#273 – Alfred Hitchcock said…

…that a mystery is not knowing what will happen to a bunch of guys playing poker; suspense is when only you know there’s a bomb underneath the poker table.  Write about a banal event, but start by introducing something that will change everything and that only the reader knows is coming.

The blazing sphere hurtled towards the Earth, traveling thousands of miles per hour.  If anyone on the blue planet detected its presence, they haven’t had time to inform the public yet.  Soon though, anyone looking up into the sky would see force of nature hurtling towards them.

Meanwhile, Ted mowed his lawn, unaware of the fantastical event playing out in the sky above him.  It was late in the day and the sun was setting, orange and red fingers streaking out across the horizon as it dipped out of site.  To the east, the stars were starting to peek out

The smell of cut grass was thick in the air, tickling his nose and throat.  Unconsciously, Ted stopped and wiped a speck of oil on his hands onto his already green stained pants.  A quick inspection satisfied him that he was clean enough and he continued pushing the old gas mower.

“Ted!” A woman called out, “Hello!”

Ted stopped and looked over his shoulder to see his next door neighbor waving to him from the sidewalk.  “Cindy.  Afternoon!” He called back, offering a return wave.  After flipping a switch and turning the mower off, as Cindy walked across the lawn to join Cindy on the sidewalk.  “Great day today, huh?”

“Gorgeous.” Cindy beamed widely, “Which is why I’m thinking about having a BBQ tonight at my place.  You should be there.”Ted balked, feeling that nervous energy inside of him building.  He’d liked Cindy since the day he’d moved in two years ago, but he’d always been terrified of asking her out.  Living so close to her, Ted was always afraid of making things too awkward between them.  So instead, he played the role of the good neighbor, offering cups of sugar and the occasional shoveled walk instead of love and affection.”Actually, I’m…I’ve been busy and I’m kind of tired.” He replied, feeling pathetic.  “I think I’m going to call it an early night and get to sleep here.”Cindy looked crestfallen as Ted offered up his lame excuse, “Oh.  Okay.” She said, “You never come to any of the block parties anymore.  I’m starting to think you don’t like us.”  Ted knew it was true.  At first, he’d been a regular around the street but as his feelings for Cindy deepened, he found himself wanting out of the awkwardness of being around her.”Definitely next time.” Ted promised hastily, stepping back onto the lawn in hopes of removing himself from the awkward situation.”I’m going to hold you to that.” Cindy said after him, shooting a sad, but mischievous grin.With a quick wave goodbye, Ted scolded himself inwardly.  He hated not being able to tell Cindy how he felt about her.  Every day, he mouthed the words but no sound came out.  If this kept up, Ted was going to have to move just to keep his peace of mind.A flash of light out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.  Just to the left of the moon, the light grew bigger and brighter as he watched it.  Was it the space station in the sky making a pass, Ted wondered idly.  It continued getting bigger and bigger, triggering a primal sense inside of Ted.  A fear of things he couldn’t or didn’t want to comprehend.The light seemed to move to the left, slowly but picking up speed until it flashed across the darkened sky, slicing it with a swath of white streaks.  Just as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone.  After a moment, Ted realized that he’d been holding his breath and he let it out with a slow exhale.As foolish as he felt for being afraid of dying right then and there, Ted realized something else.  If he had died, it would have been alone without ever telling Cindy how he felt about her.  The sudden irony of the situation landed on him like an Acme anvil; by trying to avoid making things awkward, he’d made things even more so by hiding his feelings.  Even if she didn’t feel the same way, at least he would have an answer and could be at peace and it couldn’t possibly be any worse than it was now.A newly forged resolve in his gut, Ted turned and jogged after Cindy.  He’d go to the BBQ tonight.  That would be a good first step.Back in space, the comet continued on it’s journey completely unaware of the life it changed as it passed through.

