Hey Kids!
Here's a happenin' 500-word selection from our WIP, Carnal Invasion XIII: Caged Birds. Hope you enjoy it!
“Ahmose, please, just trust me,” Mondo Katou begged, gripping
Ahmose’s hands between his own.
Ahmose snarled, baring his fangs, and pulled his hands away.
“I would rather eat my own hand than work alongside someone
like you!” he spat.
“Ahmose, please,” Bernie soothed, wrapping his arms around
Ahmose. “I can’t say I trust or like him either, but something isn’t right. Not
only do things just feel wrong, but I’ve been looking through these security
screens.”
“My beautiful nerd boy,” Ahmose declared, giving an
uncharacteristically nervous chuckle. “He can’t resist touching the tech. So,
what have you discovered, my love?”
“Fucking hot in here,” Gregory complained, fanning himself
with an empty cookie bag. “Is there a fan that you can turn on by chance?”
“I think it’s this one,” Mondo Katou mused for a moment
before flipping a switch.
“Well, lucky you didn’t leave us all in the dark, I suppose,”
Ahmose quipped. “Not that I’m sure it does us any good. You’re sure this is the
monitor for the outside of the base, Bernie?”
“Positive. Those things that look like jewel shards floating
in space are what appear to be outside. I heard rumbling a few minutes ago and
was expecting to see rain, but…”
“Maybe it’s a screen saver,” Gregory suggested. He was
clearly beginning to panic as he toggled the monitors.
“Hey, Gregory, it’s all right,” Ahmose said, gently but
firmly gripping Gregory’s hands. “Come on, let’s focus on something else for a
minute. What was the last song you remember hearing?”
“It was Amy Winehouse,” Gregory replied, sniffling as bloody
tears began to run down his cheeks. “My girl Amy. Theo and I had taken his
latest project out for a spin, and I plugged in my new MP3 player. Amy was
singing “I’m No Good,” and we were riding along in Theo’s tricked-out 1910
Whiting Runabout. He did such a good job on it. You’d love it, Ahmose! But then
this storm came up, and I guess we must have had an accident. I remember that
everything went dark, and I was rolling and tumbling through storm clouds.
There was such a strong smell of roses…oh, God, Theo gave me roses the first time
we…oh, hell, I don’t even know what’s real and what’s a dream! Is my soul in
hell because of my sins?”
“Gregory, we must have courage,” Ahmose insisted. “Things
are messy at the moment, and whether it is magic or technology which has us in
this predicament, I don’t know, but I am certain of one thing. We exist, in the
flesh. We need to see if we can make our way around the base and hopefully find
some of our companions. I know you feel vulnerable. Hell, I’m scared out of my
mind. But you can lean on me and Bernie if you start to struggle. We’ll talk,
we’ll say a mantra, we’ll tell stories, we’ll sing songs. Whatever you need to
do to get through, that’s what we’ll do.”
~Cie for Naughty Netherworld Press~
Prompts Used:
Word Salad:
courage
exist
lean
magic
mantra
messy
soul
stories
struggle
talk
vulnerable
way
Our most recent book:
Oh good. I was getting a tad worried when I hadn't seen a post from you.
ReplyDeleteAnd love learning a little more about Bernie and Ahmose. This is yet another intriguing snippet which leaves this greedy reader wanting more.
Thank you!
DeleteThe good news about rapid cycling bipolar disorder is that I come out of the severe depressions generally within a week to ten days.
The bad news about rapid cycling bipolar disorder is that I tend to get hit with at least one severe depression per month.
I really wish this cycle could have disappeared along with the other obnoxious cycle that I endured for 40 years. Alas, not so!
Feel free not to answer but have you found anything (in addition to writing) which helps or are you forced/condemned to ride out the whole vicious cycle?
DeleteOh, I don't mind answering. In truth, the black dog has its jaws locked onto my ankle 24-7, but there are times when I can combat the slavering hell-hound better than others.
DeleteMy son and I like to go to the Botanic Gardens or the museum. Once I've moved to Grover, I plan to get back in the habit of taking daily walks and I hope to start doing watercolors again. So, yes, I am condemned to ride out the cycle, and sometimes nothing helps, but other times something might break through and give me a bit of respite.
I used to self-medicate the fuck out of myself, not knowing what was going on with me. This condition wasn't properly diagnosed until I was almost 40. Once it was diagnosed I was able to see the up and down pattern, things like taking second and even third jobs, being everyone's favorite employee, and then crashing and burning and losing all of my jobs. Luckily, this was in the 80's and 90's when jobs were plentiful.
I'm rather amazed that I didn't end up being an alcoholic or a drug addict, given that I could drink enough to float several battleships in my younger day and several members of my family have had addiction problems (alcohol in particular.)
Excellent story-telling!
ReplyDeleteThank you. It's been too long since I participated in one of your prompts.
DeleteThanks for your visit and comment at Soul's Music. My first visit here, so first contact with your characters. It felt a bit like stepping into the middle of a never before seen movie. And yet, your writing skills brought your characters alive and made them real. Really liked the genuine compassion your words expressed.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
https://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/2019/06/09/in-way-of-remembering/
Thank you so much, Elizabeth! Very kind of you to say.
DeleteLiked your bit of story and the compassion you created to bring your characters to life. Thanks for your visit to Soul's Music.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
I really like your characters and the compassion they display through both words and actions. Thanks for your visit to Soul's Music...
ReplyDeleteElizabeth