Tag Archives: friday fictioneers

We’re Not As Alone As You Think

resized rooftop garden

PHOTO PROMPT © Lisa Fox

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She was alone in the deserted park two blocks from home when she heard his breathing. It was too late to run. Rough hands grabbed her from behind. Instead of screaming, she whirled around in his grip and exposed her vampire’s fangs.

“What? You too?” Nigel retracted his fangs and stood back looking disappointed.

“Oh darn.” The voice came from their right and a slender, dark-haired vamp in goth black appeared.

One by one, they emerged looking rather sheepish.

Desiree, also known as “shortcut girl,” said, “If a real person comes along, I’ve got dibs.” Naturally they all started arguing.

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Junk

roger

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

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“What are you doing with that big stick, Mike?” Then Jessie saw what he was doing. “Wait. Those were Mam’s favorites. She paid a lot for them.”

“Mam is dead and she willed this junk to me. Now get out of the way, Sis.”

“She loved all her little pieces of junk. At least you…” She tried to grab the club out of his hands but he wouldn’t let go.

“You got the house and the car.”

“Sure, I’m older and I’ve got two kids.”

“She made me throw out my vintage silver age comic books when I was fifteen.”

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Revenge of the Geek Show

binks

PHOTO PROMPT © Mr. Binks

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Willard looked up from beneath the discarded canvas at the base of the ride. He heard the squeals of the happy rubes spinning and twisting, hoping they’d vomit.

The sound of tinny calliope music, the sickening smell of cotton candy, or someone gorging another cheap hotdog with mustard filled him with nothing but hate. Big Luther said he still got nostalgic, but his brain rotted long ago.

Will nodded to the others, each one in their hidden positions. Just at ten, when the crowds were wildest and the carny lights blotted out the stars of heaven, they’d begin the slaughter.

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Mime Fabriek

mime kitchen

PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

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He was the only one who didn’t have a name. He was the one who had to choose the other names who were right for the job.

The inside cover of the folder said:

We encounter so many inspiring makers and performers, each one of them so rich in their work, so specific in their approach to a creation, so different from each other.

They were dancers, actors, mimes, each especially gifted. He scanned their photos and read their stories. Tonight, he would select five and then begin to mold them.

Soon, they would be ready to save the world.

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Soshi’s Magic Teleporting Divorce Machine

sukkah

PHOTO PROMPT © Lisa Fox

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“A little early for Sukkot,” Brad chuckled to himself.

“Very funny.” Soshi winced at another of his jokes criticizing her Judaism. “We could use it as a sukkah, but it would make a nice outdoor playhouse for the kids.

“I don’t know.” He gazed upward. “It kind of looks like rain.”

“Just step inside and tell me what you think.”

Brad reluctantly walked into the center of the structure. Soshi quickly took a small remote out of her pocket and pressed the red button. Instantly, Brad was beamed into a different reality.

“Laugh your way out of that one, Brad.”

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The Last Interview of Mister Bill

mister-bill

PHOTO PROMPT © Ted Strutz

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Mister Bill’s plush body sat in a trendy Hollywood restaurant. The interview about his career was finished, but awakened dormant memories of his 1970s glory days at SNL. Sure, the stunts were dangerous, but money and fame didn’t come cheap.

It nearly ended in 1980, but Chevy rescued him from a garbage can. After that he moved to L.A. By the end of the 1990s, it was over. He’d been surprised by the journalist asking to see him. His old nemesis, Mister Hand was so old now.

“Guess it’s time we both retired.” Bill held his dear friend’s wrinkled hand.

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The Tree Where The Elves Live

tree

PHOTO PROMPT © Fleur Lind

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“It’s just a fake door, Jillian. Elves don’t really live in the tree.” Ten-year-old Sam strode towards the trunk.

“Don’t,” the eight-year-old girl cried. “If they get mad, they’ll cast a spell on us.” She ran to her brother and grabbed his arm.

He shook her off. “Watch this.” Sam gripped the knob and pulled away the little door exposing only bark. “See?”

“You’re no fun,” Jill pouted.

“Let’s go get an ice cream,” Sam offered.

After the kids marched off, the knothole popped open. Two elves poked their heads out of the window. Pip asked, “Are they gone yet?”

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A Brief Errand in Time

cotton

PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

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Miles Jackson strolled past the bistro to The Cotton Exchange. His contact said he had to depart from someplace that existed both now and at the target date. He wouldn’t have much time once he arrived, which was ironic. But in 2024, he couldn’t walk down the streets of Wilmington dressed like a Civil War era slave.

The vaccine was secure in his pocket. Miles knew that ten-year-old Caleb would be in a house just two doors down on the morning of August 16, 1862. He had to inoculate him for the Yellow Fever so his ancestor would grow up.

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Solved: The Locked Room Murder Mystery

susan

PHOTO PROMPT © Susan Rouchard

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Stephanie’s grandfather had been murdered in his study. The police said the room had been locked from the inside. No one could have gotten in or out.

He was strangled by hand so it wasn’t a suicide. The police determined the murderer could not still be in the room.

Steph knew better. She had been part of his writing since she was six and old enough to compose her first childish mystery.

She worked through the stack of books on his desk. The one he’d received by mail just before he died; his latest novel. Grandfather’s killer was hiding inside.

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A Rose for Amélie

bridge

PHOTO PROMPT © Sandra Crook

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His name is Alec Plisken now. Periodically, he found it convenient to change identities. That didn’t mean he could change his past.

This night he stood on the Pont de Pierre. His steady hand placed a red rose on the walkway. This was where his wife had fallen.

There was peace now, but not so in Nazi occupied Bordeaux in 1940. He had been sent to England not realizing his beloved wife would not escape France, even with a falsified Portuguese visa. This is where she was shot and killed by the fascists. Unlike him, Amélie was not an immortal.

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