As mentioned in yesterday's Prediction Winner post - and just to forewarn you - there will be no Prediction on 27th May and 3rd June. A bit of breathing space for us all - and who knows - I may be in touch about that Prediction anthology idea during that time as, at the end of May the challenge will have been running for a full year! And what a year it's been.
Many congratulations to joint winners of last week's challenge A.J. Humpage for The Unwatered Well and Reba Kovar with Truth and Consequences. Stunning fiction, both.
This week's words were selected for you by my daughter:
- Silk
- Trigger
- Universe
Rules
Winner will be announced next Wednesday or Thursday. If you can, please tweet about your entry, using the #fridayflash hashtag, and blog if you feel like it.
Enjoy the long weekend - fiction fingers at the ready!
_______________________________
two weeks without a Prediction challenge? What will we do with ourselves? those dormant brains not churning out the horror stuff... sob sob.
ReplyDeleteMeantime, we have some good words to think on, and the prospect of an anthology - that would be wonderful to dip into!
Been Meaning to Tell You
ReplyDeleteSex between silk sheets usually triggered a response worthy of Miss Universe, though tonight she just lays there going through the motions.
I can’t come if my partner doesn’t; even my Elvis the pelvis move elicits nothing, nada, zip.
“Not feeling it tonight hon?” I’m already planning a date with Rosy Palms after she’s fast asleep, I can’t get this worked up and then let it go just like that.
“Sorry honey, I know there’s no good time for this but I want a divorce.”
Just great. I get blue balls and she gets the house in Boca.
Haha! Michael, you're range of stories never ceases to amaze. Nice job, mate!
ReplyDeleteOops! I cometh bringing BDSM. U don´t mind, do you?
ReplyDelete^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Twisted Silk
Silk does the trick every time. He shows no mercy; always strikes hard and has her spread-eagle across the four-poster bed, blindfolded and gagged, before she has a chance to change her mind.
Tied. With silk. Its smooth coolness securing her firmly.
If she surrenders then, all is fine. He´ll fuck her but that´s it.
But if she struggles… Ah, that triggers something… something hard and precise and aggressive in him and she´ll get punished for it. Punished to the limit of what she can take.
Silk, metal, flesh. With his full attention.
And in the end, her universe expands.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Michael: bloody brilliant! No good time indeed!
ReplyDeleteThe Chilean Recluse Invasion
ReplyDeleteMy skein's universe stretches beneath the city, a warren where we breed my children. The strands vibrate with my wife's calling. My eight legs chitter with age as I skitter home.
On the threshold, I tremble. My son quivers his palpus in mid-mount. My horror triggered by a pox of humans littering my wife's thin hairs, their blood coagulating into strawberries.
My pads stick to the silk. "Why?"
"Oh-OH Oh OHOH. Deeper."
"I've pleasured you."
"No longer shall I eat my children."
Her mandibles consume the strand, pulling me forward. Her face glows in orgasm. Her teeth split my carapace.
Wrong Place At The Wrong Time
ReplyDeleteHer finger caressed the trigger like she was stroking silk. The touch was feather like but the merest amount of pressure would release the deadly load and, staring down the barrel, I knew exactly where the load would end up.
There was no talking. It seemed as if the whole universe had stopped around us. The silence was deafening. All I could hear was my heart pumping the blood through my veins.
Her finger tightened, then released.
She was toying with me, making me suffer: just like the other men had made her suffer.
I was just the unfortunate one.
~End~
Asuqi - You little minx! Great writing.
ReplyDeleteAiden - Was that arachnid porn? Ha! A very clever tale. Well done.
Asuqi - hot. smokin' hot.
ReplyDeleteAidan - awesome - spidery sex is the best.
David - payback is always a bitch..
Aidan: SPIDER SEX! For realz?! I´m on image overload right now -- shit I´ll end up writing spider porn and it will be All Your Fault ;)
ReplyDeleteDavid: ooo, dangerous and kind of... hot. Hm, something about this week´s words =) I love your last sentence!
The Eonic Web
ReplyDeleteBefore the dark, there was nothing. We'd call the nothing darkness, but only because the real word would drive us insane.
