Flash Fiction: Target Sighted

This is the Sixth part of this story!

Read the prequels here:

Part 1- Twittering Tales: Statues

Part 2- Flash Fiction: Nice Neighborhood

Part 3- Twittering Tale: Raindrops

Part 4- Flash Fiction: Briefing

Part 5- Flash Fiction: The Hunt Begins

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As the trio reached the edge of the forest, they looked upon the neighborhood from their vantage point.

Medusa’s chaotic art was on display. Dozens of statues decorated the silent town-centre. The neighborhood had been stripped of all its pace, and brought to a complete stand still. Billy gasped.

“She is such a monster.”

Perseus snorted.

“We made that monster. Her appearance, her powers were all our doing. (Read more about this in Flash Fiction: Transform) She was the first of the Demigod Programme.”

Keynes interjected.

“As I recall, she volunteered…”

Perseus interrupted, pointing in the neighborhood’s direction.

“Target sighted.”

(Find the sequel here: Flash Fiction: Disturbance)

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Prompts:

50 Word Thursday #12

SoCS August 4, 2018

FOWC with Fandango “Pace”

 

Flash Fiction: Signal Fire

“What’s with the smoke?”

Demothi ignored Hakan’s question and continued dancing. He appeared to be in some kind of trance. Hakan shook his head. This was getting out of hand. He needed to stop Demothi’s madness.

“Brother, you need to stop. This is not only dangerous, but also wasteful. You are destroying our forest.”

Demothi continued dancing, but vaguely replied to the question.

“To bring in something new, something archaic needs to be destroyed.”

Hakan knew what sort of destruction Demothi was talking about. The apricot trees would be emblazoned and the fields of hay would be turned into pyres. Everything would be reduced to ash. He had no personal beef with Demothi, but Hakan knew there was only one way to stop this. He picked up a stone from the ground and struck Demothi’s head. Hakan slung the unconscious Demothi over his shoulders. He had to carry him to safety before dealing with the fire. After placing Demothi down, Hakan went running towards the village, to summon aid.

It took a few hours and great efforts, but the fire finally piped down. When Demothi was questioned, he eagerly asked the villagers,

“Have the aliens landed yet?”

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Word Count: 198

Prompts:

FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER- 2018 WEEK #31

Another Wednesday Writing Prompt 1/08/2018

Sundayswhirligig: apricots, hay, appear, beef, stone, carry, shoulders, piped, sensors, running, archaic, everything

Flash Fiction: The Red Shoes

The couple walked into the shop, hand in hand.

They had picked the wrong time. It was my lunch hour and I had just dug into my meatloaf and soup. The manager shot me a look that said I would have to skip lunch. I kept my food aside and greeted them with a courteous bow. After seating them, I asked the couple what they were looking for. They could have been succinct about it, but the lady went on and on about this party they had to attend. The guy only intermittently repeated her words. Finally, they got to the point after fifteen minutes of droning. The lady wanted red shoes. I knew just the pair.

I went into the storeroom and brought out the red shoes. I watched as she tried them on and cooed at their impeccable fit. The couple paid in cash, and left with the shoes.

I was satisfied. I hated missing lunch. The commission made up for it in part.

The soul-stealing red shoes would complete my retribution.

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Word Count: 175

Prompts:

Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers Week 176

Three Things Challenge 31 July 2018

Word of the Day Challenge “Succinct”

Flash Fiction: Sea Gazing

I love beaches, and make it a point to take a sunset stroll everyday.

On my walks last week, I spotted a lady every day. She would sit at the same spot, leaving a trail of her footprints in the sand. She would just sit and gaze at the sea. In her eyes, I could spot a fierce longing.

Every day passed, and every day I saw her at the same spot. I would pass by wordlessly. However, yesterday my curiosity got the better of me. I walked up to her.

“The sea is beautiful isn’t it, miss?”

She answered without giving me a glance.

“It is. Don’t you feel that we are rather unfortunate?”

I could not fathom why she would have said that while taking in such a lovely view.

“Why unfortunate?”

“Because we were born with legs.”

She let out a long sigh. I nodded at her and continued on my way.

 

Today, when I walked up to the same spot, I did not see her there. However, I did spot footsteps in the sand.

Footsteps that transformed into a single line in the sand, which disappeared into the sea…

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Word Count: 193

Prompts:

FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER- 2018 WEEK #30

Daily Addictions “Fortunate”

 

Flash Fiction: Sky

“Mom, I can’t avoid it any more. I can’t see any road forward.”

“Kid, that is life. Just like a basketball, your life bounces up and down. There are times when you can see nothing but darkness.”

“Darkness is all I can see, mom. Day in and day out.”

I sat with my face buried in my hands. It was dinner time and I was venting out my frustrations to my mother. I was not lying about the darkness. I spent my entire day working in The Factory. Almost all of us did. We, the surface dwellers had no other choice. As per the system created by the Sky-people, it was our only source of income. However, the darkness was not confined to the factory.

