Prompt Winner: Stacy Overby
Happy Monday!
Yet another story has come to a close! Thanks to Stacy’s entry to last week’s prompt, we get a resolution to Gloria’s sticky situation. Her piece is full of tension and quick, resourceful thinking on Gloria’s part. Thanks so much for your continued contributions to this contest, Stacy! You rock!
Be sure to check out the previous installments (one, two, three, and four) before the thrilling finale!
Enjoy!
Now what? Gloria thought. She surveyed the items she’d grabbed from storage, wracking her brain for any possible options. With the solitude shield, though, there weren’t many.
Come on, Glo! Think outside the box!
She watched Tom get a self-satisfied grin on his face. He pushed the door open and ushered Manny through. She slipped through the closing door behind the men just in time, feeling the solitude shield catch in the door a little before sliding free. Gloria followed Manny and Tom down the corridor. Just as she’d predicted, they stopped at the locked Security Office door.
Gloria knew she had a little time now. That door was protected by spells and conventional locks. She thought about just throwing off the shield and casting the paralysis spell. The saner part of her reminded the part that thought that was a good idea Manny would beat her to the punch. And he wouldn’t be nice about it either.
Faster than she’d expected, they got the door open. Once again, she trailed behind them just close enough to get through without them noticing. They started to rummage through the office. Gloria thought it was odd that the office wasn’t staffed. That was a twenty-four-hour position.
Harvey! That rat!
Then it came to her. Don’t use magic. At least not how she’d been thinking about it. She made her way to the recycling bin next to the fax machine and crouched down, making sure to drape the solitude shield over the can. Then she crumpled up several sheets of paper from the can into balls. One by one she lit them on fire and tossed them into the room.
With their backs to where Gloria was hidden, the men didn’t see the slight movements that revealed her. All they saw was balls of fire come flying out of nowhere at them. Manny started a stunning spell as he scanned the room for the attacker. Tom hid behind Manny.
Just before Manny finished his spell, the smoke from the burning paper set of the building’s sprinkler system. Gloria prayed the solitude shield was waterproof so it wouldn’t give her away.
The door flew open. Harvey and Mike, the security officer burst into the room. Harvey threw a powder at Manny with a final flourish. Manny went down hard. Mike did the same for Tom.
“Come out Gloria. You’re safe now,” Harvey said.
And there it is! Guess Harvey wasn’t bad after all. It’d be interesting to see what a regular day in the life of their profession would actually be like. I’m super intrigued by the idea that magic makes the world go round in this universe. It’s so practical. Maybe we’ll figure out a way to visit Gloria’s world again in future rounds!
Thanks again to everyone who participates in #TuesFlashFicTrain! You guys are the best and the highlight of my week 🙂
Be sure to visit Stacy Overby and congratulate her all over social media:
Also, check out her website. Looks like there are quite a few cool stories to read and she has her own flash fiction contest series!
Feedback, comments, questions? Check out the rules and/or drop me a line. I’m always looking to make the contest better and I’m open to any suggestions you guys may have.
Be on the lookout for the completed version of this (and last round’s) story!
As always, think happy thoughts!
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