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 our Independence Day Edition, Week 77:
Glutton for punishment, mother to nine, and erotic romance author, Doris O'Connor.
And now your #ThursThreads Challenge, tying tales together.
The Prompt:
“Find a warm body.”
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! :)
Find A Warm Body…
ReplyDeleteThe night was sultry, and the air clear. Somewhere, not too far away a church bell chimed the hour.
Daisy counted each stroke under her breath. Nine, a bit early, but she didn't dare wait any longer. He'd pass by soon, and she needed to get it over and done with, get on her bike and get lost.
She sniggered to herself.
"On yer bike Daisy, bugger off and play."
Oh it was playtime all right. How dare he? She slid her hand over her thigh in reassurance, she'd be fine, she was ready.
The sound of whistling got louder. Daisy stood in the shadows of the oak tree. Symbolic maybe but it seemed fitting to wait for him there.
She walked out in front of him. He stopped whistling and stood still.
"Daisy? What the fuck are you doing there?"
"Hello Steve. You dissed me, threw my love in my face, and sent me away. Find a warm body you said. Not mine. Well you're wrong, you are a warm body… even more so, a hot one."
She threw the petrol and the match at the same time.
191 words
*blinks*
DeleteDidn't see that one coming!
Good That's what I intended :)
DeleteWow. That definitely caught me off guard. Excellent!! x
DeleteThe clicking of my teeth as they chattered was about to drive me nuts. Standing in a snow bank on the side interstate 29 in southwestern Iowa, I shook my head, pulling my hat down a little lower on my head. The chopper blades thwapped overhead, ready to take us back to Creighton once we had three patients loaded.
ReplyDelete“Find a warm body,” I told my crew, as we walked toward the crash scene. “I hope like hell there are still some warm bodies to find.”
Trudging forward, I stepped onto the snow packed interstate and adjusted the strap of my med bag over my shoulder. The cries of accident victims blended with the sharp northwest wind, blowing snow and vehicle parts around me.
Moving forward, I knelt down by a woman, her face covered in blood, her grey hair matted; she reminded me of my adoptive mother. Feeling her neck, I scrambled into action when I felt a pulse.
“Marcia! Over here!”
A member of the flight crew came over with a board. When the woman was stable, we started the treacherous walk to the chopper. Members of area fire departments helped, their yellow and silver jackets reflecting the lights of emergency vehicles. As the chopper lifted off, I jumped when something cold grabbed my hand. Looking down into weathered, wrinkled blue eyes, I patted her paper-thin hand and smiled.
@Aightball
231 words
WOW I love that
DeleteSome beautiful descriptions there :-)
DeleteAn amazing story; I was reliving the rescue due to the vivid descriptions you have used. x
DeleteInfestation
ReplyDelete***
“They’ve already started without us, are we too late?”
“Too late for what?”
“Too late for the denouement.”
“No, that’s later silly. We have plenty of time.”
“How’d the others infiltrate so quickly…look at them climbing that ladder; some of them are up there already. How long have they been there?”
“They arrived before us, clearly. Doesn’t matter anyway, we have time before the winged ones come to consume us and carry us to our new destination.”
*Sigh* “…then we lay our eggs in their intestines to be excreted and consumed; then rebirth…”
“Need to find a warm body first.”
***
@theimaginator20
100 words
Oh my! :-)
DeleteSounds grim . . but a fab read none the less. x
Delete“Young man, I can help you to swiftly reach your beloved,” the old wizard Nquar said to Dwayne III. “I require only a very small price in repayment. Find a warm body.”
ReplyDelete“D3, this sounds sketchy,” said Gabriel.
“I’m not sensing any untoward intent from the venerable wizard,” Dwayne III said. “However, I am curious. What do you want with the One Living? There are living people in Hlanith. Why won’t one of them do?”
“Because they aren’t The One. There can only be One. I was excited to see you—more excited than I have been in 120 years. The old battle-axe was right. I can sense your connection to the One Living. There are five of you connected by a strand. Four of you are dead. There is one living. It is this one that I require.”
“D3, he means D4,” I said. “Out of us five brothers, two are ghosts and two are vampires. D4 is still in a living body.”
“Yeah, I got that, Dave,” Dwayne said. “You see, Nquar, there’s something stopping me from bringing my little brother to you. That would be the fact that I love him as if he were my own son, and I’d do anything to protect him. So you need to tell me what you want with my brother if you expect any cooperation from us. He isn’t just a warm body. He is a dearly loved soul.”
