Entrapment (A to Z Challenge Day 5)

“You can stop pretending to be sleep now.”

My pulse quickened.  That voice, I knew that voice.  We all did even though we never saw his face.  I opened my eyes and slowly raised my head.  The only light in the room was a dim bulb above me.  I couldn't see anything else.

The disembodied voice laughed.  “I taught her well.”

He wasn't talking to me.  That meant that there was at least one other person in this room with us, maybe more.

“Why am I here?” My voice was hoarse.  How long has it been?  When I tried to move I could feel the tug of rope around my wrist.  I was sitting on a concrete floor with my hands behind my back.  This is not the usual situation that I would hear this voice.

“All in due time.”

“The last job, that was your fault wasn't it?”

I was only met with silence.  It was coming back.  The last job we pulled was rigged.  We didn't see it until it was too late.  No one else could have known that we were there or that we were coming.  Except the man whose voice this was.

“Why?  We work for you.  We take our orders from you.  Why would you sabotage us and yourself like this?”

“Well, who better to protect myself from than the people that I trained myself?  Anything you find comes straight to me and I learn how to better protect myself from those that I don’t have such a close hold on.  You have, however, gotten a bit too good.  Some of the things that you find could lead straight to me and 

ruin things.  Your work has been appreciated but you are now being dismissed.”

His casual tone and the intended message would have caused me to panic if I wasn't trained not to do so.  If he hadn't trained me.

“I've spent my life making myself invisible to everyone for a cause that I thought was admirable and it’s all some wild goose chase.  A waste of my time.”

A laser point of light appeared in the distance, somewhere on top of a distant wall blinking out a pattern that I recognized.  I laughed.

“Tell me,” he said.  “I’m curious as to what about this you are finding humorous so that I can join in on your last moments of joy.”

“You've underestimated us.”

I leapt up just a silenced bullet met the light bulb above my head.

When we move we camouflage ourselves

We stand in the shadows waiting
We live for this and nothing more
We are what You created

I can feel the storm, the winds have changed
Ooh, 'cause we're worlds apart but just the same
But we won't leave the way that we came

I know there's so much more ahead
I can barely believe that we're here
We won't surrender quietly, step up and watch it

--E for Extinction by TFK

Devoted (A to Z Challenge Day 4)

“Do you remember our game?”

Our game.  Of course I remembered.  It felt like it was yesterday that we were lying in the grass outside watching the clouds and telling each other what we saw and making songs with the birds.  Like yesterday that they were ignoring the sounds of the Grabbers.  Like yesterday that a man we didn’t think we could trust found us and told us that we were the only ones that could end this before they ended our world.

“I see…”  He started though he wasn’t looking at the smoke clouds around us or making songs from the noises of battle behind.  He was only looking at me.  “I see…”

When his voice broke I squeezed his hands, intensifying the power light between us.

“Will you go with me?”  His brow furrowed.  “Where ever this takes us, whatever this does, will you stay with me?”

His face softened and he leaned over the source so that his lips could meet mine.  The light became almost overbearingly bright by the time that he pulled away.

“It would take more than just an army trying to end the world to take me away from you.”

Then all I saw was white.

Confess (A to Z Challenge Day 3)

We’re surrounded by countless others

My friends, your friends,

Like sisters, brothers

While over us these unspoken words hover

Could they know all I want is to hear ‘yeah, I love her’?

How could you be so close

And yet miles away

If I reached out I could touch you

But then what would you say?

Your body’s here but your heart’s not

We can’t seem to leave this zone

I feel we’re on the verge of something

But you still pretend that no one’s home

What if my hand held yours?

What would your feelings say?

Could my hand keep yours

Or would you pull away

Our group fades, the crowd recedes

The man at the front says it’s time to leave

If only you would keep your seat

What is the fate that I’ll receive?

Its closing time

We must go home

You walk out

And I go alone



Closing time
This room won't be open till your brothers or your sisters come
So gather up your jackets, move it to the exits
I hope you have found a friend
Closing time
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end
-Closing Time by Semisonic

Blunder (A to Z Challenge Day 2)

“Hanging on from paycheck to paycheck isn't really working, is it?”

“Mmm.” I try to pay attention to my wife, but as soon as my head hits the pillow these days I'm almost gone immediately.

“I think that until we're able to pay off some of these bills we should stay with my mother.”

“What?”

“Not for long or anything. Just until we get things settled.”

I sat up.

“Listen,” she continued. “I know you don't like it but we have to do what's best for the kids. I know I can't make you go but if things get much worse....”

She rolled over and mumbled. “Unless you think you can bring home 50,000 dollars tomorrow.”

$50,000.....

That's the thought that brought me to the county fair.

