Welcome back to the Weird, the Wild, & the Wicked. How was your Thanksgiving (if you celebrated)? Did you miss #ThursThreads? Well, it's Thursday today, so what should you be doing? Writing #FlashFiction, that's what! Welcome to Week 98 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 98:
Vampire fan, romance author, and lover of all things weird and wonderful, J. Annas Walker.
And now your #ThursThreads Challenge, tying tales together.
“Their
reckoning will come.”
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!
Our harvest had been decimated by first locusts, then tornadoes. We faced famine when they came, offering us what we needed most...food. Their wagons had abundance of fruits, vegetables and other delights we’d never tasted. My people and I had looked on them as saviors; angels who had come in our hour of need. It was then that they demanded we give them ten women, then they demanded fifteen men and women above twenty. I protested and pleaded telling them of the human bones I found outside their cave dwelling, but all I got was a black eye and broken ribs for my troubles. The elders (all male) agreed, giving none of their family. A demand came for all men and women under twenty. After a long night of going back and forth, I decided I had no choice. I had to kill them to protect all my people that they would harm. I gathered explosives and other weapons and my nearby neighbours joined me we went towards the cave. I planted the explosives just inside their dwelling and more outside the opening. An explosion ripped through the air, the smell of carbonate filling our noses. I heard knocking as if one or more of them were trying to get out of the cave.
ReplyDelete“We have failed great leader Bratic,” Nelio cried.
“We have not they remain trapped and their reckoning will come. Their hunger will overtake them and then they will die, the horrible way they condemned our people.”
250 words
@SweetSheil
"You're all depraved deviants, doomed and damned." I wasn't sure which was worst, the consonance, the breath, or the spittle.
ReplyDeleteWilliam was looking earnestly at the young woman waving her sign in front of our car, maybe willing her to step aside so he wouldn't have to beep the horn or turn the wheel to avoid hitting her. He was such a goddamned softie.
All the Apocalyptics were the same. Armageddon this, somethingpocalypse that, prostrate yourself before their reckoning.
"Will, come on, we don't have to listen to this crap."
I, on the other hand, would run them down and let them get a running start at whatever rapture awaited. Less traffic for me in the meantime.
Which is probably why my license got pulled after the third one.
#126
@etcet
The Harbinger of Death
ReplyDelete“Georgina, wait.”
Stephen stood between me and the door. I pointed the dagger at him. My words were measured as I tried to contain my anger. “Get. Out. Of. My. Way.”
He stood his ground, refusing to move.
“I won’t let them get away with this!”
He put his hands on my shoulders. “I promise you, their reckoning will come.”
“When?” I asked. “They do what they want, take what they want.” I turned and gestured towards my family. Their bodies still smoldered on the pyre, where they had been staked. “They are dead because the Council decreed it? Because they stood up to them? And I may die to, but I won’t go alone.”
“I said they would answer for what they have done, and they will. But you must be patient. Their reach is far.”
“I don’t care,” I spat. “If it takes my death to avenge theirs, than I will die.”
“And what of the child that grows in you?”
I felt the baby stir inside me. He was the reason for the decree. My vampire family… Stephan’s family, had refused to give me up. A human mating with one of theirs wasn’t forbidden, but bringing a half breed into the world was.
“You have to live. For our son.
“They will never stop hunting us,” I said.
Stephan touched my belly. “They fear our child for a reason. It’s been prophesized… their end will come... and our son will be the harbinger that brings it.”
Word Count: 149
@jezri1
Roman watched the shifting patterns of light dance on the Mississippi. Behind him, noise from the French Quarter blared. Mardi Gras. He longed to be far away but his duties as the Legate of New Orleans kept him here. Too many magicks were in town. And too many drunk humans.
ReplyDelete“Their reckoning will come.”
He glanced at the tall gargoyle standing beside him. “Have you now become a mind reader, Varrick? I thought you had a date.”
“I did. Did being the operative word. Doc was called in to cover the insanity.”
“Ah.” Roman hid the smile threatening to crack his façade. Varrick and the human medical examiner, Dr. Toni Allison, had met during a previous incident.
“What about you? Why aren’t you on Bourbon Street?”
Why indeed? He was old—millenniums’ old. The shiny had worn off long ago. Roman swiveled at a whisper of sound. A young woman, head down, walked past them as if they didn’t exist. Since they were cloaked, she wouldn’t notice, but he noticed her. The gypsy girl from Jackson Square—the one who told fortunes. He followed, ignoring Varrick’s questions.
She stopped, peered around, rubbed her arms. “I know you’re there. Stop haunting me. I can’t help.” She stared at Roman as if she could see him.
In that moment, his heart cracked and he knew. She was the one he’d been seeking, the one he would have to sacrifice. Varrick’s hand landed on his shoulder. “I’ll do it.”
“No. She’s mine.”
249 words (future Penumbra WIP)
@SilverJames_
“Their reckoning will come. Be patient.”
ReplyDeletePatience. Some say it’s a virtue, others a curse. For many, it is elusive, that thing they will never command. For me, patience is in short supply most days. Glancing to my right, I nodded to my friend. His leather jacket dripped rain, his eyes dark.
“Patient. Not when it involves—“
“Shhh.”
I straightened. Shivering in the cool rain, I turned as a puddle rippled, a shadow blocking the streetlight. My black wings unfurled, tips brushing the walls of the bridge supports. They shivered, as the shadow’s wings unfurled, pure white. With a snap of his wings, he stood in front of me, hands spread, palms out.
“It is done.”
“Very well.” I waved my hand, wings flapping, ready to take flight. “Let us hope this is our last meeting.”
The shadow nodded, gone in a heartbeat. My friend put a hand on my shoulder, his eyes serious, boring into mine. He swept his hand and I began to smile. It was done. Two bodies lay in a field, the life drained from them. They would not hurt my child again. My daughter slept soundly in her bed, teddy bear clutched in her arms. Their reckoning had come.
@Aightball
205 words
“So, you’d rather die, like your brother, than work with me?” She raised an eyebrow. “Talk about self-defeating.” She ran her own gaze from his head to his feet and lifted her chin in challenge.
ReplyDeleteDid she just look me over like a prime stud? He couldn’t decide if he was flattered or insulted. He turned his head to decline her help, but the Keeper held up her hand.
“Here’s the deal. We need someone found, and Maia knows what to look for. You seek sanctuary through our lands and you know this world best. So, beggars can’t be choosers. Either you work with Maia or we kill you where you stand. How’s that for choices?”
Quinn toyed with the idea of tossing a small throwing star at the Keeper, but decided it would only get him the same choice she offered him anyway. Anything can be done for a short time and if I’m lucky, the murdering princess will die on the way. He bowed.
“Very well. I accept your terms.”
“Yeah, I figured you would.” The Keeper snorted. “Don’t worry, Assassin. The princesses have more than paid their punishment.”
“I highly doubt that, Keeper, but one day their reckoning will come.” He shrugged and glared at the woman still standing with her arms crossed over her enticing chest. She returned his regard with added disdain. “Perhaps some sooner than others.”
“Is that a threat, Assassin?” Princess Maia arched one brow.
“A promise, Princess.”
245 ineligible WIP words
@SiobhanMuir
#ThursThreads Week 98 is now CLOSED. Thanks to everyone who wrote this week and I hope to see you next week. :)
ReplyDelete