“I swear to you, I intend him no harm,” said Nquar.
250 words
No Twitter. We also published this bit on our blog.
http://undeadinthenetherworld.blogspot.com/2013/07/find-warm-body.html
It's part of a series, but I feel it also works as a standalone.
We've been using these prompts for a while now, so thank you for having them!
You're welcome. Do you have an email acct so we can let you know if you win?
DeleteHmm, I don't believe him when he says he means no harm...
DeleteSounds rather sinister to me. xx
DeleteHi Siobhan. I didn't enter this week because the bit doesn't work as a stand-alone, but in future I'll put my email account if I do enter. :-)
DeleteDoris, I wouldn't believe him either, and Lizzie, it is indeed sinister!
The Price of Escape
ReplyDeleteby James Mender
The Prometheans’ lab always made me uncomfortable. I didn’t understand what most of the equipment was called, let alone what it did, and I was never quite sure what they would ask of me in return for a favor.
It didn’t help that they had named themselves partly after “Frankenstein,” the novel, not the movie.
“You understand what I’m trying to do?” I asked.
The head Promethean scowled at me. “Of course. You want us to craft an alloy with several elements that normally don’t permit themselves to be mixed because of their overlapping melting and vaporization points. You say this is the formula for orichalcum?”
“Yes.”
The Promethean shook his head. “That’s just the type of bronze used in certain old coins. It would be cheaper to buy them.”
“This is a different kind of orichalcum,” I replied. I hoped this wouldn’t go any further. I really didn’t want to explain what the orichalcum would be used for.
The Promethean seemed to dismiss the whole subject. “Never mind. We’ll call it something else when we write up the results. We have all the necessary equipment.” He paused and tilted his head. “We just need to discuss price.”
I braced myself. “What do you need?”
“Currently, we have need of a corpse,” the Promethean replied. “Preferably male, in good condition. Once you deliver it, we will begin.”
“I can do that.”
“Oh, and it has to be fresh. Find a *warm* body.”
//Oh, crap//, I thought. //Now what?//
~ ~ ~
Author’s Note: 248 words, @JamesMender
More author notes and stories are at my blog
Lol, now what indeed?
DeleteThose few simple words 'warm body' do complicate the matter lol. A good read. Love the ending!! xx
DeleteThe dragon stretched and flexed. If Sade didn’t know better, she’d think he was preening. But he wasn’t. It was a dragon thing resulting from cramming all that magical energy into a human-sized body. If you could call almost seven feet human-sized. The only magick in Sade’s acquaintance bigger was Roman. In a one-on-one clash, she wasn’t sure if she’d bet on the gargoyle or the dragon. And wasn’t that a sad commentary on her life?
ReplyDeleteHer best friends were a werewolf and a gargoyle. The only man trying to get into her pants was a fae ordered to do so by the fae king, Oberon. It sucked to be her and she indulged in a brief pity party. Then she glanced at the handsome man sitting on the bench beside her—the one tourists openly ogled.
“So what are your plans now?”
His gaze swept her from head to toe and back again before settling on her face. “Find a warm body.”
Sade flushed. Dragons radiated heat. That’s why she felt so hot. The only reason she did. His full, sensuous lips curled into a knowing smile. Her fist curled in response and she thumped him in the middle of his chest.
“I’m not food.”
He threw back his head and laughter roared out of him, startling the pigeons in the square. “When I eat you, Sade Marquis, it will not be for dinner.”
“Yeah, in your dreams, dragon breath.”
“I’ll see you there, darling.”
****
250 words that are almost a WIP spoiler. LOL
@SilverJames_
You temptress! Now I want to know about the dragon! :D
Delete*bwahaha* My work here is done.... ;)
DeleteNiiiice! I want to know more too!
DeleteI worked with a guy who was 7'10!!! I love your cheeky,tale and yes. . more please! x
DeleteChris turned to Retro and resisted the urge to go all girly again. “Thanks for coming for us, Retro.”
ReplyDeleteHis stony expression relaxed and tenderness filtered through. “I’ll always come for you, Ghost.”
“I know. It’s your job, but it still means a lot to me.” She gave him a bright smile and turned to follow the others.
Retro grasped her arm and jerked her back, holding her nose to nose with him. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. I don’t just need to find a warm body, I needed to find you.”