We lived in the lowest  foundations of the city. Miles and miles below where the privileged sky people lived. There was no greenery, no colour here. The very air was laced with darkness. We lived in areas where no sunlight reached, ever. In fact, I had never seen the sky. That was the dream I chased after every day. To live among the sky people, witnessing the vast and beautiful blue yonder that we had only heard of in legends and seen on the internet. My mom placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

“Keep faith in your dreams, son.”

I looked upward at the concerned face of my mother.

“I did so, mom. It does not help. I just wish I could live among the sky-people.”

I clutched the ruby heart locket that hung around my neck.

“Be careful how you use those wishes, ruby hearts know what is in your heart.”

“It’s just a crystal.”

“Just remember be careful, whatever you believe.”

I got up from my seat.

“I wish I could live among the sky-people.”

There was a bright red flash, and lo! I found myself floating in the sky. However, the sky was not what I had expected. It was completely filled with clouds of smoke. This is not what we were told. All the legends were a lie. The ruby transported me back to my house. I turned to mom, my eyes were full of tears.

“I made the discovery that there is no up in this life. For the sky is the very source of darkness…”

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Word Count: 390

Prompts:

Worth A Thousand Words #4

3TC 20th July 2018: Discovery, Lace, Basketball

Purpldragon’s Image Writing Prompt #239

5 Words Prompt 20/07/2018: Green, Upward, Factory, System, Avoid

Twittering Tales: Egg

As it landed, the meteor created a huge shockwave, which leveled an entire town.

The military was dispatched to investigate and help in the rescue of civilians. They disappeared soon after. Their last message:

 

“The meteor seems like some kind of egg, and it is cracking open…”

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Character Count: 278

Prompt: Twittering Tales #89

Flash Fiction: Boots

Find the prequel here-

Part 1- Twittering Tale: Campfire

Now the story continues…

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It had been planned as a regular trek – A walk through the greens, pitching tents at night and enjoying a campfire. It never turned out that way.

When they arrived in the forest, something nefarious happened. Something made the birds unwilling to rest in the greens.  Something caused an eerie fog to settle in. And that something disappeared along with the trekkers. I know not what that something was.

All we found was a single pair of boots. No body, no other evidence. Just the boots. Something had caused the originally brown shoes to turn into a sickly red.

(Find the sequel here- Part 3- Flash Fiction: Stay Out)

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Word Count: 100

Written for Photo Challenge #218

 

Carrot Ranch

Flash Fiction: Bright Lights

This is my attempt at merging prompts and linking my posts to form a larger story! 🙂

The chapters in the story may not link sequentially, so will keep updating the sequence.

I hope this experiment goes well!

 

This story is a prequel to an earlier work. Do read the sequel if you liked this one! 😀

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“Can you come here for a second?”

I could hear my wife calling out to me from the porch.

“Do I have to come dear? The match is getting real interesting. We have the lead for the very first time this season.”

My wife had this habit of calling me out to see things that she thought she saw. We were both old now, but I thank God my vision was not as poor as her vision, and that my imagination was not as vivid. Last week she had screamed that she had seen an intruder in our fields. It had turned out to be our own scarecrow. I wasted so much energy running out with my gun.

“Dear, please come.”

I almost got up from the couch, ready to go out. Right at that moment, the score equalized. I could not get up now. My team needed me to sit until the match was over.

“I’ll be right there, dear.”

“I can see bright lights over the hills beyond our fields.”

I had already tuned her voice out.

 

Next part: Flash Fiction: Buried

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Word Count: 179

Prompts used:

Thursday photo prompt: Conflagration #writephoto

Time To Write: Sentence Starter 35

 

Thanks for reading!

Would love any feedback! 😀

Flash Fiction: Erased

I met master a year after he lost his wife. He needed a friend. I became that friend. Night and day, I would look after my master, making sure he never took to the bottle again. We shared the most wonderful bond – eating together, going on walks. I would listen to him pouring his heart out and he would laugh at my woofs and wags.

One day, he was gone. They buried him. I will guard his grave and when I am gone, I want them to bury me here as well.

I won’t let our bond be erased.

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Word Count: 100

Written for Sunday Photo Fiction 27 May 2018 and Masters of Writing Week 6

 

Happy Reading! 🙂

Flash Fiction: Out of Time

Damn! He is right on clock – four pm.  I knew this was coming. I knew it for a whole week but I still am no better off. It is not that I did not try. I just could not do it.

I see him approaching he will be up in another five minutes. Think. Think. I need more time. He will have what he wants if only he can give me more time. Wait a minute -Time! That’s it. I need to give him time in order for me to get it from him. My grandfather’s watch has served me well over the years – Right from my tenth birthday to this very day. Twenty long years, it has been with me. Sounds almost poetic to me – ‘What showed me the time for all these years, will buy me time today.’

I hear the knocking on the door. He has arrived. Need to make this work.

Time for time – a fair deal.

 

Word Count: 165

Written in response to Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers Challenge # 166

This week’s photo prompt is provided by Enisa. Thank you Enisa! 🙂