55 Word Challenge: Deadly Dice Games

Every Wednesday,  at Jezri's Nightmares, The 55 Word Challenge contest is hosted with the winner getting a $5 gift card from Amazon plus a badge to display on your own blog. The contest: Enter a short story with exactly 55 words following one of the picture prompts listed. Think you can pull it off? Check it out!

I missed this week's prompt, and had a good one too, but decided to post it anyway.

This atrocious soul once thought to be heavenly, wisked her away from a night of festivities. She now found herself strapped to a chair, her lips bound by leather and her life hanging by the roll of a die.

She yearned for a miraculous seven, but a roll of six landed on her destiny.



Visual Dare: Disobey

This short fiction flash is linked with Anonymous Legacy's Visual Dare . A picture prompt is added every week along with a word prompt. Todays word: Disobey

Maddy's Mystic World #1

Missing Maddy

"I can't believe it's been a month," Maddy's mother Susan said, sobbing uncontrollably. "She was such a good girl. Who would ever want to harm her?"

"I don't know," Maddy's school teacher, Ms. Benavides replied. "but just try to think positively."

Learning that Benavides' daughter went missing years ago, Susan grew deeply connected to her.

Finding some consolation, Susan left shortly before the bell, leaving Benavides alone in her classroom, one of many snow globes from her collection in hand, watching as tiny fists pommeled frantically from within. "Sick horse, huh? You'll never lie to me again, that's for sure."

Continue Reading-- >>> Maddy's Mystic World #2: The Talking Tree

100 Words (excluding title and continuation line)

Two Shoes Tuesday: Lights

If you have not checked out Josie's blog challenge at Two Shoes in Texas, and like to keep the creative flow moving like me, then you are missing out on a great opportunity.

Josie gives a word prompt every Tuesday, and from there, it's all up to you what you make of it, and there is no time limit for your entry. This week's word is "Lights".

Coming off from a recent 100 word challenge on my last post, I decided to give this week's prompt a try by limiting myself to one hundred words as well.

Be warned. Most of my stories, like this one, tend to get a little dark,  just so you know. Enjoy. :-)

The Last Dance



Photo Credit: brh_images



The lights danced along the edge of the stage, moving with her rythm.

Malcolm took a sip of his drink and smiled. Her full red lips smiled back. 

He scanned across the patron audience, mostly forty-somethings aiming for a thrill.

He then spotted the signal, a hooded man with shades nodded his confirmation.

Later, as the song came to its end, she came to him.

"May I have this dance?"

"Absolutely," Malcolm replied.

She swayed before him, her touch intoxicating his senses.

Malcolm breathed in, with only one thought still looming over him: shame this will be her very last dance.

100 WORDS



Triple Visual Dare #4: Xavier's Justice

It's that time again for Anonymous Legacy's Triple Visual Dare.

I almost let this one go until an idea hit me as I was slipping into dreamland and then yanked me out of bed. I highlighted the words in italics to indicate relation to the visual prompts.

Enjoy!



No one entered these Halls of Purity except for members of The Order.

Standing before one of many live murals, Xavier leaned close, his lips barely touching the canvass and said, "I must confess something."

Waiting for a reply, Xavier heard the cawing of a bird and wondered if it was a protector, knowing that they come in many forms.

"Go on," a soft whisper replied.

"Darkness consumes me."

The birds stormed in to defend but failed. Serpents marked by vengeance seeped out from every other mural of the live temple and cut through every fiber of its existence.

Continue to Chapter Two

100 WORDS

Five Sentence Fiction: Joy

Last week, I did not have an opportunity to post any short fiction challenges mainly because I was swamped with other matters. But, I'm back, and this post is another short flash piece for Lillie McFerrin's Five Sentence FIction page.

Today's story asks the question of wether Carl is really turning into a delusional alcoholic or maybe he has discovered something far more disturbing.

Have a good weekend everyone! =-)

Carl knew he was not the known for his looks, but once in a while, he did manage to steal a few inviting smiles and gestures from some attractive ladies from time to time, but never from women quite as beautiful as the one that was sitting at a table from a corner of the lounge.

