Flash Fiction Friday #5 - July 31, 2009

[Ryan]

Hello everyone, and welcome to the fifth weekly edition of Flash
Fiction Friday! Please post your stories in this thread, and thank
you in advance for taking part!

[Sayer]

I've apparently been bitten by the "this story" bug, so here's another
installment. This might go on for quites some time.


Heather and Alison.

I couldn’t stop coughing. The cloud of dust thrown up by the Beholder
was still lingering...in my lungs. The blade of the axe was white hot.
I don’t remember doing that, but I must have. It was probably another
manifestation of what had intrigued the elders so much.

Pieces of the Beholder were everywhere, some of them still blazing.
But across the crater left by its impact, she was covered in dust, and
alive. There really hadn’t been much time to think before I leapt from
that hallway, and I certainly didn’t think I’d be standing here in the
wreckage of one of the most dangerous siege engines. However, I was
still on edge. At the risk of stating the obvious, something was very
wrong here. The broadcasts I remembered often showed Beholders being
sent in flanked by air support, but the sky was clear. Where had this
unit come from and why weren’t there others?

It was eerily silent. The only sounds were crackling flames and the
occasional twitter of a distant bird. What had once been our home was
in ruins. The wing I’d been in at the onset of the attack was the only
structure still standing, though only just barely.

Beyond the crater and my friend, I couldn’t see any survivors. It
really was quite gruesome. At last count there had been sixteen
hundred children here, but I could only see a few bodies. Some were
buried under rubble and others had been crushed by the treads of the
marauding Beholder during its assault.

How could he have known this would happen? What was so “wrong” about
our lives that made it necessary for the universe to “right itself” so
violently? What were we going to do now?

I was supposed to begin field training next year. If I was good
enough, I’d be on my way to becoming an official hero. I’d get to
fight in the Coalition. I’d be keeping the world safe. But now what?
There would be no graduation, no training classes, no anything. There
wasn’t even anyone left to train me. To train us. I’d never even been
“outside”. We weren’t supposed to leave until we’d graduated, and I
had no idea what was beyond this ruined complex. Everything I’d known
about the outside world had been gleaned from broadcasts or filtered
through the elders. Now we were alone.

Suddenly the silence was displaced by what sounded like thunder. That
had to be the rest of them, the air support that was supposed to
accompany a Beholder. Our eyes met across the crater, and we both knew
it. We had to hide. Sure we’d just won an unlikely victory, but
probability or not, we both knew when not to push our luck. As we
dashed for the tree line beyond the rubble of the outer wall, the
thunder became louder. Just as we managed to lose ourselves in the
bushes, the first Jumpjet came into view overhead. Like the Beholder,
this was another vehicle I’d only ever seen in broadcasts. They were
dark shapes in the sky, their forward swept wings ending in needle-
like antennae. As they hovered closer to the ground, I was able to
make out the insignia emblazoned on their hulls. They were ours! This
wasn’t the aerial support for the Beholder, this was the rescue team!
I started to move forward intending to alert them to our presence and
perhaps even meet some of the heroes I’d seen on broadcast. But she
put her hand over my mouth and motioned for me to be quiet, shaking
her head. I was confused, but I stayed put. Her hunches had always
been preternaturally accurate.

The jets extended their spider-like gear as they landed, the downwash
extinguishing the flames of the wreckage. As we watched from our
hiding place, the operatives emerged clothed in the familiar navy-blue
uniform of the Coalition, but they were acting strangely, or at least
so I thought. They didn’t seem shocked by the carnage or even mildly
displeased at the total destruction of the buildings. In fact, the
only time I saw surprise register with any of them was when they
encountered the gashes in the hull of the Beholder. The one closest to
the unit ran his hand along the openings in the metal.

“Looks like someone put up a fight”

One of the others snorted loudly, and pointed at the section of
roofing protruding from the wreckage.

“Well thankfully it didn’t seem to help. No survivors. It’s just as
well the Beholder got too close to that roofing toward the end, or
we’d have to destroy it to eliminate the evidence.”

“Eliminate the evidence”? I didn’t understand. Crouched next to me
under the foliage she seemed shocked as well. What did he mean
“thankfully”?

As I watched them congratulating one another on the successful
destruction of our home, I began to understand what he had meant all
those years ago. There was definitely something wrong here, something
wrong with all of this. The Coalition heroes I’d thought of as
saviours were now responsible for the loss of everything I’d ever
known.

Afterwards, as the their Jumpjets disappeared one by one into the sky,
we climbed out of our leafy hiding place and I stood speechless. I
could feel her eyes on me, but I couldn’t look at her. As I fought
back the tears, I realised just how alone we truly were. Now there was
nothing else. Now there was only Heather and Alison.

[oilsdragon]

"Yumm." Diana slipped into the bath of warm, silky bubbles before
looking up at Knossos and saying, "I know I've forgotten something,
but right now I'm not going to worry about it."

"That sounds best to me," he agreed, fluffing his feathers and
settling more comfortably atop the shower rod. "If you must worry
about something, make it renovating this bathroom. I swear, the entire
shower assembly is going to come down one of these days and neither of
us will be happy about it."

"Hmmm," she said sleepily. "Or we could discuss why you're worrying
about the shower rod as if you'll never want me to change you back
into a human."

"No," he said firmly. "No, we could not."

"Why not?"

"Because I'll shit on you."

"Touchy little bird," she mused softly. The owl, standing three feet
tall and with a wingspan of more than six, glared at her and said
nothing. "All right, all right, I'll drop the subject. Again. But not
indefinitely."

"There's a storm coming," he said suddenly, turning his head right
around to look out the high, leaded window. "You've got more important
things to think about than my predilections."

"I thought I was taking a bath and trying not to think about things?"
she groused, slipping under the water to wet her hair. Emerging a
moment later, her auburn tresses were slicked back against her skull
and dark with moisture. "It's not urgent, is it?"

"No," Knossos confirmed. "It'll wait a few hours."

"Good. Because I'd much rather talk about why you'd prefer to stay an
owl than come to my bed."

"Is that what we were talking about?" he asked, sounding distantly
amused. "I hadn't realized that your bed had entered into the
equation."

"Don't play games with me. I know you too well. If you weren't
interested, why didn't you just say so?" He stared at her with
haunting golden eyes and said nothing. "You don't have to hide in the
body of a bird to put off my advances. I may be your employer, but I'm
not going to force myself on you."

"The thought of you forcing yourself on me was never the issue, my
lady." What could that twitch possibly mean? It was too damned hard to
have a personal conversation with a bird.

"Darn. And here I thought I was terribly intimidating and all that."

"You know that isn't what I meant."

"No, I really don't! I have no idea what you mean, or why you've been
avoiding me, or what this 'I'm going to stay an owl forever' thing is
all about! If I didn't rely on you quite so much, I would have
transferred you to one of our lesser outposts by now. Seriously, man.
You're like a thorn in my side."

"Exactly."

"Exactly? What does that mean?"

"You rely on me too much. Your father handed me down to you, his
strong right hand, when you took over the army from him. You look up
to me. It wouldn't be right."

"Why you pompous, self-important, arro–" Diana burst out laughing in
the middle of the word. "Is that what you think? You don't remember at
all, do you? I knew you long before you worked for my father, or for
me. We're practically the same age. You don't remember…"

"Of course I don't!"

"Yes, yes, the spell, but I thought we'd been over this before. I met
you at the dueling grounds when we were practically children. It was
strange, when I first arrived - you being here, with all of your
childhood gone…"

"The price for my trade."

"I know. And at first it was different, you seemed different, and then
it wasn't. You may not remember your childhood, but I do – and you're
still the same man. I'm not looking at you as some kind of father
figure, however long you may feel you've been fighting this war.
Working for my father doesn't make you him. Is that why you've been
running away from me?"

"No."

She closed her eyes, vowing not to speak again until he said something
more. She would wait him out if it took every last ounce of patience
she possessed… she had to force down dozens of sentences that wanted
to burst their way out of her throat, but it was worth it when he
finally spoke.

"I want you too much," he admitted irritably. "Not when I'm an owl; as
a bird, I can forget. But when I’m a man. I don't want to be one of
the weekend flings that passes through your bed chamber."

She flushed in embarrassment and anger. "When was the last time I had,
as you put it, a fling? Can you even remember?"

The owl twitched but didn't respond, and her anger overruled any
embarrassment.

"Do you think I would jeopardize our working relationship for a
fling?!" She splashed her hand through the water, sending the bird
flying from errant droplets. "Damn you if you think so little of me!"

"I don't." He had landed at the edge of the tub at sat staring at her.
"Change me back, if you mean it."

"Why?" Her voice sounded bitter to her own ears.

"I want to be with you more than anything in the world. Change me
back. Please."

[Riann]

He hated, more than anything being cold. Even though it was just
a seven block walk to his apartment from the subway station he
considered calling a cab, but the time he’d spend waiting for one
seemed like it would be a bigger hassle that it was worth. It would
probably be warmer once he got outside anyway. He had never understood
why some authority at the TTC had decided that the air-conditioning on
the trains needed to be cranked to sub-artic the second the calendar
flipped over to June. This summer had been abnormally cold and wet and
left him wondering if the other passengers also braced themselves
before boarding, knowing that they would experience a sort of flash
freeze before reaching their destinations. At least the cool
temperatures and rain had kept the smells from the city’s month long
garbage strike at bay. None the less, it hardly felt like summer at
all. He was sure somewhere in the cosmos a switch was set to keep
Toronto set at “April, for the foreseeable future.
He’d forgotten his umbrella on his desk, but figured that it
would not have helped much anyway, the rain had begun coming down in
large fat drops, which bounced back to knee level before settling in
puddles, which engulfed most of the sidewalk. The people he passed,
seemed- like him- to have embraced being wet and walked without any
form of cover, water dripping down their faces causing some of the
more heavily made up business women on the street to look like
macabre, melted wax sculptures. “Nothing much you can do when it’s
this wet,” he thought, he’d be home soon enough and could toss his
clothes in the wash. He’d grab a shower to wash of the rain. Ironic,
he knew but it did always feel good! Then he’d heat up the left over
Thai and warm himself from the inside out.
As he turned off Yonge Street into his neighbourhood the city’s
hustle and bustle seemed to slip away. That’s one of the reasons he’d
picked this apartment, although it was just a 6 minute walk from one
of the busiest streets in the city it was lined with ancient trees and
houses which had been converted into two and three units. He liked the
fact that as he walked to and from the station each day he rarely
passed another soul. It was the best of both worlds. Katie, when they
had been together, had told him it was a little creepy to walk down
the street alone at night, but he’d never felt unsafe there. The
neighbourhood after all, was filled with artists and hipsters who were
more likely to shun you for having a corporate job than try to mug
you.
Perhaps it was the usual residents of his neighbourhood that caused
him that first second of doubt when he saw it across the street. A
baby stroller looked as out of place here as Lexus SUV would have. One
of the artists on the block must have used it to haul equipment home
he surmised. A split second later, his breath hitched in his chest,
there was unmistakably a baby in there. Her little sun hat plastered
to her forehead and her dress clinging to her drenched body she sat,
unmoving, purple lipped, staring out at the water that filtered down
the storm drain nearest her on the sidewalk.
The scene was too natural to be one that had occurred by accident.
“Someone left their kid out here,” he called out realizing that it was
ridiculous no one was on the street and all the windows were closed
tight to ward off the dampness. “Crap!” he thought, I’ve seen this
before.” Working, as he did in special effects he’d created his share
of scenes with creepy kids. What if all that fantasy was real. There
had to be a reason that the movies that featured demonic children gave
him the biggest chills.
“Don’t make eye contact, just walk away before it sucks you in with
it’s evil cuteness. No freakin’ way I’m going to be some demon baby’s
latest statistic.” He decided in that split second before rationality
kicked in. “Holy Moses! that’s one of those kids that you read about
in the newspaper every few years, abandoned by the parents. They never
seemed to find the parents of those kids” He pulled himself back into
the natural world where babies rarely had sinister plans or the desire
to eat brains.
“I’ve got to get her some help. I’ll just call 911.” He determined,
but the rain was getting colder and she was shuddering with each drip
now, it seemed. He was just a block from his apartment. He could
easily pick her up and wrap her in his jacket and call from there. She
was smiling at him now! Raising her thumb to her forehead she created
a sort of inward facing “L.” He knew that from his nephew. His sister
was one of those new age parents who had insisted on teaching Blake,
baby signs.
“Daddy!” the baby insisted, her smile growing larger. “I’m not your
daddy” he sighed. “Not by a long shot.” He’d hoped, that by now he’d
be on the way to being someone’s Daddy, but Katie had had different
plans. Apparently settling down to have a kid wasn’t really going to
further her acting career. Not that one commercial and an occasional
extra role constituted a career. The last he’d heard she was in New
York-witnessing -clichéd. He was still in Toronto, and was still
signed single person resident on the latest census.
“What if the parents never claim her,” he pondered, “I could adopt
her, maybe I was meant to find her.” His sister worked for Children’s
Aid, he was sure she could pull a few strings. “Okay, so now I’m
adopting a kid that I just found on the corner, it’s not like a puppy
who followed me home, she might not like me, I might not like her.” He
was sure it wasn’t that easy, but surly he’d be a better dad than
whoever left her here and took of to smoke crack or whatever it was
that those people did. Come to think of it, what if they hadn’t meant
to leave her here, what if they’d been abducted of hurt. The rain
would have washed away any evidence. This was definitely a time to
call the police.
"What if they thought he took her and had simply chickened out”, he
was after all a single guy, who had no real business with a stranger’s
baby. He had to get her out of the rain, but it seemed that moving her
would make him look more suspicious. He could toss his jacket over the
stroller, and call from there, but she looked so miserable. The cup
holders on the back of her little buggy were filling with water and he
guessed she’d been out here for closer to an hour than a matter of
minutes. “ Fuck the consequences he thought, I can’t leave her here.
Some one else already did, I’ll take her home and call the cops,
hopefully some bastard will pay for leaving her here.” He stepped down
to cross the street, feeling that in someway his life had changed, at
least he was a hero, at best maybe someday in the future, a father.
The door to the house nearest the stroller flew open, down the stairs
flew a woman her long black hair matting to her face as she picked up
speed, her non-matching pyjamas clinging to her skin. She reached the
stroller faster than he would have thought possible. “Mommy is so
sorry!” she cried like a wounded animal. “You’re so much more
important than the groceries I should have brought you in first, how
the hell did I fall asleep!”
He bowed his head and walked away, nothing had changed.

