Bonus Story: Life and Times of Aries Webb, Epilogue

Here it is! The final part of my NaNoWriMo novel, the Life and Times of Aries Webb! I hope you all enjoyed it. I had fun writing it. :)

And with this post, that means I have one more story to write for this week, to be posted on Sunday, that will mark my 52nd Short Story, and the end of this entire project. Wow. Hard to believe. Stay tuned to see what get's posted! Meanwhile, enjoy the final bit of Aries Webb.

***


Epilogue

Aries looked down at his world from the top of Olympus Mons. How it had changed from his last climb. The city below was now larger, and other cities were close by. There were more clouds in the sky, and he could see water from the lakes that were forming on the planet. There were even a few patches of green here and there. Nothing so grand as a forest, but these were fields of lichen that could survive on the thin atmosphere of the red planet.

“Wow,” Zita said from behind him. “This really is a spectacular view. Thanks for bringing me up here.”

“No problem, honey,” he said. Being outside the domes, they were wearing their space suites, special ones designed for climbing. “I like to come out here when I need some place quiet to think. The last time I was up here was just before I ran for Governor of Mars.”

“Which, of course, lead to you being Prime Minster,” she laughed. “Its really too bad you couldn't’ come up here more.”

“Pressures of the job,” he said. “As you know, it was very difficult to get away from the desk.”

“Well, running a whole planet takes a lot of work,” she said.

“And time away from the important things in my life,” he said, turning to look at he. She smiled. She really was a beautiful girl.

“Don’t worry, Dad,” she said. “They’ll pass the vote. They have to. One man in power this long, and it starts to become a dictatorship and not a democracy. They learned that in America centuries ago, I don’t think we need to discover it ourselves for real.”

“Oh, I’m sure they will, honey,” he said. “I’m sure they will. It’s just a big deal, so I come out here to get some space.”

“Plenty of space here,” she said. “Look, is that Phobos?”

Aries looked up to where she was pointing in the sky to a bright star. “Yup,” he said. “I always loved looking at the moons in the day. It’s not often one can do that on Earth.”

“Yeah,” she said. She did like her home world, but the moon on Earth was just so much bigger and made for a stunning sight at night.

“Come on,” Aries said. “Lets finish setting up camp. I want to get to that dinner.”

“You mean before Anthony calls, right?” Zita said.

Aries laughed. “Are you kidding? He’s been calling me all day. I shut my phone off at the start of the climb. I told him to call you when the vote comes in.”

“Oh, great,” Zita said. “Thanks, Dad.”

The two laughed and returned to setting up camp.

****

“This speech is fantastic,” Aries said, looking over the words on his ePad. “Your best yet, Ho.”

The short, heavy set Chinese man bowed.

“Thank you, Minister,” he said in Chinese. “I thought that such an august and historic occasion needed something that would be remembered by future generations.”

“Well, this sure is it,” Aries said, switching to Chinese. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ll make a few minor changes. You know, just to make it more my own words, but nothing major.”

“Of course, Minister,” Ho said. “I would expect nothing less. I look forward to reading your revisions.”

“Thank you, Ho. That will be all,” Aries said.

“Thank you for your time, Mr. Prime Minister,” Ho said, bowing again and leaving the room.

Aries sighed. Ho was probably the most talented speech writer he had ever had, but the man was so formal and trapped in outdated methods of formality that it often made it difficult to work with him. He looked at the speech again. It truly was a fine speech, one that would be quoted and reread by future generations. It was sometimes awe inspiring to see history in action. And Aries had been in his fare share of historical moments. He just needed to make a few minor tweaks to make it less formal and more him. He’d done this before, and Ho would be obviously uncomfortable, but agree.

“Knock knock,” came a voice from the door. “May I have a moment, Mr. Prime Minister?”

“I tried to stop him, sir,” Anthony said, pushing the man in the fancy business suit out of the way. “But you know how Charles is.”

“It’s okay, Anthony,” Aries said. “I have a few moments available to talk to Charles.”

Anthony nodded and left, closing the door behind him.

“So, to what do I owe this visit, Chuck?” Aries said, motioning for his visitor to take a seat.

“You know I hate it when you call me that,” Charles said. “And I’m just here for one thing. To congratulate you. I wasn’t sure that the bill was going to pass, to be honest. These people seem to want you to be Prime Minster for life, and maybe even pass the job onto your daughter when all is said and done. A real monarchy, right here on Mars.”

