FSF: Innocence Lost

It's time once again for Five Sentence Fiction!  The word for this week is INNOCENCE.

My ongoing story "A Life For Sale" features Aurora and her struggle to survive in a world that treats her as a commodity.  To read this story from the beginning, go to this PAGE.

Chapter 5

Innocence Lost

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The house before Aurora was in pristine condition, and it was far larger than the apartment building that she inhabited eleven months out of the year.  Though she knew it wasn’t the same, the look of this home put her in mind of the place where her innocence was first lost, and she learned once and for all that the world simply didn’t care about people like her.

Her daughter’s face flashed through her mind, and a deep sadness tugged at her heart as she acknowledged the fact that her daughter would grow up to face the same sad life as her, as would any grandchildren that might also come into the world.

The woman in the green dress, who had introduced herself as Drucilla on the ride over, studied Aurora’s face for a long moment, as if trying to discern her innermost thoughts, before going on to say something entirely unexpected.  “I can’t even begin to imagine what you’ve had to go through in the other homes where you served, but I can promise that you won’t be made to suffer here.”

FSF: Behind Closed Doors

It's time once again for Five Sentence Fiction!  The prompt for this week is DOORS.

This chapter continues the saga of "A Life for Sale" where young Aurora must tread carefully in a world that treats her as a disposable distraction for wealthy patrons.  To read her story from the beginning, click HERE.

Chapter 4

Behind Closed Doors

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traffic-sky/DeviantArt

A young woman adorned in a crisp emerald gown and golden bracelets and baubles earned the right to the next month of Aurora’s life.  Some might assume this is a good thing, but she knew from experience that the appetites of some women could be just as twisted and cruel as the worst of the violent men she’d come to know.

Someone could appear respectable to all the world as long as they dressed in the right way, and spoke as a cultured individual should.  Yet it is only behind closed doors that the real person is revealed, as that is where they strip away the mask that society compels them to wear.

As Aurora was escorted away from the auction block and ushered into a sleek white car, she wondered who this lady would prove to be once the door closed behind them.

FSF: Freedom is a Costly Dream

I know it's been awhile since I've posted for Five Sentence Fiction.  I was busy working on a novella, and then I participated in the A to Z Challenge. That's kept me pretty busy. Still, I'm here now!

The word for this week is FREEDOM.

You can find the entire story of "A Life for Sale" on this PAGE.

Chapter 3

Freedom is a Costly Dream

Image courtesy of oO2bored2careOo/
DeviantArt

Well-dressed ladies and gentlemen crowded the floor in front of the auction block, and Aurora tried to imagine what it felt like to stand in their place.  How would it feel to look upon the unwashed, emaciated bodies of the poorest in the city?  How would it feel to shop for your annual human distraction rather than fear who would purchase you for the month of your life you have no choice but to sacrifice?

With the dream of freedom in her mind, Aurora heard her number being called.  She stepped forward and watched as hands waved the numbered cards in the air, wondering if she would ever be able to pay the price for her freedom.

FSF: Strength

It's time once again for Five Sentence Fiction!  The word for this week is STRENGTH.

You can find the first chapter of this new ongoing story HERE.

A Life for Sale

Chapter 2: Strength

Strength wasn’t optional in Aurora’s world, and it never had been.  She grew up in a government-run orphanage, having been born to parents who couldn’t even hold jobs to support themselves, let alone a child.

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A lack of education, while cruel and restrictive to her prospects now, didn’t feel quite so awful as the total lack of love she had growing up.  The hot sting of whips on tender flesh represented the sole source of human contact she experienced until she was sixteen.

Aurora reflected on these things briefly as she stepped up to the auction block, crowding up against a number of thin, trembling bodies, and waited for the bidding to begin.

FSF: Heartache

It's time for Five Sentence Fiction!  The word for this week is ACHE.

A Life for Sale
Chapter 1: Heartache

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Aurora leaned forward, her scarred palms resting against the chilled glass.  Her apartment, hardly more than a walk-in closet and poorly heated, afforded a perfect view of the upper-scale complexes across the river.

It was selection time again, and she peered at the empty crib beside her bed, thinking of the daughter she had to leave behind for the next month, and aching because she could think of no other way to provide for her.

The selection was scheduled to take place in an hour, and she wondered which upper-crust hot shot would bid for her services, as well as what kind of services they would demand.  She shudders as she remembers the scars she acquired last year, of the horrific month that led to the conception of her little girl, and lamenting the fact that if she didn’t resort to this, she would be homeless.

FSF: Frozen

It's time once again for Five Sentence Fiction!  The word for this week is FROZEN.  It's certainly an appropriate word for this time of year, at least where I come from.

