Good evening,
It looks as if we're going to have a bit of slightly warmer weather, and no snow for a few days. I was out taking pictures today and I saw snow falling from the trees as it melted. It was lovely. One hopes the even temporary easing of winter will bring a bit of hopeful activity to mind and heart. One wants to believe the long cold will end and Spring will herald a new lightness of Spirit. There's Always Hope.
Now that I'm finished with the philosophizing, let's get on, shall we?
Our winner this week is Patricia Purvis with The Fifth Victim: The Ripper murders have long been a subject of interest for me. There's a feeling in this that's both clinical and sad. Thank you.
Also winning this week is Antonia Woodville with Infinity 89: Lovely use of the prompts. I'm always amused by the Captain's musings on food. I'm becoming more and more curious about the beast. Can't wait to read more! Thank you.
And now the Tome has granted new words:
Creation
Dice
Lunatic
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 13th. Winners and words on Saturday, March 14th.
The Gates are Open!
thanks so much! The Captain is a character indeed, a huge bluff man who needs a lot of food, preferably decent food, he tells me...
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Patricia! that was a good one!
Congrats to all, some great stories last week.
ReplyDeleteUnnamed part 3
“Kailie!” Trent’s voice called, “Don’t ever run off ahead, god only knows what’s hiding in this jungle.”
He was right, the stories we heard sounded like lunacy but the proof was all around us in the form of bones, human, littering the forest floor.
“Sorry,” I called through the temple doors, “I saw a glimpse through the trees and ran up. You have to see this, whoever created this it was worth rolling the dice; It’s pristine,” my hand crept over the carvings and a chill crept through me.
“C’mon let’s-“ he stopped, turning I saw his body slump down.
This taps into a terror I find hard to cope with, the enclosed and unknown. And what a teasing ending!
Deletetremendous ending to what is a skilful buildup of tension. More please!
DeleteThis was an amazing continuation and use of the prompts, totally seamless. It's building so nicely and I'm truly anxious to know what comes next.
DeleteI love a good adventure tale, and this one is shaping up to be a doozy! Can't wait to see where it goes.
DeleteThank you so much for last week's accolade and many congratulations to Antonia for her magnificent Cap'n continuation. All the entries were so creative that it must have been the most difficult task to choose winners. That having been said, here is my non-serial entry for this week.
ReplyDelete-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Game On
(By: Foxxglove)
(96 Words)
Mandrake was the consummate Warlock, possessed of supreme powers and formidable skills. He teetered on the knife edge of lunacy, but such is the hallmark of true genius. Consequently, this only served to make Mandrake's ultimate demise all the more devastating. It must have been sabotage or, at the very least, some nefarious form of skullduggery.
Chris could not believe it. The prized creation, countless hours in the making, taken out of the game by a low level Paladin, courtesy of a single roll of the dice tumbling from the plastic cup of the Dungeon Master.
Nefarious skullduggery indeed! Wonderful choice of words here.
DeleteOh yes, rich with imagery and deceit and all! Lovely piece. Thanks for a good read.
DeleteI have seen some version of this play out over and over, and it's devastating to the player. You've captured that well.
DeleteThe dungeon master twist made me smile, don't often hear D&D references these days and the prompts were well entwined.
DeleteSpent a wonderful weekend with fellow writers so late to this. Well done Patricia and Antonia - well-deserved accolade as ever. And this week's words a little harder to incorporate.
ReplyDeleteA change of focus [120]
In the months before her sisters came to trial, Faith, face down on her hospital bed, slowly healed.
As defence and prosecution, rating comradeship above probity, diced and sliced evidence between them, like garçons de cuisine, she underwent skin-grafts. Re-creation of perfection unlikely but erasure of the lunatic scalpel-scrawl of Pettinger’s name anticipated.
‘Pity you weren’t named Pi,’ she’d said.
‘They’d’ve cut much deeper, sliced you in three. Writing smaller – sideways – kept it shallow. You’ve still no idea who did it?’
‘New client. Face masked. False name. Moved soon as I opened the door. Calloused fingers. Breath like just-peeled oranges.’
a little harder? you slid them in so easily I hardly noticed them!
Deletegood instalment. Is it really 120 episodes?????
Words virtually escape me in trying to analyze this. It was sheer perfection. What a lovely piece.
DeleteSuch trauma, and still a bit of humor to be found. This is incredibly smooth.
DeleteI agree with Antonia that the sheer fact you not only keep the serial going but still weave the prompts in so well to create an ever intriguing tale is inspiring, great work as usual.
DeleteSnakes cease to smile [Threshold 57]
ReplyDeletePassive by nature, my life played out on a board of smiling snakes and loose-runged ladders, successive moves dictated by lunatic rolls of the dice. Helvinsson’s hauling me back from certain death merely the latest.
Last time he’d been importunate; my resistance dictated only by hope of the nearby Ravenscar. Now, nine months since I’d lain with a man – creation and birth of new life intervening; child taken by the absent Ravenscar – need over-whelmed preference: I was more than ready to comply.
Helvinsson read it in my eyes, and laughed. ‘Too late. Circumstances have changed. I’ve other plans for you.’
and... what plans...how nasty are they... where does this go next... why am I asking so many questions...