[Ryan]

So this week; I started a story, but soon realized that there would be
no way to tell it within a thousand words. So, instead, I went in the
opposite direction, and wrote something really short. Hope you enjoy!

*******
I am dreaming of flames when I awake. The dream is so vivid, so real,
that I'm sweating, despite the chilliness of the apartment. I look
across the room to see Sarah, sleeping peacefully. I reach over to
touch her, and her skin feels unnaturally cold to the touch. My first
thought is that I should do something to wake her without her
realizing it was intentional, but her sleep is so deep that I know I
won't be able to; it would only add to the distance from her I'm
feeling..

I return to sleep, and to the flames.

[maximus_spaniard]

Priorities

By Oscar Perez

“What a beautiful day!!” I thought when I finally dragged myself out
of bed, to look out my window. I am such a lucky guy! I have done
well for myself, you know, a fulfilling job, a beautiful woman I can
recently call my fiancé, my own condo with a breathtaking view of the
mountains... an all around great outlook in life. However, looking out
the window, admiring the landscape, I noticed that I don’t enjoy my
surroundings as much as I should. I am blessed to live where I live,
but sometimes I get the feeling that I just work a bit too many hours
that prevent me from enjoying this, or quality time with my fiancé.

I met Susan in a coffee shop that she owns. If there was ever a doubt
whether love at first sight happens, I removed all of it when all I
wanted was just a cup of green tea, and instead my eyes locked into
her bright blue eyes. Instant vibration, a mutual vibration combined
results in a vibration of a larger amplitude. I am not an expert but I
think they call that “resonance”. Our connection was such that in just
three months I proposed.

But lately, work and other commitments have reduced the time I am able
to spend with her, and I am beginning to feel that she is resenting
it. Heck, so am I! Don’t get me wrong, I love my job but if you ask
me, I’d rather spend all my time with her. But unfortunately, seeing
her smile, touching that petal skin, inhaling her scent, comforting
her, becoming one with her when we make love, won’t pay my bills... or
for our honeymoon. Balance is the key, I suppose.

Susan asked me to go with her to visit her family, but today is such a
perfect day to go for a hike in the mountains, that I suggested her
that we go shopping tomorrow instead. She gave me that look of
disbelief before saying, “You know what Oscar? Go do whatever you
want! I thought we had agreed that Saturday’s we go have lunch at my
parents. You know, we are not spending much time lately, I was so
looking forward to spending some time with you.”

