writing

Betrayed – Thursday Threads

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 10 Comments

“My God, Charlene… He’s barely alive.” Contempt tainted Haley’s voice.

I didn’t respond. She dug in her tool bag, grabbed a long silver instrument, then she peeled back her palm, revealing the gaping hole in his chest.

I watched her frantic movements, letting the gun spin in my hands. She clamped lines, sopped ooze, trying to save him. I began to question my decision to call Haley. She was the best in her field. Maybe too good. I mean, what would happen if he lived?

“Charlene, will you give me a hand?”

I could tell by her tone, she wasn’t asking. She expected me to jump and do her bidding. She was my friend, but her only concern was saving him, not helping me.

“Charlene?”

“Doesn’t he deserve to die?”

“I can fix him,” she offered, almost pleading.

“Like you did last time?” My voice sounded harsh even to me.

“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“I’ve heard that before. I’d be a fool to help.”

A scenario flickered, then exploded in my mind.

“It’s been you all along, hasn’t it? You’re in love with your creation, your darling automaton. His devotion to me is killing you. You’re programming him to kill me.”

Haley’s face crinkled and felt her simmering hate.

“Yes, when you’re dead, he will love me.”

I saw his processor flicker, and his right hand grabbed her throat. He didn’t let go.

“I’m sorry,” were his last words, as I placed the gun in Haley’s lifeless hand.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

https://ko-fi.com/johawkthewriter#

Green Monsters – Friday Fictioneers

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 41 Comments

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

PHOTO PROMPT © Penny Gadd

I screamed when Mom showed me her newest houseplant. Barely bigger than my thumb, I begged her to destroy it. She laughed.

Each time I visited; it was larger, more menacing. It developed tendrils, and under each leaf, were sharp, curved barbs. They reminded me of claws. Mom was unconcerned.

I tried to enlist my brother’s help. She would listen to him. He called me crazy.

One day Mom didn’t answer her phone. In a panic, I drove her house. A green vine opened the door, invited me inside. I ran, with the sound of laughter ringing in my ears.

________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

https://ko-fi.com/johawkthewriter#

Revealing History – FFfPP

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 2 Comments

Title: Revealing History
Source:  FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER- 2017 WEEK #35
Word count: 200 words

Gertrude thirsted for world knowledge. She studied ancient history, immersing herself in worlds far removed from hers. It seemed natural she found herself in Crete excavating the magnificent Minoan palace. It covered multiple square miles and reached four stories high. Filled with passages, tiny rooms, corridors, great courtyards and evidence of running water, the complex mesmerized Gertrude.

They assigned her a splendid area to work, dig and document. Brilliant colored frescos emerged as she swept the dirt from the walls. Working alone in the room, a seated goddess stared back at her.

“Who are you?” she asked, letting her fingertips brush the woman’s dark pigmented hair.

That night the dreams started.

“My name is Kitane,” she said. The darkness lightened, she faced Gertrude and smiled.

Coal-black curls framed her face and cascaded across her shoulders. Charcoal circles smudged amber eyes, and she had painted her lips a rich mahogany color.

“You look exactly like your picture.”

“Pura was an excellent artisan who worked in my court.”

“Your court?” Gertrude’s voice quivered.

“There is much you do not know.”

“I want to learn. Will you teach me?”

“Seek, and you shall find,” Kitane said, bowing, her image receded into the shadows.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

https://ko-fi.com/johawkthewriter#

Can’t Take It with You – Flash Fiction Challenge

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 7 Comments

Title: Can’t Take It with You
Source:  Flash Fiction Challenge
Prompt: Write a story about the safebreaker’s daughter.
Word count:  99 words

His body lay dead and buried in the ground before Nydia met the man she had lived with for thirty-two years. He arranged his funeral, she signed the papers, and the undertaker handed her a yellow envelope bearing her carefully printed name.

An address and a key revealed a storage locker lined with shelves stuffed with labeled boxes. Thousands of them greeted her.

She opened the note with trembling hands:

Dearest Nydia,
I lied. My late nights were never at bars. I was a safecracker. The contents are here, chronicled, logged and stored. Consider them your inheritance.
Love,
Dad

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

https://ko-fi.com/johawkthewriter#

Scholarly Discussion – 3 Line Tales

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

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

photo by Manthan Gupta via Unsplash

What do you think of the fifth precept, “I undertake the training rule to abstain from fermented and distilled intoxicants which are the basis for heedlessness?” Samten asked as he leaned across the table.

Dakpa studied the coffee menu until Samten shifted restlessly in his chair.

“I think a double espresso should do the trick,” Dakpa said and with a twinkle in his eye.

______________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

https://ko-fi.com/johawkthewriter#

Going Home – 100 Word Wednesday

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 8 Comments

Title: Going Home
Source:  100 Word Wednesday: Week 135
Word count: 100 words

Image by Cyranny

“Be yourself,” Maeve said then paused. “Try to look normal.”

Colton raised an eyebrow.

“Maeve, I’m Cerulean.”

“You’re the only one who can open the gateway.”

Colton had agreed and now he waited, tapping his foot. Hoping he looked inconspicuous, he checked his chronoscope. The window was closing, and their next chance was decades from now. Colton couldn’t stay, but he didn’t want to leave them.

