June

Steel Bridge – 100WW 76

/ JoHawkTheWriter

Title: Steel Bridge
Source: 100 Word Wednesday: Week 76
Word count: 100 words

Image by Bikurgurl

It dominated the crystal blue skyline. The Steel Bridge made her heart race, excitement pulsed through her as she clutched the wheel with both hands. Beneath the car tires, the Little Calumet River raced below the grated steel deck. The river lay far below the 420 feet of the main span. Cars rumbled, and the steel sang with the passing traffic. The steel grid pulled at the tires and forced her to steer. She liked the danger of speeding along at 70 miles an hour, suspended over the potential of a watery end. It would only take one wrong move.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Out of Time — FFfAW Challenge – 170

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

Title: Out of Time
Source: Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers – Week of 06-19 through 06-25-2018
Word count: 174 words

This week’s photo prompt is provided by Enisa. Thank you Enisa!

Detective Walsh ran his fingers through his thick dark hair and sighed with exasperation. He had done everything short of begging the judge for the search warrant. Now his team was finding nothing.

“Boss, can we wrap this up?”

Walsh realized time and luck had run out.

“Boss? I found a box of photos in a heat return,” Probie Kennedy interrupted.

Walsh grabbed the box and riffled the contents finding an odd assortment of amateurish snaps. Why would anyone hide these?

Gazing at the photo of a candlestick, he flipped it over. Printed on the back was the date, “January 5.” A murder happened on that date. He knew the details. The medical examiner’s report described the murder weapon as a circular object with a flat base, consistent with the bottom or a vase or lamp.

“Or a candlestick,” he muttered.

The photos were all dated, and he bet the dates coincided with a murder and the objects with the medical examiner’s description of the murder weapon.

Perhaps luck was still on his side.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

California Quail — Friday Fictioneers June 15

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Title: California Quail
Source: Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words

PHOTO PROMPT © Jean L. Hays

Rose sat at the kitchen table hands wrapped around a cup of coffee. She rubbed the once-hot ceramic and stared at the computer screen. The video consumed her attention and kept her from her morning routine.  She didn’t notice the escapee as he slinked in front of the window screen, hoping to avoid detection. As the video ended Rose rubbed her eyes as she reentered the present. She headed to the sink to dump the coffee before turning to pour a fresh hot cup.

That is when she saw him.

“Frank, your quail is out again,” she yelled.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Going Home – FFfPP 24

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Title: Going Home
Source: FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER- 2018 WEEK #24
Word count: 200 words

Kaique Rocha pexels-photo-125532 escalator

How many times have I ridden these escalators up and down, Monday thru Friday and sometimes even on the weekends? I’m not sure of the exact count but Deb in Human Resource said my length of service was five years and six months. You do the math; I know it is more than I want to contemplate.

Now, here I stand, staring at my final descent. The box I carry holds the few personal items on my desk: a calendar, a few photos of my family, my collection of coffee cups – one for each day of the week, and wacky and funny gifts from my co-workers. The tangible results of my waking hours for the last five years and six months nestled in one banker’s box. One small box was all I had to show for my hours of dedication, hard work, and determination.

The people I passed eyed me with pity, imagining the worst, imagining I had been “let go.” It left me with a hollow feeling in my chest and a tear threatened to cascade down my cheek. But I wasn’t crying for the obvious reasons. They were tears of joy for I had won my freedom.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Alone – 100WW: Week 75

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Title: Alone
Source: 100 Word Wednesday: Week 75
Word count: 100 words

Image by Bikurgurl

Lily glared at the people between her and the exit and swatted at the gold tassel tickling her cheek.

“Do you want pictures with your friends?”

“Mom, I don’t have any friends.”