In the ink-black nothing, a ripple of silver.
A twinkling strand of purest silk stretches the length of eternity.
Upon that silk clings a spider, with legs the size of yet-to-be-born planets.
It waits.
In the nothing - finally - something. A mote. An atom. An elegiac poem. The silver thread vibrates.
Existence quivers.
Instincts triggered, the spider dances forth.
It wraps. Winds. Binds. Spins.
Of such is our universe born.
Michael: great ending line. The smooth delivery really powers this one well.
ReplyDeleteAsuqi: Hot!! Liked the rhythm in the final three paragraphs. My Spidey senses are tingling. Looking forward to that Spidey Porn.
David: This doesn't great job at capturing the backstory and weaving it into the intriguing present. Good final line.
Chris: I love the premise of spider as big bang. I like the mix of darkness, spiders and webs, and the bit of poetry with elegiac creativity.
Oh come on - how the hell can I match any of these? I think you lot are on a mission.
ReplyDeleteMichael, a giggler, this one. The arrogance of the guy! And even when she throws in the towel his first thoughts are still of wasted sex and money. Really enjoyed it - made me laugh out loud.
asuqi, the control in his control is so powerful, as is the duality of the struggle and yield. Cleverly sordid.
Aidan, I just love this. Every lascivious word so carefully chosen. It reminds me (I'm sure I've mentioned this before) of when I found a tin box in the cellar crammed with huge loft spiders that must have been procreating and feeding on each other forever. What you've brought out is the beauty of the arachnid way - however scary the actual creatures may be. Brilliant.
David, a pure Barber noir. Fabulous opening line; I can perfectly visualise that stroke - even feel it beneath my fingers as though it were me doing the stroking. She is a dangerous soul - will your narrator survive, and how many others will she destroy? A great read.
Chris, a beautiful telling of a creation myth spun with a deft imagery. I'm reminded of Oceanic shamanic trance-tests in which a spider weaves half a web as a labyrinth and the shaman must complete it, or be eaten by the spider. This twinkles for me - and should surely be painted. Gorgeous.
Who pulled the trigger on the Universe Gun?
ReplyDeleteWith everything set spinning in friction-free space, time would last forever. That was how it was supposed to work. Now Entropy growls about the edges, snapping, snarling.
A silken shaft, loosed from a bow of dark matter, whispers backwards to the dawn of time. It struck the foetal Existence, dripping sickness and friction like the darkest of poisons.
A Doom Cannon with the death pangs of the universe as gunpowder, firing the very idea to create itself back through time. An insidious idea that spider-crawls through history: The End.
****
Love these words... I can feel more stories inside me. Like a spider's nest waiting to burst...
Maybe it’s the word silk, or maybe it’s Aidan’s fault that we’ve got spiders on our minds... ;)
Be back to comment properly later. =)
Chris - WOW!! That was great. Poetic with great imagery. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteJohn - A fine tale, my friend. Spiders seem to be the order of the Prediction this week. Well done.
Chris: I love the poetry in this! "Existence quivers" -- mmm...
ReplyDeleteJohn: anything about entropy does it for me! Great writing!
catching up quickly, you guys are too fast for me! I haven't even begun to think about these words yet. Michael, yours was an instant reaction! Good one, too.
ReplyDeleteAsuqi, I write BDSM in my other life. This was terrific.
Aiden, truly creepy.
David, even more creepy.
Chris, what is it with the spider stuff this time? another great image laden piece.
John, different angle, good read.
I'll do my best to avoid the arachnid scene if I can. The Earl (from whom I take my user name) is arachnophobic anyway. To an alarming degree.
no spiders, but a clear indication I am reading The Dark Tower series...
ReplyDeleteDeath Wears Boots
The men lay dead, tumbled like discarded toys on the ground. Wannabe gunslingers now walking the universe, sunlight shining through the holes in their bodies.
The real gunslinger holstered his gun, smiled a death grin at those who stood back. He was waiting for someone else to make a move. None did, none could compete with someone whose movements were as slick as silk on skin, his finger sure on the trigger.