“Yes, well, you know that I never wanted that,” Aries said.

“Yes,” Charles said. “And as much as I admire you, and am glad you were there for Mars when we needed you, I do think it’s time for some new leadership for Mars. We can make it on our own now, do more than survive, and we need leaders that will think about more than survival.”

“I’m not the campaign trail, Charles,” Aries said. “There’s no need for rhetoric here. But if you’re here to get my endorsement, you already know my answer. I can’t. I won’t. This election, the first real election since we voted for independence, has to be unbiased. The people should choose their next leader, not me. That was the whole point of my bill in the first place. I didn’t just want to limit terms on the Prime Minister’s office, but ensure that the next Minister wasn’t someone hand picked by the last.”

“I appreciate that, Aries,” Charles said. “I really do. It’s honestly one of the reasons you made such a good leader. I was hoping, however, that you migth change your mind. Ah well. I’m still ahead in the polls, even if only slightly.”

“I wish you the best of luck, Charles,” Aries said.

“Any chance I can count on your vote?” Charles asked as he stood up.

Aries laughed and showed his friend to the door. He asked Anthony to cancel his next appointment so he cold have time to breath for a moment. Charles was a good man, he thought as he sat back down at his desk to work on the script. So was his opponent in the upcoming Prime Minster election, Mrs. Rebbecca Cho. Unlike Charles, she wasn’t a current member of congress, but she did have a lot of experience leading, being the current CEO of the Martian Technical Institute, still the largest employer on Mars. He would be happy for either one of them to take over after he left. Mars would be in good hands.

He just had to remind himself of that. It was so easy to believe that the world really was his, in the sense that he owned it. The passing of the bill and the upcoming election made him realize that getting away from Mars was a good thing. He needed some distance, some perspective. And he needed to find those things he had discovered were truly important.

****

“Come on, Dad,” Zita said, shoving some of her dad’s clothing into the large suit case. “It’s the right thing to do. You know it, I know it... even Uncle Bo knows it, and he’s literally a whole world away!”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve just... well, I’ve never left you alone before.”

“Dad, I spent an entire summer on Earth with grandma, remember?” she said.

“That was different,” he said. “You were with your grandma in her lab.”

“I’ll be with her here, in my house,” she said. “And granddad will be with his time time. I’ll be okay. I’m in High School, for Mars’ sake, I can take care of myself. I’ve even got a job lined up for the summer already, remember? I’ll be working at Solar Tech, making robots.”

“Robots,” Aries shivered. “I still hate the little things. Give me the creeps.”

“But, they do bring in a lot of money,” she said. “And I get to be in near the beginning of one of the biggest industrial trends since... portable music players!”

“I agree, honey, it’s all very exciting,” he said. “I’m just... scared. I’m scared. I hate to admit that do my own daughter, but there you have it. I’m scared.”

Zita closed the suit case and walked across the room to her dad. She looked him in the eye, and started to tear up. He pulled her close to him on the bed and hugged her.

“I’m scared too, Dad,” she said. “Everything is changing for me. Everything. I’m no longer living in the PM’s Mansion. Not that this place isn’t fantastic, but it’s just not home... it was always our place to go to escape. And then, in a few days, there will be a whole new Prime Minister. That’s pretty scary, you’ve been the Prime Minister my whole life. And then to top it off, you’re leaving. Finally leaving to do what it is you’ve probably wanted to do for a long time, something I’ve selfishly asked you to do since I was a little girl. You’re going to go get Mom, how ever long that takes you.”

“I’m going to be living with Grandma,” she continued. “And I’ll be starting High School. It’s scary. I don’t want you to go. funny that. You’re finally doing the one thing I always wanted you to do, go get Mom, and now I don’t want you to leave. I want my dad to be here when some of the biggest changes ever happen in my life. But at the same time, I know that what you’re doing is important. It’s always been important. I get that. I want you to go, because I still want you to find Mom. This is the right thing to do. It really is. And you and I, we’ll get over being scared, because we have to. Because we know that the other will be waiting for us at the other side of this, and we’ll have Mom with us and be a family again.”

Aries wiped the tears from his own eyes before doing the same from hers. He hugged his daughter close to him and kissed her on the top of her head.

