Tag: 1st place

TOPIC OF THIS CONTEST WAS:

The three young boys were inseparable. Cool sunlight danced between rippling leaves as they traipsed through their favorite woods. Tommy saw a tree that was just right for climbing, ran to the trunk, and began shimmying his way up. His best friends busied themselves with the beginnings of a fort made of boughs and branches.

Suddenly, Tommy called out, “Oh my gosh! You guys won’t believe this!”

(Stories need only touch on this topic in some way to qualify.)

Read this one twice! 😉

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Tommy didn’t like his name, and couldn’t wait to be of age to change it. Lucien was his top choice but Hank hated it. Hank was perfectly comfortable with his name. His parents gave him Hank because of some writer guy Bukowski whose first name wasn’t even Hank but Charles. Tommy didn’t understand that. But he was only seven.

Cecil Ray, rounding out the trio, had no stake in whatever people chose to call him. He knew how irrelevant titles were, especially the one of Dad. Cecil Ray had had a few.

The boys talked about lots of things in the forest. Names. Dads. Cecil Ray liked to talk about his miserable adolescence but Hank didn’t seem to like that. His parents were perfect. He was an only child so his life incited jealousy in Tommy, who shared his room with his sister until Mum cleaned out the cubby underneath the stairs. Then, she promised Tommy his own space.

“Who do you think would win in a wrestling match, Sandy Koufax or Bob Gibson?” Hank asked Cecil Ray. Tommy felt Hank was always trying to impress the older boy even though he disliked how Cecil Ray complained so much. So, he asked what Tommy thought was dumb stuff. “I know they’re baseball, but still?”

“Gotta watch out for those lefties.” Cecil Ray made a career out of digging eyeliner crust from the corners of his eyes (which Hank thought were spooky green like Halloween limes). The current Dad threw a fit about the makeup but Cecil Ray watched his mother squelch all of his complaints. She was good at arguing. She stuck up for her son, but scolded him in private often enough.

“I think Gibby would nail it.” Hank wasn’t giving up. He was always the one with an opinion.

The three crested a hill that was slippery and Tommy got clay all down his pantleg when he lost his balance. It was Cecil Ray who took his hand, pulling him over the rise. The older boy was protective of Tommy. Even Hank, for that matter. Hank who found his way just fine over the wet leaves and clay of life.

Tommy spotted it first. A Christmas-morning feeling spread through his tummy as his friends followed his finger pointing to the object. It was a cobalt blue coaster bike lying in the ravine. Tommy was busy marveling at his luck when Cecil Ray spoke up.

“That’s my bike.”

“No way!” Tommy shrieked. “I saw it first. It’s mine!”

“No, I mean, it’s mine “today”.” Cecil Ray began down the incline towards it. Hank followed, and left Tommy to half-skid down the ravine by himself. Tommy thought Hank sucked most of the time. Hank was the least helpful of the personalities but he served a purpose even if he made Mum mad.

Mum didn’t want Hank in the house. She yelled at Tommy for speaking of him. She’d yell more if she found out Tommy faked taking his pills, Cecil Ray told him. Tommy liked having Cecil Ray around so fake it he did. Then, Hank came along. He ate all the peanut butter cookies, but was really good in school where Tommy wasn’t.

At the bottom of the hill, Tommy tumbled into Cecil Ray and the older boy surprised him by picking him up. “It’s okay,” Cecil Ray told him. “It’ll be easier to get home now.” “But,” Tommy whined, sensing himself getting smaller.

Cecil Ray shook his head. “This is my bike today. I’m the only one who can steer it. But, you guys can ride along.”

“I want to ride,” Hank said. “I want to get home.”

Of course Hank would. He was the goody two shoes. He got the privacy. Tommy longed for the cubby underneath the stairs but knew it wouldn’t be coming soon and that made him sad. Things were so “busy” in the young boy’s mind.

To just have some “space”…

But, there was Cecil Ray to keep it all straight. Cecil Ray often took the lead so Tommy didn’t have to.

“Tomorrow the bike’s yours,” Cecil Ray told Tommy. “Let me have it today.”

Cecil Ray’s makeup crust rested in the corner of Tommy’s eye, so he dug it out, and worked the bike up the other side of the ravine. There was a paved service road that would take him close to home. Hank could push it the rest of the way across the wide yard to Tommy’s house. The boys “were” inseparable.

The lone seven year old boy pushed off the tarmac, voices swimming inside his head. The static like a radio stuck between channels. The bike wobbled but stayed true.

“Hang on tight.” said Hank. “We might crash.”

But, by then, Tommy didn’t even care. He whistled along with Cecil Ray, and enjoyed the cool sunlight as he sped towards home.

He whistled along with Cecil Ray, and enjoyed the cool sunlight as he sped towards home.

TOPIC OF THIS CONTEST WAS:

Everybody else was driving south. Miles and miles of thousands of vehicles crawling, bumper to bumper, with many pulled over to the side. She grieved for the freezing people but she could not stop to help. She was the only person heading north on the freeway. Her chest tightened as she glanced at the small box she clenched in her hand. Miles and miles of empty lanes yet the snow kept getting heavier. Even with her snow tires, she didn’t know if she’d make in time for…

(Stories need only touch on this topic in some way to qualify.)

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It was a sick joke.

It’ll happen when hell freezes over. Ha-ha!

The phrase repeated itself over and over in Salem’s mind. She couldn’t believe the audacity of the universe to allow such an idiotic prank to be played.

Hell was literally beginning to freeze over, and she had to fix it.

If God was truly sitting among the clouds way above, He had a wicked sense of humor.

Outside her window, as her truck moved further towards the craggly edge of hell’s immense outer cavern, the pillars of once scorching red rock looked paradoxically chilly as their flames were extinguished by piles of white snow. One of her hands massaged her temple, fingers pressing against the gnarled skin where her left horn protruded from her skull. Her other hand rested limply on the steering wheel.

