365 Ficlets - Day #295 ~ "Last Stand"

“They’re still out there, John. What are we going to do?

John was sitting the other side of the window thumbing shells into the twelve gauge. He just shook his head and grumbled under his breath.

“C’mon John! A little help here.”

He lifted up his face, pumped the shotgun, and then looked into Carrie’s eyes; it was then that she saw his fear, his confusion. It occured to her that he may well be just as adrift as she was. She looked down at her hands and realised that they were shaking so hard that at any moment she might drop the thirty-eight. She stared at the cold weapon and realised that just twelve hours before she had never held one.

From outside she heard the shuffling footsteps of another zombie. Her heart sank, knowing that the shambling undead creature outside the store was almost certainly in the shape of someone that she knew the day before. Would it be Daniel, the mechanic from the town gas station? She had not seen him, and she was starting to fear that the five of them were the only ones left alive.

365 Ficlets - Day #294 ~ "Longing..."

The cherry blossoms always take me back to the spring mornings of my childhood. From one day to the next winter would give way to spring as the sakura would burst into life, shades of pink and white frosting the hilltops above my father’s house. Then in a few short weeks the petals would become a plesant springtime snow of sorts, floating on the breeze.

Looking at the cherry blossoms here, on the other side of the world, is both a comfort and a great sadness; I wish that I could return to Hokkaido and the land that my father watched over until the end of his days, mourning that his one son was lost to him.

There are few tragedies greater in any life than exile. Certainly there are even greater burdens to bear, disease, bereavement, poverty and so forth, but my experience of living as an outcast in a foreign land has only served to give me the belief that exile is as heavy as any other weight one might have to carry. Even those I might seek out in America who are from Japan shun my company; my crimes are known.

365 Ficlets - Day #293 ~ "The List"

Dana laid her pen down and sat back in her chair, sighing with the relief of completing her list. It had been a conversation with Frank that had led to this impulse to give form to her thoughts about her life and what she hesitated to refer to as its direction.

It had been bothering her for a while that there was a lot about her life that seemed to be “business as usual”; just a daily drudge of get up, wash, eat, go to work, come home, eat, wash and sleep. Every now and again there was some sex, and even less often there was a decent conversation or a really great movie or a genuinely engaging book, but more often than not these things were rare.

She was going to be thirty and what had she actually done? More to the point, what did she want to do? That was the crux of it, more than anything else she was disconcerted by her apparent lack of dreams. Frank had suggested that she take some time, quietly, to sit with pen and paper and write a list of things that she really wanted to do, no matter how large or small.

365 Ficlets - Day #292 ~ "Grift"

“The thing is, right, if you get good enough at counting then you have to ‘ave the cash to go in big and score, ‘cos after that first night when you walk out with your pockets full, all bets are off.”

“What do you mean?”

“Casinos don’t put up with counters. It may not be cheating, but it’s not the game that they want to play, and they are allowed to refuse you entry.”

“So what you are saying is that practice may make perfect, but that we need to make some money up front to be able to afford to place bets that are big enough to reap the big rewards?”

“Yeah, exactly. So anyway, I know this guy, right?”

Jim nodded.

“He’s a bent banker, and he tells me that he’s onto a winner with fraudulent credit.”

Jim’s eyes lit up;

“Aw mate! I’ve heard about this con. It’s spectacular! You set up a business account for a new venture, and then you drain the account just after the new business loan goes in, then fold the company. Everything’s done with alias’s and when all’s said and done it’s only the insurers that get hurt, yeah!”

365 Ficlets - Day #291 ~ "First Tour; First Patrol"

Bullets were riccocheting off the top of the tiny wall, and we were both lying flat on the ground, clutching our carbines to our chests. I looked over at the Skipper, and touched my forefinger to the last grenade on my bandolier. He gently shook his head, opening his palm instead to show a claymore detonator. He put his other finger to his lips and then motioned to listen for footsteps.

I looked over at Freddy, he looked like he was in pretty awful shape, and I realised that we really could not bank on him for covering fire any more. To be honest we would be lucky if we didn’t lose him to his wounds.

The gunfire slowed and as I listened with Skipper for the tell-tale sound of VC running closer hoping to close range on us without any more of a fight.