Every year the local Girl Scout groups would get together and come up with outrageous ways to make different desserts using one of their cookies as inspiration.  Then they would get the students at the culinary school to help make it a reality.  People could pay to taste test and vote on their favorite.  The winning Girl Scout gets a prize and the winning chef gets scholarship money.  Better yet, the extravagant dessert itself gets auctioned off.

            These auctions can bring in at least a thousand each.  With ten cakes, well, I might not get my $50k but I would be well on my way.

            I came early to watch.  That’s what robbers, no that sounds bad, I wasn’t robbing per say.  I’m just borrowing.  As soon as I get everything paid off I’ll start making anonymous contributions to the Scouts and buying cookies like they’re groceries.

            Ah, here we go.  People are starting to pay for their tastes and the right to vote.  It’s going in a large box.  Perfect.  How long have I been standing here?  Should I just take it now?  I think people are starting to look at me.  I slipped into line.  I could do this.  I could do this.

            Just as I was getting to the front of the line the woman that was there gave way to one of the Scouts.  A young girl who didn’t look too much older than my own kid.

            I couldn’t do this.

            “Hello, sir.  Are you buying a voting ballot?”

            Oh no.

            “No.”  I blurted, then watched her smile fall a little.  “Oh.. no..  Oh no.  I seem to have left my wallet in the car.  I better go.”

            I hustled back to my car, got inside, and let what I almost did sink in.

            I better tell my wife to call her mom.

There’s a full moon out

And my girl just keep on howlin’

Said she gonna leave me

If I don’t come home with fifty thousand

-Bills by Lunchmoney Lewis

Apprehended (A to Z Challenge Day 1)

It would never be me, I thought.  I would never be stupid enough to get caught, I thought.  Who would be blind enough to fall for their traps, I thought.

I thought wrong.

One of those slow moving, wingless animals was after me again with their weird sticks, swinging it around in lazy loops.  It’s no joke if they really catch you with it though.  I saw a friend get caught…  It was a mess.  But they’re so slow!  It’s hard to take them seriously.  I easily evaded them and tried to take cover in my high corner.  The problem was that the Spiders caught on.

The Flies and the Spiders have always had it out for each other.  The Eight-legs were jealous of our wings.  Even with so many legs they can’t get as far as us.

Now I can’t get as far as anyone.

I could get free.  I've seen Fliers come back with horror stories.  Some flew in missing their legs while others managed to crawl to the nearest busy trash heap without a wing.  I struggled against the sticky ropes trying to feel for places that it was weak.  I felt no give.

It’ll be back soon.  No one has ever been through what the Eight-legs do to us and lived to tell the tale.  I can only use my imagination.

Too much time has gone by.  Why was it waiting?  I’m here.  I can’t go.  Just end it.

Just end the wait.

I’m a fly that’s trapped

In a web

But I’m thinking that

My spider’s dead.

Lonely, lonely little life

I could kid myself in thinking that I’m fine.

                -Always by Panic! At the Disco

A to Z Challenge: Theme Reveal!!

It's that time of the year again!  When I did the A to Z Challenge last year my idea was to combine it with Camp NaNo and write a story throughout the month, adding a title to each part that would give me my letter for the day.  That was.. well, hard.  I didn't quite reach the end....  Lol.  But this year, though I am still doing Camp NaNo, I've decided to go a little bit of a different route.

My theme this year will be.....

*dramatic imaginary drum roll*

Music!

I've been saving songs, all with titles starting with a different letter of the alphabet, that I thought would make good prompts for a short story or poem.  I'll be using either a line, the title, or even just what the song makes me feel as the prompt.  So basically, if this story/poem were a video then I hope I could put this song in the credits and you'd go 'Oh wow, that song goes perfect for this.'  Lol.

I'm excited to get started and look forward to seeing everyone else's posts for this year's Challenge!

Spring Break!

So it's my spring break (have I told you I work for a school?  That's for another post.), and I wanted to do another Week of the Writer.  However, due to my lack of planning I decided against it.

Besides, sometimes it's nice just to get as much done as you can instead of setting daunting goals that feel more like stress than progress.

Anyways, I have done some writing.  I feel like I'm almost done with my zombie story.  The question is how do I end it.  Lol.  I also have an idea for a parody horror story that a friend of mine gave me.  It will be completely ridiculous and I will love it.

Other than that I have the A to Z Challenge to look forward to and Camp NaNo.  I'm going to go even further insane than I already am next month.  Lol.  But I have a more manageable idea for A to Z than I did last year and I'll use the horror story for Camp so maybe it'll be smooth sailings?

Oh!  And entering more contests!  One from the same site that I got second place for before and another through a local library.  Wish me luck!

Now to go back to enjoying the sun.  We'll be ready to go to a parade soon.  Happy St. Patrick's Day!