Wednesday Words: The Water Looked Deep and Inviting

Come find explore this week’s flash fiction, but be careful where you wander…

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Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash

 

The water looked deep and inviting.

It was deceptive.

And purposely so.

The more tourists that wandered down to the beautiful shore, the more tourists would end up wading out into the lake.

While the townspeople wouldn’t—in good conscious—tell visitors to check out the lake, there was a subtle sigh of relief when a car was spotted heading down the old road.

You see, the more outsiders stumbling into the water, the less the townspeople had to worry about losing one of their own.

The Forest Service would often find the vehicles a few weeks later. The whole town would head out to search the forest for the missing people.

Because there was always a slight chance they didn’t go in the water and they would be found.

But what the lake took, the lake kept.

 

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Wednesday Words: I’ve Got A Mirror

The prompt for this week’s flash fiction is: I’ve got a mirror. 
 
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Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

Alinta tossed the gruesome photo across the desk and rubbed eyes. A glance at Connor found him still pacing. “Connor?”

He froze in place and looked her way. “Did you figure it out?”

She shook her head in response. “We don’t have enough information. I think…I think we need to ask Tabitha.”

Connor’s shoulders slumped and his freckles stood out in sharper contrast as his face paled. “That’s not a good idea.”

“Someone saw something the night that the murder took place. I would bet that it was either Tabitha, or she knows who was there.” Alinta stood. “Come on. It’s not that bad. Besides, I’ve got my mirror.”

“And how is a mirror going to help?

“Believe me, you don’t want to surprise a member of the Gorgon family–even a lesser species—snakes for hair, turning to stone, that whole bit. We use the mirror to make sure we don’t startle her unnecessarily.”

Connor visibly gulped and then slowly nodded. “Let’s do it.”

 

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Wednesday Words: What a Time to Start Daydreaming

This week we have flash fiction on a Friday! The prompt for Wednesday was “What a time to start daydreaming.” And we have a special appearance from our cryptozoologists.

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Photo by Guy Roberts on unsplash (edited)

Alinta found herself skipping around through her mind. Her thoughts wandering to other places.

I think when this is all over, I’ll take a vacation.

Somewhere cold. And empty. Oh, I know. I’m going to get one of those bubble rooms out in the middle of nowhere in Norway and watch the northern lights. That would be perfect.

A vicious shake of her arm brought her back to the present. Yes, her arm was still in the gaping maw of the Ozark Black Howler. Her steel-reinforced arm guard kept the teeth from penetrating her flesh, but the lion-like head of the beast was still powerful enough to make the experience uncomfortable. The massive ram horns curling out of the top of the shaggy, black fur on the top of its head were currently trying to dig into the burning hot sand on either side of Alinta. What a time to start daydreaming.

“Could you pick up the pace a bit, Connor? This is not getting any more comfortable.”

“Done.” Connor stepped back from the bear-shaped back with an empty syringe.

Alinta noticed the confusion in the Howler’s eyes as the sedative began to kick in. “Don’t worry. I promise we’re doing this to help. We’ll get you somewhere safer than this.”

 

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Wednesday Words: No One Had Heard the Wind Blow Like This Before.

This week’s prompt is: No one had heard the wind blow like this before.

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Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash

Outside, the storm raged. No one had heard the wind blow like this before. Ever.

Connor and a few of the other advanced class students had gathered in the corner of the lunchroom. They waved Alinta over. As she approached them, she glanced around at the other students—fear radiated from all of them.

“Can you believe all of this?” Alinta waved her arms around, trying to indicate everything.

The sound of the wind pierced through everything.  It shook the solid building around them and—according to security—it could even be heard in the underground continuation of the school. Normally the hidden rooms, habitats, laboratories, and quarantine units were as oblivious to the world as the world was to them. Not with this storm.

The wail of the wind seemed unearthly. Conner had gone even more pale than normal; his freckles were much more obvious. He stared off into the distance, rocking back and forth slightly.

“Banshee.” He murmured under his breath.

“What?” Alinta grabbed his arm. “Are you kidding? How is that possible?”

Conner snapped out of his trance. “Look around. We have a Mothman, a Loupe Garou, a Sasquatch, a Lady in white, and that’s just on the faculty. How can you doubt anything? It’s a Banshee. And someone will die.”

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Wednesday Words: They’d Had a Lot of Freedom Back Then

Flash fiction prompt for the week: They’d had a lot of freedom back then.

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Photo by Rúben Marques on Unsplash

 

The students were clustered in small groups, dispersed about the large lecture room. A low murmur ran through the room as everyone tried to determine what was going on.

Dr. Biston huddled in a corner with Ms. Garou, seemingly attempting to placate the school secretary. His dark, tailored suit went well with what most people assumed was a velvety black and white cape. That, his sunglasses, and the two long feathers in his dark hair gave him the appearance of wearing a Mardi Gras costume. Alinta knew that actually, the professor’s cape was his wings, the feathers his mothman antennae. And from the way they were twitching, he was pretty agitated.

Ms. Garou, for her part, was flinging her arms around and pacing. Her remarkable reach had already knocked a hat off one student and glasses off another.

A student near Alinta shook his head. “Why do all the cryptids wish for the days when they were unknown to humans? Wasn’t the fear of discovery worse?”

Alinta didn’t look away from the teacher while she answered. “Not all wish for it. But you have to understand that they’d had a lot of freedom back then. A few people searched for them, but most didn’t believe. Most people left them alone.”

 

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Wednesday Words: “She awoke with a start but didn’t know why.”

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Photo by Michael on Unsplash

Alinta splashed some water on her face and then peeled off her filthy clothes. She threw on a t-shirt and after a quick brush of her teeth she collapsed into her cot. Her leaden feet throbbed and she stretched her back cautiously. Even though Conner had helped her move the equipment, it had been an exhausting and frustrating day. They weren’t able to find any other clues as to who might have killed the student, but the obvious evidence pointed to one of their cryptids.

But was the evidence too obvious?

The nighttime sounds of the Australian bush lulled her to sleep despite her worries.  A few hours later she woke with a start, but didn’t know why.

Was there an extra sound?  No.

The night was silent.  Alinta froze in her cot, forcing her breathing to stay steady.

Not normal. Ever.

There was someone. . . or something outside.

 

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Wednesday Words: She Dripped Water Everywhere

Flash Fiction using the prompt: She dripped water everywhere.

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Photo by Eutah Mizushima on Unsplash

Alinta crept through the abandoned house and silently cursed the cloudburst outside.
She dripped water everywhere. And while the rain may have forced her quarry into the shelter, it was sure to hear the drips and know she was coming.
Maybe she would get lucky.
Maybe this house had enough holes in the roof that her dripping noise would blend in with the rest.
Maybe.
The large net felt heavy in her left hand, but she didn’t dare put away her taser to shift the weight. Her target wasn’t deadly, but there were plenty of other things out here that could be.
She rounded the corner and there it was: all six inches of rage-filled frost fairy. It hissed at her.
“Now, calm down.” Alinta tucked the taser back into her belt and held her hand up to the creature. “I’m really trying to help. You need to get somewhere cool before you melt.” She took a step forward.
The little beast leaped at her, claws out. Luckily, she’d had lots of practice throwing the net up in front of her face.
“Sheesh. That would have hurt. Just once I wish someone would come along peacefully.”

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