Behind the Random: Doing something with a twist like “It’s actually aliens!” or something to that affect was too easy.  I wanted to do something with a happy-ish ending (I know, right  What the hell?) that ends unexpectedly.  I must be in a mood today.

#223 – Be your Character’s Fortune Teller…

…Tell his or her future.

The man walks in and instantly, I can feel a strange vibe coming off of him.  I study him as he stands in the doorway of my small room, looking at the strange knick-knacks I’ve collected throughout the years.

He appears to be an average person, not too tall or short and neither fat nor skinny with plain brown hair that wasn’t messy nor styled.  His clothes are very generic, just a t-shirt and a pair of well worn jeans, though they look like they’d been slept in recently.  Rather unremarkable if you just gave him a glance.

However, there was something in the way his eyes flashed and he smiled when he finally leveled his gaze on me.  Something inside of him seemed to reach out, as curious about me as I was of him.  Still, I was a professional and not about to be spooked by another customer.  I cleared my throat and gestured grandly at him, demonstrating the dramatic flair known for people of my talents.

“Welcome, seeker.” I state, “What can I, a humble seer of Fate’s whims, provide for you this day.”

The man tilts his head a little to one side and his smile widens, “Wow.  That’s…that’s impressive.  I don’t think I could do that without cracking up a little.”

I gift him with a smile of my own.  “Practice makes perfect.” I simply reply, though I can feel the moment has passed, “So what brings you here today?”

This illicits a laugh from him as he walks in and sits down at the table across from me, “Some fortune teller.  Shouldn’t you already know the answer to that.”  As a psychic, I get that a lot from the smartasses who cross my path.  They usually don’t laugh long though.

“It’s not nice to peek uninvited,” I counter, “And without payment up front.”  I give him a subtle wink as I tap my finger next to the clay jar that sat beside me.

The mystery man laughs and pulls out a wad of cash from his back pocket.  “Sure sure, gotta pay the bills, am I right?”  I try to maintain my composure when I see the money, but I can feel my eyes widen.  He notices my reaction and chuckles, “Like that?  Give me good news, I’ll double it.”  He shoves the wad into the jar and sits back, an expectant look on his face.

I nod but with a frown, “I will do what I can.  However, I don’t control the Fates.  I just read them.”  I reach across the table and gesture for him to give me his hands.  “So no promises.”

The man returns my nod and places his hands in mine, “I’ll take my chances.  Can’t be any worse than what any other medium’s told me in the past.”

Before I could ask him what he meant by that, our skin touched and inky blackness swarmed over my vision.  I found myself falling as lightning slashed around me, filling the air around me with blinding light before plunging back into darkness.

It felt like I was falling forever, scrambling madly for something to grab on but there was nothing but storm clouds were everywhere I looked.  Panic threatened to overwhelm my senses.  I’d never experienced anything like this before.  I tried to cry out but I was drowned out by massive rolling thunder.

Suddenly, the clouds parted and I was standing on solid ground.  I found myself on a cracked and broken street, lined with ruined buildings.  All the street lights were smashed and bent in different directions, leaving the whole area in shadows.

“Uh…alright.” I mutter, taking a step back, “This is certainly new.”

A heavy sigh grabs my attention and I look over my shoulder to find the stranger standing behind me.  “Always the same.” He mutters in a disappointed tone.

“What is this?” I demand, backing away from the buildings until I was next to him, “Where are we?”

“The future.  Mine to be exact.  What I’ll leave this world as.”  The man replies, “I was hoping…but hope isn’t an option is it?”  He shoots me a sympathetic smile, “Sorry.  You’re confused, right?  It’s usually just quick visions and voices and all the jazz, right?”  I nod numbly, still trying to process what’s going on.  “I figured.  Most of you are alike, y’know.  They were shell-shocked when I brought them here.”

“Why?” I asked, “Why bring me here though.  If you’ve seen this, you should know it won’t change no matter how many times you look at it.”