Frozen

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Entranced by the bird sitting on the ice-covered pond, Malcolm inched forward, his camera clutched in his cold-reddened hands.  The only thing that mattered in that moment was capturing the perfect picture, and his focus prevented him from noticing a few crucial details, the most important of which was the sound of the ice cracking beneath his feet.

Suddenly, the ice gave way, plunging him into the frozen darkness.  His camera slipped from his grip, but that didn’t register as his brain fought to catch up with what was happening.  Needles of cold pierced his body, drawing the warmth from his skin as his heavy limbs struggled to propel him from his chilling nightmare.

FSF: Sparks

It's time once again for Five Sentence Fiction!  The prompt for this week is SPARKS.

Sparks

It began all in a coffee shop with a stolen glance, a cautious smile, and a cleverly concocted excuse to walk over and say hello. 

Melanie felt the chemistry between them, like sparks under her skin.  Before that first meeting was over, they’d exchanged phone numbers, promising to see each other soon.

All of it was unexpected, but Melanie was open to experiencing all that life had to offer.  So she accepted the fact that she was falling for Bridgette, who was nearly ten years her senior, and cherished the experience as those initial sparks kindled a long-burning flame.

Photo courtesy of pakorn/
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

FSF: Hold On

It's time once again for Five Sentence Fiction!  The word for this week is CLUTCH.  The photo below was also offered up for inspiration.

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Hold On

I remember clutching on to your leg, convinced that the world would end if I dared to let go.  The darkness around us was suddenly assaulted by the sound of shattering glass, and the brutal winds wailed as they tore through our hiding place.

Fear washed through me as I thought about Mom and Dad, who weren’t home, and more than anything, I wanted them there to keep me safe.

Yet I needn’t have worried so much, because you, my big brother, ran a soothing hand through my hair and shielded me from the debris.  Though you too were concerned for the safety of our parents, you focused on me, and allowed me to hold on to you for dear life, kindly ignoring the scratch marks my five-year-old nails left in your skin.

FSF: Moonbeams

It's time for Five Sentence Fiction!  The word for this week is MOON.

Moonbeams

The snow shimmered, reflected moonbeams radiating back toward the night sky, easily escaping the gravitational pull of the earth.

“I wonder where that light is going?” Owen murmured to himself as he gazed up at the night sky.

The chill of the snow was sinking through his clothes, and he had no doubt that his skin had taken on a distinctly bluish hue by that point, but there was nothing to be done about it.  Using his remaining strength, he turned his head slightly, and upon seeing how much of the snow surrounding him was darkened with blood that looked almost black, he knew without a doubt that a chill would have overtaken his body either way.

Owen, as he looked back up at the moon, silently acknowledged that perhaps this was not a good night to go for a stroll after all, and waited for the last of his life to slip free of the gravitational bonds of the world he knew and ride out with the scattered beams of light.

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FSF: Moments Last Forever

It's time for more Five Sentence Fiction!  This weeks word is MOMENTS.

Moments Last Forever

Moments may be fleeting, but they can also last forever in their repercussions.  I keep thinking back to that one day, that single moment in time, when I froze in horror rather than leap into action, and how my inaction changed everything.

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One moment, two lives derailed.

One fleeting moment, and enough regret to fill several lifetimes.

If you were here, I might ask you to forgive me, but it would be an empty request, because I can’t imagine how I’ll ever forgive myself.

FSF: Those Infernal Silver Bells

It's time once again for Five Sentence Fiction.  The word for this week is SILVER.

I wanted to do something fun this time around.  Here's the result.  I hope you enjoy it!

Those Infernal Silver Bells

This time of year is difficult for people like me, though I hardly think anyone takes that into consideration when selecting their holiday adornments.  And no, this has nothing to do with religion, because while I am not religious myself, I take no issue with people expressing their beliefs.

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I must concede that yes, silver bells are pretty (there’s an entire song about them for crying out loud), but every time I see them hanging from a door or a hat, my muscles go so rigid with fright that people might assume I’d been literally frozen by the cold.

Lycanthropes have feelings too, and while most of those bells are in fact made of cheap plastic with only the thinnest layer of coating that’s probably never been anywhere near a piece of real silver, one can hardly blame me for being jumpy.  Still, my medical condition is my own burden to bear, so if I see you in the street with those infernal silver bells sewn into your ugly Christmas sweater, I won’t bite your head off (unless of course there happens to be a full moon, in which case I apologize in advance).

FSF: Alone in the Deep

Here is my latest piece of Five Sentence Fiction.  The prompt for this week was ALONE.