You do not mess with those who know how to shoot straight.
You do not mess with the man who walks with death at his right hand.
Michael - droll, guess he'll be keeping Rosy busy... ;)
ReplyDeleteAsuqi - love the abstract poetry in the last line, great contrast to the raw physicality of the rest.
Aidan - wonderfully disturbing, that. An edible complex? ;)
David - is this femme fatal? Or just playing...?
Chris - great stuff, the poetry of the cosmos. I wonder if the cosmic spider is still out there, somewhere...
Antonia - great spaghetti western feel to that. =)
Antonia: ”… someone whose movements were as slick as silk on skin,” -- wonderful description!
ReplyDeleteHe’s out there somewhere. I hear him, still. I have searched half the universe for him.
ReplyDeleteHe keeps moving, regenerating; becoming something new again and again, throughout time and space.
I heard him a thousand years ago. His whispered voice screamed across my mind like razor sharp, crimson silk.
He is my trigger. He alone will love me, even as he bleeds for me. He alone is strong enough to whisper pleasure to me as I devour him
Over and again for another thousand years until we are both spent and the universe is created anew.
I must find him.
Mmmm, 'K. Just in case y'all are wondering who "Colleen" is. I'm ravenways. For whatever reason, I can't seem to post using my LJ logon info this week. No idea why.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I've been away and just breezed back in. I've missed being here, though. Hopefully I can get some personal comments to post.
Antonia - That was great. A slice of Western that I think may be a first on the Prediction? (We'd better ask Lily about that though)
ReplyDeleteColleen - Excellent words!
Word verification: tradis - a dislexic's Tardis. Tee hee!!
Colleen, a desperate lover's search, with lethal overtones. Magic.
ReplyDeleteDavid, thanks for the comment! The Dark Tower is in my head very strongly at the moment. She says, having just channelled a strange offbeat piece of fact and fiction combined from Virgil Grissom, as far from a gunslinger as you can get!
(conversation:
Me: I saw the name Virgil in a book...
Terry, my partner (interrupting): Virgil Grissom, then.
Me; Yes, he's been to see me.
Terry: is he dead, then?
Men ...)
More great entries. I'll be back tomorrow to add new comments. In the meantime here are a couple from me:
ReplyDeletePrism
“Good day?”
“Sure, Marge. You?” Did you move your lazy arse long enough to do the dishes? Jason stared at the pile in the sink. Globs of fat floated on the cold water; a universe of filth. He picked up a plate.
“Ouch! Stop it.”
Shards of sunlight bounced off the porcelain to hit Marge straight in the face, triggering a violent fit. Froth spewed from her lips; her head smashed on the table as she went down.
While his wife died Jason removed his silk tie, rolled up his sleeves and washed the dishes. Then he called the ambulance.
*****************************
My sincere apologies to anyone who suffers or knows someone that suffers from epilepsy.
*****************************
Forty-Niners
Seven pints per deadly sin, per day of the week, per silken veil. And dance we shall – and drink our fill of victims’ blood. The universe is ours to rule. And rule we shall – we’ll trigger gluttony, sloth and lust. Pride, anger and wrath will reign. And reign we shall – until we are the envy of every living being in the galactic realm. And live we shall – while those around us fall.
Seven red pints for me.
Seven red pints for you.
Seven red pints for us.
Seven red pints.
Seven.
Surge
ReplyDeleteLightening lit her face; distorted against the blur of the rainfall, face frozen in terror.
Raindrops on the tongue. Ingested. Bitter. Silver reflections shimmered like silken strands caught in a warm breeze.
The earthquake had triggered a wall of water which hissed and roared behind her, a monster that crushed everything; hungry, churning, destructive.
She ran, the fear of the growling surge behind her forcing her forward towards the high-rise flats. She would be safe there.
But the baby slipped from her grasp.
She turned, her scream lost to the monstrous roar.
And the light in her universe went out.
Lily - Prism is very clever indeed. There was only so much Jason could take.
ReplyDeleteForty-Niners - Loved the images it conjured up. I would have prefered Stella Artois myself!