The man gives me a sidelong look, “Because I’ve never seen the end of it.  Most fortune tellers usually burn out by now, but you’re different.  You’re still here.”  I didn’t understand anything that he was talking about so I kept my mouth shut.

The stranger looks up into the sky, focusing on something I couldn’t see.   Suddenly, he threw up a hand and pointed, “There!  There it is.  This is what I came here to see.”

I squinted as I looked at the spot he was pointing at but I still couldn’t make anything out at first.  Then, with a flash of lightning, I saw two figures floating high above the ruined city.  It appeared that they were struggling with each other.  One was all in black and the other in white.

Lightning and shadows swirled around them, battling for supremacy.  From the buildings, I could see the faces of scared and curious people watching on as the two fought each other.  There was a sense of finality in air.  From the way the man was watching the two above, clearly one of them was him, but I couldn’t make out which one.

We stood side by side, watching the back and forth in mesmerized silence.  It was anyone’s guess on who would come out on top until, out of nowhere, a blast of thunder rocked the entire area.  Someone from the sky dropped towards the ground, his body limp.  It took a second for my eyes to adjust but eventually I made out the white clothing, dirty and smoking, before the body disappeared behind the buildings.

I looked at my cryptic companion but he just watched on with a stone face.  After a moment, he nodded and turned back to me.  “Alright, I saw what I needed to see.” He told me and clapped his hands twice, making a sharp sound that reverberated throughout the entire world.

The image of the dark and ruined city faded away and I suddenly felt heavy as I blinked and found myself sitting at the table again.  The man was smiling pleasantly at me as he rose to his feet.  “Thank you.  That was more than enough.”  He told me as he placed another wad of bills into my clay jar.

I got back to my feet, half expecting them not to be real, “Whoa whoa, hold on.  What just happened?  Where did you take me?”  I demanded.

The customer shook his head as he opened up my shop door.  It was already night out.  Hours had passed since the vision overcame me.  “To somewhere you’ll probably want to forget about.  Believe me, I would if I could.”

“Just who are you, anyways?” I ask, wanting to chase after him but wanting to stay away from him at the same time.

“You’ll know when you see it.”  He left me with as he shot another enigmatic smile before he disappeared into the night.

Behind the Random: Well that one just went on and on, didn’t it?  I liked the ambiguous ending, leaving it open to which one was the hero and which was the villain and who the stranger actually was.

#16 – Describe an Electronic Device…

…in the future that you won’t know how to operate.

It’s round and flat.  Many buttons, none of which I know what they do.  It’s a black color when it’s not white.  There’s a single light that befuddles me that turns red and blue depending on the button.  Sometimes, it makes a loud beeping sound and other times there’s a static burst.  Once I heard voices coming out of it but they were speaking a language I’d never heard before.

I was convinced that it was some kind of communication device, but then it opened the garage door and cooked my microwave burrito, so now I’m even more confused.  The more I played with the mysterious device, the more confused I got.

After it unleashed a nuclear missile into the middle of Finland, I decided that maybe it was time to stop fiddling with things I don’t understand.  Last time I checked, they were still looking for the people responsible.  So I was with you the whole time, alright?

Behind the Random: This one was a hard one.  I’m not much of a tech head and tend to avoid devices that I don’t understand, which makes a hefty number.  Give me a couple more years and I’ll be a complete Luddite and the most advanced tech I’ll own is a Lite Brite and a super bouncy ball.

#282 – A Family (Not Your Own)…

…on the street where you grew up.

They were the Killops.  They lived down the lock from me and my family at the end of a little cul de sac.  Their house was a big brown old looking building with a long garage that ramped down to a massive garage.  In their front yard was the biggest pine tree I’d ever seen, though I was still young at the time and didn’t know what a pine tree was so it really could have been average size.

Mr. Killop was a big man with more to his gut than he had on his head.  He had a great big nose that would turn red when he laughed and little eyes that almost glowed when he got excited.  Mr. Killop liked to tell jokes that no one ever got and he would poke them and ask if they got it before doing this huge laugh.

