Welcome back to the Weird, the Wild, & the Wicked. It's Thursday again, so what should you be doing? Writing #FlashFiction, that's what! Welcome to Week 47 of #ThursThreads, the challenge that ties tales together. Need the rules? Read on!
Here's how it works:
- The prompt is a line from the previous week's winning tale.
- The prompt can appear ANYWHERE in your story and is included in your word count.
Rules to the Game:
- This is a Flash Fiction challenge, which means your story must be a minimum of 100 words, maximum of 250.
- Incorporate the prompt anywhere into your story (included in your word count).
- Post your story in the comments section of this post
- Include your word count (or be excluded from judging)
- Include your Twitter handle or email (so we know how to find you)
- The challenge is open 7 AM to 7 PM Pacific Time
- The winner will be announced on Friday, depending on how early the judge gets up. ;)
How it benefits you:
- You get a nifty cool badge to display on your blog or site (because we're all about promotion - you know you are!)
- You get instant recognition of your writing prowess on this blog!
- Your writing colleagues shall announce and proclaim your greatness on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus
Our Judge for Week 47:
The schizophrenic, humorous erotic author and wife of a Silverback, Lila Shaw.
And now your #ThursThreads Challenge, tying tales together.
The Prompt:
“Right now, I’m not so sure.”
All stories written herein are the property (both intellectual and physical) of the authors. Now, away with you, Flash Fiction Fanatics, and show us your #ThursThreads. Good luck! :)
The squad of armed soldiers ghosted into the lab. Dr. Zhung followed the team after they cleared the room. She ran to the last functioning computer terminal. There had to be something here to tell them why the world went crazy overnight.
ReplyDelete“Here!” She hissed to the team leader. “I’ve got the last recording!” Quickly she played the video. While it started she downloaded the contents of every drive still connected to the terminal to her laptop. Eerily, the image of her late husband appeared on the screen. His voice chilled her to the bone.
“Project Goodnight has been taken over by Dr. Aubin. I am fully against his involvement in this. He says he’s doing the right thing by weaponizing my dream technology. The fool. Right now, I’m not so sure that testing it in mental hospitals and prisons across the globe was a good idea. If you’re seeing this I’m dead. You either are my ex-wife or you know her. I loved you Zee. Download everything and fix this. If none of the schematics make sense, there’s only one thing you should know. They’re dreaming Zee, awake and dreaming their worst nightmares. Wake them up.”
The video ended. Dr. Zhung felt tears fall then dashed them away. “I’ve got it all,” she announced. “Let’s get back to base.” None dared speak until they were in the van and safe.
“What’s the plan?” asked the squad leader softly.
“I wake the world,” she growled. “Time to rise and shine.”
250 words
@theresabreaux
Unprepared
ReplyDeleteWe thought we were ready. We’d been preparing for this for months. Every stage had been carefully researched and planned. We’d committed ourselves to this course of action with complete confidence, certain we hadn't overlooked a single detail.
There’s an old saying, that no plan survives contact with the enemy. I should have remembered that one. I should have had it emblazoned on the wall in big letters. It’s too late now. There’s no going back. We’re both exhausted. Neither of us has eaten properly in days. My thoughts are thick and my body moves slowly, and I swear I have aged years in the past few weeks. But we can’t stop now. We’re starting to see progress. Small changes that we can only pray are the first signs of better things to come.
It all seemed so simple in the beginning. It was a natural progression after all. Nothing we couldn't handle. Right now, I’m not so sure. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. This was supposed to be a time of joy and love and wonder. I stare down at the source of my confusion and wonder how we’re going to survive the coming months. Two sets of cloudy blue eyes stare back at me. Twins. That sure wasn't part of our plan. I stifle a yawn and stagger to the kitchen in search of coffee. The enemy was awake, and soon they’d be demanding their next meal.
243 words
@capricia13
The Morning After
ReplyDeleteBy Lisa McCourt Hollar
Trying to silence the ringing of her phone, Stacy knocked her cell onto the floor. The shrill tone continued to trill at her.
Pulling her head out from under the covers, she squinted in the harsh light. Closing her eyes she reached down, searching blindly for the phone.
“Hello.”
“Stacy, where are you?”
“Home. Where are you?”
“Waiting for you in the park. I thought we’d agreed…Hunter Graystone. Remember? Kill the vampire. I have the stakes, now I just need you.”