“I am so lucky to have such a fantastic daughter,” he said. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Dad,” she said. The, she disengaged from the hug and stood up, trying to look serious through the tears still running down her cheek.

“Now, come on, you need to sleep,” she said. “Tomorrow is the day you officially pass over leadership of Mars to the new Prime Minster. And two days after that, you get on your ship heading to Earth. Lots to prepare for.”

“You’re almost as bad as Anthony,” Aries said. “But you’re right. I’ll see you in the morning.”

She smiled and left Aries to his thoughts.

“Good night, Dad,” she said.

****

“Well, I guess this is it,” Aries said, looking back towards the city from the window of the space port. “My list view of Olympus Mons.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic, Son,” Charles Webb said, slapping Aries on the back. “Or were you trying to be poetic? I never can tell.”

“I have never, in my life, been poetic, Dad,” Aries said, giving his dad a wry smile. The two walked away from the window to join Ju and Zita at the table. It wasn't much of a last dinner, eating at the space port diner, but it was better than nothing. He was grateful that his family joined him today.

“I don’t know,” Charles said. “You were pretty poetic when you first met Amelia.”

“I remember,” Ju said. She winked at Zita, and Aries rolled his eyes. His parents were trying to embarrass him in front of his daughter again. “He used to write these horrible love poems to your mother, and then throw them away before ever showing them to her. I don’t know that Amelia ever saw a one of them.”

“She saw one,” Aries said. “exactly one. And that’s all she is ever going to see. Those were horrible. I’m not a poet, never was.”

“Only one?” Zita said. “Dad, that’s a crime! It’s too bad you don’t have them anymore, I’m sure Mom would love to see them when she gets back.”

“Oh, she still can,” Ju said, and Aries looked at her sharply. “I rescued all the ones he had written at our house and saved them. I figured that any woman that could move my son to poetry deserved to see exactly what effect she had on the poor man.”

Zita, Ju and Charles all laughed, and after a few moments, even Aries joined in. It felt good to laugh, on the moment of his leaving. He couldn’t help but escape the feeling that this was somehow final, like he was never returning to Mars. He knew that wasn’t true, but he had only ever been off Mars a few times, and most of them were on diplomatic missions in his role as Prime Minister. And he hated traveling in space every single time.

They ate and laughed and told stories about Amelia to Zita, who had almost no memories of her mother. That saddened Aries, but she told him not to worry. She looked forward to making all new ones once Mom was back, even if it took another ten years to make it happen. Finally, the call for his flight came over the loudspeaker. He gave everyone hugs and kisses, and all four of them shed tears. He walked down the hall to the airlock of the space ship that would carry him away from his home to Earth, saying one more good bye as he did.

“I’ll be back, Mars,” he whispered. “And I’ll be bringing my other love with me.”

****

The last four days of the trip to Earth should have been very relaxing for Aries. All his calls to the new Prime Minister were done. All the arrangements had been made for meetings once he reached Earth. He had no more responsibilities except to enjoy himself. This ship boasted a pool and a casino, too, so he had plenty of diversions to entertain himself with. Instead, he spent the time concerned. He planed and plotted and grew concerned that things would fall apart. So he planned and plotted some more. Finally, he tossed all his plans aside, realizing that there wasn’t really anything he could do.

But he just couldn’t relax, either. He was so close. He knew where his wife we being held. He had contact with her father, the man in charge of her prison. His best friend, Bo Wu, was waiting for his arrival. There wasn’t anything he could do form the ship, but he wanted to do something! Entertainment, relaxing, they just seemed... wrong. At least, until he had Amelia by his side again. And so, the last four days of his trip were spent in unbridled anxiety and much pacing.

Finally, the trip was over, and the space ship landed. The Earth star port at Dallas was far larger than the one on Mars, and featured a full dozen landing pads, with ships leaving and returning all the time, as opposed to Mars’ two pads. He still had trouble with how much bigger things were on Earth. Then, he saw his best friend, a tall, bald Chinese man in a black trench coat and duster. He looked like a modern cowboy, which made Aries smile. He could remember the time when the young Chinese man embraced communism, and the thought of American cowboys would send him into tizzy fits. The two clasped each other on the back and hugged. It had been years since they had been face to face. After a few moments, they released each other, and Bo smiled at him.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go get Amelia.”