“I was too, but today I don’t want to share you with anyone else,” I
replied, my hands massaging her shoulders. “I’ve had a rough week, I
need to be in nature, recharge my energy”

“Fine, I get that, but I need to spend time with my family too, you
know my mom is not well. Look, why don’t you just go do your thing,
I’ll do mine and we’ll talk later OK?” Her sad, disappointed face
broke my heart. But I also knew that I would not be really good to be
around today, unless I spent time on my own, or just with her. So I
stayed firm.

“I’m sorry, I’ll make it up to you and them next week. I’ll take you
all out for dinner.”

“Let’s just talk later, OK?” and with that, no kiss, no hug, no bye
sweeties, she turned around and left. Not exactly the way I had
planned my day to be going. There was only one thing left to do now
though: get out and makes the best of what’s left of this gorgeous day
and hit the mountains.

I hiked for what seemed hours. I felt energetic, fuelled by the
natural beauty around me. It was quiet, no one near me. I felt as
though the whole mountains were my own back yard. I kept walking and
decided to close my eyes, let the sounds guide me.

But the further I walked, the quieter it was. Actually, it was too
quiet, so quiet that I started feeling a chill on my body. The whole
thing was creeping me out, so I decided to open my eyes and then my
heart skipped a beat. I was paralyzed. Nature can be beautiful, but it
can also be rough. It makes sense, all beautiful things have
guardians. A massive brown furred guardian of these landscapes was
about 20 meters from me. His eyes would not leave me. Talk about
attracting what your mind focuses about. I had been lately wondering,
reading about how I would react if I all of a sudden I encountered a
grizzly bear. Do I run? Do I climb a tree? Do I yell? Do I play dead?
All of those thoughts ran through my mind in a second. But I was glad
that my mind was working because my body felt paralyzed with fear,
wondering if this is the way I would leave this earth, by being
someone else’s food.

I was praying that he would just see that I am harmless, but he slowly
started approaching me, and I slowly started backing off. I kept
walking backwards as the bear boldly moved forward, but I tripped and
fell down hard. I thought that lying down and playing dead might
convince the boar that I am not worth his trouble. But he kept walking
towards me... 10 meters, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4... and then I heard another
growl to my left. He looked to his right, and I looked to my left.
Another bear! It was smaller, but it definitely called the big bear’s
attention. A female bear? A sow? The big bear turned his attention
back to me, but turned to look at the other bear again, then back at
me, and back at the sow, like trying to make a decision... but focused
back on me.

Then all of a sudden he started running boldly... towards the sow,
until both immersed themselves in the woods. The big male bear had
spared me because the female called. I guess some species have their
priorities straight.

I got up and headed back, promising myself that from now on Susan is
my #1 priority.

[hilary slater lamont]

Hey Maximus :D 

Glad to see you back at the words!! :D

it's a winding story, with a very unexpected twist! :D

I like the characters and how they move together and then apart and then the story pulls them back together again with sudden closure at the end. 

-Nice lesson he learns, too :D

xx

hil

--
H i l a r y   S l a t e r
Sustainable Landscapes

[Natalia]

The house was small, wooden, rickety, and floating in the vast red sky
above me. Without really meaning to--half walking, half floating—I
slowly made my way towards it. I don’t think there was any other
direction I could move.

“Hello?” I whispered, “Is there—Is there anyone there?”

No one answered, but I felt invited in just the same. A door knob
where there had been none before appeared the instant my hand grazed
the door, and when I turned it, the door swung open easily.

“Hello?” I said again. Peering into the darkness, I could see
nothing. I stepped in and the door to the outside world closed behind
me.

“Been waiting for you,” said a deep voice, “Thank you for heeding our
call.”

I swallowed nervously. “C-call? Heeding?”

I moved further into the darkness, letting it envelope me until I
could almost believe I didn’t exist outside of it. Was that other life
even my own? Had I imagined it? The darkness swallowed me, who I
thought I was, who I wanted to be, and left something foreign in its
place. I grasped at the abstract thought, but even that seemed to be
devoured by the darkness around me. I was bereft of myself, clothed
only in the absence of light.