Maybe it was the drink that made her appear to smile, Carl thought as he sipped on a cold ale, but to assure himself, he tapped on a passing elderly waiter and gestured toward the young woman at the corner. "I'd like to buy that lady over there a drink."

The waiter squints and looks over to the corner and looks back at Carl blankly, and when Carl gestures toward the woman again, the waiter tells him, "I'm sorry sir but that corner area has been off limits since 1972, the year that the owner's daughter, Ms. Joy Harris, was killed in that horrible car accident."

With chills streaking down his spine, Carl shot back the last of his ale, waved to the bartender , paid his tab and bolted out of that place faster than his racing heart, promising himself that he would never drink another day, but more importantly, he would never set foot on The Euphoria Escape Lounge ever again.

Five Sentence Fiction: Business

It's that time again for Lillie McFerrin's Five Sentence Fiction. This week's word prompt is "Business", and deals a little with my own personal experiences with customer service, but this story still is a fictional piece nonetheless.

Have a great weekend, everyone. =-)

Photo Credit: Mike Licht

The thick-accented voice that called himself Ajay had John on hold for fifteen minutes before telling him,"Sir, you need to call the new accounts department and they will be happy to set you up with a new phone line."

"I'm not looking to set up a new line," John explained and added, "What I have been trying to tell you is that I'm just trying to pay my cell phone bill, and for some reason, I am not able to do that online."

"I see, sir, well let me transfer you to the billing department  and they will be happy to help you with that right away,  please hold."

John breathed in deeply and let out a burst of tension after hearing the automated voice say, "Thank you for holding, we appreciate your business, and we will have a representative help you momentarily."

Fifteen minutes had passed, John's patience nearly exhausted, then a live voice says, "Hello, my name is Ajay and how can I help you today?"



Tuesday Tales Winner

Photo Credit: EvelynGiggles

As you can see on the previous post, I submitted an entry to Tuesday Tales yesterday, and found that there were already so many great stories already posted. Quite frankly, I found it daunting, and felt more like a doodler than a writer compared to some of these entries.

Nonetheless, this week's winner, Aaron Beyer, rightfully claimed the site badge given every week by the site host, Stevie McCoy. You can check out Aaron's entry here.

Now I guess I'll go and see what I can muster up for the remaining flash fiction goodies coming up this week.

Have an awesome day.

Gynoid

The following is an entry for Tuesday Tales that comes from the mind of  Stevie McCoy. This weeks prompt called for use of the word "Gynoid", a female android with the picture below to accompy the story, all within 100 words. Are you up for the challenge?. Give it a shot!

Enjoy!

Photo Credit: Deviant Art

Keema X5000 stood at the tip of this elusive beast known as the Tyorno Organization where the world's only source for its hi-tech infantry units dwelled. She scanned across the neon-splattered city skyline, spotting the signal  she needed to spring into action.

With a swift stomp on the pedal, Keema sped away into the streaming air artery of vehicles, the orange glow behind her prompted what she understood to be a smile, with the beast now falling into its inferno of doom.

She was now the last of her kind, declaring herself the only liberated gynoid to have ever existed.

100 Words

Five Sentence Fiction: Character

My entry for this week's Five Sentence Fiction hosted by Lillie McFerrin

Photo Credit: Lord Kevinz

Five years had passed since the near fatal acccident that left her paralyzed, her dreams of ever making it as a top-ranking cyclist now shattered, but Julia felt that there was still something inside of her that not even the worst catastrophe known to humanity could ever take away from her; her goal-driven character.

She had realized this through a dream she had while undergoing a surgery, her feet dangling just above the ground, levitating toward a green patch of botanical life she knew well as a child that instilled a sense of being safe and protected.

She was warmed by that feeling, but the feeling grew dull too quickly, and she found herself wanting to shake away that comfort zone, kicking and pushing away with fierce defiance.

The illusion gradually brittled and faded into a white brightness, eventually replaced by a man dressed in white, her doctor, who then leaned close to her ear and said, "Julia, can you hear me...can I get you something?"

With a dry sore voice, Julia nodded and said, "A phone book, please...wanna speak with my trainer about a new plan."

Caleb's Cauldron: Elsa's Guilt

An extension and part three to "Caleb's Cauldron", a short story originally written for

Lillie McFerrin's Five Sentence Fiction

This is the final part that will use the five-sentence restriction. The next part will be freestyle with no word or sentence limit.

