#MenageMonday – Continued Bargain

I really have dragged myself into another serial. However! This one I intend to end quickly. Maybe I can get a short story out of it. Who knows?

Prompt: #MenageMonday

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Sometimes I wonder if I should’ve just let Death take me.

I found Nox – would have found it sooner if I’d paid more attention in Latin – and I should have just left it at that. Death would have let me walk away. I had, after all, fulfilled my end of the deal. But – as usual – I couldn’t help but dig a little deeper.

“So why couldn’t you find this place yourself?” It’s not like the town was hidden. It was a fairly new development, too, as I finally found it when I saw a commercial trying to attract new residents. I recognized the jutting windows and web-like stone and metal fixtures that decorated the visitors center from the advert. The building was larger up close than it seemed on TV.

“Our deal was you’d find this place and we’d be even. I won’t have anyone say Death broke the rules. If I tell you, there’s no turning back. Is that what you want?” Death walked beside me, hands in his pockets, posture relaxed. He glanced in my direction, lifting a perfect eyebrow, silver eyes cutting right through me. I’d spent enough time with him to know it was a rhetorical question, but I answered anyway.

“There’s already no turning back.” And he knew it. The smirk on his smug, handsome face said so.

“Very well.” He turned, facing me and motioning to the building behind him. “There’s a book in there, protecting this place from me. I need it back.”

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I still don’t even have a name for our protagonist. Oh well. If you want to read the whole thing so far, check out the posts under Waking Beauty.

As always, think happy thoughts!

Update: I won an honorable mention!

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#MenageMonday – Challenge Accepted

Happy Monday!

Let’s dive right in.

Prompt: #MenageMonday

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Sitting in this coffee shop was supposed to be peaceful. Supposed to help me clear my head, focus on the task at hand. Instead, I can’t help but stare at that obnoxious wall across the street.

Let’s get funky it says. It would be hilarious if not for my predicament. And though it keeps grabbing my attention, the vibrant orange and yellow pattern does little to lighten my thoughts. If anything, it’s making them worse.

“Find a town called night,” he’d said. That’s all Death asked of me in return for waking me up. Seems like an easy enough way to pay my debt, but of course I underestimated how difficult it would be. It’s been a week since he asked, and no matter how many times I searched online, I couldn’t find any towns near me called Night. Every time the search came up empty, I’d widen my radius, but it never made a difference.

Tearing my eyes away from the monstrosity across the street, I try to focus on my laptop again. My coffee’s cold by now, but I take a sip anyway.

“You’d think a glimpse at the after-life would’ve opened your mind, made you think outside the box.” Like always, he comes out of nowhere. This time he’s sitting across from me. Only I can see him, so I try not to react.

“If you want something done, maybe don’t talk in riddles.” Maybe it’s bold, to sass Death himself. I can’t bring myself to care.

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Yes, this is a continuation of Waking Beauty.

I never intended to spin up another serial, but here we are. Maybe. I still don’t have a name for this character, so until then it won’t get its own listing on my Serials page.

As always, think happy thoughts!

Update: This piece won an honorable mention! Wooooo!

#100WordChallenge – Broken Focus

Totally dropped the ball on getting my weekly writing done last week, but here I am! And the best part? This week’s bit (inspired by #100WordChallenge) contributes to Withered Legacy and Saxon’s characterization.

So yay!

Prompt: Interrupted

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“Saxon?” Elle’s voice interrupts my concentration, and I nearly lose it.

“Go. Away.”

Meditation is not easy. I had to work at it much longer than Adwin, though mom started us at the same time. Relaxation always came easy to him, though. He always had control and confidence in his powers. But not me. And  though I’ve had a firm grasp on it for the better part of the past fifteen years, I still have to put too much effort into meditation. Into the building blocks of my powers.

Every. Single. Day.

Can you blame me for snapping at her?

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As always, think happy thoughts!

A Prompt Combo!

Two weeks in a row? Maybe I really am back!

Today’s prompt comes courtesy of both #100WordChallenge & #ThursThreads. For 100 words, I couldn’t use the letter “D” – turns out that was a little bit harder than the letter “A” challenge from way back when. For Thurs Threads, I had to include the phrase “I thought I was alone” in the piece. Below is what I came up with.

Enjoy!

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Maybe it was a mistake to ask for help, to pull Nate into this. But just thinking about him makes me wish I sought help sooner. At my father’s company, I thought I was alone. That I was the only one against the military contracts. I wasn’t, but no one else chose to leave with me. That loneliness still stung.

Even my family…

“Selah?” His voice breaks through my thoughts. When I say nothing, he comes closer. Nate cups my face, catching my tears with his thumbs. I never even felt them fall.

“I’m so sorry.”