“And you did. Thank you.” She patted his cheek and tried to pull away. She was done pushing him for more. He’d made it clear he didn’t want it.
Bullets rattled the door and one pinged against the opposite jamb, breaking through at last. Retro grunted with frustration and pulled Chris in for a short kiss. “I want you, dammit. But now’s not the time.”
Gunfire from up close pulled Chris’s attention as Bam-Bam and Deli thundered toward them. Gratitude for the interruption swelled. She didn’t need any false hopes rising up.
“Fuck! Gotta go. Hit the wall, Ghost. Time to run.”
Retro shoved her forward and Chris didn’t argue as the other SEALs laid down cover fire. Her bare feet hit sticks and pine cones, but she didn’t hesitate. Bam-Bam caught up to her and slid in behind, protecting her with his armored body.
241 ineligible US Military #WIP500 words
@SiobhanMuir
Happy Independence Day to all those who serve. :)
So much going on in this one! :-)
DeleteThe Balance of Nature
ReplyDelete“Are you sure about this?” Greg asked, trudging after Tess through the cemetery carrying a shovel and a bulky rucksack. “There are rules and you’re upsetting the balance of nature.”
“Yes,” Tess hissed. She’d had enough of Greg trying to talk her out of her plan, trying to get her to talk about her sister’s death. Who wants to talk about the most painful experience of your life where your sister was flung through a car windscreen?
Since finding the book buried amongst a sack of musty clothes in the charity shop, Tess had been consumed with the idea of being able to bring her sister back. And after three months, she had tracked down all but one of the ingredients.
Placing everything on the damp grass, Tess checked off her list as Greg dug; he felt he owed Tess something; he was driving the car, braking sharply to avoid a dog and Lisa wasn’t buckled up.
He finished digging and sat swigging a beer as he watched Tess finish her potion. He picked up the fragile book, written in a swirly script, making it difficult to read especially in the dim candle light under a moonless sky.
“Tess?” He watched as she toyed with a knife against the palm of her hand. “It says-”
“I need to find a warm body; I know,” she whispered as he slumped into the hole, the knife buried deep in his chest. “And you’ll do nicely . . . . . . . . Balancing nature . . . . You for my sister.”
249 (excluding title) @Lizzie_Loodles
Oooh, you gave me shivers!
DeleteStephanie met her girlfriends outside the movie theater. They all bought tickets to the same movie and sat as a group in the same row. I followed, knowing I had to watch, and wait, until I saw the yearning in her body, the ache of loneliness written in her eyes. I waited, and watched.
ReplyDeleteAfter the movie, Stephanie and her group went out for drinks, taking up several of the small tables near the bar, ignoring the baseball game on the TV over the bar. I watched as Stephanie expression changed. I could taste the ache in her, the wish to not have to spend another night alone. It was time. I introduced myself, “I couldn’t help but notice you all having fun. Your laughter and smiles have made my evening much happier, and I was wondering if you would allow me to buy you a round of drinks, as a thank you.”
They accepted, of course, and I joined them, pulling a chair up next to Stephanie. One by one, her girlfriends departed, going home to their families, their husbands. Until only Stephanie was left.
We both knew she would not spend that night alone, or any other night alone, unless she wished to. She’d found a willing lover in me. That night, I relished every taste of her body heat I could consume. She had lots of heat to spare.
That’s the first rule of a body heat vampire’s world. Find a warm body.
Stephanie was certainly that.
250 Words
@LurchMunster
Aha, who can resist a vamp? :-)
DeleteLoving these! I'm going to have to my work cut out deciding which one I like best, I tell you, guys :)
ReplyDeleteI walked the rain soaked streets to my tiny flat in the east village. The city lights flickered to reflect my dejection, my disappointment over the constant rejections of the past week. I won't give up, I told myself, promising to fulfill my destiny, to live among mortals in their world, a startling contrast to the fey realm which I'd left to pursue this destiny.
ReplyDelete"Go then, foolish child." My mother's words echoed in my thoughts. The fey queen was not pleased with her eldest daughter's decision.
A-choo... Troyan's sneeze greeted me at the door.
"Still haven't shaken the cold?" I couldn't help but be slightly amused by his inability to become acclimated to these strange surroundings. After all, I'd done my best to dissuade him from coming. He'd insisted. "Who will protect you?" My protector! I giggled.