Bonus Story: Life and Times of Aries Webb Interlude 3: Zita

“I hate you!” Zita screamed as she stormed down the hall way. “I hate you so much!”

“Honey,” Aries called after his petulant daughter. This was becoming a recurring fight with them. “Baby girl, come here. We need to talk about this.”

“No,” she said, stomping her foot down again. “No. You said we were going to get Momma! Now your saying that we have to stay here. I want Momma! I don’t want to be here anymore. I hate Mars, and I hate you!”

She slammed her door shut on her father’s face. He sighed and turned around to lean on the door.

“Baby girl,” he said through the door. “Talk to me. This is important, I need you to understand.”

“No!” she cried.

“I want to leave, just like you,” he said. “I want to go find Momma. But I can’t. I’ve been given no choice. Mars needs me, and they don’t want anyone else being leader right now. It’s up to me to set things up so it can run without me.”

“I don’t care,” she said. “I want Momma, and you promised that we would go get her when the war was done. You promised!”

He sighed again. She was right, he had promised that very thing. At the time, it seemed like a realistic idea. Once the war was over, he could release Martial Law and return the government to the Ministry and Senate, back to the citizens of a now truly free Mars. They could elect a new leader. But the elections happened, and he was the only name on the ballot. No one else even wanted to run. The Ministry and the Senate, for the first time in their brief history, were united on this front. They wanted him to lead for the next full term, a full four years. His daughter would be a teenager by the time he was done with that, and he still didn’t even know where Amelia was. His heart was torn in three pieces. One for his wife, one for Mars and one for his daughter. How could a man make decisions like this?

“Honey,” he said, trying a different tactic. “I’m not giving up on Mommy. I still want to find her, just like you do.”

“Then we should go get her,” she said through the door. Oh, if only his little ten year old understood what it was she was asking.

“I would love to, but I can’t,” he said. “But, Uncle Bo has agreed to go.”

There was silence on the other side of the door for a few moments. Then, the door slowly opened, and Aires had to quickly stand up before he fell into her room.

“Really?” the little girl with tear stained cheeks said through the door. She looked so much like her mother, it almost hurt Aries. “Uncle Bo?”

“Yup,” Aries said, smiling. “He put in his resignation this morning. That means he quit. Just so he can go do this for us. Because he knows that I can’t, even though I want to.”

“Do you think that Uncle Bo can do it?” she asked, wrapping her arms around his waist.

He stroked her hair, a tear coming to his own eye. “I hope so, baby girl. I hope so.”

End Interlude

The Life and Times of Aries Interlude 2: A Two Front War

Aries looked over the reports on his desk and sighed. He was so tired. He knew that the fight for independence was going to be tough, but he didn’t know that it would be this tough. He pressed the button on his desk to call Anthony.

“Coffee is on the way, sir,” Anthony said before Aries even had the chance ot say anything.

“How did...?” he started to ask, then stopped. This was Anthony. He often seemed to know what Aries needed before Aries did. “Thank you.”

“Sir,” Anthony said, which was really his way of saying there was something more.

“Anthony?”

“The Chinese Minister is here,” he aid simply.

What? He wasn’t due to be here for another hour. Aries wasn’t ready. He narrowed his eyes. That was probably the purpose of his arriving early. Well, this was his office. The other man would just have to wait.

“Of course,” Aries said, knowing that the other man could hear him across Anthony’s desk. “Well, as you know Anthony, I am still on the call to England. Please let him know that I will be with him right after that call is finished.”

“Of course, sir,” Anthony said. Aries could almost hear his smile through the phone. There was, of course, no call, but the bluff would give him time to get things in order. It had taken him the past year to get into the swing of things, but Aries was getting used to this job.

When he was ready, he buzzed Anthony again.

“Please send the Minister in,” he said.

The door opened, and the official representative of the Chinese government entered the room. He wasn’t tall, but solidly built, and wore a military looking uniform. He was also older, and his gray streaked hair and wrinkles on his face only added to the image of an imposing man who knew what he was doing. Especially when compared to the young and inexperienced Aries. Aries had learned, however, to avoid showing fear. He bowed to the other man and offered a seat. One of the benefits of having this office was the desk it self. Made of solid oak, a rarity on Mars, its size and solidness aided in giving Aries his own sense of intimidation. Aries had a comfortable chair across the desk that was raised up, so he was always looking down at the other man, who sat in a smaller chair that wasn’t too comfortable.

