This post is part of the September 2011 Blog Chain at Absolute Write. This month's Challenge is "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words."
Option 1: Respond to the default picture. Write a brief response to this picture Nighthawks (1942) by Edward Hopper. Each post should be less than 1000 words if possible.
Option 2: Respond to your own picture. Choose your own picture! You must inlcude a link to the picture in your post. Please no overly violent, sexual, or otherwise NSFW pictures. Let's keep this PG-13/15 certificate, okay?
To read all of the stories (some are continuations of each other), please click on each of the following blogs for the entries. Enjoy!
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| Nighthawks (1942) by Edward Hopper |
Alynza (you are here)
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Of all the days the kid could find me, why did it have to be today? Damn it. Allison clutched the book to her chest as she pressed her body against the brick wall of the diner. She pulled her black coat tighter around her red dress and breathed slowly trying to calm her nerves. If she was lucky, she just might escape the two chain smoking scavengers in the diner. She knew what they wanted; it’s the same thing that the Seafarer wanted. But she’d die before she’d let them have it.
The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows, by Aristide Torchia. It was an original and if the book fell into the wrong hands, nothing good was going to happen. She had to get it to Eddie, he would know what to do. The quicker it was out of her hands the better because with each minute that she held onto it, it felt like it was eating her soul alive piece by piece.
As she made her way towards the front of the ally, she stepped over rain puddles but kept out of the dim amber light from the streetlamps above. She couldn’t chance being seen.
Throaty chuckles came from around the corner, towards the front of the diner and Allison stopped short. Her heart began to pound and the blood rushed in her ears. It was one of the scavengers. She couldn’t go down the other way of the ally because it was a dead end. She was stuck.
She crept forward, clutching the book like a life line, and peeked around the corner. One of them had a gun to the back of Ellie’s head while the other opened the door of a black sedan and shoved her in.
Shit. Why did she have to find me today? It wasn't supposed to happen yet. This wasn’t in the plan.
The emerald ring on Allison’s finger felt like it was burning through her skin, as if feeding from her anger. She pulled out the red gloves from her coat pocket and slipped them on. Out of a sense of familial duty, she reached back into her pocket and clenched a small pearl handled pistol.
Enraged and bolstered by the emerald, she ignored the flashing lights and sirens coming towards them. As Charlie walked out of the glass front doors of the diner, his eyes locked with hers. Without missing a beat, she walked straight up to the black sedan and pulled the trigger. Twice.
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If you happen to be confused, this story is part of a continuing story of some of those blogs listed above. Actually, if you read last month's blog chain in my archives, then you'll recognize some characters. :)
Let me know what you think.
©Alynza Smith 2011
An interesting twist: family, secrets, the police and the occult. Nice.
ReplyDeleteAre we going into Lovecraft, now? Or maybe Robert W. Chambers (The King in Yellow)...
ReplyDeleteI like it, I like it - suspense, drama, surprise, all of my favourite things!
ReplyDelete@ralfast: There's always a twist somewhere :)
ReplyDelete@robeiae: Hmmm, Lovecraft? I don't know if I could write anything comparable to do him justice. lol But maybe these short stories will certainly drive us all batty like dear Mr. Chambers liked to do. :)
@Crystal: Thanks! :)
Fun Twisty. Love a good cliffhanger, makes me want to write!
ReplyDeletePulled the trigger. Twice.
ReplyDelete:D
You ended this with a funny twist.
Clever. You not only continued a story from this month's chain, but I recognized props and characters from last month's chain too.
ReplyDeleteI like how the continuing chain this month is like a prequel for the continuing chain last month.
ReplyDeleteAnd I also like the line "Pulled the trigger. Twice."
Thanks gals. :)
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty neat this was started as a prequel for last month's chain. How cool is that! These chains are so much fun.
Great job of pulling the multitude of threads together!
ReplyDeleteThere's that troublesome emerald ring again. It ruined Chris's day at the beach and now it's out to spoil Allison's too!
ReplyDelete