DeleteBecause you set it up for questions and we await the answers!!
Other plans? I can't wait to find what these might be. Marvellous knack for accentuating the suspense.
DeleteOh, this poor girl, tossed about by cruel fate (and a few less than wise decisions). I feel more and more for her.
DeleteHow do you manage to fit so much into just 100 words, more than most authors manage in a full chapter.
DeleteInfinity 90
ReplyDeleteIf there was any creation which should not have been permitted in the sight of God, it be that Creature. We dropped anchor in a bay. The crew pocketed dice; the better to con the islanders, the cook, impatient as always, demanded they immediately leave the Infinity. The Creature let the boat tow it to shore. It were done in that moment. The Creature knew enough to go inland, to leave the crew. I saw it go through my glass. It were no lunatic, that monster beyond believing. And I gave heartfelt thanks to my Maker for my release.
I feel the relief of the Captain, though I fear for the islanders. He's well rid of it, or so we can hope.
DeleteAlthough the creature is a burden I am somewhat sorry to see it go, monsters of such a high level are always interesting and I hope we hear more of the beast. That being said who knows what lay in wait ashore I suppose, but I guess the Captain is probably preferring the removal of such stress lol
DeleteAnd for how long will it stay calm? Either the crew will cause havoc ashore or they'll return with trouble of a different kind. Can't wait!
ReplyDeleteLovely opening sentence.
Why do I think we may not have seen the last of this Creature? I do hope our Captain hasn't been lulled into a false sense of security. As always, these continuations spin like a well-oiled machine.
DeleteCripplegate Junction/Part 4-The Crossing Canteen
ReplyDelete(By: Foxxglove)
(100 Words)
"Please, sir, you are behaving like a lunatic," reprimanded the Conductor, disengaging from Clive Bailey's violent shaking of his lapels. "Have a nice cup of tea at the Crossing Canteen and calm yourself."
Turning, Clive frowned. What in creation? That hadn't been there before!
He peered through the window. A smiling waitress beckoned from behind a silver urn and at a corner table, two children played "Snakes and Ladders." The boy glowered at the rolled dice. He slid his red counter through the mouth of the serpent down to the tip of its tail while his small blonde playmate giggled.
This is surreal and gorgeous and fascinating. I am already hungry for more.
DeleteSorry Patricia - my 'Ladybird books' comment may not have looked relevant, I meant it as a comment on the somewhat 'picture book' imagery it conjured, for which Rebecca's 'surreal' is the better word.
Delete@Sandra -- No problem, Sandra. In my opinion, any comment is better than no comment at all. LOL.
DeleteI did get that 'story book' feeling from it too, akin to many of the books in my youth with great adventures and mysterious occurrences, loved the cross of politeness with rudeness in the opening line lol.
DeleteSounds very Ladybird books!
ReplyDeleteStone Cold Sober
ReplyDeleteI staggered a bit as I followed Seth to the edge of the road.
“The lunatic who did this is so gonna die.”
“Wasn’t a person, Nate. It was a thought form, a magical creation. It was never alive, really, and it’s gone now. But we have to go.”
“What? I can’t even…wait, go where? Dude, look at my car!”
“The car will start. I promise. Look, this was a dice roll. Whoever did it hoped to catch us off guard and I screwed them on it. Someone’s out for us. We have to keep moving.”
Son of a bitch.
Superb - as ever. Evokes seat-gripping tension so cleverly.
DeleteHow you manage to convey so much forward movement in so few words is nothing less than magnificent. I can't wait to find out what comes next.
DeleteI love the paths you take me down, even if I almost never know where they lead!
DeleteWas this a serial work? It felt like a scene from something larger and written very well. Being quite sincere I was able to picture the event like a scene from a movie. Great work.
DeleteHi Rob,
DeleteThis is a serial where Colleen writes the POV of Nate, and I write that of Seth.
The first volume of the series is here: http://pushcomestoshove.blogspot.com/p/nate-and-seth-series.html
And the latest, of which this and my response below are a part, is here: http://pushcomestoshove.blogspot.com/p/nate-and-seth-vol-2.html (which I'm off to update with the latest installments. Eep!)
Opening Gambit
ReplyDeleteNate wrenched the door open, lunatic glint in his eye.
I held him back. “I should drive.”
“No dice.”
“Then let me clean your wound, so it doesn’t blind you.”
I knew that would do the trick. He flinched at the idea of me handling his blood. I wouldn’t keep it without asking, but he’d never trust me not to. That might have stung, once, but blood is power, especially in the hands of a witch. He’d seen my creations.
He packed a snowball, wrapped it in an old shirt – mine, of course – and climbed into the back seat, grumbling.
Seth intriguing as ever, as is this relationship, and both addictive as ever.
DeleteI really liked the 'he'd seen my creations' line, definitely makes me curious as to what this woman was capable of, written with purposeful intrigue.
DeleteWell, I've just seen Colleen off to bed (not literally; we're 1500 miles apart), and it seems her gate-closing comment did not go through. So I shall close the gates for her, after which I am certain her comment will show, making me look the fool.
ReplyDeleteWinners and words will go up tomorrow. Thank you all so much for playing!