There was a rustling noise and then light suddenly flooded the small
house. I winced and covered my eyes.

“Oh, sorry,” said a small man, “Didn’t mean to make you question your
very existence.”

“I...”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” he said in that voice that seemed too
large for him. “Happens all the time. Well, not all the time,
precisely. But it is quite common in the dark. Especially this dark.”

He grinned knowingly at me, as my sense of self gradually returned.

“Why am I here?” I asked, lowering myself into the chair he gestured
to.

He laughed. “Do you even know where ‘here’ is?”

I thought back. Before the floating house, the last thing I remembered
was going to bed early (because it was a school night and I had a
presentation the next day).

“This is a dream?”

“Ah, you’re a quick one,” said the man, “You’re close. ‘Here’ is in a
dream, but it is not the dream itself. But it’s not important. The
important thing, of course, is that you are here, no matter where
‘here’ is. “

I looked at him blankly, waiting for him to continue. He nodded
encouragingly, waiting for me to say something. I gave in.
“Okay...”

“So here’s everything you need. The box, the list, the checking-things-
off marker. Off you go.” He thrust a large box into my hands, and
started to leave.

“Wait! What am I supposed to do with all this? I think you’ve got the
wrong girl...” I jumped up and tried to return it to him. The man
pushed it back towards me.

He laughed, deep and boomingly. “No, no, you heeded the call. You’ve
been dreaming of this house for some time, yes?”

I tried to cross my arms but the box got in the way. Sighing, I
shrugged instead.

“Lots of people have recurring dreams. I’m sure I’m not the only one.
There’s that guy that had that theory and...”

“Oh, of course, we sent the call to a number of people, but you’re the
only one who heeded it. As I mentioned.”

“So...what would I have to do?” I asked.

He smiled. “Make dreams come true. There’s an instruction manual
somewhere in there. It passes from one person to another--it’s a
floating job, see? In a floating house. I know, I know. Dreams are
quite literal. It something we’re working on.”

“That sounds nice,” I admitted, “Making dreams come true...”

“Oh yes,” he said, nodding. He patted me on the shoulder and walked
out of the house. I could see him waving through the closing space
until the last moment when door clicked shut. A second later it swung
open again.

“Almost forgot! You have to follow the instructions, to the letter.
And never, ever speak of this to anyone. Or dreams will become undone.
Even the ones already dreamt. Remember—to the letter! Okay, have fun,
kid!”

And with that he left again. I put the box on the table, taking out
all the items. I counted, and re-counted them. Something was
definitely missing. Heart pounding, I ran to the door.

“Wait!” I yelled, “You forgot the instructions! Sir? Sir! I don’t
know how to make dreams come true! There aren’t any instructions!”

[hilary slater lamont]

WOW great story!! I LOVE IT !! It's so well wrapped up, you really worked this well... and the use of conversation and such are great too.. 

I think you should go for publishing.. SOMEHOW :D

h

[tama...@gmail.com]

“What do you mean, the spell didn’t work?”

Lawrence blinked at his friend while trying to figure out the best way
to tell him. Jim had always prided himself on his looks and this
little mishap was clearly going to upset him.

“Well,” Lawrence said carefully. “It’s not <u>that</u> noticeable.”

Jim didn’t seem convinced. He scrunched up his brow and made a
beeline for the mirror. Not wasting a second, Lawrence leapt in front
and spread this arms out wide so that the billowing sleeves of his
robe completely obscured Jim’s line of sight.

“Move it.”

“You don’t want me to. Trust me.”

“Move it already!”

Lawrence sighed and stepped out of Jim’s way. He squeezed his eyes
shut and braced himself for the shouting-fest that was sure to
follow. Since the two of them first met in their first year of wizard
school, Jim had been the vainest, shallowest, and most egotistical
person Lawrence had ever known. He knew his friend would <i>not</i>
be happy to note that he had suddenly sprouted a conspicuously large
set of antlers.

Images of Jim flying into a rage flooded Lawrence’s mind. He couldn’t
help but cringe. The antlers would be impossible to conceal - and
maybe permanent!

Lawrence braced himself once more, waiting for the furious onslaught.
But it never came. One eye dared to blink open and look in Jim’s
direction. Jim was scrutinizing the drastic change to his
appearance. His eyes were filled with neither dread nor anger, and
Lawrence dared to hope that his friend and voluntary guinea pig had
forgiven the error.