I wondered at his nerve; I would have pumped the switch twice before he even looked like he was going to. Their footsteps seemed so close, but everything was out of whack, not least because I was scared out of my mind.

Suddenly he pumped the button. Bring the noise.

365 Ficlets - Day #290 ~ "Jazz Flute"

The music was everything. Standing under the lights for the hundredth, even thousandth time, the darkness of the club out beyond his sight, he knew that he needed to remember that the music was there for him. Music was always there for him, even when he felt alone in crowded rooms, or when the fear of going on stage would grip him, twisting in his belly as if someone were tying knots in his guts. He tried to breathe, tried to focus on the first lines of music that would come through him and his instrument as he put it to his lips, tried to find the solace that this thought usually brought.

On the edge of his awareness he could hear the MC announcing the act, and then he heard Buzz start the beat on the drums. He opened his eyes and looked up at Tom, watching for him to cue him in. The bassline started to build and Tom fixed him in his gaze and then nodded, a four count until he needed to be playing.

Everything slowed down, he raised the flute to his lips and slipped into the melody, and the world fell away.

365 Ficlets - Day #289 ~ "Commuter Solidarity"

“Tickets please! Please have tickets and passes ready for inspection!”

The train manager was coming, as they usually did at some point between Paddington and Reading, and I dug in my pocket for the season ticket that was indispensible to my person when outside of the house. Commuting becomes a state of mind after a while, you never leave the house without iPod, book, season ticket as well as the more common wallet and keys. Seriously, after I’ve been locked back into it for a few weeks I don’t leave the house without picking up my bag and checking it for the commuting survival kit, even if I’m actually off to see some my friends on a Saturday evening.

I looked up as I placed my ticket wallet on the table and accidentally made eye contact with the woman sitting opposite me; clearly making eye contact is forbidden on the Tube, but sometimes you can get away with it on the trains that leave Greater London. She smiled;

“You look like you are fully in commuter mode. This train every day?”

I nodded;

“Pretty much, aye.”

365 Ficlets - Day #288 ~ "The Hearth of Home"

The glass felt cold in his hand. He turned it slowly in front of his eyes, enjoying the way in which the candlelight seemed to make the whisky glow and sparkle amongst the ice cubes. This was his favourite time of the evening. He enjoyed the company of his kids as much as anyone, more in fact than most people would assume, and he loved the fact that as often as not they dined together as a family. Even so once the house was his once more, quiet and calm, he liked to sit and enjoy the contrast.

It was winter, and so the fire was dancing in the fireplace, and he fixed his gaze into the heart of the flames and took a sip from the glass. He held the whisky in his mouth, letting the gentle burn of the alcohol burn its own fire in his mouth and then as he swallowed he revelled in the transformation of the flavour and the feeling of the drink coating his oesophagus with spicy, honeyed warmth.

He knew that she would disapprove if she could see him just sitting, drinking alone like this, but that was really the point.

365 Ficlets - Day #287 ~ "Tracks of My Tears"

He was stood by the floor to ceiling window in the living room of their suite, staring out at the nighttime cityscape. The rain was caming down with a monsoon intensity and the window reminded her of the way in which streams of rainwater criss cross the rear window of a car.

She stood in the darkened doorway watching him, trying to understand what was on his mind, trying to understand why he had not slept since they had been in Tokyo. Part of her wanted to reach out to him, to put her arms around him and let him know she was beside him, but she listened to the quieter voice that both counselled restraint and was a little hurt that he did not turn to her.

“Are you going to stay over there just looking at me, Sara?”

She was jolted out of her thoughts, surprised that he knew she was there. She stepped out of the shadows, and shrugged;

“I don’t know. I didn’t know if you even wanted me to know you were out here.”

He turned towards her and she could see the tears running down his cheeks like the rain on the window.

365 Ficlets - Day #286 ~ "Case by case..."

“It is a thing of beauty is it not?”

Pierre turned to the voice and saw that his host’s elder son was stood a few feet behind him. He turned back to the painting and nodded;

“Ah yes, it is indeed a privilege to be able to look upon the original, and in such otherwise beautiful surroundings as awell, rather than in a crowded and rowdy public gallery. Did you meet the maestro when your father commissioned the piece?”

“Alas no, I was away being fostered to a neighbouring baron; learning the laws of war and chivalry and I missed that chance. My younger brother, Oswald, met him and spoke to him as often as he could.”