“This damned highway goes on forever…” Salem glowered a bit more intensely, embers flying off her crimson skin as she stared boredly past her windshield.

Across the barrier, thousands of rusted demonic vehicles were rushing south, and even past the howling winter winds, she could hear the piercing sound of tortured souls being frozen alive as they tried to migrate to warmer regions. She spared the masses a glance of pity and stomped on the gas harder. Her job was to figure out where this freezing draft was coming from and seal it with magma. Simple enough. Once that was done, those souls could stop suffering from frostbite, and return to suffering from blazing whips. Then she could return to another magma construction job. Then another, and another for eternity.

She sighed, shook that dread away, and drove deeper into the hellish snowstorm.

***

The hole in hell’s cave walls was large enough to walk through, but it was hidden behind billowing snow and pillars of rock. Salem carefully crawled up the rocky pathways, carrying a small box labeled “Mephistopheles’ Infinite Magma! For Patching Hellish Holes”.

At the mouth of the hole, Salem only saw white. Snow was flying through a tunnel that led to the overworld and she…

The overworld. Earth. Life.

No, no.

It wouldn’t be that simple. She’d be punished. She couldn’t return to the living world… She’d…

She looked back down the tunnel to the land of red rock cast in white, then sprinted for the overworld.

***

It had been decades since she’d felt such clear air, but as much as she wanted to celebrate, the bitter cold was not something her demonic body could take for long. It ripped at her skin, and she pulled her thin cloak closer to her as she walked out of the cave and into a snowstorm.

Every step she took, her body roared in pain. The winds screeched as well, as if providing a harmony. If she wanted to enjoy even an hour of the overworld, she’d have to find a fire, as her own infernal one was dimming.

The landscape around her was covered in white, except for an azure frozen lake where she saw a small figure flailing at its edge. Past him, Salem saw smoke in the distance, probably a village. If she could just sprint in that direction maybeó The child screamed. He needed help. Salem glanced between the smoke and the lake, then after a few fiery swears, she staggered towards the lake.

The boy stared agape at her monstrous horned body, but continued beckoning towards his dog, a small spitz struggling under the ice.

Quickly, her sharp claws raked through the ice and water, eliciting hoarse hisses from Salem. She grabbed the squirming spitz by its collar, and tossed it over towards the boy.

“Kiitos,” he whispered, in a language Salem did not recognize. Hugging the trembling dog in his arms, he scurried towards the smoke in the distance, just as Salem stumbled to her knees, burrowing deep into the snow.

The gnawing cold was unlike any pain she’d felt. Her body shuddered, and she had no strength to even gasp as she watched her skin beginning to crack and crumble into the air.

Demons were not meant to traverse beyond the sweltering conditions of the underworld.

A faultline along her thigh deepened, and a chunk of her legs broke off and disintegrated. Then cracks moved up along her torso, chips of her stomach fluttering off, joining the storm.

The life and un-life she lived flashed through her thoughts, a sprawling mosaic that was more painful than nostalgic. Visions of her childhood, her sinful adulthood, her meaningless demise, the smell of sulphur as she awoke submerged in lava, and the decades she spent crawling out of the gutters just to be turned into harsh labor for an undead society. The memories spiraled around her like icy flurries in the wind, as she felt her consciousness slipping.

Her breaths were ragged, but a murmur of the Our Father crawled out of her throat. It burned to say, and she’d forgotten half the words.

She didn’t think it had any use. Salem doubted any God or Devil would accept her in their afterlife after the things she had done, but she had to have gotten at least a couple brownie points with the cherubim for saving that damn dog. If she had any energy left, she’d have laughed at her own naivete.

She waited for death patiently, staring at glimpses of navy skies as gray clouds began to part.

As Salem finally died a second time, she hoped that wherever she went, it would at least be better than hell.

  TOPIC OF THIS CONTEST WAS:

She squinted at the dark yellow leaves blowing in through the broken window, scattering to the corners of the room. She’d never had any friends and she had her translucent white skin and pink eyes to thank for that. Never attending school didn’t help her social status, either. Yet, on this night, she found herself huddled on the freezing floor of an abandoned hunting shack, surrounded by girls she’d passed near the woods. She startled when the one of them leaned forward, and spat, “Truth or Dare?!”

(Stories need only touch on this topic in some way to qualify.)

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The leaves crunch under my shoeless feet as I meander the woodland path. Archangel Gabriel calls this grounding, when angels’ feet connect with the Earth’s electrons, transferring energy into the soul. An earthing session for a high-dimensional angelic like myself fuels my existence. I am a GAIT, guardian angel in training, thriving under Gabriel’s House with a multitude of rules that prevent accidental guardianship.

Since I have been on Earth, I have had no friends, never attended school, and I don’t know what social status feels like. I wonder if I were a human would I be popular, funny, athletic, a nerd, a loner, a loser, disabled, a non-conformist, artistic, or a musician? I secretly crave knowing my Earthly potential, a sentiment embarrassingly filthy.

A log cabin shack along the trail is usually occupied by hunters. Tonight, instead of men sharing swigs of whiskey, I detect high-spirited cackling. The aroma of burning wood lures me toward a low, cracked window. I squint past the dark yellow leaves scattered to the corners of the room. Five girls huddle by the fire, sharing secrets. These girls resemble what I feel that I could be if I were not a GAIT. They are shapely humans with silky hair, creamy skin, and lips that pitch sounds of happiness.

I should take custody of my thoughts; these lower human vibrations are only a trap of instant gratification, like pornography for the angelic soul. One girl glances toward the window, and mouths, “Come in from the cold.”

A surge of desire rushes through me. I step into the shack, radiating jewel-tones that scatter across the wood floor in a delicate pattern like a stained-glass window.