“Minister,” Aries said in Chinese.

“Please,” the man said in almost unaccented English, “Call me Xiaowen.”

“Of course, Xiaowen,” Aries said, switching back to English. “And you can call me Aries. Would you like some coffee or tea?”

“Tea would be fine, thank you,” Xiaowen said. “But while we wait, let’s get straight to business, shall we?”

“I like that,” Aries said. He ordered a cup of tea for the Minister from Anthony, and the two men sat down. “I assume that you have, of course, read over my proposal.”

“Of course,” he said. “I do have one question, however. What, exactly, is it that you think you can provide to the People’s Republic that we cannot already provide to ourselves?”

“Phobos,” Aries said immediately. He kept a straight face when he said the answer, but he wanted to grin when he saw how the Minister’s face fell at the mention of the moon.

“We already have the Martian moon,” the Minister said with a sneer.

“Well, technically, yes,” Aries replied. He stood and started walking around the desk. It was an old habit of his, one that Anthony had tried to dissuade him of. Aries had found, however, that it kept visiting dignitaries off balance, and so he continued to do it. “But here’s the thing. You see, most of the construction work on Phobos was done by Martians. Martians, I might add, that were loyal to the Free Mars movement.”

The Minister narrowed his eyes. “Do you have a point to make here, Prime Minister?”

Aries smiled. It was the first time anyone from China had refereed to him by that title. “Indeed I do. And it is this. We could, if we wanted to, destroy the entire Phobos colony very easily. It being your only source of minerals from Mars, that would be a huge blow to your war effort on Earth.”

“Is that a threat?” the Minister asked.

“No,” Aries said. “It is a truth. We would be capable of getting all the civilans out of the colony and down here before the destruction happened. All in all, it wouldn’t take us more than a dozen hours to pull off the entire operation. And as we are officially at war, who would blame us?”

“And you want China to officially recognize your independence for one colony?” the Minister asked, though he already knew the answer.

“I know you’re struggling on Earth, Xiaowen ,” Aries said. He made sure to use the Minister’s name, so as to re-enforce the power structure. “You’ve stripped your own country clean, and Korea isn’t providing nearly what you wanted. America has a heads up with its Helium 3 factory on Luna. And with Mars no longer providing resources, you were left with Phobos. Especially given that Phobos recently was discovered to have Helium 3 deposits. If we take that away from you, America will gain the upper hand. Not an outright victory, to be sure, you still outnumber everyone. But it would be a big blow. So, we offer you Phobos in return for our independence.”

The Minister glared at Aries as he returned to his desk and sat down.

“Agreed,” he said. Aries took a moment to make sure he actually heard him.

“Agreed?” he said, “Don’t you need to discuss this with your government first?”

“Please,” Xiaowen said. “We suspected such a move from you for some time, though we expected it to be a straight out military attack. Or even that you would sell the information of Phobos to the Americans. This was not quite what we planned for, but it’s the same result. We will agree to sign a treaty with the Martian Republic and publicly announce that we recognize your independence. We cannot afford a two front war any further.”

“Neither can we,” Aries said. “Neither can we.”

End Interlude

Bonus Story: The Christmas Elephant

So, I wrote a quick little flash fiction piece for my kid. I like it, so I'm posting it here. I hope you enjoy. :)

The Story of the Christmas Elephant
(Or, Santaphant is Coming to Town)

By Christopher M. Blanchard

Tembo moved slowly through the savannah, enjoying the hot sun on his back and the clear sky for the view. He flapped his ears, one small and one large, in pleasure. It was another wonderful day for an elephant. He traveled around the region he called his home, and visited several villages. He liked these villages because the people there were very friendly and left him food to eat. Some of them even came up to feed him by hand, and a few of the particularly brave boys would climb on his trunk and hang upside down as he swung it back and forth.

Today, everything was decorated all in greens and reds, and everyone was wearing their church clothing. The priests were smiling and in one village one of them even came up and blessed Tembo. He liked that. After getting his last bit of water from a lake near that last village, Tembo walked back to his favorite tree and settled down for a long nights sleep.