Ms. Killop was a lot like Mr. Killop.  She was big and round and soft with big glasses and hair that was actually fake.  More than once, a mean kid would snatch it from her head and run away with it and she would give chase after them, making all sorts of threats.  She always smelled of strawberries and bug spray, which is a very odd combination.

Their daughter, Maria Killop, was a teenager when I met her.  She didn’t really like kids and we didn’t like her so we stayed away from each other.  She didn’t look a thing like her parents, being tall and thin and having curly red hair.  We used to joke that she was adopted and she was actually an alien left behind by her kind for being too annoying.

Adrian Killop was the middle child.  He was okay sometimes.  Other times he was a monster.  I guess it depended on the time, the day, the position of the sun, and which way the wind blew.  He was a husky kid with no neck and short dark hair, Adrian was destined to look like his dad when he grew up.  Poor kid.

Then there was Jordan.  He was shy and didn’t really talk to people much.  A bit of a mama boy, he would go crying to her everytime he skinned his knee or bumped his head, which was actually a lot since he was very clumsy.  The only person I knew who could fall up the stairs while going down them.  Still, he was a nice guy and never said anything mean about anybody.

The Killops place was always doing something.  Every month, there would be BBQs or movies or game nights.  I can’t count the number of times I was in their basement playing Clue or Trouble or Monopoly (or trying to anyways.  It really isn’t a game a bunch of kids should be playing).  Everybody on the block loved the Killops.

So it came as a surprise when the cops were there that autumn night.  Police tape seperated us from whatever happened inside.  No one ever told us what really transpired in there.  All we knew was that the Killops were gone.

Rumors spread like wild fire.  The Killops were part of the Witness Protection Program and their cover was blown.  They were illegal aliens and immigration was coming for them.  Maria really was an alien and her kind came back and took them all as pets.  They never really existed at all and it was a group hallucination induced by a leaking gas line.  Whatever the reason though, the Killops were never heard from again.

Time went on and I moved into my own place on the other side of the city.  Whenever I came back to visit my dad, I would look at the Killop’s house.  No one ever bought it after that.  It had stayed empty the entire time, even after all these years.  Dozens of ghost stories were attached to it and kids dared each other to break in all the time.  Over the years, the house has fallen into disrepair.  The windows were all broken and the shingles falling off.  It really did look like a haunted house, especially at night when the moon was just right.

It’s been almost 25 years now and I still wonder whatever came of the family that lived down the street.

Behind the Random: First off, there was no Killop family that lived on my street.  Any similarities between people living, dead, or fictional is all in your head and should be disregarded like the last homeless person who asked you for change.  Secondly, I thought this one was going to be a pain in the butt then I realized I’d misread the topic.  I had thought it was about a family that lived ON the street as in being homeless and such.  Still, this one required some on the fly improvisation, so it was a fun exercise in being whimsical.

And yes, this story was intentionally made to be a mystery.  At no point did I intend to reveal the final fate of the Killops within this post  Maybe a jerk move on my part though…

#435 – You are in a Department Store…

…in another city, and you see one of your teachers weeping.  Write the scene.

So here I am, visiting Montreal for the first time in my life and where do I find myself?  Walmart, of all places.  Hip hip hurrah.  That’ll learn me for not packing any underwear.

It was supposed to be an in and out job, like a real man would do, but instead I found myself wandering the aisles.  No real reason.  Call it fate.  Call it destiny.  Call it ADD.  Whatever it is, that’s where I found myself when it all went down.

As I passed by the produce section, I saw a familiar person standing just off the bakery.  I recognized those ugly shoes anywhere, but how could they be all the way across the country.

“Miss Dobbers?” I asked as I approached her, surprised to find my math teacher from high school standing in a Walmart in Montreal.

She looked at me and I could see that tears had streaked her dark make-up.  “Oh…uh, hi.  What are you doing here?”

