Saturday 28 February 2015

And here we are.

Good afternoon,

Life seems to have taken both RR and I hostage this last week.  We both apologize for the delay!

Right to it, then!

Our winner this week is Sandra Davies with Problems with mother-in-law:  Smooth use of the prompts, but truthfully, it was the last line that clinched it for me!  Very clever and just really funny.  Thank you.

Also in the winner's circle this week is Michael B. Fletcher with Guardian:  I just like the flow of this, and a ginger werewolf?  A rare thing indeed, in my experience.

The Tome has been growling at me and chewing at my boot.  As my foot happens to be still in it, I'll go ahead and give the little darling leave to give us this week’s words.

Key
Fur
Damnation

The usual rules apply: 100 words maximum (excluding title) of flash fiction or poetry using all of the three words above in the genres of horror, fantasy, science fiction or noir. Serialized fiction is, as always, welcome. All variants and use of the words and stems are fine.

Feel free to post links to your stories on Twitter or Facebook or whichever social media best pleases you and, if you like, remind your friends that we are open to new and returning writers.

You have until Friday, March 6th.  Winners and words on Saturday, March 7th.

51 comments:

  1. Thank you!! It so nearly didn't get posted. And congratulations Michael - superbly evoked tension.
    Colleen and RR - hope Life for you returns to a more even keel - the withdrawal symptoms are horrendous!

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    1. Many congratulations to Sandra and Michael. You see, Sandra, I just knew that your tale had all the merits of a winner. I'm so glad you posted.

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  2. congratulations Sandra and Michael! good writing. So pleased to have the challenge in front of me again and what words for the Captain to play with!

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    1. Thanks everyone. It's a nice tick for one's writing against such great competition.

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  3. Congratulations Sandra, a well deserved win and also to Michael, both had great use of the weeks words.

    I thought I'd try my hand at continuing the tale I began last time, I still don't have a title as yet but just seeing where it leads for now.


    I shone my light on the walls of the first room, hieroglyphs adorned everywhere apart from an arched area ahead of the entrance which bore a thick moss all over not dissimilar to a blanket of fur.

    It was hard to decipher the pictography, none of it was like any I had studied; only one image looked familiar and I knew it to stand for damnation, the word would be key to working out the story it was telling. It seemed to be a reference to the inside of the temple, a strange beastly entity pictured next to it.

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    1. LOTS of potential in this, Rob - eager to see where you take it.

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    2. Agree that it has lots of potential. Maybe a little tighter but it has the feel.

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    3. Oh my....this is shaping up so nicely. I'm really pleased you decided to continue. I look forward with much anticipation to the next episode.

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    4. Enjoy the challenge of a serial, Rob, you have enough here to keep it going for a lot of episodes, I am delighted to say!

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  4. A change of focus [119]

    Initially Pettinger thought the woman matching Charity in fur-clad elegance wasn’t Hope.
    Last he’d seen of her was dumpy, frumpy self-righteous suet-ball of sulking justification, ill-wishing hell and damnation on the Social Services for sacking her for practices bordering on brainwashing. Face bare of make-up, low-thatched fringe and heavy glasses.
    Behind those glasses, pale pale eyes: key to Hope’s reputation for heartlessness and, today, certain identification.
    ‘Both of them. To the station. Separate cells. No bail.’
    Emerging mourners, seeing them held, expressed disbelief; briefly attempted remonstration. But Pettinger was determined not to fail; slamming the car door he commanded, ‘Drive!’

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    1. What a description of the woman, Hope - almost the antithesis of her name. I love 'sulking justification' and am enjoying Pettinger's story.

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    2. The library of descriptive words here is outstanding and the "dumpy, frumpy self-righteous suet-ball" simply rolls off the tongue. I am loving this!

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    3. Love the characterization here, and to end on action is really fun!

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    4. the entire first paragraph is a delight to read! Such richness of imagery and how good this instalment is!

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    5. Immaculate descriptive wording bordering prose, very well done

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  5. Cat Napped

    “Damnation!”

    “What now, Earl?” Johanna squawked from the next room in a voice as leathery as her E-Z lounger.

    “Yer cat,” Earl said, following the culprit with his eyes. “He et the key!” He swatted at fur clinging to his pants, clinging everywhere, really.

    “Which key?”

    Earl stormed into the room to stand between his loving nemesis and her ‘shows’. “The only key that matters!”

    “How’re we gonna let that kid loose when his folks pay up, then?”

    Earl’s face darkened. “With either a three hundred dollar vet, or a two dollar steak knife.”

    “Don’t you dare!"

    “Here kitty …”

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    1. Even though I'm a cat lover I love the sense of humour. Good story behind the situation.

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    2. I fear for the fate of poor Kitty. I hope Johanna hides that damn steak knife! This was totally delicious.

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    3. Three equally guilty protagonists - who'll come out on top? 'Leathery voice' horribly descriptive.

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    4. Oh this was good, what a terrific climax to the angry voices going on here!

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    5. Although a violent decision something that goes through a lot of pet owners minds at times when vet bills come into play lol

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  6. Uncontrolled

    The key to training is control,’ he said with a lift of his eyebrow.

    He gripped the soft fur, shaking the animal. ‘Control. Girl. Control.’

    She covered her mouth, eyes twinkling and pointed. ‘More control than it has?’

    ‘What?’ He looked down at the spreading stain on his suede trousers.

    ‘Damnation!’ He shook his fist at the retreating dog.

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    1. Seems to be something of an animal theme going on this week. First poor Kitty and now poor Puppy. I hope she skedaddles quickly. This was charming and I had to reread to make sure all the prompts were used since the blend was seamless.

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    2. Smooth indeed - from the perfection of the title to the final line.