“Umm…” Stacy stared at the empty spot in her bed.
“Don’t tell me you changed your mind.”
“Right now, I’m not so sure.”
“Cold feet, I understand.”
“No, you don’t. Morgan, I have to go.”
“Stacy, it has to be done when he sleeps. He’s marked you. If we don’t…”
“I’ll talk to you later, I have to go.”
Hanging up the phone, Stacy forced her eyes open and crossed the room. Her neck ached. God, she hoped it was just a hickey. Staring into the mirror she inspected the two puncture wounds. Putting her fingers against the carotid artery, she felt for a pulse. Nothing.
“But I can see my reflection…”
“That’s a myth.” Hunter stood behind her with a plastic cup. He held it out to her. “Also sunlight… not that bad.”
“You seduced me.”
“You came looking.”
“I just… I wanted to be sure.”
“Now you are.” He handed her the cup. A suspicious red liquid sloshed over the side. “Drink up, while it’s still warm.”
Word Count: 250
@jezri1
Decisions, Decisions
ReplyDeleteRight now, I’m not so sure I did the right thing. I helped her escape and she thanked me with eyes like stars and a kiss that could melt the polar icecaps. I knew what she could do. I knew why they kept her in that special cell, but she looked so lost and helpless every time I took her food, it made me want to cry. By the time my boss realized I might be getting too close to her, it was too late. I’d sit with her and talk while she ate, and I became her best friend. Certainly the only person who would interact with her; who didn’t call her a monster.
When she explained her story to me, I could see her side of it. They had been so cruel to her, had hurt her so much, she’d had to fight back. She hadn’t meant for all those people to die in the fire, but she’d been terrified and fighting for her life, so she’d snapped and let her power loose. Once she knew no one there could come after her, she’d run. Only not far enough, and the others caught her and brought her here.
She would shiver in the cold room as she told me, her lips purple. I fell for her, got the key and let her out. She promised she’d never do it again.
The news says that the Chicago Fire is the biggest anyone’s ever seen. So…maybe I messed up.
249 words {not including title}
@Angelique_Rider
Fool Me Twice
ReplyDeleteShe was a crack shot with any firearm, knew all the finer points of close quarters combat and could, in all likelihood, bench press a Buick. You’d think she’d have been the perfect person to have at your back when the feces made contact with the rotating oscillator. You’d be wrong, of course, but I can’t blame you for that. She also possessed, it seems, a highly-developed ability to pull the wool over everybody’s eyes.
Though I’d spent my entire life scribbling formulas on dry erase boards and formulating ground-breaking theories, I still had enough common sense to know my work was of inestimable value to any of Gemini Corporation’s competitors. So, the logic of a bodyguard was valid to me. For once in my brilliant analytical life, boy was I wrong.
She wasted no time turning me over to some very rough-looking guys in a featureless warehouse. She’d been on the job less than a day. Either she signed on intending to sell me out or she was the easiest person to bribe in the history of such. Right now, I’m not so sure it matters which of those two possibilities is most likely.
She took their credsticks and, while hugging me goodbye, whispered in my ear she’d be back to bust me out in no time.
That was, by my calculations, three days ago and it’s occurring to me she lied about that too. A very compelling proof of the theory: fool me twice…shame on me, it seems.
250 words, @klingorengi
“Well that’s a relief,” he said, walking to the car. “They don’t die.”
ReplyDelete“Right now, I’m not so sure. It doesn’t change what happens to them over there. Obviously, we remember everything. I remember things that happened even when I wasn’t High Priestess.”
“Then what do we do?”
“I don’t know, darling. If you listen to Susie, we do what they want. Ugh,” she shivered.
“What?”
“I just remembered one of the first replacements I sent. He pleaded with me not to send him back. He actually seemed like a flipped Ace of Buckets. I sent him back as the Page of Foils. It damaged him.”
“Being the Ace of Buckets would damage anyone.”
“We can’t be selective with it. And what about us?”
“What do you mean?”
“Darling, you know how you change. The World Circus reality takes over and…”
“And you do what you, rather the “entity,” would normally do.”
“Yes.”
She looked at him with doe eyes at the brink of tears.
“It becomes very difficult to fend off the desires,” he continued. “I can see it in Johnny’s eyes that it’s the same for him. Then, just come back when the pressure becomes too much.”