AJ - You are so good at turning fact into fiction and making us cringe (in a good way). Excellent, as always!
Colleen: an apocalyptic search, maybe? Delicious!
ReplyDeleteLily: #1 -- housekeeping horror at its best!
#2 -- ruthless folklore song, loved it!
AJ: wonderful images! A delight to read!
Colleen - the mating dance of universes? =)
ReplyDeleteAh Lily, such power in sevens, always has been, always will be, and seven sevens? Really great rhythm and structure too.
Prism has a pushed-over-the-edge psychopathy to it, and a cold brutality.
AJ - harsh stuff, going straight for the guts as usual. Great piece.
Michael – I like the hint of humour in this, and the cool way it is delivered.
ReplyDeleteAsuqi – There’s a lovely descriptive quality about this, it creeps beneath the conscience with such ease. Nice one.
Aiden – Weird and strangely hypnotic. Who knew spider sex was so exciting?
David – Love the palpable tension you create with the tightening of the finger against the trigger. Excellent piece.
Chris – The spider/universe analogy you create is clever; plus you have some lovely poetic narrative that supports it and makes this quite a deep read.
John – Interesting use of the tenses, and some great imagery ‘dripping sickness’ and ‘spider crawls through history’. Very evocative.
Antonia – Western inspired? This transports me to a little dusty town outback, and the viable tension of a gunfight, and the outcome of death.
Colleen – Rich description propels the narrative. ‘Razor sharp crimson silk’. Great imagery created of yearning and need.
Lily – Prism is wonderfully cold and calculated. The simplicity of the words is delivered like a punch in the guts. Effective as always.
Forty Niners – This reads like a poem, it has that appeal through the construction of the prose by clever use of repetition of key words. I also like the play on numbers.
I said there were more stories in this, couldn't keep away...
ReplyDeleteThief
Clouds drift over the moon.
Ellen feels cold metal pressed to the back of her head.
Her heart stops and the freeze spreads. Ice runs through her veins.
Her eyes widen, moisten. Fear climbs from her tight chest to her throat; it forces a quiet sound from her dry mouth, something between a choked moan and a sob.
She can smell vodka and sweat. A breath like silk on her neck elicits tiny tremors.
“You are nothing, to the universe.”
The trigger clicks.
The moon re-emerges.
And she is alone, her heart beating wildly, warm piss soaking her jeans.
John: UGun, great personification of entropy and I like the use of spidercrawling. Thief, close call in the forest. Great sensory images: vodka, sweat, breath on her neck.
ReplyDeleteAntonia: I like this romp in the west. Great closing line.
Colleen: the final line brings out the poignancy in this story. I like the mix of razor sharp with silk.
Lily: Prism, wow, his callousness is numbing. I recently heard an interview with Diane Van Deren (who for a while ran away from her epileptic seizures). The froth and hitting head really captures the horror with which she described the experience. Forty-niners, fun rhythm.
AJ: Wow. Just when we think the worse is occurring you manage to double-down on the stakes and make this not about saving one's own life but the whole raison d'être.
Thank for all your comments everyone. Now to (nearly) finish mine:
ReplyDeleteJohn, such poetry in chaos, your Universe Gun turns the worlds upside down. This echoes with primal, unthinking life-force and screams for us to slow down. Fabulous writing (and love that you used 'entropy'!)
With Thief there is so much menace and brooding fear I nearly pissed my own pants, yet all the while the 'silveriness' of the moon, the metal and the vodka tremble beautifully through.
Antonia, I could hear the cold whistle through corporeal holes and espy tumbleweed by peeking into them. Love the title as well as "slick as silk on skin" - sliding and slinky words. I'd like to read more.
Oops - gotta go. Back again shortly.
Sliding in under the wire! (I hope...)
ReplyDeleteRe-surrection
I loved the feel of his skin, silk over steel as I stroked his pleasure. His soft gasps ran counter to his usual exhibition of unbridled power. I reveled in the softer sounds.
He tensed, anticipating the moment when I pulled the trigger and released his spirit into the world.
