Flash Fiction Friday 2023 – Week 23
Flash Fiction Friday continues in 2023. New pieces appear every Friday on my Patreon throughout the year. The minimum pledge to read them before anyone else is $3 per month. and the number of pieces available is tied to the monthly pledge total so the more you support my efforts, the more you’ll get to read. Find out what they’re all about and check out some excerpts from this week’s update in this post.
Excerpts
All the Time in the World
Denise was a vampire, not by choice but by accident. It happened one night when was heading home from work. A slight detour to save some time led her through an alley where she tripped and cut herself on a rusty pipe protruding from the wall. She didn’t bleed much yet it was enough to draw the attention of a creature of the night that hadn’t fed in a while. The rest, they say, is history.
At first, she hated what happened to her and spent the following days in a state of utter shock and denial. She couldn’t believe her life had ended when she hadn’t even turned twenty-five. Everything felt like a waste and the constant craving for fresh blood made her sick. However, she soon got used to it and discovered a whole new world to explore that was unlike anything she had ever imagined.
Being a vampire had a lot of advantages, starting with enhanced senses, the ability to move at high speeds, and, of course, the power to focus her gaze with an entrancing quality that rendered her gaze virtually irresistible to any mortal that crossed her way.
(…)
Just a Hoax
The news about the hundreds of unidentified spacecraft that had entered Earth’s atmosphere was scaring pretty much everyone in the world, but Terence remained unfazed as he grilled his pork ribs.
“Are you seeing this?” his best friend Jonathan asked over a sip of beer. “What do you think it means?”
“Absolutely nothing,” Terence shrugged, not even bothering to look at the TV. It’s all a hoax as usual.”
“I’m not so sure, man. This footage seems pretty legit!”
“Special effects and nothing more. The media is always making up stories to scare people away. Today is UFO. day, it seems.”
“So you’re really not worried at all?”
“Why would I be? They’ll keep the charade going for a couple more hours and, before you know it, it will go away like magic. Just watch!”
(…)
Not a Man
White words flashed against a black screen inside the soundproof basement of Helena’s country house. It was the same brainwashing mantra she had been using in the past five years with a one hundred percent success rate. Chained in front of the large TV, with his eyes wide open because of the cocktail of drugs he had been injected with, was Dylan, a co-worker of hers who was in the wrong place at the wrong time the week before. He had seen one of her kidnappings in first hand and now he was her new prey. There were only three sentences in the mantra, but the constant repetition was already producing a long-lasting effect in his mind.
“You are not a man. You were never a man. You will never be a man,” they read.
Dylan had already seen them ten thousand times or more, pulsating at rhythmic intervals that matched his breathing. The more he read the nefarious instructions the harder it became to think straight.
(…)
These Words
Before you read any further, do me a favor. Get yourself in a comfortable place, a chair, a sofa, or maybe even your bed, turn off all electronic devices and anything else that may prove to be a source of distraction, and then take a deep breath. Normally, I’d ask you to close your eyes as well but you need them open to follow my words, so focus on them now, not on the ones you just left behind, but these you are currently reading, while anticipating what’s to come next. I suspect you already know where this is going, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Keep breathing and smile for me.
How was your day? Exhausting, right? Fridays always are but they’re also a promise for a bit of rest over the weekend. I’ll give you that if you’ll allow me, a chance to relax, cradled in comfort and bliss. It doesn’t take much for it to happen unless you resist the gift I’m offering. Please don’t. Take in every word with the confidence they’ve been brought forth for your pleasure and satisfaction alone. You’re safe when you read what I write and you’ll always be so. Relax…
(…)
https://www.patreon.com/posts/84338333
If everything you’ve read so far intrigues you and you want to know more, head over to my Patreon page and become Spell… B-O-U-N-D, too.
Should you decide to join this cause, your support will help make sure this site thrives and that more and more content is produced for you on a daily basis. Thanks.