Pierre nodded again and turned back to Gerard.

“I was thinking of taking a short ride for the sake of my health and to pass some time. Your father has graciously asked me to dine with him, but he cannot spare me any time before dinner. I do not wish to be under foot. Would you be kind enough to join me and show me the estate?”

Gerard grinned, clearly some, or perhaps all, of this request suited his tastes.

365 Ficlets - Day #285 ~ "Photo Legal"

“Excuse me, Sir, but could you explain to me what’s going on here?”

Frank looked up at the Police Officer that had approached him while he was framing the shot. The Officer’s face seemed blank to Frank, seemed to be devoid of anything either positive or negative leaving him no clues as to how to play the situation. His model, Tess, was already hurriedly covering her previously naked form and anxiously looking on to have the best chance of choosing her moment to run if that seemed to be the best course of action.

Frank was still deciding how to play this situation out when his thought process was interrupted by a shift from questions to commands from the Police Officer;

“Could you stand up, please Sir, and pass me your camera, please.”

Frank’s position on the Police had always been that they ought to be respected and obeyed, but he was fairly sure that he had not been breaking any laws, and more to the point that the Police Officer had no legal right to his camera. He decided to meet the guy half way and stood up.

365 Ficlets - Day #284 ~ "Scoop"

“C’mon! It’ll be fun!”

Tabitha scowled at Daniel and shook her head even more fervently than she had the first time. She pointedly turned away from him and crossed her arms, before she realised that this left her with no hand free to retrieve her cigarette from her mouth. She flailed around for a moment and ended up shoulders back, arms laid across each other, back to Daniel, with a thin trail of smoke appearing to rise out of the top of her head; he tried not to laugh, reasoning that such an outburst might actually lead to violence.

“It’s just an interview for my film class, Tab. What harm can it do? I mean you’ve been on camera before.”

He knew as he said it that he had made a grave error, but now she was on her feet and coming for him. There was a look of fire in her eyes as she advanced, and he found himself mesmerised, a little like a deer in the lamp light. She stopped when they were toe to toe;

“You only want to interview me because you’ve found out that I’ve done porn and you think it will be a scoop.”

365 Ficlets - Day #283 ~ "Shadowplay"

Donovan paused to light a cigarette, and then turned back to Fiona as he took a long deep drag and almost immediately lifted his coffee to his mouth and took a huge slug of the searingly hot beverage. She sucked her teeth, rolled her eyes and then took one of his smokes and joined him.

“You know, Donovan, you have a shitty job.”

He laughed, smoke signal staccato issuing forth as her remark caught him off guard.

“Yeah, I know. Thing is, it’s all I know how to do.”

She nodded, trying to simply stay cool and not show that his low, gravel voice was almost sexy enough for her to forget that he was a twice divorced, borderline alcoholic, chainsmoking paparrazo. She wondered if it was his voice and his raw arrogant bravado that meant she had chosen to shadow him, but she quickly banished that behind the convenient fact that he was the highest earning member of his profession in the city that had agreed to even talk to her.

“Don’t you ever get tired of staking out C-Listers and hoping they aren’t wearing panties though?”

365 Ficlets - Day #282 ~ "The day before..."

The bed felt small beneath him as he sat there in the quiet. He passed the cricket ball from hand to hand, trying to focus on simple things; the smoothness of the leather, the fine work on the seam. He ran his thumb over it, trying to find the joins, trying to understand how it was made, to focus his mind on something mundane. Of course it was not working. How could he think of anything else in this room? He looked around at discarded toys, at posters and the models that Christian had made, never accepting any offers of help. All he could think about was the coffin in the study downstairs, smaller than any coffin should be.

It had been a glorious afternoon in the sun. There had been maybe thirty of their friends and all of their kids on the lakeshore, eating, playing, dancing and generally making a good time of the weekend. He had been running the grill, like any good host and father, and when Christian had come to ask if he and some friends could go swimming he had just said yes. Of course he had said yes.

365 Ficlets - Day #281 ~ "Head"

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Baby”

She licked her lips seductively and traced the very tips of her fingers along the shaft of his cock, playing with it idly as his erection started to fade. He smiled and pulled her towards him kissing her passionately. He loved the feeling of their mouths becoming one, the way in which as their tongues met and wrapped around each other they became one in just as real a way as when they made love. They came up for air, but stayed close with their foreheads touching one another.