He had always been at the center of creation and destruction, but the universe was changing. I had read the bones, charted the signs, consulted infernal devices. Surcease was the only way forward.
As he roared his completion, my nails grew sharp. A new world was born of his blood.
And now, for the comments!
ReplyDeleteMichael - She picks that exact moment to tell him? He should fight for the house for that alone.
asuqi - Don't mind at all! I love that she is in control of when the boundaries get pushed.
Aidan - What a turnabout, and he never suspected. a pox of humans littering my wife's thin hairs is horrifically gorgeous.
David - An unusal twist on the revenge tale, with the target another innocent victim.
Chris - More spiders! The cadence of your creation myth is mesmerizing.
John - Your first piece has a worm oruboros feel to it, which is both unsettling and satisfying. Well done.
Thief had me sitting forward, waiting for Ellen to die, so the ending was sublime.
Antonia - I could almost taste the dust in the air. It was the grin that made it work for me.
Colleen - Is it wrong that I want her search to go on a little longer? I fear the end/beginning of their ritual.
Lily - Ouch, indeed! Your Prism is a nasty bit of work, and yet I've been homicidal over the dishes a time or two. ;)
Forty-Niners is positively gleeful. I want to hear it sung.
AJ - Your ability to find the horror in the real world never ceases to amaze me. It's not that one has to look far, but that most people never look at all. This one will stick with me.
Phenomenal work, everyone! I absolutely love this place.
Where has this week gone?
ReplyDeleteA bit late not really finished but I'm almost out of time so :-
After the plague PT 3
The dawn rose like silk, a gentle haze laid uneasily across the Dales. Jeremiah knew if the Yeoman found him laying a circle of gemstones he would burn at the stake, but there were things we did now that last year we believed to be witchery. We had learnt from the light vapours that these were natural laws of the Universe. The calcite I carried would trigger the power within the vinegar stone at the centre of the circle and cleanse the hundred from darkness. Only the pastor’s malevolent vapour stood in our way.
Just been Catching up with everyones pieces this week. You must have pencils made from viagra. I'm off to sit in a bath tub of iced water
ReplyDeleteOh.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh.
I've been abducted. Oh yeah - it's my (mumble mumble)th wedding anniversary. Sorry, but you're going to have to wait until tomorrow morning (UK time) for results.
I'll be back... No. no more champagne. Please!
I commented in detail yesterday - and blogger took everything in its sticky little web and made them disappear!
ReplyDeleteI want to comment on all of these, but am overwhelmed by how different and elegant the entries managed to be!
Suffice to say, each piece inspired something terribly clever, and I'll try to comment in smaller "chunks" this next week so you all get the attention you deserve!
Happy anniversary to you and your mate, Lily!
ReplyDeleteColleen, what a powerful and intense search for love. I adore the regeneration and devouring here. Absolutely beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAJ, a heart-breaking, terrifying tale of loss and death. I gasped out loud when you mentioned the baby. With the Japan earthquake and tsunami still raw in our memories I can say this genuinely brought a tear to my eyes. Brilliant writing.
Reba, an astonishing new world you have created born of erotic poetry and shamanic augurism. I love this evocative tale.
William, so glad you took us to the next stage in the plague game, and I like the mystical direction it's going. Next must come the actual spell or magic - I challenge you to fit that into one hundred words!! Exciting stuff.
Wow. Between you, you have created new galaxies here. Such visions, such beauty. Give me a few hours and I'll be back with the summary and judging results - believe me, I'm scared.
John: I think Thief is very tightly written, a razor-sharp image with some wonderful mystery to it: "You are nothing, to the universe".
ReplyDeleteReba: such evocative erotica -- loved it!
William: I like where this is going. I have a feeling a drabble about a magnificent rite is approaching =)
Congratulations darling Lily!
amazing entries this week. Really amazing. You all have such incredible imaginations!
ReplyDeleteLily, I have been commissioned to edit a ghost stories Western style anthology, so I think I might be extending my gunslinger story ...
now, tell me, how are you going to judge this lot...
I apologise for not having an entry this week. The holidays and school commitments, so I didn't have time.
ReplyDeleteI should be back this week though. :)