Laughter. The next thing Lawrence heard was laughter. Fearing maybe
one or both of them had lost their minds, he asked Jim what was so
funny.

“Nothing, man,” Jim said with a smile. He slicked his hair back and
winked at the mirror. “Thanks a lot.”

“Um...You’re welcome?”

Jim straightened out his robe and swept toward the doorway - a
doorway, which, from the looks of it, Jim would have to walk through
sideways.

“Hey, Jim?”

“Yeah?”

“Where ‘you going like that?”

Jim nodded in the direction of the enchanted forest.

“Gonna go meet some ladies,” he said. “You know how centaur chicks
love this stuff.”

On Aug 1, 12:10 pm, hilary slater lamont <hilarysla...@gmail.com>
wrote:

[hilary slater lamont]

TAmara,

superb ending!! - I Was envisioning an enchanted mirror which showed him something other than the antlers :D

But I prefer your ending by far!! :D

[Riann]

Natalia, I loved the ending of your story. You really managed to
capture the surreal dreamlike state. It really did seem like a vivid
dream. Well written.
Tamara, The wit in your story was great. I loved how you managed to
create characters with depth in a fun little piece, well done!
Ryan, your few words were hauntingly beautiful, I tilt my raspberry
beret to you sir.
Oilsdragon, well written dialogue, I feel like this may be the
beginning or middle of a larger saga...am I right?
Sayer, great descriptions Can't say I'd like to be in the girls' shoes
right now!
Maximus, the shifting of emotion in your storywas timed like a
heatbeat moving rapidly but steadily towards your goal. I think you
got the reader where you wanted them to be!

Riann

[hilary slater lamont]

SIPP LANCER

She felt a certain energy surrounding her in the café, but she wasn’t too disturbed. The souls were there, in the behind spaces...present and aware, but comfortable just observing in here. They didn't want to disturb or be disturbed. And they knew she could disturb them much worse then they could disturb her, if things got disruptive.

She slid the leaf of lettuce into her mouth, slowly, meditatively. The green food was soothing to her frazzled mind. She knew this was just the calm before the storm. There would be a time when she would look back on this moment in envy, wishing it had lasted longer.

Her plate was soon empty, leaving her wistful and wanting more. As long as she ate, she could feel normal, controlled, purposeful. She could block herself from thinking out her plan of what to do next

It was time, suddenly.

She stood up, turned ever so slowly, and walked cautiously but determinedly out of the café, looking neither to right nor left. She replaced her goggles and wielded the green SIPP (Slime-Injector Pressurizable Projection) Lancer at her side.

As she stepped out into the red martian dustbowl, she knew this battle would be the turning point of this war. Tomorrow might never happen for her, but that wasn’t an issue she was allowed to consider. She pushed all thought out of her conscious mind and focused on her inner energy. She was fully prepared for the task at hand.

[hilary slater lamont]

I did send this yesterday morning but I seem to be posting to the wrong place :D

[Sayer]

Oilsdragon, I loved the your story. I did get a bit confused at the
end about who had changed who, but on the second read, I realized
thsat was because I wasn't paying attention. Also at the risk of
repeating an already expressed sentiment, it seems to be part of a
larger story.

Ryan, that short story was awesome. So much crammed into so little
space, but you've gone and made me curious about the "other" story you
were writing.

Maximus, I loved the twist at the end. I actually said "nice" out loud
when the bear's relationship with its mate represented the main
character's relationship with his fiance

[Ryan]

A few thoughts on this week's stories (and nothing personal against
those I don't have anything to say about).

Oilsdragon, I love the character of Knossos. Bird body language and
temperament are not things I'd ever really thought about, but you
bring them out well.
Riann, I love the way you write about Toronto - you've got a great
feel for the soul of the city! Also, yay for babysigning - I've been
doing some reading up on that subject lately and have been fascinated
by it!
Natalia, this really felt like the opening of a longer story - are you
planning on continuing it in the future?
Tamara: I can't help but wonder what the spell was *supposed* to
do :o)
Also, Ri, Sayer, all I can say about my story is that desperation
truly is the mother of invention :o)

Thanks to EVERYONE who has been taking part in F3 throughout our first
month - y'all are just awesome.