“I love the way you will just kiss me after you’ve come in my mouth. It’s like you, oh I dunno, like you are in no way bothered by the fact that you might taste yourself on me, you are just filled with love, and that is all that matters.”

“It is all that matters. I love you so much, Rachel. I’m certainly not going to let the fact that you’ve just given me a mind blowing orgasm get in the way of me kissing you.”

He threw her a self-satisfied grin and she pulled his hair playfully;

“Well you’d better show me. Now.”

365 Ficlets - Day #280 ~ "GPA"

“I hate that shit, man. I mean why is it that whenever someone is ‘hacking’ or writing a virus or enhancing some kind of image, video or audio that they are always dancing around and clapping their hands and high-fiving with their hacking buddy? Does anyone who doesn’t really know anything about computers really believe that this is what actually happens?”

Terry nodded, admittedly without taking his eyes from his screen, his fingers still moving at speed as he typed line after line of code into the terminal window.

“I mean it’s not like that, right? You want this last slice of pizza?”

Terry shook his head, but still did not turn away from his work.

“So what you workin’ on T?”

For a few moments Terry did not respond, he was clearly finishing a thought, but then he took his hands off the keyboard and turned to Hugh;

“Well, mi compadré, I think that I can say wtih some certainty that we can have whatever grades we want this year.”

“No way, that’s outstanding!”

It was as their hands met in a high-five that Hugh realised.

365 Ficlets - Day #279 ~ "Needle"

Jennie pulled the curtain aside and removed her crop top and bra, then lay down on her front on the angled couch. It was only a few moments before she heard the curtain close behind her;

“Hello Jennie. It’s been a long time.”

Jennie craned her head around to look Franklin in the eye. More specifically she wanted to be as sure as she could be that the voice she was hearing was indeed coming from the person that she was expecting.

“Hello Franklin. It’s good to see you old friend. Are we alone?”

“Yes, Stacy, who was in the next cubicle has left.”

“I didn’t hear the bell.”

“She didn’t use the door, but then you were about to work that out, huh?”

Jennie laughed and nodded her head.

“So, Jennie, you want the usual or do you need something else?”

“Just the usual. I presume the price is the same?”

“Yeah, no problem. Pay me once we’re done.”

She lay back down and closed her eyes. She heard Franklin settle down onto his wheeled stool, heard him break open the blister pack containing the fresh needle and the whirr of the machine.

365 Ficlets - Day #278 ~ "Ink"

The icy blue cast of the light in the waiting room struck Jennie at once as she stepped through the door. As she closed the door behind her a rather surprisingly twee bell announced her arrival.

“Be with you in a few moments!”

The voice had emanated from behind a brown curtain that at first glance looked as though it might be leather, but on a second look was plastic made to resemble leather. After the voice, Jennie could hear the low hum of a tattooing machine, and occasional quiet gasps, presumably from the recipient of the work being done behind the curtain.

The waiting room was not like the waiting room of other tattoo parlours, there were no stock designs on the walls, no piles of tattoo magazines, and no other punters. Certainly it was dark outside, but it was only four o’clock, and though Jennie was not surprised to see the waiting room empty, it would be an odd detail to anyone else, she thought.

The curtain was thrown back, and Franklin stepped out, looked at Jennie, and nodded at the unoccupied cubicle.

365 Ficlets - Day #277 ~ "Saloon"

“Whisky!”

Cole thumped the bar with his fist as he spat forth his demand, making no attempt to cloak the contempt in his voice. The whole saloon had fallen silent when he had walked in, and now people were still holding their peace, but also now shuffling in their seats. A handful of the clientelle near to the door hurriedly rose and left, and the Faro dealer was closing up as the barkeep slowly wandered over to Cole, bottle in hand.

He poured Cole a shot;

“That’ll be a dime, Cole. You know the rules. You don’t raise that shot up ‘til I see your coin.”

Cole slammed three dollar pieces onto the bar;

“Leave the damn bottle, an’ shove your rules!”

The barkeep did as he was told, sliding the three coins off the bar and turning away in contempt.

“Mind you bring me my change, boy! This bottle ain’t full and I’ve give you fifty cents over the value for a full one.”

