Friday 11 November 2011

Lily's Friday Prediction

Caught myself a superb horror film this week, The Loved Ones. The only resemblance to any other film of this genre is the school dance - everything else is unique. This Australian gore-fest shows trailer-trash freakdom at its best. What's worst is the niggling worry that the horrific scenarios could really happen. Highly recommended.

And so to the topic of this post (I get so easily distracted)...

Winners of Last Week's Prediction Challenge

Trepidation lines the walls of The Feardom's tunnels this morning as I truly don't know how to choose a winner out of the excellent entries. What a wicked bunch you are with your clever words, beguiling characters and seething plots. But choose, I must - or be damned. So...

This week's winner is Reba - RR Kovar with Step Up, Step Down -  a sordid delight that flips with a twist which totally took me by surprise. Congratulations Reba!

I have two runners-up - as is my wont/prerogative. Because it made me giggle when I read it in the PM's voice my first runner-up is David Barber's In Debt - great dialogue, as always, despite the schoolboy excuses ;-) 

Conversely I have chosen AJ Humpage's horrifying slap in the face of reality Hive as second runner-up; exquisitely detailed and graphic with an ending that shames us as a human race. 

Well done both.

Words for 11 November 2011

On this monumental date of 11.11.11, lets see what the old tome has to say for itself and dig out a few words for you...
  • Mule
  • Convert (Conversion and other verb/noun forms are fine)
  • Eclipse
May I just send out a wee reminder that if you get the time to comment on each others' entries, everyone really appreciates the feedback.


Rules

The rules are: 100 words max flash fiction or poetry using all of the words above. Please add your entries in the Comments box below. You have the whole week until 9pm UK time on Thursday 17th November to enter.

Winner will be announced next Friday 18th November. If you can, please tweet about your entry, using the #fridayflash hashtag, and blog if you feel like it.

So get on your old gallopy, ride off into the sunset - but bring the darkness back with you...
_________________________________________

40 comments:

  1. Thanks, Lily. I did have another one that I never got round to posting. I'm made up!

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  2. Congratulations, Reba! and David and AJ too.
    You will see by the lateness of this posting that life is intervening big time, mostly ill health, which has stopped me doing all the commenting I wanted to do this week. That filthy rotten cold doing the rounds has decimated me completely and I have to go do an evening of tarot readings tonight, can't let them down, it's a Ladies Night. I also had a court case to attend yesterday over my accident, and ... same day ... the dentist tells me I need this, this and this (including an extraction) before handing me a pre-work bill, as it were, of £456... so you see, comments have had to go this week, but I will be back! I am over the damn case now (only the fine and costs to pay and they can have that in instalments)and will, truthfully, be glad to get the dental work done, been very unhappy with teeth for some weeks, so the new vibrant squeaky clean (teeth) Antonia Will Be Back!

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  3. Congrats to RR, David and AJ..

    I shall return..x

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  4. Congratulations, Reba! and David and AJ

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  5. hey, am I really first this week? Me suffering from all known ailments known to man (or so it feels - only the tiniest exaggeration there you understand...) has got in first! Double wow. Not much of an offering but with the certainty of tooth out next week who can say how capable I will be of deathless prose?
    Here goes, then ...
    Confession

    “Did you know,” she said, “that a male mule is infertile? How did I end up with a mule for a husband? So, know it for sure, this child is not yours.”
    Her belly was so large it eclipsed the entire wide screen TV but was not big enough to encompass my pain. I had thought the child mine. I looked for its coming – any day.
    Another man’s child in her womb. Another man’s child to have the attic we converted to a room for him.
    No.
    She tripped and fell into the TV. By ‘accident’.
    I watched her die.

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  6. SATISFACTION.

    The heel of the pink satin mule was embedded in his eye, the shiny material soaking up the blood. His naked body spayed out on the overstuffed armchair.
    What a shit hole. She deserved so much more.
    She dressed and deposited the matching slipper in the waste bin, dragging the jaded curtain along the rail as she did so. A perfect eclipse.
    The longer the mother fucker was out of her vision the better.
    She was sick and tired of johns who wanted to pay in foreign currency.
    They all tried it . Knowing it would convert to nearly nothing.

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  7. Games

    I don’t blame those who stare; a man playing with My Little Pony,
    it’s weird.
    Can’t take it away though, it’d cause a scene.

    We met at a traditional game convention; love blossomed during Operation – ironic.