"I need soup, Troyan." Before I could go to the kitchen he stretched his arm and a bowl of hot soup appeared on the table. "We agreed no magic." It was useless. Troyan could no more abandon his fey existence than I could return to it.
"You can always go back, Rain. The queen will be delighted."
"Delighted I'd failed, you mean."
I felt like the loneliest of the three bears. Wanting nothing more than to find a warm body in my bed.
Ryan Derham @Ryan_Derham
221 words
Aw I feel for her.
DeleteMultiply And Conquer
ReplyDeleteMajor Dmitri Vladislav Trigorin, 15th Undead Special Forces Brigade, hated having to do reinforcement missions but recognized they were not only necessary but vital to the continuation of the Cattle Wars.
The damnable beasts continued to develop ever more lethal weaponry that was taking a heavy toll on the Vampiric ground forces. Ultraviolet beam weapons, aerosolized garlic bombs, and an exceptionally nasty arsenal of religious-based armaments were cutting a wide swath through his troops. Depriving the cattle of trained, combat-ready soldiers was, of course, necessary and in so doing also offered the Vamps an exceptionally easy means to swell their own ranks with newly-made undead.
Trigorin’s preternatural hearing detected the sound of wings as his advanced scouts landed and resumed their humanoid form. Within minutes, electronic mapping programs were updated with troop concentrations and locations, defensive emplacements and a dozen other items of pertinence to their mission. When the last bit of data was uploaded and confirmed…it was time.
Having risen through the ranks to achieve his command, Trigorin never deployed his troops without clear-cut, precise orders.
“This should be no more difficult than a moonlight stroll for us, men. What are we going to do? Simplicity itself. Find a warm body, fang ‘em and bag ‘em. By this time tomorrow, the cattle will know who the 15th USF is and…more importantly…they will know to fear us. Now, move out!”
With the silence of the grave rather than the raucous stupidity of cheers, the Vamps headed off into the night.
250 words @klingorengi
Wow, I wouldn't want to cross them Fantastic world building.
DeleteFind a warm body find a warm body find a warm bo- After dodging the odds for so long, my foot found a pothole in the snow wider than my boot was long and plunged in, finally breaking the hypothermia survival mantra my mind had been looping: stay dry, don’t close your eyes, find a warm body.
ReplyDeleteThe through and through bullet hole was inconveniently leaky, though, and made it hard to keep my eyes open for the road ahead. Which might explain why I was no longer on the road ahead but in a me-shaped crater somewhere off to the side. That only left the warm body…
…dammit. Drifted off again. Oh this was not good. The thick layer of snow covering my face suggested I’d been out for a while. I tried to push myself up but gravity doubled, trebled. I could barely tilt my head forwards but it was enough for me to see a hunched shape heading towards me. Gravity won. My head flopped back into its cradle of snow as I waited to see if I was going to be rescued or terminally ventilated. I found I didn’t much care either way.
The shape came closer. God, it was huge! I froze, suddenly aware of Option Three. The shape split and then split again as the wolves fanned out, surrounding me, cutting off any means of escape before moving in.
Found a warm body.
239 words @HayAddict
Oh lordy! Fab stuff.
Delete“I swear, if I had known that you were going to be in the restroom all the time, I wouldn’t have vouched for you to come along this mission.” The tall woman adjusted her sunglasses as she listed to her companion retch again.
ReplyDelete“I don’t think you’re supposed to be in this one. It did say Men’s Room.”
“Nonsense. I have seen everything there is to see about the male body. I don’t care.”
“Just as long as the job is done, right?”
She nodded, checking the delicate watch wrapped around her wrist. “Exactly. And if you continue on in this manner, it is going to make us late. Find a warm body. I didn’t exactly make that a hard assignment. “
The man opened the door to the stall and glared out at her. “This body is a lot more fragile than I’m used to. I can feel the being’s conscience moving around in the back of the mind.”
She sighed, pulled out a slender pen and pointed it at the man’s forehead. “If the body is compromised, I’m afraid that I can’t use you after all. At least you will return to your own. This is a loss that I’m willing to take at this late moment in the assignment. T’rek Nashin, Captain.” She clicked the end and it hit the man in the forehead.
His face showed shock before it hit the floor, a neat hole burned in the center of his skull.
246 words
@solimond
#ThursThreads is now CLOSED. Thank you to everyone who wrote to day and have a very Happy Independence Evening! See you all next week. :)
ReplyDelete