Hope you enjoy and wish you a great weekend!





Photo Credit: dbrekke on Flickr



Caleb's Cauldron #3

Elsa's Guilt 

Elsa Guthrie, after dipping into a warm bubble bath from a hotel three towns away from her own, rolled over on her belly, resting her chin on the rim of the bathtub, and asks herself in a low whisper, "What have I done?"

She loved her husband, much more than the man outside the bathroom door, but the passion had been dormant between her and the man she had chosen in marriage, and it was all about the meetings and political affairs that put a damper on the magic.

From outside the door, she could hear the television airing a news brief, catching those certain words from a female reporter, "..again, Mayor Guthrie, after volunteering to host the grand opening of this event is no where to be found. We will have more on this strange turn of events as we get more updates."

Elsa, feeling a streak of qualm at the pit of her stomache, bolted out of the bathtub, wrapped herself in a robe, and opened the door only to find Ben standing in the doorway.

"Sorry, but it looks like checkout is just not possible right now," he said coldy with the device in his hand that sent a shocking surge into her system, knocking her into faded black.

Coming Soon:  Caleb's Cauldron #4: The Truth about Ben

My First Visual Dare: Carissa's Path

A neat blog called Anonymous Legacy has a Visual Dare every Wednesday for its readers.

Readers are given a photo prompt, then are challenged to writing a 100 word piece based on the photo shown. This week's prompt is a triple dare where three photos (shown below) are used for the challenge. Here is my shot at the hundred word challenge.

If evil was on a quest for adventure, then this overwhelming consumption of her usual good-hearted nature fulfilled that mission.

Lost in this reeling shroud of mist, Carissa gripped the dagger tightly, remembering the trail of blood left behind by this elusive invasion of conscience.

Beyond the mist, a high colossal building perched on a hill, the same place that lived in the stories told by loved ones to discourage bad behavior.

A laughing inner voice told her redemption would be coming along the way as she started up the spiraling stairs. Screams followed and she was now eternally doomed.

Caleb's Cauldron: The Ominous Organizer

As requested, here is part two of  "Caleb's Cauldron"  which was initially written for

Lillie McFerrin's Five Sentence Fiction .

These are another five sentences which will all add up into the big story. Feel free to comment at anytime. =-) 

Caleb's Cauldron #2
The Ominous Organizer

It wasn't a burdening task as much as it was a well-known tradition of the town, hosting new grand openings of  its landmarks, where the average town citizen could easily be elected by event members to host such events.

Mayor Gene Guthrie knew almost everyone he came across in this small, laid-back town, and while believing that it was highly important to keep up with all of the town's affairs, he felt hosting this event best suited that purpose.

"You look a little confused there," Mayor Guthrie said to one of the event organizers that he was speaking with and added, "Maybe that flu bug is beginning to creep up on you as well."

The event organizer, wiping sweat off from a face clearly visible with tension did not reply, and unexpectedly moved up behind the mayor.

Mayor Guthrie jumped to something pressing firmly against his lower back and before he could respond, the so-called event organizer said in a low hissing voice, "You make a sudden move, say anything at all and I will blow you away - understand?"



Continue Reading--->> Caleb's Cauldron #3: Elsa's Guilt

Five Sentence Fiction: Candidate

Written for  Lillie McFerrin's Five Sentence Fiction where the word of the week is "Candidate".

Caleb's Cauldron #1

Guthrie Goes to the Park

Ben, having been chosen to host the town's grand opening ceremony of its new amusement park, called the chief event coordinator saying that his boss had called him in to work an overtime shift, leaving organizers  scrambling to find a new replacement.

The town mayor later offered to volunteer for hosting duties, and before the ceremony got underway, he commented to one of the organizers about Ben.

"That Ben is quite a guy and good neighbor, helped my wife with fixing her garden many times without ever charging a dime, hope his flu isn't too severe."

"Flu?"

The governor nodded and said,"Yep, my wife was called in this morning because the hospital is understaffed, flu must be spreading like wildfire."

Continue Reading--->>> Caleb's Cauldron #2: The Ominous Organizer