Alone in the Deep

Image courtesy of
scottchan/
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The sound of my own labored breathing is the only accompaniment to my frantic thoughts.  My mind keeps cycling through the same disturbing mantra, threatening to drive me to madness before I can reach my own end: “They’re all dead, and it’s my fault.”

The black depths of space mirror my state of mind perfectly as I think about how I brought this upon us all, and that if I had listened to the captain when she argued that it wasn’t safe to bring a stranger on board her ship, none of this would have happened.

I meant well, striving as always to help others, but that brings me no comfort now as my own death draws near.  As the low oxygen warning flares to life, the alarm mingles with my ragged breaths, and it will continue to fill my spacesuit until it is the only sound that remains.

FSF: Picking Up the Pieces

So, this is the final chapter of my "Unchained" saga.  I'll continue to do Five Sentence Fiction, of course, but there are other stories to tell.

The word for this week is PIECES.

The entire story, from start to finish, can be found on this PAGE.

Enjoy!

Unchained

Chapter 54: Picking Up the Pieces

Ylana spent the next few weeks reconnecting with old family members, many of whom despised her for her sudden, unannounced departure.  When she’d left, she’d been engaged, and her whole life had been planned out, a series of predetermined milestones that she had, at one time in her life, never thought to question.

Image courtesy of
Stuart Miles/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Luckily, Nara had agreed to stay for a while, doing what she could to help her friend figure things out, though she did so with a hint of sadness in her eyes, and it was a sadness that Ylana could understand far too well.

So Nara announced that she would be leaving the following day, Ylana confidently asked, “Would you mind if I came with you?”

As it turns out, picking up the pieces of a former life is often all but impossible, but when Ylana saw Nara’s face break into a glowing smile, she knew that she didn’t need to rebuild her old life, because her current life suited her just fine.

FSF: Dancing Beneath the Stars

It's time once again for Five Sentence Fiction!  The prompt for this week is DANCING.

For those of you who have missed previous installments of the "Unchained" saga, go to this PAGE to read it all from the beginning.

Unchained

Chapter 53: Dancing Beneath the Stars

On some level, Ylana worried about what their return to her home world would be like, and whether the Kryllians would put up more of a fight here, which could wreak havoc on the people caught in the crossfire.

Image courtesy of
Sujin Jetkasettakorn/
FreeDigitalPhots.net

It seemed that the Rehani “death blossom” was actually a ship that produced a very specific kind of radiation, one that disrupted Kryllian metabolism so dramatically that they died on the spot.  The Kryllians must have known what it was, and that perfectly explained their hasty retreat last time.

On Ylana’s world, there was no time for them to escape, and all Kryllians who inhabited the planet perished quickly, and those who were hosted left the hosts free of their influence.

That night, while the freed women of her world danced beneath the stars in celebration, Ylana considered that their freedom came at a high price: the genocide of a race that had been created to be the aggressors in the first place.

FSF: Erasing an Identity

It's time once again for Five Sentence Fiction!  The word for this week is ERASED.

To read the entire "Unchained" saga from the beginning, go to this PAGE.

Unchained

Chapter 52: Erasing an Identity

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“What does this mean for you?” Nara asked, her soft voice echoing through the still air of the Ylana’s darkened quarters.  Sleep now eluded them both, though this could hardly come as a shock given everything that had happened over the last few days.

The Rehani had deliberated over Ylana’s request for several hours, the issue at stake being more about timing rather than whether or not her people deserved to be helped, before coming to the decision that her home world would be their next destination.

“Searching for a way to stop the Kryllians has been my main focus for so long that I don’t know who I’ll be when it’s done,” Ylana confessed as she lay on her bunk, which now felt more comforting to her than the mattress she’d left behind in her old bedroom.  “It’s a bit like erasing an identity.”

FSF: Determination to Remedy

It's time once again for some Five Sentence Fiction.  The word for this week is DETERMINATION.

Those of you who have missed previous chapters in my ongoing FSF story can find it all on this PAGE.

Unchained

Chapter 51: Determination to Remedy

We hope to make amends for our mistakes, so we have been travelling across the galaxy, liberating any world that has been subjugated by the Kryllians, the Rehani leader explained.  It has been a long and slow process, but we have been impressed with the resilience of the races we have encountered along the way.

Image courtesy of Victor Habbick/
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Ylana’s mind whirled as she struggled to process the undeniable wrong that the Rehani had done, their determination to make things right again, and what these facts could mean for the future of her home planet.  It was all too much, yet within the horror of the moment was resurrected a gleaming hope that things could in fact be made better.