A shadow fell across the doorway and a voice came in from the street;

“Cole, if you want to drink in my place, you need to be kinder to the folks as work for me.”

365 Ficlets - Day #276 ~ "Dinner Date"

Dinner was going well. Paul was starting to hope that he was reading her body language right, the smiles, the inclination of her head towards him, little touches on his hand as they talked about this and that; it felt like they were on the road to at least a first kiss. It occured to him that despite the coaching from Lawrence he had no idea what it was that was swinging this his way, whether it was the fact that he chose decent wine, or that he’d agreed with Lawrence and booked a table at a decent restaurant for a change or if she really liked him. Still, it seemed as though she was listening to what he had to say, that she liked that he was actively listening to her, that she was really looking into his eyes. He let himself believe, and then relaxed and tried to stop thinking about it too hard.

The waiter appeared, or at least there was someone by the table. It took a moment for Paul to realise that it was not a waiter, and that there was a gun pointing at her.

BANG BANG

She was limp and the shooter was gone.

365 Ficlets - Day #275 ~ "Sittin' on the Dock"

“Granpa, why are you fishin’?”

Theodore smiled at his grandson’s question, enjoying the simple naiveté therein.

“Well, Carl, that’s not a question I’ve been asked before. Folks often ask me what kind of fish I hope to catch, or why I fish in this spot or that spot, but no one has ever asked me why I indulge in this hobby of mine.”

Carl was already transfixed, as he often was when his much adored grandfather explained things to him, and so sensing that there was more than a simple answer still to come he settled down on the dock in the way that children do when they are entertained.

“I suppose I like to come down here onto the dock and cast a line into the water for a whole bunch’o reasons, Carl. I like to be out of the house, and coming out to spend some time fishin’ gets me time under the sky come rain or shine. But it’s not just about being out of doors. The time I spend out here lets me do some thinkin’ as well.”

“But don’t you want to catch fish, Granpa?”

“Well it’s not as important as trying to catch them.”

365 Ficlets - Day #274 ~ "Wake Up Call"

It was the smell of bacon that woke me up. The sun was streaming in through the window and there was a soft breeze blowing across the room, but it was the smell coming from the kitchen that actually roused me. I pulled the blanket around my waist like a sarong and padded down the hall into the kitchen, following the smells that were now not just bacon, but also fresh coffee and toast.

Laura was standing by the cooker, apparently wearing nothing but my shirt from the night before, tending to the frying pan. I leant against the doorframe and let my eyes linger on the back of her neck, enjoying the line of it curving into her shoulder, remembering running my fingers along it.

“Don’t just stand in the doorway, sit at the table. I bought a paper, if you like, and there’s juice and fruit out. This will be ready in a couple of minutes.”

I did as I was told; I’ll be honest it felt good that she wanted to cook for me, to look after me. I know some men would be freaked out, after only two weeks, but it felt right to me.

365 Ficlets - Day #273 ~ "Mythbusting"

“I’ve never understood that about the way you people write about us. I mean where did the whole, crazy, allergic to sunlight thing come from anyway? I mean I always thought that Stoker did a good job of making our kind frightening without inventing stuff that simply isn’t true. Why did the writers that came after decide to make us victims of the sun’s rays? Is it just a powerful metaphor? The cleansing, pure light of day banishes evil? Or do mortals need some kind of mollifying belief so that vampires are not so scary, so that we are no threat in the bright light of day? Don’t get me wrong I like that you are scared of us, or that most of you are. It makes staying hidden easier if we are the boogieman, not believed in, but absolutely to be avoided.”

William took another drag of his cigarette, tapped it on the edge of the ashtray and shot me a winning, almost rakish smile before continuing;

“So why aren’t you afraid of me, of us? Please don’t tell me it’s hacks like Rice and Meyer who’ve got you so emboldened?”

365 Ficlets - Day #272 ~ "Basement"

Drip, drip, drip…

I try to open my eyes, but the dripping water gets in there and blurs my sight. My hands are cuffed above my head, I can feel the cuffs biting into my wrists, but not as much as they would be if they were supporting my weight. Focusing on sense I can feel the cold stone or concrete floor under my ass and my legs, the cold bricks of the wall all down one side of my body. Clearly someone has propped me up against a wall and cuffed my wrists above my head over a pipe of some kind, hence the dripping. I force my eyes open and try to speak;

“Mmmmugh. Mmugh”

I am gagged. My eyes start to adjust to the dim room and the dripping water; I can see someone sitting a few feet away looking right at me. It is an older man, no longer young, but not brought low by age either. He is wearing grimy slacks and a badly soiled white vest. He is unshaven and his hair is unkempt and greasy and pushed back. He is smoking, and that makes me want a cigarette myself.