“Being all tourist like.  You okay?”

Dobbers dabbed at her eyes and faked a smile for my benefit.  “Oh yes, I’m just…I don’t know, emotional this time of year.  School being over and all.”

I nod my head politely, “Uh huh.  So what brings you to Montreal?”

Dobbers pauses and looks around for a moment, as if looking if it was safe.  It was weird and very out of character for her.  Finally, in a hushed voice, she replied, “It’s not safe.  You have to get out now…tell them I’m sorry but I had no choice…”

“No choice in what?”

“They have my daughter.  Told me to come here…please, run while you can…”

Before I could ask what she was talking about, there was a beeping sound coming from her jacket.  Horrified, she opened her coat to reveal wiring and strange tubes strapped to her chest.  A red light flashed faster and faster as the beep got more insistent.  “No no no no no no no no no…” She began to sob again as she shoved me away from her and ran for the exit.

Dobbers never made it though as the explosion tore through her and blasted apart the exit.  All around the store, more people blasted apart in a fury of fire and force.  The ceiling began to collapse and flames raged, decimating everything.

Somehow, I lucked out.  Not sure how, but most of the debris missed me and I was able to scramble up to safety.  I was so stunned by what had happpened, I didn’t even notice the pain wracking my body or the smoke filling my lungs.  Pure survival instincts kicked in as I pulled myself free from the rubble.

Others like me emerged, bloody and beaten but alive.  The store itself was all but demolished.  Anyone in the center of the building when it came down was likely dead.

Mrs. Dobbers clearly wanted nothing to do with this plan, but someone had forced her into it.  But who?  And why?

Across the parking lot, I could see emergency vehicles arriving.  There would be a lot of questions and I was beginning to suspect no one was going to like the answers.

Behind the Random: Not sure where this one came from but there you have it.  Yeah, it’s a bit of a dick move to end it the way I did, so feel free to add to it if you’d like.  What’s the secret behind the forced bombers?  And why a Walmart of all places?  Can I get a dun-dun-duuuuuun?

#596 – What Happened that Night.

My eyes slowly peeled open then quickly slammed shut again as the piercing light burned into my weary bloodshot eyes.  Pain wracked my entire body and I could taste blood in my mouth.  There was a smell like burning ash in the air, making it difficult to breath through my nose, forcing me to take in large breaths through my mouth.

The world seemed to sway beneath me or maybe beside me.  Something was definitely off but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.  When I finally got my eyes opened, I realized why everything felt off.  The entire world was upside down…or rather, I was.  Hanging from a thick cable wrapped around my ankle and suspended ten feet off the ground.  Above me, the cable was wrapped around a large smoldering tree, the source of the smoke stench.

I tried to recall how I got in this position, but nothing came to mind.  All I knew for sure was that I needed to get out of this tree.  With a little struggling and luck, I managed to free my ankle and drop to the ground, landing with a pained grunt.

Around me was signs of some major catastrophe.  There were scorch marks everywhere, with some bushes and patches of grass still burning.  Scattered throughout the area was twisted pieces of metal as if had exploded.  I felt like I should be grateful I was alive, but I still couldn’t remember what happened to get me here.

I check myself but don’t find any open wounds or burn marks.  Aside from this aching pain all over my body, I’m actually in pretty good shape.  I’m wearing a white jumpsuit I’ve never seen (or at least don’t remember where I got it from).  Did I become an astronaut when I wasn’t looking?

On my wrist, there was a blinking light from a watch-like device.  On the screen face, a line of numbers counted down from 1500 slowly.  No idea what that’s about either but some quick math in my head told me that it would reach 0 in 25 minutes.

More confused than when I woke up, I wandered around the area to try and get my bearings.  It looked like I was in the middle of the woods, which didn’t help things at all since the last thing I remember I lived in the prairies.  Not many forests around where I live.