Finally, he saw Maeve and the others running toward him. He engaged the portal, and it whirled to life. Only seconds remained. He stepped through the portal and prayed they all made it home.

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

https://ko-fi.com/johawkthewriter#

Cosmic Intervention – Thursday Threads

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 3 Comments

Darrius suspended his hand above the ancient vessel. His blood pulsed, forming a tiny pool, before he turned his palm and allowed a single drop to fall. Black liquor rose, eager, like a lover yearning to possess his beloved. As they joined, he spoke the final words.

“Nunc Ostende Te.”

The explosion blinded him. The blast rang in his ears and beat in his brain. Somehow, he was still standing in a space devoid of light. The pain radiating from his chest silenced the screaming cut in his hand.

“Sirena?”

The booming in his head faded to a silence deeper than anything he had ever experienced. He reached his hands in front of him, patting the air where the table should have been. His mind raced, contemplating nefarious scenarios. His fingertips found coarse fabric. The burlap under the bowl. His fingers explored until they touched the rough stone. Darrius sighed, relived for only a second, when amber eyes materialized, floating in the darkness.

“Who are you?”

“It was you who summoned me,” the velvet soft voice oozed, seeping into his consciousness.

“The solicitation spell should have brought Sirena.”

“So, I’m not the one you expected?”

“Am I dead?”

“Hardly, darling,” the eyes blinked, hinting at seduction.

“Where’s Sirena?”

“She doesn’t love you, but I do.”

The ache in Darrius’ chest sank to the pit of his stomach.

“Thanks to your evil desires, you’ll have Eternity to experience my dark passions instead. Sirena is too good for the likes of you.”

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

https://ko-fi.com/johawkthewriter#

Follow Me – Friday Fictioneers

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 42 Comments

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

PHOTO PROMPT © Linda Kreger

Sasha’s quest for world domination was a slow process. Her extensive research in neuroscience and cult psychology formed the basis of her plan. Her studies confirmed the importance of preparing the subject’s mind, training and conditioning it to accept and execute her suggestions without question.

The first steps were simple. Couched in benign requests, few people objected, and peer pressure forced compliance as she led them through children’s games. They were rules of conduct even negligent parents taught their offspring. Sit quietly, don’t ask questions, follow the leader.

The next step was a compulsory five-minute rendition of the chicken dance.

________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

https://ko-fi.com/johawkthewriter#

A Matter of Timing – FFfPP

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 5 Comments

Title: A Matter of Timing
Source:  FLASH FICTION FOR THE PURPOSEFUL PRACTITIONER- 2017 WEEK #30
Word count: 200 words

Odette glanced at the building’s clock as she walked. Early as usual, and Derick would be late, calm, cool and bemused by her irritation. Her heart pounded, as she scanned the piazza. An old man leaning against a column, feeding the pigeons. A woman wearing a headscarf pushing a baby stroller. Cafe tables spilling onto the pavement, red-checked tablecloths flapping in the breeze.

That’s when she saw him. His ball cap obscuring his face, contrasting with neatly pressed trousers and a white button-down shirt. He touched his right ear, and Odette struggled to keep her panic under control.

She took the portico’s steps two at a time, cool air from the darkness beyond the open central doors hit her face. She concentrated on the darkest spot and wondered who waited inside.

She heard footsteps behind her. Running. She entered the building, reaching her target, she cut left and sprinted toward the exit. She leaned against the doorjamb in the dark, motionless.

Mr. Ball Cap and Miss Mom ran in, racing to the center of the rotunda, they looked for her. Odette slipped around the door, turned right, and hugged the wall.

Derick pulled up on his scooter, “Am I late?”

__________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

https://ko-fi.com/johawkthewriter#

Chalk Outline

/ JoHawkTheWriter / 5 Comments

The truth is lost in time. Erased by centuries of chest-pounding men. What power could a mere teenage girl lacking noble birth, hold over her betters? I’m here to tell you, women have their ways.

Fluent in Latin, an educated mind grasps diplomatic intricacies and gathers skillful, wealthy, and intellectual people into a formidable defensive circle. Ambitious men heed the girl’s counsel and indulge her whims. Ludovico the lover, patron of Milan provides influence and fortune. Rare books, animated discussions, beautiful music, and a sitting with the court painter are the order of the day. A compliment here, a good word there, helps ensure the rising star of a talented artist.

Tokens and favors are currency more valuable than gold. Love is not an emotion to consider when status, livelihood, and beneficial concords are the prize. Diplomacy dictates marriage alliances, and it sweeps aside feelings. But an acknowledged son forges deep bonds with his father and protocol insists on a mother’s security. A gift of Carmagnola Palace serves as a just reward and an advantageous wedding seal the deal.

My life would have been forgotten except for the brilliant painter and a young woman’s captured image as she tried to keep her one true love. The work was both cursed and charmed. Recused, hidden, found, exiled, stolen, almost destroyed, a heavy army boot left its insult upon my face. Its survival is a miracle

Safe today, the painter’s reputation dances with my legacy. For now, my story endures.

 

*** The chalk image is a representation of Lady with an Ermine – Cecilia Gallerani.  A painting by Leonardo da Vinci ***

_________________________________________

Keep on writing.

Jo Hawk The Writer

https://ko-fi.com/johawkthewriter#