We are to look at the story cube symbols, and write something using some or all of them. Here’s mine:
***
It was autumn on this side of the world when the trees were gold and red. We’d already had the time change to fall back on the clocks, like we do every year. It’s annoying, I know.
We were on our way to the book store to stock up on reading materials, because once the snowflakes began falling, we’d be stuck indoors.
As we drove down the street though, we had to pull over to the side. A police car, with sirens blaring and lights flashing zoomed past us. We had no idea what was going on.
A few days later, we found out when we heard the local television newscast. It seemed the police had been chasing down a couple of criminals who’d robbed a convenience store. Now they had been put in a line up and identified by the store manager. The scales of justice would determine both the criminal’s fates. They would not be pawned off with a slap on the wrist. Check and Mate!
I was nominated to continue the story by Paula. She can be found blogging at the above link. Thanks so much, Paula! Here is the story so far, including my part …
***
Midnight Hour
“Darkness falls across the land, the midnight hour is close at hand*”
She finished lacing up her thigh high leather heeled boots. Standing up, she did a once over in the floor length mirror, checking to make sure that her short skirt was short enough that despite the height of her boots, there was plenty of skin between the hem of the skirt and the top of the boots. She did a quick wiggle to make sure the skirt didn’t ride up too high, and that the rest of her stayed where it was supposed to within the confines of her dress. Satisfied, she grabbed her jacket and headed out.
As she walked down the street, she could feel the goosebumps break out all over her body, although she didn’t know why. It was just a normal night, just like any other, and there was nothing out of the ordinary. She pushed the uneasy feeling aside, and took her spot on the side of the street, waiting for her shift to begin. ( Marla’s Part)
Sadje’s contribution;
Her unease increased as time passed. She had just one passerby ask her for the merchandise which she provided but the payment was still pending.
Suddenly the air was full of loud screams. Someone was in severe agony or frightened out of their wits. She grabbed her bag which had all the merchandise in it and made for the taxi stand. Before she could hail the taxi coming from the other side, she was blinded by the halogen lights of a fast-approaching car towards her.
She opened her mouth to scream when……
Jim’s contribution;
… she recognized her favorite customer pulling up in his Rolls Royce limousine. The driver slowed down and stopped right next to Vivian Ward and Edward Lewis rolled down the rear window and said, “Honey, I need an escort for this social event, do you want to have fun tonight?” Vivian’s eyes lit up and she said, “Open the door and I will go anywhere with you, as I know you won’t try to stiff me.” Edward replied, “Did one of your clients try to take advantage of you? You should think about getting a manager to handle your transactions.” Vivian said, “I had a pimp once and I don’t want any man owning me again, so I work for myself.” Edward told her that tonight was not going to be like work, as they were going to a costume party, and he would pay her $500 an hour as long as she didn’t embarrass him. Edward was dressed in a Batman costume, and he handed Vivian $1,500 and asked her if she had someplace to store that. Vivian replied, “I have my hiding spots, but you will need to pay me more to see them.” The driver parked in front of this large mansion and said, “Sir, we have reached our destination.”
Vivian tried hard not to show her surprise. She knew this property and was surprised that Edward moved in these circles.
‘Coming?’ he asked having got out of the vehicle and was holding the door for her.
She adjusted her attire, wishing she’d chosen her long leather coat rather than her skimpy jacket.
‘Don’t worry. It’s not a themed party for superheroes or anything. Just a bit of fun to convince everyone I’m not the stuffed shirt they think I am. Just relax!’
They walked straight into the house without knocking and a drink was thrust into their hands by a butler whose costume had no back side. Vivian felt more at ease knowing she wasn’t the only one showing more than a pound of flesh.
‘Cute buns,’ she said softly, and Edward gave her an enquiring look.
Knowing he had specifically asked her not to embarrass him, she followed in his wake, sipping her drink.
‘EDWARD!’ came a booming voice from across the room. ‘So glad you could make it Dahling. And who is this?’
‘I’m Vivian,’ she said offering her hand.
‘How delightful! Come, come! You must meet everyone!’
Edward smiled encouragingly as Vivian whispered ‘How did he know it was you?’ before being led away to be introduced to some of the other guests.
How he hated these parties but it was important for the next takeover he had in mind.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to face an old enemy………………..