    Hooked on Eclipse, he became a computer game convert.

    I missed our games.
    “Paul, let’s play our old favourite – please?”
    “OK, fetch the mule.”

    Saddle loaded, his face close – trigger snapped – Buckaroo!
    The plastic shovel shot into his eye, severing the thalamo-cortical nerve in his frontal lobe. Even the neurosurgeon winced.

    He bawls like a baby when I take his toys away.

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  8. Grogan - How clever is that..? Loved it..x

    Antonia - They do say revenge is sweet do they not..xx

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  9. Antonia - I found that last line very disturbing - it changes the ending from angry outburst to more than a little psychopathic - nice!

    Rosalind - Never knew that was a type of footwear - had to google it(soz - I'm a bloke!!). Like the fact she took no shit from her punters - could be used as a scare story to ward people taking advantage of prostitutes!

    Grogan - and yet more learning to be had - no idea what the 'thalamo-cortical nerve' is but I get the gist from the context. Sounds bloody painful, that Buckaroo always was an accident waiting to happen!!

    Nick

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  10. And for my entry....

    God's Love Lacking

    The future has taught us to be alone. Every day’s a solar eclipse. They said it was Armageddon but it was a lot worse than that; we survived. There were a lot of deaths, mainly self-inflicted, the rest of us have been left disfigured and half-dead. The melting flesh was hard to bear, the mirror reflects a Mule’s diarrhetic arse and the smell from my sores confirms it. We all converted after the world went black, but our bones are soft and we can no longer kneel before our saviour and praying on your back only elicits silent answers.

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  11. @Easily Distracted Lily ~ Loved the liner note ~ Trepidation lines the walls of the Feardom's tunnels . . . even though tough-choicing was actuality. Your guides do pull you through each week though. (Do they fear or revere you?)

    Full-fledged Feardom CONGRATS Reba, then David and AJ. Your words certainly speak a full flared story-snippet!

    May I send *vibes* Antonia's way? (closing eyes, deep breath, focus -- better ease and health in days ahead) -- hope that works or simply, thus strongly, positive energies flow

    ~ ~ ~ Onward . . .

    Acrimonious ANTONIA ~ Pregnant with retaliation, your mule kicked in to more than just bad television reception. Clever concept to cruel fools.

    Rough & tough ROSALIND ~ Tougher than tension your mules kicked tricks' ass ... seriously! This line in an eclipse was brilliant: The longer the mother fucker was out of her vision the better. (Good to see you everywhere, WritingLady!)

    Gosh GROGAN ~ They won't be calling you to do the annual Christmas Toys R Us commercials, will they? You ran the gamut of the pain game. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

    Momentous Mr Mott ~ From your telling title to the power packed The future has taught us to be alone. Every day’s a solar eclipse. to how a universe's universal prayer must change (when unheard?), this piece resonated, to the point I forgot I was on a word search for how swell you slid in Lily's trinity. Soft *wow*

    ~ Absolutely*Kate

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  12. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    SHADOW KNIGHT'S SHIFT
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Tough to see the trail in a world gulped eerie. Ol' farmers' wives' warnings slither-creep up under my flannel. ~ Darkness on the rise; Beware o' what guise.

    Eclipse talks, nobody walks. But I did that night, I had to. Still, tough. Tough even to see the tail on the trail, but the mule knows the way home. She's stubborn that way, is Frances. We do have to get along home though. Wally Wizard's due at 10 bells. He used to be a Shadow Knight. Seems right for the job. Casting a conversion spell on ol'Frances. Kids want a dog.

    ~ Absolutely*Kate

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  13. Kate, thank you for good vibes! Much needed. Love this entry of yours, dearkness n the rise, beware o' what guise... speaks volumes on its own.
    Nick, apocalyptic gloom and doom in spades, good one.
    Grogan, clever one, esp. the use of the Buckaroo game!
    Rosalind, disturbing images, beautifully done.

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  14. Sorry for the absence - 'icky poorly household. Hopefully back to normal soon. In the meantime I'm about as articulate as a sick parrot.

    Antonia, sorry to hear of your poorliness too - 'tis the season to be horrid, tra la la la la, la la la la. Get well soon. Ooh, a wicked confession this is - a tale of revenge out of the Jeremy Kyle school (JK's a kind of smug Steve Wilkos, US friends). The narrator's grudge because of the loft conversion is somehow more chilling than the 'accident'.

    Rosalind, so you've been reading some of my fiction, I understand? Sorry if it's been keeping you up at night. ;-) Satisfaction is a yum rum of a tale; great description with pink satin soaking up the red stuff. Love the murderous excuse that foreign currency converts to nothing - ain't it the truth? What a shit-hole, yup.

    Grogan, welcome in; we love playtime at The Feardom! I like the bizarro feel to this - the convention, the gamers - assault by Buckaroooooooo. Clever how you gave us an intriguing tease at the outset, followed by the lurve story and a vicious conclusion that explained the My Little Pony scenario. Splendid.

    Nick, worse than Armageddon? Now there's a challenge and by Jove you slapped us into the mire with the melting flesh, stinking ruptures and dodgy horse-shit. Your final line "...praying on your back only elicits silent answers" is simply gorgeous and I wish I had written it myself. Wonderful penning.

    Absolument*Kate, I see this tale in silhouette though "Ol' farmers' wives' warnings slither-creep up under my flannel" is a red dress in my head. I loved the plod of the old mule and pitied poor Frances' imminent conversion. Someone should call the Spell Police. Deeply atmospheric and darkly enjoyable (big smiles).

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  15. My Big Fat Evacuation Vacation

    Whad’ya reckon? Two fingers... more? Or some kind of device to drag the stuff out of me? They won’t let me pee. Shame. The little sacks are already peeking out of my flaccid fanny ready to slip into someone’s filthy hands.

    Should have known I wouldn’t get away with it; a drugs mule fits no bill. And counting on the darkness of the eclipse was a mistake; never thought they’d shut the border gates until the sun came out again.

    I’m converted; I’ll stick to smuggling cigars up my 93-year-old arse from now on. If they ever let me out...

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  16. L'homunculus - Prelude

    Belanger winced against the dying light. After a dozen cups of coffee and no sleep, he ached as if he'd been kicked by a mule. Outside, the moon was slinking her way across the Sun's fiery chest, whispering shadowy promises.

    It was time.

    No, he thought. Mustn't look.

    He ran over all the formulas once again, checking the conversions on a dozen yellow, curling sheets. Everything was perfect.

    In his meticulous camera obscura the eclipse, in miniature, crept toward the eyes of his creation.

    Science would bring magic.

    The dark would bring life.

    And she would bring his revenge.

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  17. Lily - I'm always delighted when you shake things up and do something light. This character's a keeper. (Though I must confess my international ignorance... I've heard "fanny" referred to as both the crack AND the back...)

    Kate - "A world gulped eerie" - never heard an eclipse described better. The ending was just right too - no dogs here! Wait...

    Nick - "A mule's diarrhetic arse"... how can bleak be so damned funny? Chilling vision here, and clearly painted.

    Grogan - Vivid scene, and a real sense of the sadness behind the brother's frustration. Damn those springy Buckaroos!

    Rosalind - Never mind the hooker with a heart of gold - this one's got heels of steel! Love the sense we get of her power and control, even in this crazy situation.

    Antonia - V. sorry to hear about all the health trials and tribs. Hope it all works itself out. Know this though - your prose ain't sick. This kicked ass.

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  18. Just a quick pop in to say 'hi' to all... and say I miss everyone and their delightful and dark stories. I have been BURIED with NanoWriMo, as well as finishing up some projects that I had started before deciding it would be a good idea to enter NaNoWriMo this year.

    Firstly... CONGRATULATIONS to Reba, David and AJ!

    Antonia... I am so sorry to hear your health has been less than stellar. I am glad to hear the corner has been turned and you are on the mend.

    Et tu, Lily? Oh, sweetie... I hope you are better quickly!

    Perhaps a few words on this week's entries? Yes, I believe I shall!

    ****************************************
    Antonia - OMG!! That last line was a kick to my midsection!

    Too chilling... his 'loss' of the attic devastates him more than the loss of his wife...? Utterly psychopath!

    Chillingly done, Antonia... BRAVA!
    *******************************************
    Rosalind - Love this! The woman is remorseless in her sick 'conversion' of her john's 'currency'. Deliciously gruesome imagery here... slender heel embedded in gelatinous orb... blood dripping... ooohhh... gives me shivers!!
    **********************************************
    Grogan - Clever words! I shall not be able to think of those old childhood games without thinking of your dark little prose.

    Nicely done!
    **********************************************
    Nick - Cruel visions of the apocalypse... charred earth and rotting bodies...

    That last line did it for me... "praying on your back only elicits silent answers."

    Powerful prose... evokes a vision of a world empty. Well done!
    ***********************************************
    Absolutely*Kate - "Darkness on the rise; Beware o' what guise." Chilling!! What guise indeed...? Puts in my head a vision of the dark angel come 'round... *shudders*
    ***********************************************
    Lily - WOW!! Once more... your words take my breath! I Love the character here... Granny, the fanny mule? You have a deliciously wicked sense of humor! I love that about you!

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  19. Lily, dear... I wanted to stop by and say "Thank you!"

    Your encouragement and support of my writing has meant a great deal to me... until I met you, I had written nothing in this genre. Your influence is most appreciated, and has helped me grow as a writer. So much so, in fact...

    One of the stories that I did here a while back has been accepted in Cruentus Libri's '100 Horrors' Anthology. I sent in 'Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep' (one of my favorites) and just heard back from Kevin today that it had been accepted!

    Thank you so much for your kind words, comments and support. You encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone (crime fiction) and try my hand at a little horror. I am indebted to you. xx

    Veronica Marie.

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  20. Congrats Reba, David and AJ. =)

    Antonia - I guess her contempt pushed him that step too far... so he can have that gaming den he's always wanted now? ;)

    Rosalind - another character pushed to breaking point. Always somewhat amusing to see a heel used as a weapon. =)

    Grogan - complex and deep, well-played, sir, well-played. ;)

    Nick - a bleak end to things, but I suppose the post-apocalypse was never going to be pretty.

    Kate - a glimpse into an alter-world. A very sinister seeming build up to a light comedy punchline. Unusual mix, but I like it. =)

    Lily - loving the black humour. Gross and with a moral too, of sorts... ;)

    Chris - a prequel, as is the mode du jour. A dark and ominous awakening.

    And congratulations Veronica. I (just yesterday) had a story accepted by Cruentus for the 100 Horrors too. The predictioneers spread their wings... =)

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  21. Nightfall


    The salesman smirked at Joe’s credit chip; he led him into the dim, flickering recesses of the hold, to an ancient maintenance shuttle in flaking yellow.

    “For your price range, we got this beauty.”

    It would do. Just a little conversion and it would be the perfect mule for his nasty, little dark matter bomb.

    A short trip to the sun, and then... the final eclipse. A hole punched into another dimension – let’s call it hell, for the sake of argument. A gateway for a race long fallen, banished.

    For this betrayal, they had promised him his heart’s desires.

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  22. wow, such good entries this week!
    Thanks for all the good wishes, people. The troublesome tooth is out, now to get the rest of the work done, (including replacement for it) and the cough is not so bad - I was told yesterday by the owner of my favourite coffee bar that she thought I was the same age as her - she's 51. I'm 68. I need more compliments like that!!!

    OK, onward.
    Lily, I wondered which of us would do the drugs mule bit, you did it so chillingly!
    Veronica, CONGRATULATIONS!
    John, more chilling prose!
    This is so good, it really is, lights up the week.

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  23. I am on the verge of freezing to death here..
    @Nick - I think I would probably kill myself rather than look like 'a mule's diarrhetic arse.' Boggles my imagination.
    @Kate - Did I mention elsewhere rather a dog than a dragon? Poor Frances. I guess the dog will still know the way home.
    @Lily - Oh yes Lily. Was the ballerina that sent me over the edge.
    I shall be smuggling nothing more than corned beef hence forth. Though not up my arse I hasen to add.
    @Chris - How beautiful and quite poetic if I may say so.
    @John - There are many who would do a lot less for their heart's desires. Quite scary is that.

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  24. Big Davey

    Davey was thicker than a mule but twice as strong. He bounced at Ronnie’s karaoke bar, sometimes joined in. That Bonnie Tyler song, Total Eclipse, his favourite.

    I’d used him before. Johnny B wanted to convert some dealers into saints. A few slaps and they saw the light.

    I took Davey up west. Mad Dog McGuire had underage girls and that don’t happen on my watch. The mule took out his men but didn’t see the knife. Blood gushing from his chest, his eyes met mine.

    “The dog has put splits in my heart,” he whispered before his eyes closed.

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  25. New for old

    I am a mule, a smuggler if you will. I deal in the exotic, trading in broken promises, whispered secrets and half-remembered dreams.

    Tonight I have something special, eclipsing anything I’ve carried before.

    Just empty bottles you say? Look closer friend.

    Do you see them swirling inside, those pale wisps of essence, pastel blue and pink, shades flickering with life. They are oh so precious. Do you see them squirming, fighting to get out? And so rare. Not yet converted.

    How much you ask? Well, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, your soul for a soul.

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  26. Charlie, hard hitting fiction here!
    Phil, insidious horror creeping up on you. Great.

    quick note: Pill Hill Press is in difficulties. Closing date for entries for the Daily Frights 2012, 366 flash fiction stories, was the end of October. So far SIXTY authors have not returned their agreement to being in it, so they are desperately appealing for short fiction, 500 words max fixed. Got anything? I have just had 2 Prediction stories accepted, along with the 6 stories I have already submitted, but there is room for more and quickly, quickly, or they will have to abandon the project, which would be tragic! Go write! Search out the best Prediction entries, get them sent in!

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  27. Antonia: Her vitriol grabbed me from the start, the end was (shamefully) satisfying.

    Rosalind: That was one assertive ‘business’ lady. More from her please?

    Nick: Whoa – so few words, such epic story.

    Kate: You evoke an incredibly creepy world/life.

    Lily: Oh my word – I saw it all too clearly (and smelled him.)

    Chris: Struck by the beauty, I want more…

    John: Nihilism from a selfish protagonist, too scary, loved it.

    Charlie: I know Big Davey, used to go to Fitness first in Kingly Street (it read real for me.)

    Philambler: Stunning. Perfect piece of ‘grand-guignol’ and so much more.

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  28. Kate – Beautiful name for a mule ‘Frances’! Very nice rhythm to your piece.

    Lily – Disturbing, funny and gross – nice one!

    Chris – great built up to a great last line.

    John – so much said in so few words – great use of conversion and mule.

    Charlie – Great first and last lines – p.s. saw your story on Shotgun honey – nice one!

    Phil – great little tale, the pace of my reading increased with each word to get to the end and find out what was in the bottles.

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  29. Well done Reba and David. I shall be back to comment later.

    Squirm

    They felt like parasites. Slimy, solid. Moving around his guts and burrowing through soft malleable flesh.

    The colour of fear eclipsed any discomfort in his stomach; he felt like an engorged drugs mule.

    He should have listened to his friends. He just thought it was bullshit, trying to convert him to their beliefs. There was no such thing as sewer monsters, not the kind that jumped up from the toilet bowl and pushed into the rectum to feast on human detritus, eating from within, chewing through the sinew and muscle. Laying its eggs.

    But they were real.

    How they squirmed.

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  30. Congrats Reba David and AJ

    The Supplicant

    Jonah eclipsed all other converts, for the pilgrimage to planet Fitfernon. Mortifer their enigmatic leader had chosen Jonah for his own, to merge in their willing communion, too soon their pleasured days turned to completion, and Jonah must return to advocate the earthly temple. Still unsteady from the 3-month hypersleep of his journey to earth, Jonah enters the green channel for galactic travellers at Heathrow spaceport. He feels the unborns slither beneath his skin. As he cups his swollen stomach in loving arms a warm glow overcomes him, he feels proud to be chosen as their mule.

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  31. Charlie - interesting character, Davey, deeper perhaps than anyone realised.

    Phil - I like this guy, I can imagine him accosting me beneath a flickering street light, pushing his wares. Love the first and last paragraphs.

    AJ - How am I ever supposed to go to the toilet again...? Another piece that actually elicits a physical response, a full-body cringe. The last line seals the deal.

    William - Another sci-fi horror this week. =) I really like it, especially his willingness; this isn't his horror... just ours.

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  32. Antonia – Such cold, clinical vengeance

    Rosalind – I like this woman’s oomph, revenge dished out with a calculating detachment.

    Grogan – The words are cleverly used here, a very different take. Loved the last line.

    Nick – What a dark world you’ve given us. Your words just throb with a painful discomfort.

    Kate – Some lithe word play here, ‘world gulps eerie’ is evocative stuff.

    Lily – Loved this; succinct and in your face writing that made the narrator so interesting.

    Chris – Great command of descriptions in the opening para, it sets the story up perfectly.

    John – The heart’s desires makes us sell out to the highest bidder, and in so few words, you’ve created so much intrigue and curiosity as to the reality of this character’s actions.

    Charlie – You’ve created empathy with Davey; we feel for him.

    Phil – A smuggler of souls rather than drugs, a different mule indeed, such a novel take on the words, nice one.

    William – I see homage to the Bible’s Jonah, and the one here, where Jonah cradles life (as did the whale) and his 3 month hyper sleep mirrors the 3 days and nights that Jonah prayed within the whale. Just my take on it! But a cool piece indeed.

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  33. Apologies for my lateness. Just back from a week down south so this is a smash and grab.

    My Mule

    When I’d first met her I was a non-believer, an atheist, but she’d converted me and shown me the right path in life.

    With her my life seemed complete. She eclipsed anything and everything around her: her beauty ethereal.

    My greed for money though had been catastrophic.

    “It was a mule that carried Mary and her precious package,” she’d said, “I will carry yours.”

    A loosely tied 'package' killed her without her even knowing.

    ~End~

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  34. Thank you all for the congratulations. I extend mine to David and AJ. Fine company, they are.

    Sorry to have missed this week. I was in Laramie, WY, visiting my mate. There is no other reason to be in Laramie, WY as far as I could tell.

    Now, to catch up on my reading here!

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  35. @David- powerful, wrenching stuff. The care you take in the opening makes the end hit like a baseball bat.

    @William - loved this story. I want to know more about the relationship between Jonah and the aliens. Also ... 'Fitfernon' - lmao.

    @AJ - Well, there goes sh!tting sitting down as an option. Without intending the pun... I'd call this 'visceral', to say the least. Scary stuff.

    @Philambler - awesome concept. There's a wicked curiosity in me that wants to see a transaction go down...

    @Charlie - great character here. The details, like Bonnie Tyler, make everything work so well, and the ending is a crusher.

    @John - Excellent and tight writing here, and an amazing premise - to open the gates of hell by blowing up the sun. Awesome.

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  36. Get me! Yet another Thursday that I've dared to work all day then take the liberty of going straight out afterwards. This time I went to the cinema to see the excellent 'Anonymous' (all writers should see it).

    The Feardom doors are closed now but I'll be back in a mo or two to comment on the entries I've missed. Toodleoo!

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  37. Chris - re: the 'fanny' question. It was deliberate so readers both side of the Atlantic can enjoy the pretty image ;-)

    Veronica Marie, you are so welcome darling. You're writing is gorgeous - as I know all The Predicitoneers agree. I can't believe horror wasn't your genre, you tread the weft and weave of its path so delightfully; it must have been waiting for you. Oh, and I've been accepted into Cruentus Libri's '100 Horrors' Anthology too! All the best of luck with you NaNoWriMo work. x

    Chris, L'homunculus est de retour, and I'm so terribly pleased. There is a serious, sinister side to this piece that scares me for the right reasons. I love the way you describe the moon's journey across the sun. Lovely, evocative penning.

    John, Space. Hell. All peeling metal and hidden fear but outward bravado. Telephones were invented in 1876, televisions were in many Americans' houses by the 1950s, what became known as the Internet started life in the 1960s... When I read of futuristic worlds such as this I don't ever say it ain't gonna happen. Anything's possible. And everything is corruptible.

    Charlie, why, I bid you welcome to The Feardom. I fuckin' hate that Bonnie Tyler song but it fitted in here so well. :) Great pace to this, and a complete tale in so few words. Loved that emotional last line; very enjoyable.

    Phil, right. Now you know what I'm like for slipping into a trance, you bugger. These beautiful bottles with almost ethereal contents are just what I need; I feel them - calling. Open one, do... Where do I sign?

    AJ, you do gruesome with a capital bleeurgh. Jeez, girl but you know how to make a rectum wince! I love how whatever you write, however terrifying, vicious, sordid or base - you fill it with poetry. Death is almost floral. Gorgeous writing.

    William, Ooh - slither. Cults are a speciality of Monsieur Davoll, I feel, but unusually this one is hyper-planetary. Highly visual and emotional I'd like to know what happens when Jonah (personal fave name) lands. (Read AJ's comment after I'd written this and slapped my head at missing the obvious :-/ )

    David, dahn sarff? Anywhere near me? (You better not have been). I am reading so much into 'My Mule'; it could be biblical, political, suburban... perhaps all three. Somehow I don't need to know; the writing is tight and singularly apocalyptic for the narrator. A fine write.


    I'm sorry but I just have to say 'Jesus And Mary Chain' - I'm currently listening to the Best Coast album (fifth time round non-stop) and the track 'When I'm With You I Have Fun' is sooo JAMC - used to love them to death. OK. I am done now.

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  38. @Lilting LILY ~ headed to see ANONYMOUS this weekend . . . and keep those tunes playing -- music grooves the soul and parts of Spirit too

    @Antonia -- I sense a turn in your bad fortunes -- give me a week or so and lemme know how all is healing up. Thanks for tip'off on a submission to save an horrific publication. Good to keep all places goin' where words fly.

    ~ speakin' of which -- You guys catch Col Bury's interview and book plug for Ms Lily?Dynamo stuff - (consider the source - that broad's no slacker)

    @All you guys -- *holy wow* - comin' back 'round several times a week to read each of your commentos is lit-wit in itself. (Thanks for what y'all said 'bout my eclipse and Frances troddin' out the darkness)

    Best catch up now that the Barber's in the house ~

    @the charming CHILDS ~ Title started me tittering -- fanny laughs fueled up when they locked the border gates and just the thought of a Cubano up a 93yr arse -- egads ... fascinating farce you smuggle in

    @concept CHRIS ~ VERY interesting take on the predictionary -- with boffo ending, echoing its own accord: "Science would bring magic. The dark would bring life. And she would bring his revenge."Powerful and calculated.

    @juxtapositioning JOHN ~ Dimensional deal for heart's desires? Superb take, well detailed. Dug the concept, more so, your serious telling.

    @crimetime CHARLIE ~ cool to see you here too as well as all the shadows you write up so real - which this one was. Real sorry to see Big Davey go.

    @philosophic PHIL ~ Hmmmm, should Lady Lil's Spell Police be called on your soul-sales? These lines were lyrical: " trading in broken promises, whispered secrets and half-remembered dreams." I played them over several times in my mind's eye. Well evoked in the mystical snakecharmer . . .

    @aaaaaaack AJ -- man oh man can you SQUIRM out grossness in lit above the bowl - Never ever will I ask to use your bathroom! You're the fear-rocker.

    @wandering WILLIAM --kinda felt that warm afterglow along with such a universe as you spaced out for us. Great names and locales set sensation of your place (and pace)

    @daunting DAVID -- You charmed me in at "She eclipsed anything and everything around her: her beauty ethereal." and then ... with holy journey forth -- you blew up my good feelings. Pretty tricky, making me forget I was in the Den of Feardom for some split secs

    Whew ... Good vibes to your great weekends, folks
    ~ Absolutely*Kate

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  39. Hi all

    Friday morning's awash with delays so will post results and new words during my lunch break between 1 - 2pm UK time today.

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  40. Man, what a month, someone slow the world down for me please! Finally getting a chance to comment on the gorgeous stories here but only after the doors have shut.

    Before I do just want to add that I too have been accepted for Cruentus Libri's '100 Horrors' Anthology. Wonder how many of Lily's acolytes that makes in the collection?

    Right, to comment:

    Antonia - harsh, never cheat on a loved one otherwise you'll get yours! Very chilling.

    Rosalind - and following hot on Antonia's heels, and using her own to good effect, a disgruntled pro who won't be short-changed. Love the imagery in that opening line.

    Grogan - oh so clever, lulling me with simple child's games and then bam!

    Nick - wow that is powerful. I've tried doing post-apocalyptic on this site before but have never come anywhere near painting such a vivid picture as you have here.

    Absolutely_Kate - enjoyment just flows from everything you write. This begs the question, what was Frances before she was a mule?!?!?

    Lily - a buttock clenching image (if you're on the other side of the pond!). I'm cringing just reading this but for all the right reasons. Such a playful piece ;-)

    Chris - love the merging of science and magic here. I want to know who she is and just who is going to suffer!

    John - I have visions of a sort of prelude to Event Horizon here. To rip the universe open for your heart's desire - so simply put with such huge depth of despair and longing behind it. Great piece!

    Charlie - gritty gangster noir piece here. I really liked the style of this putting strong characters and voices in my head.

    AJ - my buttocks are well and truly clenched now after Lily and now this piece. Being devoured from the inside by flesh eating offspring - so horrific and worringly possible....

    William - another sci-fi piece. The creatures slithering beneath his skin had me squirming but the willingness made it even more chilling.

    David - killer last sentence, really knocked me. His love killed by greed and inattention. A tale of tragedy.

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Lily Childs is a writer of horror, esoteric, mystery and chilling fiction.

If you see her dancing outside in a thunder storm - don't try to bring her in. She's safe.