He was in the middle of a particularly good dream about some of those round, red fruits the priests called apples, when a loud crashing noise woke him. Tembo snapped his eyes open and looked around. Nothing seemed to be out of sorts at first, but in the distance he saw something that looked like a red and gold box, with a team of animals he had never seen before tied to it. They looked something like gazelles, but with really impressive racks of antlers on their heads. Looking over the box was a man.

He wore a red suit trimmed with white fur, something that looked very hot to Tembo, even in the cool evening air. He also had a long white beard that covered most of his face, but when he looked up at the bull elephant, he smiled, and the warm appearance made Tembo feel good.

“Tembo, isn’t it?” the man said, and Tembo nodded. “Good. My name is Santa, and I need your help. You see, my sleigh has broken from my rather disastrous landing. See this sack?”

Tembo looked and saw that the box held a large red and green bag, tied at the top with a gold cord. He looked back and nodded.

“That contains presents for many of the children who live in the villages around here,” Santa said. “But now I can’t delver them on time and still fix my sleigh. Would you be willing to help me?”

Tembo nodded. The villages were good to him, and the idea of helping by providing gifts to the children… well, it made Tembo’s heart warm. Santa smiled and quickly packed a selection of boxes and packages onto Tembo’s back. He was careful to let Tembo know where each group of packages was to be delivered, and instructed him to set them under the large tree that would be in each village. Before sending him off, he put a red hat that looked just like Santa’s on Tembo’s small ear. The elephant nodded and trudged off.

It took him a long time to deliver all the packages, and by the time he got to the last village, he was tired. He put the packages on the ground under the tree and then fell asleep. He thought he heard at one point some bells jingling and the laughter of the man called Santa, wishing him a Merry Christmas. Tembo sleepily wondered briefly what that meant.

When he woke, it was to the hoops and hollers of the children in the village, who were swarming to the tree. Even the adults were smiling, watching the whole scene.

“Look!” one little girl said, pointing to Tembo. “Tembo helped Santa delver the gifts!”

He looked to where she was pointing and saw that he still had a present tied to his back. He reached over to it and pulled if off with his trunk. Then, he handed it to the little girl, who took it and smiled at him. Then, she grabbed his trunk and gave a great big hug.

“Merry Christmas, Tembo!” she said.

It send warm shivers all through Tembo, who smiled in return. If this is what Christmas was, he wanted to experience it all the time.

The End

Bonus Story: Waiting for You

Hey gang! It's time for yet another bonus story! Once again, I really dug my entry into Leah Petersen's 5 Minute Fiction challenge, and after doing some editing with suggestions from twitter friend @RCMurphy. So, enjoy my somewhat twisted flash fiction.

Waiting for You

Steven walked out the Starbucks and looked around to find his car when he dropped his coffee. Instead of the busy street where he had parked, there was a forest. No buildings, but trees and grass. He looked to his left, and saw a large, white horse with a single, strong horn sprouting from its fore head. It winked at him.

He reversed direction, heading back into the coffee shop. When he turned around, everything inside looked the same. The tables were still there, the music was still playing, the coffee was still brewing. But a closer look showed that the tables were real wood, the music was being played by a live band made up of tiny fairies and the coffee was being brewed over a live fire. The woman behind the counter, the same woman that had given him his coffee earlier, now had long, pointed ears. He spun as a man sitting at a table next to him in a business suit got up, setting his paper down. Steven backed away when he saw that the man’s lower half was that of a horse.

He turned again, heading towards the door. The unicorn was at it now, pushing him back inside. He fled from the beast, all the way to the table.

“What the hell is going on here?” he screamed.

The horse winked once again.

“What’s going on?” it asked in a pleasant, female voice. “Why, you are, darlin’.”

“What?”

“I’ve been waiting for you,” she said, her voice getting husky.

“You.. you have?” he asked, swallowing to try and wet his now dry throat.

“Oh, yes,” the unicorn said in that strangely erotic female voice. “A big, strong human like you, to rub my horn and that I can give a ride to.”

She winked again, and Steven felt himself getting light headed.

“So,” she asked. “What do you say? Take a walk on the wild side?”

Steven looked around at them all and then back to the unicorn, and promptly fainted.

The End

Bonus Story: Sixty!

It's time once again for a bonus story, dear readers! That's right, I did Leah Petersen's five minute fiction again this week. If you're unfamilier with this weekly flash fiction contest, go check it out! It's pretty simple, we're given a one word prompt, and then must write a story using that prompt in five minutes. It's every Tuesday at 1:30pm Eastern.

http://www.leahpetersen.com/2010/10/5minutefiction-week-twenty-one/#content

I think this week's entry was good enough to post here. So, please, enjoy!