“I want to see what happens with one more. Then we can make a decision.”
“You want to experiment?”
“I don’t think we have a choice. Maybe it’s because he’s been over there for so long. He’s shell shocked.”
“Maybe.” The car stopped in the garage. “Which one though?”
“The Devil.”
@ChuckWesJ
250 words - excerpt taken from #NaNoWriMo (OMG I still can't believe I'm putting myself through this)
NaNoWriMo eats your soul, but still is one of the most awesome experiences ever! Been doing it since 2006 and MLing for it since 2009. :D
DeleteSighing, I watched as a stretcher rolled in and my boss placed a hand on my arm. He didn’t have to tell me that I was too close to the situation. At this point, I was so mad, I didn’t want to be in the room.
ReplyDelete“They’re doing CPR,” he told me. “It doesn’t look good, Jacoby.”
Jimmy has always been loyal to me, but he was always more loyal to the drugs. Would the drugs kill him this time?
"I should've known. I found a wad of cash in his jean's pocket yesterday but he wouldn't talk about it. Fuck."
I watched bay four, wondering what was going on. It was eerily quiet in there and then, finally, Dr. Mathias came out.
"Jimmy's alive." I was grateful when Sean caught me before I hit the floor. "It was a suicide attempt. He ODd on heroin. We're moving him to ICU."
I nodded, following Jimmy's bed. Before we talked, I wanted to rehearse things in my head. I settled into a chair in the ICU lobby, rubbing my face; it would be at least ten minutes before I could see him.
When I finally walked into his room, I glared at Jimmy.
“Do you still love me?” he whispered, his tiny frame swathed in blankets; he was shivering.
“Right now, I’m not so sure. Get clean and stay clean or I’m filing for divorce.”
I couldn’t bear to look at his face as I turned and walked away.
@Aightball
248 words
She bound the guard, pocketed his glock and looked over at Sims. “Are you going to stay in that elevator and die or come with me?”
ReplyDeleteThat was a good question. The odds of him making it out of the building alive, without her help, were slim. But what were the odds of staying alive once he was alone with her? He’d mistakenly rescued a replica, instead of Tasia herself, and there was no undoing it.
He pressed his cheek to the cool metal door. “Right now, I’m not so sure I’m capable of making a good decision.”
She crossed the corridor and grabbed his wrist. “In forty-five seconds the second guard returns. We need to get to the south exit. Come with me.”
Her hand was warm and strong, and her heartbeat pulsed against his thumb. The technology was reprehensible, and yet utterly compelling.
He let go of her. “You sure you can get us through the outside perimeter?”
She nodded. “In under two minutes.”
“Let’s go.”
They took the hall at a dead run, using the momentum to shoulder through the exit. As he watched her cut
through the perimeter fence, he realized that while this imitation might be all that was left of Tasia, she’d been programmed as much more than a mere carbon copy.
Once they were under the fence, she said, “You’re free to --”
“No,” he said, kissing her cheek. “I don’t want to leave without you. Please, come with me.”
= = = = =
248 words / @bullishink
"You can do it, really."
ReplyDelete"I don't know, it looks scary."
"Oh, it's a piece of cake. I've done it lots of times. Do it. No one will do anything."
"Are you sure? I don't think it's a good idea."
“It will be okay. You are such a chicken.” A heavy sigh. “Fine, I’ll do it.”
“Nooooo, I’m not a chicken. Right now, I’m not so sure.”
“Fine. Go. Come on, go.”
“Stop shoving.” A small whine. “I’m going.”
“JOSEPH WILLIAM ANDREWS! THOMAS CHARLES DONER! BOTH OF YOU COME DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!” The bellow echoed up the stairs where the two boys froze, the large balloon full of questionable liquid raised up.
“Uh-oh. You said she wouldn’t know.”
Joe peered over the banister, seeing the elderly woman storming towards them. “She’s got eyes on the back of her head.” He turned and bolted down the hallway.
Tommy hissed. “Hey! Come back here, I don’t know what to do with this.”
“Thomas!”
He jumped and stared at his grandmother with wide eyes.
“Put that down in the kitchen right now, young man.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Tommy looked over his shoulder. He was so punching Joe in the arm for hanging him out to dry.
203 words
@solimond
#ThursThreads is now CLOSED. Thank you to everyone who wrote this week and I'll see you after the Thanksgiving holiday.
ReplyDelete