“Come by the fire, you look like you are freezing,” the girl wearing a hooded sweatshirt says. “You are totally pale. Are you feeling okay? Wait, you don’t have conjunctivitis, do you?”

The girls flash their high-wattage smiles, then make room to accept me in their huddle on the freezing floor, despite my shocking translucent white skin and other-worldly pink eyes. I fold my legs to sit like them.

“Truth or dare?” the girl with a knit hat says to me. The truth is I have never been to school like them, I don’t have friends or freedom from GAIT to hang out like this, and the complicated angelic truths are not for humans to comprehend.

“Dare,” I reply, and emit a low giggle that sounds like them.

The girl in the hoodie plucks six fluffy marshmallows from a plastic bag, and spears them through the center with a stick. She rotates them above the fire.

Stuff these all in your mouth and swallow them without gagging. If you puke, then you tell us a truth,” she says, handing me the hot stick.

I slide the long row of roasted marshmallows toward my throat. My cheeks puff out as I shift around this pasty medicinal convection derived from the ancient root of Althaea officinalis. The sugary, gummy texture is repulsive but these human girls are obviously partial to this delicacy as they brought a surplus with them. Once I swallow the last glob down, I show them my empty mouth.

OMG, you did it!” the girl in the hat shrieks. She holds out her fist for me to bump my knuckles, a sign of human approval. Now you have to ask Jillian truth or dare.”

Jillian nervously says dare. I line up six fat marshmallows on the stick, roast them, and tell her to eat them just like I had to. Jillian crams the charred marshmallows into the recesses of her mouth, but as she starts to chew them, a marshmallow wad lodges in her throat and she convulses. Instead of spitting them out, she swallows harder, driving them deep into her throat. Jillian’s eyes spiral and her rosy complexion turns blue before she slumps over, and her head hits the floor. She stops breathing as her body turns rigid.

The friends thump on her back, attempting to dislodge the marshmallow mass. Only I can see her sweet soul lifting out of her earthly body, drifting like a butterfly into the spirit world. I reach upward for Jillian’s hands so I can pull her back to this world where she must pursue her earthly dreams. It’s not her time.

Jillian cooperates with me as she reconnects with her body. Her relieved friends hug her. They don’t notice as my translucent skin dissolves into miniscule electron particles that envelope her body and soul like lights around a Christmas tree.

I am no longer grounded on Earth as I am now tagged as Jillian’s guardian angel. This is much sooner than what Gabriel’s House ruled, but to me, escaping the confines of solitary repose to experience a hint of human friendship was worth the risk.

TOPIC OF THIS CONTEST WAS:

Their trips to the drive-in movie theater were always the same. He would fall asleep and she would quietly leave the vehicle to get popcorn, Milk Duds, and soda. As she walked back with her goodies, the car-side speakers stopped and the screen went black, throwing the entire lot into darkness. She stopped, temporarily blinded. Then, the screen lit back up again, showing…

(Stories need only touch on this topic in some way to qualify.)  

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Scooter likes movies. Even more, he likes the car. Sometimes the car takes them to the lake to swim. Other times, he gets french fries at the drive-up window. Even when it’s just errands, he always gets to stick his head out the window, tasting the smells on the air and enjoying the wind in his fur.

Mostly, though, he likes going places with Dylan. And lately — since Aimee stopped coming around at least — it seems like drive-in movies are Dylan’s favorite thing. So now they’re Scooter’s favorite, too.

The drive-in smells like cars. Oil. Gasoline. Hot rubber tires coated in the lingering scent of asphalt. Under that car smell is people. Lots of people. Scooter smells date-people — clean and shampooed and sometimes doused in cologne — and family-people, too. Kids smell better than most big people, like sunshine, grass, and sweat. Fun.

More than anything, though, the drive-in smells like food. Popcorn is king, and its delectable scent travels far and wide. More discerning noses, like Scooter’s, notice rich undertones of chocolate mingling with high notes of nacho cheese. Add the meaty scents of hot dogs and pepperoni pizza and it’s a perfect symphony of smell.

Not that Dylan buys food. Ever. Scooter, thinking maybe this foolishness was Aimee’s fault, was excited the first time they came alone. Maybe Dylan would buy hot dogs or even a bucket of popcorn. But, no. Though he’s grateful for the bowl of kibble at home, Scooter swallows his disappointment. Drive-in food is clearly not part of Dylan’s plan.

Tonight, they’re watching a superhero movie. Scooter doesn’t know which one. It’s hard to distinguish costumes without seeing colors but the soundtrack is killer. Dylan reclines his seat and Scooter’s tail thumps happily.

Whenever Dylan reclines, he sleeps.

The first time it happened, Scooter missed the opportunity entirely. He stayed, loyal and obedient, by Dylan’s side, watching the second half of a double feature — a slasher film soaked in colorless blood, alone. He’s since realized his mistake.

Tonight, Dylan’s first snore is quiet, more of a gasp-snort-sigh than a true snore at all. Scooter cringes at the series of explosions onscreen, each one louder than the one before. But Dylan sleeps through it all, the roar of engines and screaming bystanders barely eliciting a snuffle.

That’s when he knows Dylan’s really out.

One tidy hop and Scooter has four paws on weed-choked gravel. He shakes out his fur and pants happily. Freedom.

His stomach growls. It’s time to find some grub.

He cocks his ears, listening for the voices of children. Kids are the most likely to be talking throughout the film. Their attention span is even shorter than Scooter’s. That’s good news for a dog, though. He trots between the cars, peeking into windows and open tailgates. Kids always have food.

As usual, there’s plenty of popcorn, and an old man tosses an entire hot dog out the window of his truck. Scooter catches it neatly in his mouth — people are way more likely to throw more when he catches — and makes short work of it. One little boy offers him some M&Ms cupped in his grubby hands, but an older sibling snatches them back. “Chocolate can kill dogs!” she cries.

