Wonderful though Scottish hotels in Arran, Islay, Applecross and Ullapool are, their only occasional internet, plus the lack of desk space, meant my laptop mostly stayed in its bag. Against that, the scenery was fantastic, and (unusually!) no rain meant we could see it in full glory, while bookshops and distilleries gave plenty of opportunities to pause. So my thanks to those of you who made entertaining appearances.
Words for next week (when I trust my attention will be better focussed) : delirious open song
Entries
by midnight Thursday 4th July, new
words scheduled Friday 5th
Usual rules: 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. Serialised fiction is, as always, welcome. All variants and uses of the words and stems are fine.
Thresholds new [27]
ReplyDeleteRaven had taken time to absorb their accusation. I’d watched his face. What made the greatest impact was the parallel histories of our births: each of us lullabied in infancy with a song in which customary celebration was drowned by the deliriousness of mourning, constrained by the inability to openly – justifiably -- ascribe blame to an innocent babe scratching at the conscience of the bereaved whose treatment of us, however well-intentioned, had inevitably scarred our growing up.
The cousins had absorbed this already. Question now was whose side would they take?
And what was Egesa to them?
Terrie .
DeleteMasterful two short opening sentences that simultaneously carry both the reader and the characters along the path to discovery, together. You always pack so much detail into your 100 words, Sandra. I actually had to re-read this to spot the prompt words.
Like Terrie, I admire your ability to pack so much well-crafted detail into your entries, Sandra.
DeleteTerrie and Jim, thank you so much for your kind words, from which I invariably receive a boost of writerly confidence.
DeleteHow will this classic dysfunction affect the plot going forward. You have done a wonderful job of setting the table.
DeleteThe Secret Armadillo Soldier (SAS) Diaries - entry 277
ReplyDeleteAggie faced her team, ‘Wally get started, you two, follow my scent to the higher opening. Remember, this needs doing quietly. Keep noise to a whisper, no chatter, no songs and have yer wits about yuh. Don’t need no delirious yelling or scary storytelling neither.
I’ll see Sarg off and I’ll be with yuh.’
The team set about their tasks.
‘If we’re discovered I’ll make sure they don’t get anywhere near this tunnel, Sarg.’ Aggies tone was flinty.
Sarg understood the finality of Aggies words. With a curt nod, she turned and hurried off into the gloom of the tunnel.
So efficient and workmanlike a piece of action described, Terrie.
DeleteAggie certainly knows how to keep her troop organized and busy. As always, Terrie, well done!
DeleteSeems to me, with this crew, herding cats would be easier.
DeleteBACK TO NORMAL
ReplyDeleteI have always been open to criticism – if it’s positive, that is. But positive would be praise, not criticism. Right?
Yet, what I’ve heard from the so-called experts is not praise. It is, in fact, the same old song-and-dance I heard years ago as an eleven-year-old. All that crap about my being a deliriously warped kid who found deviant delight in my depraved acts. One such act was killing my parents, and it was believed that a ten-year stay in a state mental institution would make me normal.
Normal? What’s that?
I am free now and looking to kill again.
Compellingly chilling and smooth use of the prompt words, Jim.
DeleteTerrie.
DeleteAs always, Jim you have entertained us with a huge shovelful of well-crafted, unsettling dreadfulness.
We all have to define "normal" for ourselves. Your hero here is unequivocal about what "normal" is for him. Watch out world.
DeletePrompts – Delirious, Open Song
ReplyDelete4th of July – Finally Free #4
Sheriff Wilkins sat back in his lawn chair, rubbed his bloated belly and opened a beer. He thought that might be the best barbecue he had ever grilled. His guests seemed to agree. They laid or sat in a culinary stupor waiting for the fireworks coming up.
Wilkins could not relax. Martha’s King recent delirium and break from reality would not let him rest. Closing his eyes, Martha’s anguished face, her body wrapped in a strait jacket, was all he could see.
Like he did in Sunday school so many years ago, Wilky began to quietly sing “The Lord’s Prayer”.
Such a vividly-evoked scene this, I like the backward time progression.
DeleteTerrie.
DeleteSkillful used the prompt words really help to convey the sense Sherriff Wilkins is a man in the right job and at the heart of his community. I hope this serialization continues.
The first sentence beautifully sets up this episode.
DeleteQuixote of the Plains
ReplyDeleteBeneath the full moon an ancient cowboy, delirious from the consumption of peyote, rode a flea-bitten mule across the vast expanse of the open range. As he negotiated the tumbling tumbleweed he whistled a song of six-gun chivalry. Prairie dogs howling a mournful chorus, the wind moaning baritone harmonies.
The hallucinogenic had sharpened his perception. Through kaleidoscopic swirls he saw into the fabled ghostworld beyond and spurred his mangy mount to a hobbling trot.
'Yipi ty yi ay,' he whooped over toothless gums and rode at long last into his wrangler’s paradise.
DeleteTerrie.
David, your offering this week is so hauntingly atmospheric.
As soon as I read the title I thought about the Picasso painting of Don Quixote. Great writing.
Yet another wonderfully-evoked scene, I could feel and hear the wind as I watched his approach.
ReplyDeleteSo vivid... so rife with colorful language... so well done, David!
ReplyDelete