“So you’re awake. Good, I have questions.”

I see a knife.

365 Ficlets - Day #271 ~ "I.M."

Nero27: So, what’s it like up there in Montana at the moment, is it cold?

GoodTimeGal39: Well there’s like 5 feet of snow in my garden, and like everywhere else so yeah, it’s pretty cold. Are you getting snow down there?

Nero27: Well, not really. You know I don’t think it’s ever snowed in Florida, at least not in the Keys. Have you ever been to Florida?

GoodTimeGal39: I did go to Disney World when I was in 9th Grade but that seems so long ago, and anyway I was creeped out by the whole thing. It was like everyone there was happy all the time and there was no space for just being normal. I guess I was a teenager and I was just looking for somethign to not like.

Nero27: Hey, I don’t know. That place always creeped me out, there is something wrong about a place, even a fantasy place, where everyone is happy all of the time.

GoodTimeGal39: My parents were so into the place, and the whole vacation I was just moody and miserable. Thinking back that must have really disappointed them.

Nero27: So will you show me your tits?

365 Ficlets - Day #270 ~ "Snow Day"

The snow appeared to cover the landscape like a soft woolen sheet when Ferdie peaked out of the window on his way back to bed. Allie was still asleep, she had not stirred when he had arisen to use the bathroom, and now he stood by the window just watching her sleep. He loved the way her face would become so peaceful when she slept, he valued the privilege to see her true face as much as anything about their relationship.

He turned back to the window and pulled the curtains open, letting the winter sun into the room. Allie stirred as the light played across her face, and through sleepy eyes she looked up at Ferdie;

“Good morning, babe. Did it snow?”

A wide smile spread across Ferdie’s face and he simply nodded and pointed out of the window. His smile was joined by an equally exuberant smile on Allie’s face as she bounded out of bed and threw herself into Ferdie’s arms. Squeezing him hard and pressing their bodies together she rained kisses down on his face;

“Come and play in the snow with me, lover?”

“Oh Yeah!”

365 Ficlets - Day #269 ~ "Insomnia"

Three o’clock and I was still awake. The previous two and a half hours had crawled by as I changed sides and enjoyed the view of either wall and of course the ceiling. I had tried music, and even turning the light back on to read. When I had tried to read my eyes had almost immediately rebelled against the task, leading me to hope that at last I could sleep, but the moment the book was closed and the light was once again out this sleepiness was banished by the dark.

Two and a half hours is not a very long time, when one has some kind of diversion; many films are as long and seem to pass in the blink of an eye. When I cannot sleep every second lasts for a minute as I grasp at repose.

You may ask why I was so stricken with this bout of vicious insomnia, and I would love to be able to offer some kind of useful or interesting explanation, but the mundane and disappointing truth is that neither was this night unusual nor provoked by any one thing that I could point to and say “and this is why I could not sleep”.

365 Ficlets - Day #268 ~ "Front"

“She asked you what?”

“She asked me if I liked the way her pussy looks.”

“Damn! What did you say?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you know I love the pussy, but let’s be honest, Bro, there is nothing good lookin’ about that whole area.”

“Are you serious? I love the sight of a pussy, man I love the way they look. I mean I really do think that they are beautiful. I thought that she was asking me ‘cos she’d read some crazy-ass magazine thing about labiaplasty and how men prefer smaller or tidier labia, but clearly it’s not just down to that. How can you not love the way a woman looks man?”

“Labiaplasty! Are you shittin’ me? What do you know about all that shit fo’?”

“I walk around with my eyes and ears open man. I mean this shit has been on the news and so forth. You do watch the news, right?”

“Nah man, that shit is borin’ an’ it’s always the same. Bad shit goin’ on in Iraq or Iran or somethin’ and then the banks is all fucked up and then some kid got clipped in a school shootin’. It’s depressing I ain’t wasting my time.”