Flash Fiction Friday 2023 – Week 31
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
Book Signing
Solomon Burke sat at the mahogany table, smiling. It had been a while since his last book signing, and he loved to interact with his fans whenever he had the chance.
The Annazeth Cycle, which had already spawned four novels, two volumes of short stories, illustrated compendiums to the races and people of Careth and was now being eyed for a potential movie treatment by two competing major studios, was his pride and joy, the reason he had returned to writing after a break of almost twenty years. He remembered every detail of every draft he had ever written and was glad that millions of people around the world enjoyed living the adventures he brought to paper.
He had already signed more than one hundred copies of his latest book that Friday morning when two beautiful women, probably in their early twenties, appeared before him, smiling from cheek to cheek. They were both brunettes with exotic features that reminded him of the Arabian Peninsula. They wore matching outfits in shades of green and black and had something to say,
“Thank you so much for writing about this wonderful world,” one of them said. “Do you mind if I ask you a question about it?”
(…)
Consent
Ellen packed the last remaining pieces of clothing and headed to the front door of Kate’s apartment. It had taken her far too long to admit the truth, but now she knew for sure. Their relationship was over and there was nothing that could be done to salvage it.
It was a shame, really. Ellen really liked her and, for what had arguably been the greatest four months of her life, she was convinced Kate was her soulmate. She wanted to do things with her (and to her) that she had never done before and explore the innermost recesses of her desires, but it was all fake, an elaborate illusion brought about by hypnosis, drugs, and daily brainwashing, and she would never forgive her for that.
Ellen stood by the door’s threshold, both suitcases in hand, and sighed. How could she have been so wrong about someone and would she ever trust another soul again? Her heart was broken into a million pieces, her thoughts scattered and confused. Fighting to hold back the tears, she reached for the handle to say goodbye to her old life.
(…)
Final Transmission
Caitlin Harris closed the underground bunker’s main hatch and ran a final check on all the broadcasting equipment stashed there. If this was going to be her final transmission to the world, then it had to be absolutely perfect. Her audience deserved that and so did she.
Caitlin was an award-winning reporter with over twenty years of experience under her belt. She covered wars, riots, trials of mass murderers, and the freakiest accidents one could imagine. She had seen the worst of Humankind up close but also the best, without ever backing down. The people she worked with claimed she was the most courageous woman they knew. However, nowadays, she was also a hunted “criminal”, persecuted by a corrupt system for daring to tell the truth and expose their nefarious ways.
She was unsure of when the infiltration had begun. That was the only piece of the puzzle her research hadn’t been able to uncover. Everything else was pretty cut and dried though: at least, half of the government officials were no longer humans in the strict sense of the word. While they kept their physical bodies and did everything one expects others to do like eat, drink, sleep, and smile, their minds had been hijacked, individual thoughts replaced by a dark evil consciousness that grew stronger and bolder with each passing day. The mega-entity controlling them was of extraterrestrial origin and lived simultaneously in every one of its flesh thralls. Sometimes, it would choose a specific vessel to control, spewing venomous words from its mouth, and demanding unflinching obedience. The so-called “leader of the free world” was one such puppet.
(…)
Jury Tampering
The volume of evidence against Eliza Barnes, a.k.a. Mistress Eliza Diamond, was massive. Even laymen agreed that the Government had proven beyond reasonable doubt that she had created and maintained a hypnotic death cult for years, brainwashing her followers into believing she was a deity incarnate whose mission on this Earth was to destroy the unbelievers and anyone that opposed her words. Acts of violence all over the country had been perpetrated to spread her insane doctrines and garner more followers for her cause, all of them extensively documented by witness testimony and security footage. This case was the obvious definition of a slam dunk, so why was the jury taking so long in reaching a verdict that would have her face a life sentence or worse?
“I think she’s a wonderful person and this is all a big misunderstanding. We shouldn’t be in such a hurry to convict an innocent woman,” Jeremiah Landers said, a sentiment that was echoed by Matthew Wilkes, the man sitting next to him.
“Wonderful person? Innocent woman?” Natalie Lawson, the jury’s foreperson, scoffed. “Have you two been sitting on the same trial as everyone else? That woman is the epitome of evil. She wanted to destroy us and be worshiped by those that remained!”
(…)
https://www.patreon.com/posts/87203574
There’s a fifth piece this week, entitled Polishing that’s not mentioned above. The synopsis for it reads as follows:
Eric has no choice but to polish Jessica’s PVC boots time and time again.
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