I debated with myself on whether I should stay in the area or move on.  Surely someone would have seen the smoke and come to investigate, maybe even deliver some answers…or some burgers which would be great too.

Hunger gnawed at my stomach and my eyes settled on some berries on one of the few bushes that weren’t destroyed.  I’m not really the outdoorsy type, so I wasn’t sure if they were good berries or if I was going to end up bright green and purging my system through one means or another.

I continued to poke around the ruined machinery, on the hunt for more clues on what happened.  Unfortunately, aside for me, nothing seemed to survive the explosion (now that I thought about it, I recalled a explosion which really wasn’t helpful at all).

Something about the whole scene seemed wrong, moreso than the fact that I was in the middle of some woods surrounded by burning wreckage with no memory of how I got there.  It took me a second to pinpoint it, but then I realized how quiet it was.  Now, I don’t spend a lot of time in nature, but I know that there’s always noise going on.  Birds chirping and bugs buzzing and unseen rodents moving in the underbrush.  Here, there was nothing.  No sound at all.  Just this feeling of dread in the air.

Having watched a few horror movies, I knew that meant something bad was about to happen.  Panic set in as I started to cast my gaze around me, trying to find what was making me so nervous all of a sudden.  All I saw were the thick bodies of trees.  Suddenly, something moved in the corner of my eye, but it was gone when I turned my head.

I patted my body, trying to find something I could potentially use as a weapon, as I looked at the ground hoping to find a pointy stick or big rock or something.  Yet another failure.

I loud snort caught my attention.  It came from high above me.  I looked up, slowly, trying to find the source of the noise.  It didn’t take me long.  The reason I couldn’t find what was stalking me was because it’s body fit in with the trees, it’s massive box-like head was 13 feet in the air.  Large yellow eyes stared down at me, unblinking.  It knew it’d been discovered and seemed to be considering it’s options as I stood frozen before it.

It’s huge jaws opened slowly, revealing rows of long sharp teeth, and it sucked in a breath before letting out a bone-rattling roar.  I knew what it was, having read many a dinosaur book when I was a kid.  Tyrannosaurus Rex.  King of the Lizards.

Logic finally kicked me in the butt and I was running.  Behind me, the monstrous animal started after me, each step causing the ground to shudder.  Trees practically exploded as the heavy body smashed through them in it’s pursuit of my fleeing form.

All my pain was forgotten as adrenaline took over and I sprinted as if my life depended on it (which it did, so that helped).  I vaulted over fallen logs and ducked under low hanging branches, looking for some place to hide.

As I made it to a creek, I saw a small gap in the side.  It looked like it was about the right size for me to squeeze in.  I practically flew into the hole, the stones scraping my face and hands as I squirmed through.

Just as I pulled my leg through, the rex’s head smashed down where I was just a second ago.  I huddled in the hole, trying to make myself as small as possible.  The rex snarled angrily and scrapped at the hole with his clawed foot, trying to make it bigger.  Luckily, the rockbed was too thick in this area so it couldn’t do much more than move a little dirt.

After several minutes, it issued one final defeated roar and moved on.  I could only sit there in stunned silence as I felt the thumping of it’s footsteps getting softer and softer.  Finally, it stopped and a moment later, life returned to the forest.

My rational mind took a while to rejoin the party, but when it did, it came to the same conclusion my aching legs and rampaging heart was realizing.  Somehow, I’ve been transported through time.  At least, that was the only reason I could come up with that would involve a T-Rex wanting to make me a happy meal.  It was either that or Jurassic Park was actually non-fiction.

I looked at my watch again and saw that I was just below 800 in the countdown.  I wasn’t entirely sure what would happen when it hit zero, but I hoped that it meant I might be able to go home.  I just had to survive the next 13 minutes or so to find out what happened.

Great.

Behind the Random: I’ve been wanting to write a good time travel post for a while and I figured this would be a good topic to do it on.  I hope the twist was a nice surprise.