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    3. I can almost hear the "a-hole" in the man's voice. Glad to see that the dog did, too, and showed the due respect.

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    4. another excellent offering and good use of the prompts. Good one!

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  7. Shot in the dark [Threshold 56]

    Behind me soft click of key in lock; Phelim’s footsteps padding quietly away. He’d jettisoned an afterlife free of damnation in hope of short-term satisfaction in Helvinsson’s bed.
    My stillness Helvinsson would deem suspicious. Ignoring furballs of fright lodging in my throat I stepped to my bag, trusting he’d read my scrabbling as a search for nightclothes, not a knife.
    Trust over-optimistic.
    Behind my crouching back he stirred, his eyes better-adjusted to the dark than mine. Sweet-spiced scent of him came closer. I whirled, plunged. Missed. He grabbed my hair as I near-toppled over the sill of the open window.

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    1. Arghh....you CANNOT leave it there. I will have no fingernails left! What marvellous images this conjures.

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    2. hell! you can't cut it off like that!! I demand more!

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    3. Have to agree this was a great little scene that leaves us wondering and wanting more.

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  8. "Furballs of fright lodging in my throat" - tremendous description, that.

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  10. The Fifth Victim
    (By: Foxxglove)
    (100 Words)

    The room contained a few tawdry pieces of furniture, including a chair upon which grubby undergarments had been folded and a bonnet sporting a posy of gay violets. A coat with astrakhan fur collar dangled from a hook behind the door and upon a dirty cot, lay the naked and mutilated corpse of a female.

    She had taken him to her cheap lodgings expecting payment for her services; instead, she became victim to unwarranted damnation. The constabulary could glean few clues from the sordid scene. The key to the identity of Mary Jane Kelly's murderer would forever remain a mystery.


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    1. Lovely contrast between tawdry and grubby and the gay violets, such a well-evoked scene ... but don't we get know whodunnit?

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    2. Seems like the work of a certain Mr. "The Ripper" here. Nicely evocative descriptions of a not-so-nice scenario!

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    3. Definitely Mr Ripper, very clever portrayal of the fifth victim, brilliant!

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    4. For some strange reason Jack the ripper popped into my head, very curious to hear more.

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  11. Cripplegate Junction/Part 3-The Railway Arches
    (By: Foxxglove)
    (100 Words)

    Clive Bailey pushed against the turnstile as Marmalade snaked between his legs leaving wisps of fur on his pinstripes. The Conductor indicated a stone wall some distance beyond the end of the platform.

    "Operational hours over there."

    The posted sign was below a rusty peg holding a brass keyring and flanked by two large gated tunnels.

    "Impossible to read from here," complained Clive.

    "Yes. Unfortunate that," agreed the Conductor.

    Settling his spectacles more firmly, Clive inspected the masonry above the high twin arches with their spiked iron barricades. He could just make out the etched words:

    "Salvation Right"
    "Damnation Left"


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    1. this just gets better as it goes on. Now what???? just about anything. I'm ready to read more about Clive any time you want to write more...

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    2. Oh yes indeed - this is shaping up so solidly, feels a lot bigger than 100 words. Your writing is so strong.

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    3. Excellent use of the words here and nothing but intrigue left in its wake, look forward to reading more.

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  12. Infinity 89
    The island draws closer. If my plan doesn’t work, my damnation draws closer too. The Creature’s fur is falling out, it needs more sustenance than I can give it without destroying the Infinity and that I will not do. The key lies there, on that nameless faceless island where I will set it free and it will set me free and I will be sure, God willing, never to walk into such clutches again.
    I am pestered for the ginger. In return I should be pestering for decent cooked meals but some things be beyond even this Cap’n.

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    1. How well you've maintained the Captain's character throughout this - never falters, even though I detect a bit of uncertainty here, in him.

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    2. This is becoming increasingly climatic. I can hardly wait to see what will actually "go down" once the island is within reach. Sounds as though our Cap'n might be verging a tad on the desperate side at this point. What a marvellous continuation this story is!

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    3. I enjoy how the captains mentality seems torn between freeing himself of the beast yet still hungers for a good meal, like any man lol.

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  14. What next?
    “Nate. Nate!”
    I opened my eyes, caught sight of the windshield. It was shattered, the jagged edges furred with blood and snow.

    “Shit. What…did we hit something?”

    I tried turning the key. Nothing. Seth was already shrugging out of his seatbelt .

    “No, something tried to hit us. Something not physical. And please don’t wish me into eternal damnation, but I spelled us out of its way, which is the only reason we’re not dead. Also, I’m really, really, sorry about your car. I’ll be right back.”

    With that, he got out of the car and headed toward the road.

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  15. Oh my -- where is Nate off to? Will he be right back? Arghh...something awful always happens when people say that. Loved the image conjured by "furred with blood and snow."

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  16. Cold and Broken

    Habit had part of my brain assessing the wreck. The rest contemplated what could fling a ton of metal around like a toy. Identification was key to survival.

    So was warmth. I pulled on fur-lined gloves, a wicked indulgence, and cursed my newly shorn head.

    The magic was old, powerful, laced with pain. It hadn’t been personal, though. I could sense when someone was using bits of me in spells, knowledge that had come with guaranteed damnation. But that was always a given.

    Nate emerged, creaking like his car. “Whatever did this is dead.”

    “Yes,” I said, “it probably is.”

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  17. Next installment revealing the identity of whatever caused the wreck, whether alive or dead, would be much appreciated. I love how you and Colleen are so attuned with each other on this all the time. Adore the "wicked Indulgence" reference. I myself have many wicked indulgences and can easily understand the "weakness."

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  18. And that's the game for this week, m'dears. Feel free to continue posting comments! I'll be around tomorrow evening with Winners and Words. Thank you all so much for playing this week!

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