Scooter, who remembers that he once knew that fact, was nonetheless about to lap the child’s entire offering into his mouth, so he’s relieved for the last-minute save. When both children offer up hands filled with goldfish crackers, he knows he’s hit a jackpot.

Snaking his way between the rows of cars, up and down columns, Scooter takes the opportunity to indulge in a little extra sniffing. He meets four other dogs that night. Most are securely inside their vehicles, but a sleek little terrier mix with one dark-brown ear seems to be indulging in the same routine as Scooter.

A cursory sniff reveals that she isn’t spayed. Scooter, too, has avoided the embarrassment of neutering. Dylan cancelled the appointment with the vet, citing a feeling of solidarity that Scooter didn’t understand, but could definitely appreciate. Now he does his best to ensure that there will be terrier-shepherd puppies in her future.

With a full belly and a general feeling of doggie satisfaction, Scooter trots back toward Dylan’s car. He’d stopped paying any attention at all to the film, and so it takes him completely off guard when the screen goes dark. The car-side speakers, usually too loud for his sensitive ears, fall quiet. In a rare moment of panic, Scooter worries that it’s time to leave. He barks and picks up speed, afraid that Dylan will go home and forget all about his best friend.

His heart surges when he recognizes Dylan’s car — it smells exactly like his socks — exactly where he remembers leaving it. He bounds into the window on the passenger side, out of breath and drooling. Two things happen at once: the screen bursts back to life in dazzling black-and-white, and Dylan shifts in his sleep, murmuring something that sounds like “Aimee,” though Scooter is equally certain it could’ve been “frisbee.”

The second film turns out to be Lady and the Tramp. Nice! Scooter settles into the seat next to Dylan, deciding he can let his friend sleep after all. He’s happy enough to lose himself in the romance of this particular film, the intoxicating brown eyes of a certain terrier never far from his thoughts.

TOPIC OF THIS CONTEST WAS:

Bluebonnets danced around her white skirt as she turned her face toward the sun. She only needed a few for the vase. Perhaps a little joy would soothe the inevitable unease at the table that night. It was always tense when meeting with her neighbors. She hoped enough time had passed. They had to know there was nothing she could do to change what had happened, right?

(Stories need only touch on this topic in some way to qualify.)  

 

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Blue bonnet stew was on the menu today.

Niara, one of only a few sanctioned farmers in Vishal, the land of giants, approached a sprawling enclosure she’d fashioned using gargantuan boulders. Every crack had been painstakingly plugged with earth plaster and rock, an especially important task when raising bonnets. They were mischievous little creatures, escape artists by nature.

Niara turned her face toward the sun. There was little time left to deliver her harvested ingredients to the cook before lunch. Vishal giants lived communally, and she was expected to contribute her share. She hurried over the wall.

Colorful bonnets scattered at the sight of her. They were notoriously skittish. A vase-like bowl in hand, Niara began picking blue-bonnets. They squirmed and screamed as she snatched their tiny bodies up off the ground.

One by one, they went into the bowl.

Eight, nine…ten. Just five more to fulfill her farm’s quota, yet she couldn’t see any more.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” she sang. They were growing increasingly sneaky and adept at hiding. She’d have to dig up the enclosure for hidey-holes again soon.

Naira had created the categorization system all by herself, back when bonnets were still called ‘people’. Blue for females, black for males, and yellow for children. Red bonnets denoted elderly stock, very rare.

Having the system meant giants could discern between flavours with ease. Niara had been celebrated throughout all of Vishal, and her giant heart overflowed with excitement…until the incident.

She lifted and checked countless tiny wood houses and barns. Bonnets of all varieties scurried about. Niara grabbed a blue one, shaking off a clingy black and yellow. They’d latched on tight, refusing to let go. It was so irritating when they did that.

The little yellow wasn’t even wearing a bonnet. She growled. They were forever switching colours around, or removing them entirely. Especially yellows. Niara supposed she understood why these ‘people’ would so fiercely protect the youngest of the herd, but that didn’t make it any less aggravating.

Every single time she harvested, she had to diligently check they weren’t mislabeled.

Her bowl full, Niara slung her bag over her shoulder and headed into the village. As was common practice now, she scrubbed each bonnet clean, presenting them for approval before the cook would allow her to drop them into the stew pot. He nodded.

She turned, walking to the pot to release her fresh ingredients. Giving it a thorough stir, she smiled back at the cook. “Looks delicious.”

The grumpy giant scowled.

In the dining area, Niara avoided making eye contact with her brethren as she found her seat. It was always tense meeting with her neighbors, their eyes belying a lingering resentment she’d hoped would have dissipated by now.

It hadn’t.

Enough time had passed. Five long years. Niara had apologized, explained, and been found innocent by the high council…yet giants, it seemed, were prolific grudge-holders.

Niara remembered it vividly. It had been black-bonnet burrito day, and she’d harvested like always. Not noticing that the little wretches had slathered their bodies head to toe with a concoction poisonous to giants, she set off to deliver them to the cook.

But on that fateful day, two giant children living next door had intercepted her, begging for a snack, full of smiles. Swearing them to secrecy with a wink and a grin, she’d given them a body each to munch.

Minutes later, they were dead.

How could she have known that bonnets might be so intelligent? Such a thing was unheard of. Niara blinked her tears away.

“Murderer,” Olwyn, the children’s mother spat as she passed, sitting at a table nearby. Niara shifted uncomfortably in her seat, staring down at her hands until the meal came.

Each bulbous-bodied giant received a steaming bowlful of blue-bonnet stew. Sounds of slurping and vigorous teeth gnashing surrounded Niara as her giant brethren devoured their share. Having no appetite, she sighed, picking out tiny bits of ‘people’ clothing mixed within the gravy.

She leaned back when the coughing started.

Around the room, desperate hands scrabbled at necklines, sweat dripped, and eyes bugged out. Niara crossed her arms, smiling.

One by one, their heads hit the table.

