Welcome back to the Weird, the Wild, & the Wicked. Bwahahaha! It's Halloween. Are you read for the #ThursThreads Spooktacular? No? Well, it's Thursday today, so what should you be doing? Writing #FlashFiction, that's what! Welcome to Week 94 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 94:
The erotic romance author, Sci-fi adventurist, and Typo Sniper, Cara Michaels.
And now your #ThursThreads Challenge, tying tales together.
“They feel like
velvet, or silk.”
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!
into the dark
ReplyDeletei sit here in the quiet of my room, but the voices in my head give me no rest. memories. sweet memories. they feel like velvet, or silk, as if I could drink them with milk.
sweat pours from my brow as i fight against the buckles that bind my wrists and ankles, as well as the shackles that struggle to keep my sanity in its place. my friends gather ‘round. and over there my sweet dog. “hello, puppy.” i smile.
shadows creep across the floor, claiming my space. “get away, demon! this place is mine.” but it continues to inch forward, a bit closer with every red hand’s tick. my friends seem more sinister in the dark. i can only hear their voices now. laughing. mocking. plotting.
my dog starts to growl. “are you hungry, boy?” i ask with a quiver in my voice, as i hear him pawing closer to my bound legs. claws clicking against the floor in an unnatural cadence until his hot breath rolls across my face like a tropical storm off the ocean.
“insanity is inexpensive and has an inexhaustible supply. it keeps coming, no matter which corner you hide.” at least, that’s what bill said from across the room, as he lit another cigarette.
the lights burn my eyes as the door swings open into my room with an occupancy of one. “dinner time,” the man chuckles as he brings me tidings of red, blue and white joy.
i guess i could sleep.
Greg Nance - @acenance
250 Twisted words
Happy Halloween
I awoke from the dream, again the sixth night in a row. The woman stood by my bed, night after night, blood dripping down her arm, pooling at her feet. Skin, gaped at the neck of the woman and blood oozed from the wound like a geyser. Each night only gurgles emitted from her lips, not words. I reached out feeling tendrils that held her to the earth.
ReplyDeleteFear gripped me, my heart beating fast, as I shook myself awake. I picked up the phone and called my psychiatrist. An hour later stretched out on his sofa. I explained all yet again and he asked, “What did these tendrils feel like?”
“They feel like velvet, or silk gossamer threads,” I answered.
We talked for a little longer and he sent me home again.
She came again that night her eyes looking downcast and sad. I reached out for her and my hands went through her. Then I noticed for the first time how much she looked like me.
Her mouth opened and I heard what she said for the first time, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t save us.”
I looked down at my body and realized what I had not grasped from the first. This was my spirit. It had split in two from me the night we were murdered. The half of my spirit that stayed wandered still mistaken believing we were alive. I felt the pull as we became one.
“Come,” she said and we walked into the light.
@SweetSheil
250 words
Happy Hallowe'en
“I can’t believe that I finally get to meet you.”
ReplyDeleteHer husky voice floated over him like a sensuous kiss. He stared at her mouth in a daze, wondering if she would taste as delicious as she smelled.
He licked his tongue against his fangs, letting his own anticipation build. If his subconscious was nice enough to provide him with such an unctuous treat, he wanted to savor it.
A wrinkle marred her smooth forehead as she leaned in further. She stared at his mouth with a puzzled look on her face before lifting her hand from his chest and rubbing a single fingertip across hips lips.
He groaned at the contact.
"I wasn't expecting you to be quite so...fangy."
She smoothed her finger over to the pointed tip of one fang, before gliding over to smooth over the other.”
“They’re not what I expected,” she said. “They feel…they feel like velvet, or silk.”
A small smile quirked her lips as she leaned forward, her hair drifting down around him lift a heavy curtain.
“But somehow I doubt, that there's anything soft about you.”
Jason didn't respond to her statement. He engulfed her finger with his lips, sucking the tip into his mouth. Ignoring her gasp of surprise he closed his eyes releasing a gruff grunt.
He'd been right. She was delicious. Her taste exploded across his tongue, igniting his senses in a sparkling chain reaction.
@LaurelCremant
236 words
Have a smexy Halloween!
“Close your eyes.”
ReplyDelete“No.”
“Just close your damn eyes!”
“Language!”
“Sorry dad!”
My sister glared at me, refusing to close her eyes. Finally, I wrestled a black bandana over her as a blindfold.
“What the hell?! Get this fucking thing off my eyes!”
“You guys are going to be poor come allowance day!”
“Sorry dad!”
“What the--is going on?”
I laughed, as my sister stood there, hands on her hips, her mouth set in a pout. Taking her arm, I lead her down to the basement family room. There, I had a table spread with various items: spaghetti, some nails, things like that.
“It’s Halloween. And I have some things I need help identifying.”
Priscilla probably rolled her eyes. “That’s the oldest trick in history; I’m not falling for it.”
Despite her protests, I sat her down on a metal folding chair. Taking her hand, I guided her through the few things I had. She got them all correct, until we came to the end.
“They feel like velvet….or silk…pajamas?”
“Nope.”
“Sheets?”
“Nope.”
She frowned, her hand once again running along the surface of the object. I had the perfect scare tactic for her, knowing her dislike of many little wildlife creatures.
“Okay, I give. What is it?”
I removed the blindfold. She screamed, dropping the skunk pelt on the table.
“I fucking hate you!” she screamed running upstairs.
“Language!”
“Sorry dad!”
@Aightball
233 Words
Sade hated the blindfold but she’d be dammed if she let Sinjen know. She waited, tense, ears straining for the slightest sound, her nostrils flaring as she inhaled, searching for the elusive scent teasing her senses.
ReplyDeleteHe hadn’t bound her. She would have staked his ass if he’d even suggested it but for that concession she’d promised to remain still. And blindfolded. Dammit.
“Do you trust me?” Sinjen’s faintly accented voice drifted through the satin covering her ears.
She nodded, one quick jerk of her head. Material rustled and she pictured the smirk surely curving his full, sensuous lips. Fingers trailed over her cheek and then dropped to her chest, working free the top button of her shirt.
“Breathe easy, milady.”
Oh, yeah. She remembered to do that. Breathe. She’d been holding her breath. Stupid, but there it was. She trusted the vampire standing behind her but…
“Listen to my voice, Sade. Focus on it. You have nothing to fear.”
“But fear itself.”
“Words, Sade. Are you afraid of them?”
Was she? Bits of remembered conversations haunted her memory. And her heart ached. No, she wasn’t afraid but they hurt.
“What do the words in your head feel like, Sade?”
“Broken glass. Sandpaper. Sharp claws digging in my chest.”
His hands cupped her cheek as he kissed her. “I love you.”
She forgot to breathe again.
“What do my words feel like?”
“They feel like velvet, or silk. Say them again.”
Sinjen removed the blindfold. “I love you.”
****
248 words that will find a home somewhere
@SilverJames_
I stumble as I enter the room and throw my hand out in instinct. I curse in the silence when it collides with something solid. Cradling my throbbing hand, I carefully reach out with the other until I met the solid surface. Running my hand gently down, I find the curved handles and pull. The smell of dust assails my nose and I turn my head to avoid it.
ReplyDeleteWhen it fades I push the hangers in the scarred wardrobe to one side and begin feeling them one at a time, pushing aside the ones not what I’m looking for. It’s been years since I wore it and almost as long since I’ve seen it.
Finally I found them. Both pieces. They feel like velvet, or maybe silk as I run my hands down the front, feeling the different panels. I gently pull it from the wardrobe, making sure to tug the long skirts free of the doors before I close them.
I feel the doorjamb and make my way back to our room. The years after the accident have been a struggle for us but tonight I’m determined to turn it around. This was our favorite scene. One we haven’t played since I lost my sight. He’s going to be surprised and unsure about it but it’s about trust.
I need to make him understand that even though he was behind the wheel, it was the drunk drivers fault and that I’ve never lost my trust in my Sir.
250 words
Delete@RoryBrazen
REMEMBRANCE
ReplyDelete“These are your father’s things. We’ll be outside when you’re done.”
The soldier’s voice is rigid as his posture and he indicates three moderate sized steel boxes. Lara Lincoln feels released from a crushing grip, though she hadn’t been touched since reporting to the compound.
Nodding and silently reminding herself to breathe, Lara turns and kneels by her father’s belongings. Resting a hand on a sturdy edge, Lara frowns and tries to sort out how she’s supposed to feel right now. It has been just her and her mom for the last twelve years. After the first two, her mom clammed up about Lara’s dad like he’d never existed.
Thirty minutes and two boxes later Lara is as confused and isolated from her father as ever. Scraps of broken steel and Kevlar on a layer of molded clothes don’t fill the aching hole that until yesterday she had managed to forget.
Her stomach is in knots as she pries open the final box. A surprising wash of floral perfume comforts her; takes her back to half remembered times of happiness and security. Gorgeous dresses are neatly folded and fill the top part of this box. They feel like velvet, or silk.
She can remember a masculine voice she trusts, telling her about his heroic mother. Her grandmother. Then her fingers find a box no bigger than her palm tucked into one of the dresses with a handwritten note.
Glancing back to make sure she is alone, Lara unfolds the note.
250 words
@DavidALudwig
Lovely suspense through out. Great cliffhanger! ;-)
DeleteThey look smart and sleek
ReplyDeleteThey feel like velvet and silk
The outfits of the undead
They drain whoever they seek
They look sleek
They feel like velvet and silk
They sense you from any hidey place
They appear to be meek
They appear like glass
They may feel like velvet and silk
They manipulate almost unseen
They frighten any that pass
They look messy
They don't feel like velvet and silk
They feast on your brains
They don't feel zesty
They aim to be sleek
They don't feel like velvet and silk
They fear all the undead with renewed solidarity
They appear to be meek and weak
109
Charley_001
Love all the well written spooky and scare tactics tales. X
ReplyDeleteBirds Of Prey
ReplyDelete“They feel like velvet, or silk,” Sequoyah said as he stroked her feathers.
Flinching, she angled her wing out of reach. “Well which is it? Silk is glossy and shimmers, like hammered silver or sun on the river. Velvet is thick and heavy like a panther’s fur. And cats, game or domesticated, are my natural enemy.”
Damn it! He needed this partnership and it was slipping out of his hands – literally. “I meant no offense.”
Settling a cape over her shoulders to obscure her wings, she headed out to the balcony. “Why are you here? We are simple people. We don’t need your badge and gun.”
He looked out across the mud houses and dirt streets. “You’re right. They don’t need them but the nomads who are coming, who draw closer every day, who will overtake this village without my intervention, only respect one thing, territorial power, and that’s what I represent, Sheylene.”
She raised delicate eyebrows in disbelief. “You will hold them off with a tiny shield and six bullets?”
He shook out his hair and it fell to his waist, a long dark waterfall. The breeze toyed with it, wrapping it across his chest and arms, the random shapes echoing ancient tattoos that writhed to life on his dark skin. “Yes, but should that fail, I possess other, more persuasive powers.”
“You most certainly do,” she said with a smile, letting her cape pool at her feet and extending her wings to afford them privacy from prying eyes.
- - - - -
@bullishink / 250 words
#ThursThreads is now CLOSED! Thanks to everyone who wrote this week and I hope to see you next week. :)
ReplyDelete