Sixty


Dazriel ducked as another arrow came at him. Three of the black shafted things had already shredded his right wing, making it impossible for him to fly away. He couldn’t use his magic either, making him believe that the arrows were cursed. With no other choice, he kept running. He was hoping to make it to the next village.

He could hear the barking of angel-hounds behind him. These men were professionals. Dazriel had been warned about angel hunters on the upper plain, but he never really expected to see them, never mind be their target. These men were ruthless. More arrows whizzed by, and this time one hit him in the shoulder. He cried out in pain, ducking to the side. His whole shoulder went dead, and he knew then that the arrows were cursed. He wasn’t going to make it.

Then, he broke through the woods and saw a village. He ran. There had to be a temple there, even a small one. The priest could use his magic to protect Dazriel, maybe even send him back to the upper plains. The sounds of the hounds got closer. He looked over his shoulder and saw the large, red beasts making their way through the trees. At least ducking into the forest slowed down their wings.

He turned and spotted the temple. He ran towards it, yelling for sanctuary as he did. A portly priest opened the door, a broad smile on his face.

“Ah, good,” he said. “You’re here.”

“Please, good priest,” Dazriel said. “Help me.”

“Help you?” the priest said. “I think not. I hired those hunters to bring you to me. You see, I wish to replace God as the supreme being, and to do that, I need the blood of angels. Sixty, to be precise. And you, my dear friend, are the last.”

The angel-hounds closed in from behind. Dazriel screamed as the fat monk laughed.

Bonus Story: Snow White Skin

Hey, look at this! A bonus story!

Recently, I decided to challenge myself and see if I couldn't write a complete story in 100 words. And I meant 100 words exactly, not 98 or 101. This was the result. I'm rather happy with it. Let me know what you think!

Snow White Skin

He leaned in close to her, his breath hot and heavy. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. And as a prince, he had seen lots of women, and thought he had found his bride at his birthday ball before she ran off. But this young woman lying before him was worlds apart, by far the most stunningly amazing display of God’s creation ever. He was compelled to kiss her, his lips drawn to hers, like magnets. He hesitated. Kissing her would wake her. It seemed a shame to wake her, this girl with snow white skin.

The End

The Last Jump, a Bonus Story

Surprise! Here I am, in the middle of the week, posting a blog entry!

I decided to do this because I have written something I consider pretty cool, and I wanted to share with you all. Yesterday, I participated in a little contest called Five Minute Fantasy, a fantastic idea run by Leah Peterson at http://www.leahpetersen.com. The idea is that you are given a prompt, and then have five minutes to write a story that features or includes that prompt. This was my second time participating, but this week the story turned out FAR better than last week's entry. So much better, that I am added it here as a bonus story. It's only about 250 words long, but still, that was part of the fun, seeing if I could get a whole story fit into a short amount of space. So, here it is, my Five Minute Fantasy entry.

The Last Jump

Darrell waved his had to shoo the fly away. The day was dark enough; he didn’t need the distraction of a common household insect to add to it.

“What’s the matter, Darrell?” came a feminine voice behind him. “You’ve done this before, hundreds of times. Now, you seem nervous.”

Darrell turned to look at LaShondra, his wife. She was beautiful, even after forty two years of marriage. The smile she brought with her into a room seemed to bring the light of day. He tried to return her smile, but he just couldn’t do it.

“Last time I did this…” he hesitated. “He was with me.”

LaShondra’s smile faltered. Then, she came up to him and wrapped her arms around him, filling him completely with her presence. The scent of her perfume, her shampoo, her womanhood, made his old bones feel revived.

“I’m here this time,” she whispered. “I know I’m no substitute for Ty, but I’m here. You won’t be alone. Never alone.”

He hugged her back, and kissed her cheek.

“I know,” he said. “I know. He was my best friend, since we were in second grade. It’s hard to accept that he’s gone.”

“He would want this,” LaShondra said.

“It’s time, sir,” the young man behind them said.

Darrell nodded, and then turned back to LaShondra. “You ready?”

She nodded, and the two of them turned to the now open door on the side of the plane, and jumped.

The End