Niara stood and walked over to her gasping neighbor. They’d brought this upon themselves. All of them, with their unforgiving hatred. Nobody had noticed the small vial she’d poured in place of her blue-bonnets. Bending to Olwyn’s ear, she whispered, “Murderer indeed.”

Moments later, only silence remained. She realized revenge was bittersweet.

She was alone now.

Niara returned to her farm, and yanked a boulder free from the bonnet enclosure, tossing it to the side with a heavy thud. She retrieved the fifteen blues from her bag, all alive and well.

“It was important to follow routine. I had to present you to the cook to get close to the pot,” she explained matter-of-factly. “I will honor our deal. In exchange for your poison, you are free.” She set down the handful of tiny ‘people’, waving them onward.

A mob of bonnets rushed to escape the enclosure, movements swift, lest she change her mind. They ran far and fast, without looking back. And she didn’t blame them.

They were smarter than they looked.

TOPIC OF THIS CONTEST WAS:

The townsfolk talked but she didn’t care. Day after day, she lugged her saw, a bucket, a homemade fishing pole, and bait across the frozen lake. Once there, she sat shivering while waiting for the telltale tug from a creature of the deep. This torturous task wasn’t for the fairer sex but what choice did she have? On that particular day, as clouds and a north wind rolled in from the mountains, she noticed two little boys at the edge of the lake, shouting and pointing…

(Stories need only touch on this topic in some way to qualify.)

 

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The townsfolk talked but she didn’t care. Day after day, she lugged her saw, a bucket, a homemade fishing pole, and bait across the frozen lake. Once there, she sat shivering while waiting for the telltale tug from a creature of the deep. On that particular day she noticed her two little boys at the edge of the lake, shouting and pointing…

And for the first time in years she thought of her late father’s ominous warning.

Dad was a construction engineer back in the Fifties when they damned the river and created this lake. Work was hard to find and news of the massive undertaking promised him months if not years of steady employment. She remembered how incensed he’d been when he found out the project wasn’t utilizing local labor and instead the Army Corp of Engineers would be handling the task.
Curious as to why the army would be called in for a job which seemingly served no military purpose, he snuck out one evening to investigate under cover of darkness.

What her father saw that night would haunt him for the remainder of his years and when he tried to warn the townsfolk of the horror he had witnessed the whispers began.

Until then her dad was well-respected in the small mountain community, but afterwards he was treated like a pariah.

The townsfolk didn’t take to crazy-talk or doomsayers and stories about boogeymen and the end of the world qualified on both counts.

The plan was to move far away once Dad passed, but her boys loved it here and she didn’t have the heart to tear them away from the only home they’d ever known. And despite the sideways glances she occasionally had to endure, this was her home too and she vowed to never leave.

She had fond memories of childhood winters spent ice-fishing while her old man kept vigilant watch over the lake while praying that the horror lurking beneath the ice would not roar to life and wreak devastation while he still breathed.

The world was a dangerous place back then and although she was too young to grasp the peril she could see it in her father’s eyes. Even still, they would continue to venture to the lake religiously where he would stand vigil while she sunk a fishing line in to the murky depths hoping to hook the elusive monster so her father would stop worrying

Sensing her fear, he would tell her the horrors below were sleeping and as long as people loved their children more than they loved themselves she would never have a reason to be afraid.

Then he would bait her hook and tell her how much he loved her.

And she would feel safe.

Decades passed and times changed. The world became a safer place and her father spent his golden years sitting on the shore while she continued her ongoing quest to catch the lake’s monster even though he assured her that the time of monsters had passed.

Sadly, dad perished three years later, but on his deathbed he pulled her close and reminded her to love her children lest the horror be awakened, and she promised him she would.

Now, her two boys had taken up her mission and she would recount her dad’s story while they fished for his monster as she stood watch, scanning the lake just like her father before her.

The world had become a dangerous place again. Hate was now preached from the highest pulpit to mindless minions and society had lost the capacity to love.

She feared the horror would awaken and she hoped her father’s ominous prophecy would never come to pass, but when she heard her boys screaming and pointing out over the water she knew the day she dreaded had arrived.

Running in a cold panic on cracked ice, she frantically struggled to reach the shore as crevices ripped through the surface and water erupted at her feet.

Jumping from berg to berg while the entire lake convulsed and ruptured, she finally reached land and her terrified children.

The horror…

Six nosecones broke the surface and a half-dozen intercontinental ballistic missiles ascended spitting fire in their wake. Waking from their long nap, the ICBM’s tore free from the ice and flew north carrying nuclear payloads which would soon rain death upon mothers and sons who were no more at fault than she and her boys.

Somewhere over the Arctic Circle the northbound missiles would pass the enemy’s southbound ICBM’s.

The end would come quickly but not mercifully.

Knowing their time was short, she found no satisfaction in the knowing the townsfolk would soon be proven wrong.

The fear in her children’s eyes reminded her of her father’s dying words and she knew immediately what to do.

Holding her boys tight she calmed them by pointing out that the horror had left and she baited their hooks while silently praying for their safety.

As the incoming enemy ICBM’s approached on the horizon, she told her boys how much she loved them and kissed them for the last time.

The time of monsters had reached its end.

TOPIC OF THIS CONTEST WAS:

The two children were laughing as they tried to catch the red leaves raining down from the sugar maples. A cold wind brought the promise of frost by morning and she shivered as she tried to keep the children on the narrow path. A fall in the river would be dangerous this time of year. When she glanced up, she instinctively reached for the children’s hands. A man, whose untucked shirt was dripping with red, was approaching. As he got closer, he showed a toothless grin, tipped his hat politely, and said…

(Stories need only touch on this topic in some way to qualify.)

 

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“Them bears are gonna getcha!”

That’s what Mama always said when I took my little journeys with Papa’s old Winchester into the Kentucky woods. If I ran into a bear, it’d be instant death.