Vivian had been in a lot of sketchy situations and prided herself on keeping her cool, but this house was downright freaky and giving her the shivers. She was definitely not going to take a sip of the weird green, glowing drink and discreetly put it down on an end table as Edward continued chatting with a blond man dressed as a Viking, from the waist up anyway. From the waist down, the Viking was dressed in… nothing. Wait! She recognized that guy! OMG, it was Mr. Jensen, her math teacher from high school. What was mild-mannered, nerdy Mr. J doing at this bizarre party? And who knew he had such a big–
“Scuse me!” Vivian was shoved into the wall by a rude woman dressed as Cruella Deville, complete with a little stuffed Dalmatian clutched in her arms. “Some of us need to use the restroom.”
Rubbing her aching shoulder, Vivian followed Cruella to the restroom in an attempt to get away from Mr. J. He’d surely recognize her because of that prank she and her friends pulled at the end of senior year. She only hoped Edward wouldn’t get angry that she’d left the main room. She stood at the sink running cold water on her wrists in an attempt to calm herself.
“Are you spying on me?” Cruella yelled. She shook her stuffed dog at Vivian and made a growling sound.
Vivian met the other woman’s gaze in the mirror. “No. I’m just–“
“You’re just the type of sexy idiot my husband would hire to spy on me,” Cruella said. “But we’re going to turn the tables on him. This is how things are going to go down tonight…”
Barbara’s contribution
Vivian pulled paper towels to dry her hands, turning to face this Cruella woman.
“First of all, I may be sexy, but I’m no idiot,” she said. “Now, who’s your husband?”
Cruella sighed. “He’s the man you came in with … your favorite customer. I know he’s paying you to keep a spy eye on me tonight. I’ve had enough of his conniving ways and I’m filing for divorce. I plan on taking him to the cleaners for as much as I can get out of him.”
Surprised by this revelation, Vivian took a few seconds to think.
“Yes, I understand,” she said. “You’re right, he’s been a good customer of mine … sorry, but he’s lied to me too, about being married. What do you want me to do?”
Cruella smiled, and bent closer. In a low voice she said, “Here’s my plan.” Reaching into her spotted coat pocket, she took out a tiny clip on camera. “Wear this, hide it somewhere on you, and go with him everywhere he’ll let you. I want to find out about his business dealings, how much he’s worth, any and all transactions he makes with anyone. Can you do that?”
Vivian smiled and held out her hand. “I’ll start right now,” she said as she pinned the camera to her dress top where it couldn’t be seen.
Cruella nodded. “Let’s do this and meet in a week at the coffee shop on your corner.”
One at a time they exited the restroom.
***
This was started by Marla and to be continued, I hope, by Yinglan at This Is Another Story if she decides to do this, but if she wants to restrain from responding to this tag, I am issuing her a Get Out Of A Tag Free Card and then I will look for someone else to continue the story.
It was early in the morning, just after the crack of dawn, when I heard the insistent knocking at my door and I immediately knew…
***
It was early in the morning, just after the crack of dawn, when I heard the insistent knocking at my door and I immediately knew the time had come to leave.
I’d scoffed at the conspiracy nuts who predicted the end times were coming. However, everyone I knew had been preparing to bug out lately. Duffle bags, backpacks, and car trunks had been packed with survival supplies like food and water. Hideout plans had been made, maps had been drawn up, coordinates set in place.
I’d been pressured to come along, to make sure I had a plan and to go with them when the time came. So I did a little, just to get them off my back, and to at least have sort of a plan.
And now, it had happened. I grabbed up my kit, got in my truck and followed the convoy of my friends up to the mountain hide-away we’d chosen. We’d wait it out as long as it took.
If nothing happened, well that would be great. If it was the end of the world, there wouldn’t be anything we could do about it anyway.
I’m combining last week’s and this week’s story starter phrases, since I forgot to post last week’s! 🙂
***
When he decided to spy on his wife, the last thing he expected was to discover that she…
***
When he decided to spy on his wife, the last thing he expected was to discover that she was a shape shifter.
Becoming suspicious, he followed her one late night as she left the bed, heading to the back patio. As he peered through the curtain he was astounded. Slowly she felt around the top of her head and began unzipping all the way down, revealing her true self … her reptilian form.
He hadn’t realized that he had past the point of no return until…
She slowly turned toward him, stabbed him with her hypnotic lizard eyes, and pointed her talon at him.
Paralyzed with fear, he could only listen as she spewed some strange sounding words into the night air. The meaning was clear, though.
Today she would find out if her entire life was a lie.
***
The Anniversary
~
Today she would find out if her entire life was a lie.
Jiggling her foot and twisting a strand of hair through her fingers, Marissa closed her eyes and prayed, “Let it be good … let it be good”.