He lets me cry.

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It feels good to stretch my wording muscles.

As always, think happy thoughts!

#ThursThreads – Tested Patience

Let’s keep the week’s momentum going! Today’s post is inspired by #ThursThreads over on Siobhan Muir’s blog.

Prompt: “I think maybe you’re right.”

Nate and Selah’s troubles continue…

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Things didn’t get better after we kissed, but they didn’t get worse, either. They did, however, get more frustrating.

Though large, my bunker wasn’t intended for more than just me, and no matter how often we went up for fresh air, the claustrophobia never let up. After a few days of running tests on Nate and watching surveillance footage, my safe place began feeling like a prison.

“How much more do you think you’ll learn from those tests?” Nate’s arm should have developed a bruise from how many times I’ve had to draw blood from the same spot, but every time I removed the needle, it was like nothing happened. No matter how many times I did it, that would never not freak me out.

“I just want to make sure you’re not developing any issues.”

“It’s not like we could fix them, so why bother?” His irritability came and went, and I wondered if it was a side-effect of the serum. Nate’s mood never changed this often or sharply before. But I wasn’t equipped to examine his brain. “I think-”

“Maybe you’re right, and these tests are pointless.” I sighed, sealing the latest sample.”But I want to know I’ve done everything I can.”

“Selah-”

“And it’s not like we have anything better to do.” We couldn’t leave until I was sure my father wasn’t looking for us anymore, and just that morning I caught one of his goons in the footage from my first safe house. “So sit tight.”

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Some day they’ll get out of the bunker, but that day is not today. That day probably won’t be until another prompt draws them out.

Be sure to checked out the other responses at the prompt.

As always, think happy thoughts!

#100WordChallenge, we meet again

Sometimes you just need to scroll through your own content for inspiration. Today, I was scrolling through, trying to jog some memories, when I came across one of my posts for this word prompt series. Then I realized it’s Wednesday, and the new challenge for the week should be up.

This has always been among my favorite prompt series – I perform my best word acrobatics under tight word counts. So here we are!

Prompt: Delicacy

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As a human, I never realized how breakable I was. It wasn’t until after I died that I understood how fragile my existence had truly been. Now, tasked with protecting everyone left behind from unspeakable horrors, I have to harness a delicacy I’ve never possessed. I barreled through life tripping over my own feet. I’d always relied on my stubbornness, my brute force of will, what I saw as resilience.

But that won’t work here. The smallest mistake, tiniest miscalculation, and I’ll be the horror they have to worry about.

And there’s no one around to protect them from me.

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That took a darker turn than I was expecting. Not to mention that I did not go into this intending to write something in the realm of Withered Legacy. But what can I say? When Lexia takes over, she does not let go.

As always, think happy thoughts!

Waking Beauty

Happy Monday!

I’m starting the week off on the right foot – went to the gym this morning, work is making sense, and look – even wrote a bit! Let’s hope this momentum keeps up as I get ready to tackle the hardest rewrite I’ve ever had to do.

Thanks to some beta reader feedback and a long conversation with my sister, I’m completely rethinking/reimagining how Nocturne Vow is going to go. I’m talking total overhaul of the story, some mythos tweaking, and a redo of the arranged marriage scenario. Wish me luck!

In the meantime, enjoy this little piece that I hope doesn’t turn into a distraction and its own monster.

Prompt: Cara Michael’s #MenageMonday Challenge

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I’ve read about out of body experiences, but nothing could prepare me for this. It’s one thing to hear stories, to imagine seeing yourself on the edge of death – but it’s a whole other thing to watch loved ones come and go, always with tears in their eyes. To listen to their prayers, unable to do anything about them.

“Stubborn as ever.” He always comes out of nowhere. This time, he’s beside me, leaning against the wall. The Reaper smiles, but his silver eyes are focused on my form on the bed.

“Yeah.” If anyone had told me all I had to do to not die was refuse, I’d have laughed in their face. But here I am, unwilling to let the Reaper take me. It’s been a few days since his last attempt, though. “So try again if you’d like, but I’m not budging.”

“That’s not why I’m here.” He turns to me. “I have a proposition for you.”

“Oh?”

“I’ll wake you up.” He gestures to the bed before crossing his arms. “But you’ll owe me.” There’s an edge to his voice.

“Owe you what?”

“A favor.”

“That’s it?”

He nods, offering his hand. “You have my word. Just between us.”

I don’t know what his word is worth, but the gravity in his voice rings with truth.

“Okay. Deal.” I take his hand and he pulls me in. Our lips meet, the kiss brief, before he disappears in a cloud of smoke.

With a gasp, I wake.

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As always, think happy thoughts!

UPDATE:

I actually won! It’s my first Menage Monday win 🙂