I did run into a bear. It was not instant death, but I kind of wished it was. Mama was wrong for once, but of course I wouldn’t get the chance to tell her.

When it got me, my teeth were knocked out. My untucked shirt was soaked with my own red blood. I was pretty sure I could smell my own torn insides. I was pretty roughed up.

It got me while I was nibbling on some hard tack. She sneaked up behind me when I wasn’t looking.

I figured she must have shared my opinion about Mama’s recipe for a delicious biscuit. Mama taught it to me before she went on to glory a while back. That recipe and all the lessons were about all Mama left me.

I didn’t think a bear would just hurt a man and leave, but this one did that and took my hat.

I wandered through the snowy woods, stumbling and bleeding. It’s a good thing there weren’t wolves sniffing around there at the moment.

Along the river I walked. There was a clean sheet of ice over the quick water underneath. More instant death. If I fell in, it’d be the end of me.

“If you’re swimming, it’s not early spring.” Mama said that. She sure did try to keep me safe.

I stopped and stared at the water. It never made sense to me – the still ice and the rushing water. It’s like see-through skin on top with clear, cold blood running underneath. I felt uneasy at that thought, so I kept walking.

There was a dark, familiar-looking lump on the ground a good way ahead of me. As I got closer, I realized it was my coonskin hat! If I could run at the time, I would have rushed over to it. Mama made it to keep my head warm. There’s plenty that’ll get you in the deep woods, but the cold in early spring is the sneakiest. Sometimes you don’t expect it, but Mama made sure my head was all right.

The sun started to get low. There was orange spreading across the sky. I’d usually try to find a branch or two to chop by now so I could make a fire. You have to be careful about the falling branches. They’re deadly! Mama told me that’s what got Papa.

I couldn’t spend time making a fire. I had a bear to catch.

Time wasn’t really on my side, anyway. Other times, I’d have maybe even gone home for the night, but I was in a bad way and this bear needed killing. So, I kept marching. I had maybe an hour of light and a little less time of strength in my ripped-up body.

When you’re moving around the hill country, you do well to keep an eye out. I’d normally walk on the ridge that gave me the best view all around. Coming around a blind corner was a good way to meet up with a big, hungry creature. But when your insides are dripping out, you got to do what you got to do, so I kept on the riverside trail.

I walked around the bend in the river, right before my good summertime fishing spot. I figured that’s where I’d be if I were a bear.

There she was. The lady herself was right in front of me. I took aim with my repeater rifle.

She stood on her hind legs and looked straight at me. It was nice. You’d have thought that she had some kind of respect.

I had a bead right on her throat. One clean shot and that would have been that. I don’t know what good it would do for me, but it felt right at the time. I put some tension on the trigger.

That’s when two cubs waddled out from behind her. Their fur looked so fuzzy. It had to be softer than anything I ever dreamed of feeling. They were stumbling, but they weren’t afraid. They weren’t upset. They had their mama.

I suppose she was just a mother defending her children. I understood. A mama has a need to take care of her babies.

I lowered my rifle. It really wouldn’t do to leave young ones so small without a mother.

What would have been the point? I didn’t have much left in me, to put it nicely. It’s not like I was going to make it home with a fresh hide.

I tipped my hat and said, “You have a nice dinner, ma’am.”

I sat down in the snow.

I shook my head.

Them bears…

TOPIC OF THIS CONTEST WAS:

It was horribly hot but her husband insisted on sitting outside. The sun’s glare on the water left spots in the pigments of her eyes. Blinking, she watched a silhouette approach. The woman’s arms were crossed and her red fingernails contrasted sharply with her white, see-through dress. She stopped short in front of both of them. The man’s wife craned her neck as her husband stood up. She then bowed her head, whispering, “Not again…”

(Stories need only touch on this topic in some way to qualify.)

 

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Eva woke to the sun streaming through the windows of the bedroom. She squinted against the light as she rolled over to greet her husband. The covers on his side of the bed were already tossed aside, his place empty.

Her bare feet hit the cool hardwood floor. She padded down the hall toward a large window facing the garden of roses that Hector had planted. She stopped at the door just before the window, and peered through the crack to see Hector sitting in the rocking chair.

“Hector?” she asked softly. “You okay?”

“Ten years later and I still miss her…”

Eva entered, keeping her eyes on Hector, not on the bed in the corner with Princess Belle sheets, or the tiny, overstuffed bookshelf. “I know,” she replied, laying a hand on his shoulder, “I miss her, too.”

When Hector didn’t respond, Eva sighed, overwhelmed. “I’m going back to bed.”

Hector caught her hand. “No,” he said, “The doctors said not to let you stay in bed all day. Let’s go outside and watch the birds for a little while. I know you like the birds.”

Too tired to argue, Eva nodded. Hector stood and gave her hand a squeeze as they made their way out the door to their front porch. They sat on the porch swing overlooking their private pond. The glare off the water made Eva’s head pound and left spots in her vision. One spot in particular seemed to materialize out of the water, leaving a white stain in her sight. She blinked, trying to get it to disappear, but it only moved closer.

She narrowed her eyes to see the figure clearer. It was a young woman, dressed in a sopping wet nightgown. Her nails were blood red against her porcelain skin.

Eva’s face paled. She looked to her husband. He noticed her expression and sighed before rising and walking to the garden. Eva looked back to the woman who was growing even closer.

“No,” she whispered, “Not again…”

“Schizophrenia,” the first doctor had called it.

“PTSD,” claimed the second.

“Grief,” said the last.

The general consensus was that no one knew why Eva saw their daughter who had vanished ten years before.

Eva had watched her grow before her eyes, but Hector only saw the deterioration of his wife; only heard his daughter’s thoughts through Eva’s frantic night terrors.

Now, Rose was there again, walking across the driveway, her eyes locked on Eva’s. Something was off. Her face was thinner, her stride more confident, her eyes cold. Eva had been confronted by her daughter before, but this was different. Eva leapt from her chair and rushed inside, locking the door behind her.