Lily pushed forward not caring if her mother followed. What on earth did she imagine they had in common with an eleven-year-old “genius”? The valedictorian cords further alienated her from the rest of her class. Today was another hurdle to endure before she could begin the next phase of her plan; a degree in astrophysics from MIT. Today she was one step closer to finding her real family.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Big Trouble — FFfAW 169

/ JoHawkTheWriter

Title: Big Trouble
Source: Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers – Week of 06-12 through 06-18-2018
Word count: 160 words

Thank you Wildverbs for our photo prompt this week!

Big Trouble

Mia scrunched her nose and glanced over at Liam the troublemaker.

Every few weeks mother brought them here and told Mia to watch Liam. They would get ice cream when she returned.

Mia reminded Liam about the ice cream often, but sometimes it didn’t matter. One time she chased him around the bench. Another time he raced along the sidewalk turning to stick his tongue out at her. Each time she wrestled him back to the bench.

Today Liam sat still. Mia’s sigh of relief was Liam’s cue to wiggle and squirm his way toward the edge of the bench. She flung her arms around him as he struggled to escape.

Mia heard laughter and mother’s voice.

“You two are so cute.”

Mia let go and Liam jumped to his feet, raced towards the fountain and a second later he was knee deep in the water.

“Oh Liam, this baby better be like your sister.” Mother sighed waddling after him.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Final Exam — Three Line Tales, Week 124

/ JoHawkTheWriter

From Sonya’s 3LineTales at Only100Words.
You can find the original prompt here. Thank you, Sonya.

photo by Luis Alfonso Orellana via Unsplash

Final Exam

Edric was sure she was lost, but when she scrutinized her master’s directions for the umpteenth time everything checked out.

She shook her head sending her fiery red curls bouncing before she took a deep breath and continuing along the dark, intimidating street.

Making the last turn, the sight of two doors turned her blood to ice, and she knew her final training had begun.

______________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Never Again – FFfPP 2018 Week 23

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 5 Comments

Title: Never Again
Source: FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER- 2018 WEEK #23
Word count: 200 words

Jack Gittoes pexels-photo-761543 Concert

Neil stood in total darkness, surrounded by strangers. The crowd swayed with the drumbeat; it pulsed through his chest and radiated out to his extremities.  Heat competed with contrasting aromas emanating from the throng. It assaulted his senses leaving him overwhelmed.

A brilliant flash of light accompanied the crash of a cymbal before the venue plunged into shadows again. The glare echoed across his vision and Neil blinked. He no sooner regained his bearings in the gloom than the cymbal clashed, and the accompanying light blinded him once again. The intervals between the blasts shortened until it synchronized with the drumbeat.

The sight of the band emerging on stage pushed a deafening roar from the crowd overpowering the beat of the drum and the clash of the cymbal. Neil clapped his hands over his ears and turned searching for a way out.  He bounced against people fighting his way towards the green light and the door beneath it. Neil crashed through as music rushing from the stage propelled him forward. The door shuttered shut; he gasped and sputtered, falling to the floor in a heap.

Later in the safety of his car he deleted the band’s music from his phone.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Hysteria — Friday Fictioneers June 8, 2018

/ JoHawkTheWriter

Title: Hysteria
Source: Friday Fictioneers sponsored by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple
Word count: 100 words

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

She had been here before; she was sure. Or maybe somewhere similar? Alarm bells sounded, and her stomach tightened into a knot. How had she gotten here? The knot twisted her into a panic. Her eyes darted, scanning, looking for something, someone. Did no one fell the danger lurking here? Then she saw him. He stood below her, staring at her. She tried to move, to run, but instead, she was rooted to the floor, unable to break the connection he held. Terrified, frozen, she was desperate to escape. She heard screaming as the scene faded and darkness engulfed her.

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Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

Decision Time — 3 Line Tales

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From Sonya’s 3LineTales at Only100Words.
You can find the original prompt here. Thank you, Sonya.

photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin via Unsplash

Decision Time

Everything Evan knew lay a breath behind him.

Untold adventures, limitless possibilities, and trials he could not even imagine faced him.

What happened next would depend on whether he had the courage to step into the portal.

______________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer