Halloween Costumes [flash 299]

The three friends scrambled over the fence and climbed through the broken window. “Score!” chortled Jeff, wiping a spiderweb off his face.

As their eyes adjusted to the dim light of the abandoned movie studio warehouse, Andy saw a shape scuttle past his foot. “Maybe we should reconsider this plan…”

“Don’t be a chicken,” Jeff said. “We’ll get primo costumes here and impress all the girls.”

“For free!” Vince added, switching on his flashlight. “C’mon, Andy. Let’s at least look around. No one will even notice these are gone.”

“Whoa, check it out. Wizard of Oz!” Jeff held up a lion head. “Perfect for you, Andy. Cowardly lion, ha ha.”

Andy walked over to the box Jeff had found. “These are awesome,” he admitted, putting on the head. “RAWR!”

Jeff pulled out a shiny suit. “Dibs on the Tin Man. Vince, help me zip this thing up.”

“Okay,” Vince said. “I’m definitely going for the Wizard, being the smart one here.”

The friends helped each other adjust their costumes and then left the warehouse for their school party. They were a big hit and received many compliments from the girls.

At the end of the night, Jeff walked home and tried to take off his costume but couldn’t find the zipper. It seemed much tighter than before, almost molded to his skin. “Mom!” he yelled. “Help!”

His mother came upstairs. “There is no zipper. How did you get into this? Where did you buy it?”

“Um… a friend gave it to me.”

She tried to cut it off and the scissors broke. Jeff ran down the street and banged on Vince’s door. Vince came out, still dressed as the Wizard.

“I can’t take the costume off!” Vince cried.

Just then Andy came galumping up the driveway and ate them.

~*~

Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge 35

Laura’s October Challenge (Day 8)

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©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

The Secret Meeting [flash 150]

“Are you absolutely positive no one knows about this place?” Jane whispered.

Ted gestured at the empty parking lot overgrown with weeds. “Just look at it. Come on. We’re totally safe!”

They wandered inside the building, and Jane noted the broken windows and faded graffiti. “Guess you’re right.”

“Let’s get comfy,” Ted said. He shook out a ratty old beach blanket onto the dirty floor and motioned for Jane to take a seat.

“I’m a bit nervous,” she admitted as she opened her backpack. She had buried today’s supplies at the bottom, just in case.

Ted took out his own collection. “I promise you they won’t find us here.”

“They’d better not.” Jane sighed as she gazed as the lurid cover of her romance novel. “We’ll both get kicked out of the exclusive literature society if we’re caught reading smut and comics.”

“Mmhmm,” Ted said, already lost in spidey world.

~*~

Written for Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge

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©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Expedition [flash 180]

Lixa gazed at the rows of small openings that were amazingly intact in the rubble. “What do you suppose they used these for?” she asked Tareg, who was leading the expedition.

“I’ve seen pictures of other buildings that had similar construction,” Tareg said. “It was part of a communications center. This is a great find.”

“So, we’ll be rewarded with a bonus and time off?” Lixa asked. She’d been working on Earth for three years and was hoping for a break to visit her family.

Tareg laughed. “Keep dreaming, Lix. They want all of this section finished now that the radiation levels are safe to work in.”

“It’s been ten thousand years since humans all died out,” she muttered. “What’s the big hurry?”

“Because we might need a new planet soon,” he whispered, his purple eyes aglow with a strange light she recognized as fear. “There have been threats.”

Lixa waved a hand to indicate the ruined city. “After knowing this… happens, we would still engage in warfare?”

“It will always be the way.” Tareg shrugged. “Let’s finish the job.”

~*~

Written for Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge 32

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©️2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Scraps [flash 135]

“May I help you?” Lynsey approached the elderly woman who was peering into one of the empty dance studios.

The woman adjusted her glasses. “Are you in charge here, dear?”

“Yes, I’m Lynsey Anderson, the Director of Admissions.”

“Good!” The woman smiled. “I’m Jane West and I want to sign up for September.”

Lynsey frowned. “Sign up for… ballet?”

“Yes indeed. Ballet has always been my dream, and just like all your posters say, we should follow our dreams. Right?”

“Right. But…” Lynsey glanced at cane Jane was using for balance.

The smile faded from Jane’s face. “Are you saying it’s too late for me, Lynsey? My time has run out?”

Lynsey tried to be diplomatic. “Perhaps you have other dreams that are more realistic.”

“Just scraps.” Jane turned away. “That was the last one.”

~*~

Written for Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge 30

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© 2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Revelation [flash 271]

“Everyone is staring at us, Mom,” Julie complained. “I wish we could have found an inconspicuous way to travel to the Emperor’s birthday party.”

Her mother’s face settled into obstinate lines as she gazed at the road flying by. “You’re the one who didn’t wake up in time for the skytrain. Besides, this is the safest way to travel. Why do you care what a bunch of streeters think?”

Julie shrugged. “You never know who will remember later.”

“Later?” Her mother laughed. “You’ll be protected. You have nothing to worry about.”

“You can’t promise that,” Julie muttered, as she pulled her silky knit scarf around her face, hoping to hide her identity.

“Honey,” her mother sighed. “Who do you think has protected us all this time? Given us a beautiful skyhome? Sent you to the academy?”

“My father obviously!” Julie rolled her eyes. “I wish he’d return from his mission to X9 so I could meet him finally.”

“I lied to you,” her mother admitted. “Your father isn’t on a mission and you have met him. Many times. You’ll be seeing him today.”

Julie stared at her. “The Emperor?!”

“He is your father.”

Suddenly, the vehicle stopped moving and sank to the ground, as if deliberately sabotaged by the emperor’s maintenance men. The car was immediately surrounded by streeters out for revenge against a piece of luxury when they barely had enough to eat. Julie began screaming.

The doors burst open and Stan the retired Star Lieutenant motioned them out. “This way. Quickly. I have a safe ship waiting for you both.”

Could they trust him? Did they have any choice?

~*~

Written for Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge 26

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© 2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Firewood [flash 124]

Jake slid his phone back in his jacket, for no camera could capture this magnificence. The sunrise beamed through the tree branches and set the forest path aglow like a mystical morning fireplace. Everything bloomed in molten hues of red, orange, and gold. These woods were bewitching and the farther he wandered, the more certain he was he’d made the right decision. Only last week he’d sold everything, quit his desk job, and left his dull life for a nomadic existence, traveling nature’s paths, being at one with the rhythm of the tides, and sleeping under a blanket of stars every night.

Jake was so blissed out picking berries in the sun shower that never heard the mountain lion pad softly up behind him.

~*~

Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge 25

© 2019 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon.

Nemesis [flash 100]

He paused beside the smooth, towering trees, touching one tentatively as if for balance. The ground was spongy cool beneath his bare feet, but nothing hopped or crawled. Golden light poured in from the north and he slowly turned toward it, shading his eyes. He’d been away for a long time and moved hesitantly, not knowing what dangers lurked. Was his nemesis still hunting him, or did she die in the explosion along with the prototype humans? He needed to find out and began to jog toward the light.

“Cut!” yelled the director. “We’ll do the eyeball scene after lunch.”

~*~

Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge

Time Pieces

She smashed the clocks,

Flung the watches off the dock,

Determined to outwit time.

She covered the windows

So day became night;

Not a ray of sunshine

Found its way inside.

Prowling the quiet halls,

She owned the darkness;

Her face remained unlined,

Her body graceful as a child’s,

As everyone she knew died.

Eventually, her house crumbled,

The walls collapsing to dust,

And she stood alone in the rain.

A new world sputtered to life,

Full of hollow fluttering things,

And she became its cursed ruler.

She stared at the silent lake,

That graveyard of timepieces,

And knew a different kind of chain.

Perhaps she had made a mistake.

~*~

Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge

Networking [flash 360]

“Let’s all toast to another great quarter!” Mitch raised his glass. “To Global Imports.”

Wendy smiled and raised her water glass. She was new and hadn’t made a sale yet, but their confidence was infectious.

Bob frowned at her. “You can’t toast with water. It’s bad luck.”

“I don’t drink,” Wendy said. “But I’m really happy to be here at Global, and in fact I have a couple leads to follow up on next–”

“Why don’t you drink?” Larissa asked. “Are you in AA?”

“You can’t ask her that!” Mitch said. “It’s a human rights violation or something.”

But they all stared at her anyway, and Wendy felt obligated to say something. “I’m not an alcoholic,” she said. “But I just don’t feel well when I drink.”

Bob laughed. “You’re obviously not drinking the good stuff! This is top shelf bubbly, Wendy. C’mon, just have half a glass.”

She waved his offer away. “No really. I’d rather not. Thank you though.”

Larissa rolled her eyes. “Whatever. No point in inviting you to come to the picnic on Saturday. People will think you’re weird and snobby if you’re not having beers like the rest of us.”

“Unless you’re pregnant,” Bob said. “Are ya?”

“Bob!” Mitch admonished. “I told you guys ixnay on the personal questions.”

Wendy felt uncomfortable with the group but gamely stayed until they finished the bottle, which was only another few minutes. She walked slowly to her car, wondering what her future was going to be like at Global Imports. Short, most likely.

“Excuse me,” a man said.

Wendy turned around. “Yes?”

“Hi, I’m Tom, and I’d like to give you my card. I know your coworkers and I couldn’t help overhearing a bit of the conversation where they were pressuring you to drink.”

“Oh, well, they were just being friendly.” Wendy didn’t want to badmouth her new company after only a week of work.

“I’m sure. But consider calling me for an interview. We sell non-alcoholic cider and would love to have you aboard, Wendy. Ask for me.” He smiled. “I’ll remember you.”

“The girl who rejected top shelf bubbly.”

“Has a nice ring to it.”

~*~

Fandango’s Flash Fiction 18

Neoma 2.0 [flash 160]

Neoma waited for further instructions. She gazed out at the harbor as dawn turned the dark sea to turquoise and illuminated the commercial boats, few now, more later. The man she’d been assigned to seduce was showering in the bathroom. Now she registered that he’d turned the water off. Soon he would emerge and likely inquire if she desired breakfast. It was possible she would be told to kill him.

The moon tattoo on her wrist emitted a slight vibration. Neoma glanced at it, interpreting the numerical code. She was to leave here immediately and locate a new target, abandoning this one.

“Where are you going?” the man said as Neoma put on her shoes. “Don’t you want coffee?”

He grabbed her arm as she reached for the door handle and she shoved him away, just hard enough that he was only airborne for a moment before landing on the floor.

She turned and left, heading for the yacht club.

~*~

Written for Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge 17