She stood gripping the back of a chair as she watched the figure approach the door. Eva gasped in horror as the door unlocked and opened with ease.

“Rose,” Eva trembled, “It’s good to see you…”

“Don’t lie to me,” the young woman snapped, “We both know what you did.”

Eva stepped back as the woman approached. “No, I didn’t mean that… You know that.”

“Stop lying,” the figure commanded, “You’ve been lying to everyone, but you can’t lie to yourself. You know what you did.”

“No… I didn’t!” Eva cried. She flinched as the figure tried to touch her. Eva made a break for the door, slamming it behind her. “Hector!” she screamed desperately. When the hallucinations had started, Hector would hold her until they went away. That slowly stopped; instead he would abandon her, leaving her to struggle on her own. He said it hurt him too much.

Eva heard the door reopen and shut again behind her. “No,” she begged, “No, no, no!” Eva ran to the garden gate, but it was locked. “Hector!” she screamed, but there was no response.

She turned to see the woman getting closer. Eva dashed across the driveway toward the pond, ignoring the stones cutting into her feet.

“Say it!” The woman shouted after her, “Say it and I’ll leave!”

“No! Please, Rose!” Eva cried. Before long, she was at the edge of the pond. The woman was suddenly upon her, shoving her backward. Eva landed in the pond with a splash. “Rose, please!” Eva begged through tears.

“Say it,” the woman demanded, “Say it.”

“I’m sorry!”

The woman pushed her under. Eva struggled, screaming under the water, the bubbles rising quickly to the surface that was just out of reach. Eva was pulled back up.

“Admit what you did,” the woman growled.

“I did it,” Eva broke, “I killed you…”

“How?”

“I brought you to the pond in the middle of the night…”

“And what did you tell Dad?”

“I told him I didn’t know what happened… Let him think you disappeared,” Eva said weakly. “But I wasn’t… sane. I loved you.”

“If you loved me, you would’ve let them find my body.”

Eva screamed again as her head was forced underwater. She scratched the woman’s arms as Rose had scratched her arms ten years ago. She kicked and fought, but it was no use. Her vision went dark around the edges and her lungs burned.

Her body went limp and the woman let her go. Through the closing tunnel of her vision, she saw Hector approach the woman. She handed him a key, and he handed her a wad of cash.

Eva’s heart stopped just as she heard her husband’s distorted voice through the water, “If only Eva knew what she said in her sleep.”

TOPIC OF THIS CONTEST WAS:

The air pressure changed suddenly and the wind began to wail. Yawning to pop her ears, she glanced out the cabin window, and saw dark purple storm clouds racing over the hill. It looked like a bad one. Remembering the puppy was still outside, she ran to the door, and called him. He didn’t appear. She quickly walked outside, and found him frantically digging at the dirt near the rickety fence. She called him again and he looked back, whined, and continued digging. A blast of ice cold air slapped her in the face and then…

(Stories need only touch on this topic in some way to qualify.)

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THE HAPPY DOG, splashing muck everywhere, worked furiously, digging at something along the fence, ignoring the beckoning whistle. The prize appeared to be anchored to something unseen. Watching from the stoop, the man sighed, pulled his sweater close, and stepped out into the cold, heartless rain.

It was a purple ribbon–her favourite one. Kneeling in the growing puddle, one hand gripping the dog’s collar, the other hand tightened on the rumpled cloth lifeline. How many times had they searched for this same ribbon? The angry wind howled as his mind followed the twisted silk deep into the earth, the wind screaming and moaning, pelting him with rain.

Motionless, head bowed, his shoulders, so strong one might think the world could be balanced upon them, slowly crumpled as memories flooded his mind.

It was just a ribbon, but it was purple, and that made it specialóso very special.

How did something as cheap and disposable as a dollar store ribbon prove to be more enduring than his bold, unstoppable child? Fate was mocking him.

His mind wandered back to the yard, the swing, the many hours spent in song, so much song! It wasn’t the dog snuffling under his hand, nor was it the hard cold rain smacking his head and face, soaking him clear to the bone, or the arthritic knee he blew out playing soccer as a kid. What reminded him he was still alive came from far away, carried on the wind, gently and sweetly, and if he kept his eyes closed he could hear that sweet voice.

It was a memory, yet in his mind it was clear and strong and beautiful, the song in the chaotic wind moved around him and through him, finding its way into his damaged and weary heart. With his eyes closed, he could see her playing on the swing, giggling in the sprinkler, gently digging worms, naming each one before tucking it gently into the flower bed.

He remembered all of it. Insisting mother cut her hair short, then wearing coloured leotards on her head, claiming it was her magical wig. Not just the one time, but for three years straight. When she finally let her hair grow, it was the richest shade of chestnut, thick and shiny. No leotard could match such a crowning glory!

Younger still, in her high chair, being handed a bowl of pasta. The noodles carefully dumped out on the tray, spoon tossed aside, the bowl placed haphazardly on her head, and then the meal would commence. Grinning with joy as red, sticky sauce dripped down her face, rouging her cheeks. She would gobble the noodles one by one until a nap claimed her.

Nothing kept her spirit down. Every day was full of laughter, song, and dance. There were no boring moments. She LOVED life!

When exactly did the smile begin to fade? It was hard to say, really. Teen years are always hard, a rite of passage. She was fine, cruising along, navigating life so well…and then she was not fine. Maybe if he had been watching a little more closely, not expecting her to simply figure things out like she was so damned good at doing. Maybe he had missed that fleeting window of opportunity, when someone might have noticed there was growing angst, some poison seed of doubt, slowly germinating. Maybe jumping in, acting on that gut feeling, could have stopped what came after. The songs stopped one day, far too soon. No more laughter on the wind. Just silence.

She stood at the screen door, looking out through the rain at her husband, crumpled in the garden, hugging the dog. Approaching, the woman didn’t need to see his face in the dark to understand. She read the lines of his back and shoulders well enough. He’d changed little with the years. On this night, however, his pose held more grief than usual.

“Come on, honey. Let’s go in. There’s hot tea.” She knelt in the mud and encircled him ever so gently in her arms, helping him to his feet. The two of them rose as one, sharing her body heat and her strength as she had so often since that morning. Together, they shuffled back toward the beckoning light and the waiting warmth of the house. He was groggy, chilled to the bone, and soaked like a wet rag mop. She lovingly led him through the kitchen, ignoring the mud and the exuberant dog. She helped peel off the soaked layers, and soon he was dry and warm, huddled under a thick blanket, holding his mug in one hand. The hopeless longing in his eyes drew her attention to the tattered cloth in his other hand.

When she saw what he held, a fresh pain twisted her heart, and the loss was as raw and searing as it had been on that quiet lifeless morning, so very long ago. It had begun like any other day, filled with anticipation and hope, and the sun’s promise. The morning when they found their beautiful, strong, unstoppable child, nestled in her purple princess bed, empty bottles and random pills sprinkled over the covers like so many wild daisies claiming her cold pale body. Her pain was finished.

Thirty years had passed, and yet the agony of having their hearts ripped out, the hollow emptiness of their souls, remained as raw and as fresh as that first quiet morning.

The riddle remained.

There WAS no “tell.” Suicide has a poker face, and it plays for keeps.

TOPIC OF THIS CONTEST WAS:

He should have found the first one by now! He walked faster. Father had told him to take care of his mother and sister. He had to check the traps! His head turned left, right, and then left again. Identical snow-laden branches stretched far into the darkening forest. Trying not to cry, he sniffed, and then stopped, his nose in the air. Was that smoke? He squinted through the trees, and saw…

(Stories need only touch on this topic in some way to qualify.)

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He should have found the first one by now! He walked faster, his feet almost dragging with dread. Father had told him to take care of his mother and sister. He’d trusted him, taken his hand on his deathbed and told him that he had to be brave, had to protect them.

His head turned in every direction. He looked up at the identical snow-laden branches stretching far into the darkening forest. He didn’t feel brave.

He shook his head, trying to clear it of the impending fear. He had to check the traps!

Trying not to cry, he sniffed, and then stopped, confused. Was that smoke? He squinted through the trees and saw the flickering of a light, far in the distance. He followed it, hoping he had gotten turned around and the fire was coming from his village.

He ducked under branches and tripped over snowbanks until he came to the edge of the woods and a lake. He sighed. At least he knew where he was, but it was nowhere near home. He would have to backtrack quite a long way. He hoped he would at least find the traps before he made it back to the beginning.

In his frustration, he picked up a large rock that lay near his feet and threw it in the direction of the lake. The ice cracked loudly and splintered around the rock before opening beneath it and swallowing the heavy stone in its icy depths.

He turned to leave, and the smell of smoke assaulted his nose again. He looked in the direction the smell was coming from and saw the fire as it flared up in the distance, illuminating its owner. His heart constricted and he stood frozen to the spot.

Across the small lake was something that could only be described as demonic in nature. It was some form of animal, but it was like no animal he had ever seen. Its tall, lean form stood erect like a man as it sniffed the wind. The beast’s ears twitched, and it sniffed the air as the crack of the ice came to it from across the lake, but the boy was downwind from it and it bent to its task once more.

Its tail twitched behind it as it ripped apart the body of a small creature. The clawed, humanoid fingers were black with blood as they burrowed into the dangling body, the sound of bones breaking echoed across the lake.

The beast brought the animal’s heart to its mouth and bit into it with sharp, dog-like teeth. Blood gushed into its mouth and flowed over, dripping and steaming in the cold air. The boy stood frozen, paralyzed in fear, staring at the horrifying sight before him.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the boy came out of his daze and climbed back up the bank. He slipped and grabbed a nearby tree branch to keep from falling. The branch snapped as he grabbed it and he fell face-first into the snow. He tried not to cry out as his leg caught on a downed branch. The splintered wood ripped through his thick clothing and into his leg. He could feel warm blood drip down his leg as he scrambled to get up.

He tried to calm himself as a small sob escaped his lips and tears slipped down his cheeks. His breathing was erratic, and he bit his lip hard in an attempt to steady himself. He closed his eyes and limped back in the direction he had come.

Suddenly, the wind snapped the boy’s hair back sharply as it wrapped around him, changing direction. His heart constricted in his chest and he looked behind him in fear. The demon’s head snapped up as the smell of fresh blood reached it from across the lake. It cast the half-eaten heart to the ground and sniffed the wind. It licked its blood-covered chops, lifted its massive head and issued a deep, guttural howl before it bounded in the direction of the nearby bridge.

The boy’s eyes widened, and he turned, before breaking into a run. His leg burned and throbbed with every stride and he tripped and scurried, all the while leaving a bright red trail behind him. He made it as far as a clearing in the woods before he was forced to slow down. The snow was deeper here, and he struggled to keep his footing. He sank and stumbled, his leg not cooperating as he tried to force his way through the too deep snow.

He panted and sobbed and crawled, until he heard a sharp cry behind him. He chanced a glance and saw the demon had stopped pursuing him. His gaze lit up as realization dawned. The thing had caught itself in one of the traps.

As he watched it claw at the metal vice in vain, it suddenly let out a howl that seemed to give way to a harsh scream. He stared wide-eyed at the sight before him, unable to believe what he was seeing. There was no sign of the beast anywhere. In its stead was a man, utterly exposed and trembling in the snow. Sweat glistened on his naked skin, despite the chill. The man looked up and through the tangle of hair and beard the boy saw something familiar in the depths of the twinkling eyes.

“Dad?” he asked.