“My race has been wronged time and again by the Kryllians, and it is only because of this woman” –Ylana pointed to Nara- “that I am here at all, so I need to make the most of this opportunity by asking you to please, please help my people.”  

FSF: Malicious Intent

I'm a little late this time around, but I'm taking the time now for some Five Sentence Fiction!  The prompt this week is MALICE.

Those of you who have not read the previous chapters of the ongoing "Unchained" saga may find the whole story HERE.

Unchained

Chapter 50: Malicious Intent

Image courtesy of
Victor Habbick/
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Ylana held her fists tight against her sides, because she knew if she gave herself even an inch, she was likely to attack someone.  “This is all your fault?” she growled, her voice lower and more menacing than it had ever been.

The leader of the Rehani bowed its head slightly as it replied, You must understand, we were a young and foolish race when we embarked on this project, and we never imagined we would spend millennia struggling to contain and remedy our mistakes.

Can there ever be a remedy for this? Ylana wondered as she shot a look to Nara, who appeared just as stunned and sickened as she felt.

The truth was indeed an ugly one: the Kryllians were genetically engineered by the Rehani to be soldiers, and they were made to reproduce with the destructive sludge because the necessity of a host species gave the Kryllians all the incentive they needed to conquer.

FSF: Planetary Saviors

It's time once again for Five Sentence Fiction!  The prompt for this week is ENRAPTURE.  That's an excellent word, isn't it?

To read the entire Unchained story from the beginning, go to this PAGE.

Unchained

Chapter 49: Planetary Saviors

The Rehani were certainly a sight to behold, with their long, lean frames, and translucent bodies that glowed slightly, reminiscent of the way sunlight plays on water.

Photo courtesy of ahmet guler/
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Though the Rehani were an unknown species (at least as far as Nara, Ylana, and everyone else they’d spoken with were concerned), they had no difficulty with communication.  Their telepathic communications effortlessly leapt over every linguistic barrier, and their natural grace left Ylana enraptured.

The fact that they’d also swooped in and saved this world from the Kryllians, and the thought that they could perhaps liberate her people, added to her sense of reverence.

However, as she and Nara stepped into the meeting that had been arranged with the captain of the Rehani ship, neither of the women could have anticipated the shocking revelation that awaited them.

FSF: A Somber Celebration

It's time once again for Five Sentence Fiction!  And this week is a special one.  FSF is now two years old!  Woohoo!

The word for this week is CELEBRATION.  It's an appropriate one, right?

Note: Those of you who have not read previous chapters in this story can find it all on this PAGE.

Unchained

Chapter 48: A Somber Celebration

The last day had passed in a blur, and Ylana, who’d yet to get any sleep, felt fuzzy in all her senses as she thought back to the appearance of the Kryllian ship.  Her heart stammered at the memory, but was quickly calmed when she recalled the way the Kryllians had abruptly shut down their weapon and prepared to flee.

Image courtesy of piyato/
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

They, however, were not able to escape quickly enough, and the flaming wreckage of the death flower had streaked across the sky of the world below, the debris shooting through the colorful atmospheric disturbances before they finally ebbed out of existence.

Now on the planet’s surface, Ylana and Nara saw firsthand the damage that had been done (large sections of forest laid to waste, homes destroyed due to tidal and seismic disturbances), yet they saw also a somber celebration as fireworks and lanterns, dedicated to the memory of those who had been lost, decorated the night over the heads of a silent crowd.

Ylana jumped when a slim, long fingered hand gripped her shoulder, and she turned to see a tall, shimmering being whose words caressed her mind with a silent, but urgent communication: It’s time.

FSF: Sparking Magnetic

It's time once again for Five Sentence Fiction.  The word this week is MAGNETIC.

You may find the entire "Unchained" story on this PAGE.

Unchained

Chapter 47: Sparking Magnetic

“Maybe they found out about our dealings with Orton, and maybe, just maybe, he was close to finishing his work,” Nara speculated, her eyes remaining fixated on the Kryllian ship.

“Even if that’s true,” Ylana whispered, “we’ll never be able to benefit from it, and all of those people down there will have died for nothing.”

The Kryllian weapon continued to penetrate the atmosphere of the planet below, the resulting magnetic disturbances creating the most dazzling light show either of the women had ever seen.

Just then, the proximity alarm sounded again, and Ylana jumped backward, too overwhelmed with horror to think rationally about what it could mean.

Image courtesy of elreviae at DeviantArt.

A much larger ship came into view, a shimmering tear in the fabric of space granting it entrance from whence it came, and though Ylana couldn’t begin to imagine to whom the ship belonged, she knew one thing for certain: it was not Kryllian.