that."

"What about the necklace and the credit cards?"

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on. We found a lot of the guests' stolen property at your place."

"That's a load of bull."

"All right," Reyes rose to his feet."Have it your way," he left the room and studied the suspect from behind the wall mirror as cigar smoke billowed slowly over his face. "What do you think?"

"He'll do well at The Organization," a rasp voice behind Reyes said.

"Kind of a hothead though," Reyes pointed out."

"He's fearless," the shadowed man countered. "Take him back to the patrol car and bring him to The Forest. We'll begin the initiation process immediately."

Reyes nodded. "You got it, Chief."

199 Words




Monday, August 11, 2014

Masking the Moment

This story is written for VisDare, a weekly prompt challenge hosted by Angela Goff. 

This story--much like my previous story for Visdare--also includes a mask, only it's not so dark this time. Weird, I know.


Photo Source

"Mommy, why does Daddy wear a mask in the garden?" Becky asked.

"That's just so he doesn't get sick, honey?"

"But you never wear a mask when you're in the garden."

"That's because I'm not allergic."

"Is being allergic a bad thing?"

"Yes, it can be a very bad thing if you're not careful."

Becky shifted her attention toward the stairway, trying to make sense of what she'd seen the night before, then looked at her mother again curiously. "Mommy?"

"Yes, honey?"

"Is Daddy allergic to you?"

"Of course not. Why would you ask me such a thing?"

Becky shrugged. "After I went to get a drink of water last night, I saw him coming out of your bedroom with the mask on. He said he was just playing a game with you."

Becky's mother blushed and raised an index. "That's enough, Becky. Go and wash up for dinner."

148 Words




Saturday, March 22, 2014

VisDare 53: Misplaced

This story is linked with Anonymous Legacy's VisDare, a weekly writing challenge hosted by Angela Goff and is being brought to you this week by the word "Misplaced" and the photo prompt below.

Photo Source

I stand by the door and pretend it's an escape portal toward another dimension. I put on my mask, switch off the lights, and hear my brother, Joey, wheezing between hits from his inhaler..

"Why did you turn off the lights, Molly?"

"Space is dark," I said.

I never understood Joey's fear of the dark. Had he forgotten what it was like hiding in corners where darkness served as our only guardian, protecting the value of our misplaced youths?

"I don't like this game,"  Joey said nervously.

"It's not a game," I told him, raising an index in the air. "It's a quest."

"Quest for what?"

I hear a drip coming from the hall. Joey said he heard a voice from there, but I told him there wasn't--not anymore.

I take Joey's hand, lead him outside to stand with me in the middle of a dormant night. "Our new home."

150 WORDS





Thursday, March 20, 2014

Flash! Friday story: The Wish Fields

The following microfiction story was written for Flash! Friday, a weekly flash fiction contest taking place every Friday, and is hosted by Rebekah Postupak.  This past round's winner is Gordon B. White and is featured in this week's "Sixty Seconds" feature.

And now, my story...


~*~

"She was something," Edna said while overlooking the dry fields from her porch. "Wasn't always the great ballet dancer she turned out to be. She would let frustrations get to her too."

Emma's legs clanked as she walked over to her grandmother's side. "How did she deal with them?"

"She went into the fields one day--came back--became the greatest dancer ever known."

"How did going into the fields help her do that?"

"Emma!" Emma's mother called as she came out of the house. "Found your jacket, honey. We're running late to therapy, so we better get moving."

Emma hugged Edna. "Bye, Grandma."

"Bye, sweetie."

Emma's mother waited until her daughter was inside the car before turning to Edna. "Stop it!"

"What?"

"There's nothing in those damned fields! They're all just blatant lies!"

"Beg to differ," Edna's eyes shifted toward Emma then back to her daughter. "Your own baby came from those fields, honey."

155 WORDS




Sunday, January 26, 2014

Jodie's Whisper

"Why are you still wearing that silly cape?" Jodie asked.

Billy looked back to where Jodie sat on a large rock, the cave behind her looming like a wide-mouthed rugged beast. His fists were on his hips as he stood defiantly near the edge of a cliff looming over the small town. He was used to playing the superhero and have Jodie played the one that needed saving. The cape was a recent addition to the game, but this time, he wasn't playing any game.

"This is all part of my plan," Billy said.

"Your plan?" Jodie raised an eyebrow. "Are you planning to jump off the cliff like some crazy person?"

Billy shook his head. "I'm going to find him," he said, then turned to Jodie with a serious look. "And when I do I'm going to destroy him."

Jodie's grin faded. She rose to her feet and walked slowly toward him. "It won't make things any better."

"Maybe. But it will make me feel better."

Now standing beside Billy, Jodie placed a hand over his shoulder. "Do you really believe that?"

Billy shuddered, the whipping winds around him hurling dust into his watery eyes. At least that's what he hoped Jodie would think. "I guess not," he said solemnly, his eyes shying away toward the ground. "Guess I'd still miss you."

The winds clamed momentarily. A faint howl erupted from the cave as Jodie whispered softly into Billy's ear. "I'll always be with you."

The winds picked up speed again. A massive boulder rolled off from a curving mound nearby, partially blocking the cave opening. It was as if nature had given its fair warning over the howl of the beast, stealthily guarding the darkness that had taken Jodie, one year before that day.

300 Words

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

The Realm Watchers

Photo Source


"There was evil in that horned statue," Martin said. "I felt it clenching every part of me."

"What statue? The one downtown?"

Martin nodded. "But this evil comes in many forms."

"And you encounter this evil often?"

"Yes," Martin said, staring blankly toward a window. "Grace used to see it too, but I never believed her until I started seeing it for myself--after she died."

Seated next to Martin's bedside, Dr. Nguyen tapped a pen lightly over her lips momentarily, then slowly leaned forward. "I'm sorry for your loss. Sure it's been a very difficult process for you, but you must understand that leaving the facility the way you did only puts you into more danger."

Martin shook his head. "You just don't understand."

"Oh I understand," Dr. Nguyen said, her brown eyes bulging into neon red spheres. "I understand that you've been a very naughty boy, Martin!"

150 WORDS

This story is linked with Anonymous Legacy's Visdare , a weekly writing challenge hosted by Angela Goff.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

A Cheap Dirty Trick

"I can turn this one-dollar bill into a one-hundred-dollar bill," the magician told the homeless man he approached on the street, dangling the bill in the air in front of him.

"I don't believe you," the homeless man said skeptically.

The magician stretched the bill with both hands, blew it, and the bill instantly turned into a crisp one-hundred-dollar bill before it inexplicably vanished into thin air. "Guess the magic made it disappear!"

Feeling taunted, the homeless man took a deep flustered breath and said, "Yeah, well I can make any man look like a donkey."

"I don't believe you," the magician said, before a knee to the groin forced him to drop to his knees, the loud wail out of his mouth bearing an uncanny resemblance to the animal.

This story is linked with Six Sentence Stories where word prompt of the week is "TRICK"