But, it wasn’t.
Gripping the edge of the table where she sat she willed herself not to pass out. Happy noises, jangly music, and carnival smells faded to the background of her consciousness, as the old fortune teller continued gazing into her crystal ball.
With a gasp, Madame Sophia clutched her chest. “Get out … get out now…”.
“What? What do you mean?” Marissa stared at the old woman.
“Leave now; I don’t give readings to ghosts.” She made the sign of the cross, then turned her back.
Confused, Marissa glanced at the crystal ball. She saw a granite gravestone with her name and dates of birth and death carved there. She’d died a hundred years ago on this very date.
She had been watching her neighbor’s house for weeks, but she saw something today that made her…
***
She had been watching her neighbor’s house for weeks, but she saw something today that made her say, “Oh, how cute!”
There is a small opening in the concrete foundation of the neighbor’s house. I knew someone was under there, so I kept my eye on it off and on throughout the weeks.
Then today Mama Cat brought out her little kittens, and they were adorable. They toddled around as babies do, with Mama hovering protectively over them. When they got a little older she brought them over to our porch to introduce them, and show them where to find the cat crunchy food and the water bowl.
And, here they are now! “Oh, how cute!”
***
Three little kittens on the porch with water bowl & cat food crunchies. Kitties are one yellow one, one tabby one, and one black & white one.
***
~ note ~ this really happened, but several years ago.
People trust me with their secrets, but if they really knew me…
***
People trust me with their secrets, but if they really knew me they’d think twice before handing me the keys to their soul.
I am one of the immortal ancients. My job from the beginning of time has been to glean information from humankind. I am the keeper of secrets. I’ll never reveal what I’ve learned, but I am appointed to influence others for good or evil at my discretion. It’s interesting to learn the truths (or lies) that are in minds of mortals.
That little small voice inside your head? That’s me.
That guilt you feel? I just wanted to see how you handled it.
You are all puppets on my stage. I am the master of illusion and trickery. You may ask my name … I go by many … call me what you will.
But before I go, remember and think twice before revealing yourself and your secrets to me.
Here’s a little story I made up, using words from an online scrabble game called “Words With Friends”. These are fun to do…I just try to use all the words that have been played…try to make them fit into a quick little story. The words in bold are the words from the game. Enjoy!
EXPOSER – TV NEWS
Cue intro music and cool graphics… 🎵
“Good evening fans. Here it is Friday night, and we are swamped with updates here in our studio.
As always, we don’t try to demean anyone here…we’re just reporting the news as it happens. We oft get complaints from people who flip their wigs over our reg. news content. I say, if you can’t take a jab at someone as a joke, then Bro, you’re bent outta shape. This is raw and in your face. I don’t give a fig what anyone thinks.
So, without further ado, Lee will start us off with our first story.”
“Hi, Lee, what is our top story of the night?
“Ed, it would be the drag event, held at the ER disco ballroom, last evening. It was supposed to be a stag party for the groom to be, a foreigner by the name of Chine Zoa. The ETA of this shindig was to be 7 p.m. Everyone was to come dressed in drag. A Drag/Stag party. Well, the ballroom was set up nice, but the management nixed the addition of slot machines.
Then, Mike, the best man, threw dye into the decorative fountain, that turned the water as green as clover. The manager hies to the scene, and as he’s yelling at everyone, Ti and Qi, the twin viola players, hired for musical tunes, jump into the fountain. This caused a riot, as they can’t swim and needed to have the life bouys thrown in to save them.
There was chaos and looting, and it was not contained until midnight.”
“That was the highlight of our news cast. Thank you, Lee. We bid you adieu. Tune in tomorrow for more of…
This is a short fiction story I wrote back in 2016 using this photo prompt, which was found on Pixabay.
COVER BAND
It was all the guy’s dreams to be the next guitar god, the next rock star, the next featured cover on the Rolling Stone Magazine. I was no exception. I wanted the fame and fortune, and yes, the girls.
I saved my allowance money, bought a second-hand guitar, and practiced. That got me invited to be a member of a hopeful garage band. We had a few gigs around town, had some local fame, but then it died down; we went our separate ways.
In college, I majored in art and music. The entertainment industry still called to me. I wonder what happened to those guys from high school? Did they follow their dreams, become famous? I don’t know, but I’ve met thousands of rock stars who did find that elusive dream.
I enjoy what I do. I may have never become famous for my guitar or voice, but my talents are in demand now. I’m famous in my own way. I design album covers. The burning guitar is my latest piece.
teleportingweena 