Short stories

Obscured connexions

~ ~M ~ 9 Comments


Continued from here

Darla awoke in a somewhat familiar place, yet she didn’t recognize any of the faces of those around her. There was a giant painting on the wall across from her, and she recognized it as one of the Old Gods. But besides the picture and part of the room, everything else seemed foreign. Confused and a bit afraid, she tried to sit up. She knew she’d made a big mistake when immense pain shot through the right side of her body. “Ugh,” she cried as everyone rushed to her side. She fell back onto the hard mattress and tried to assess her situation. Many people spoke all at once, and the language was foreign to Darla. She tried to remember what had happened to her, but her head felt fuzzy every time she tried. She did remember part of a dream she was having before she woke. Abbefore was there, leaning over his orb, mumbling something to himself, when he suddenly spun around on his pedestal and looked straight at Darla. He tried to communicate with her, but like a television with lousy reception, she couldn’t understand what he was trying to say. It seemed he was trying to show her something very important, and he kept repeating the words, “Don’t forget to…” but that was all she could remember of the dream. With a heavyhearted sigh, she closed her eyes and tried to ignore the commotion of those around her. She took a long, deep breath and tried to relax. Abbefore’s image was still so vivid in her mind. “If only I could remember,” she kept whispering to herself. But with an exhausted mind and an acutely injured body, she fell asleep once more.

© 2024 Michelle Cook

Photo credit: https://afterwards.blog/

Writing challenge: https://afterwards.blog/2024/02/05/afterwards-writing-prompt-5-monday-5th-of-february-connexion/

Forced adjustments

~ ~M ~ 9 Comments

Continued from here

Bong, bong, bong, every clock erupted at once, announcing the onset of midnight. Abbefore was still hard at work, though. The current universe he was rearranging wasn’t reacting as he had hoped and was growing smaller by the hour. At this rate, Abbefore feared, there’d be nothing left by the end of the century. Still, he worked determinedly, rearranging planets in many different solar systems. His main objective was to keep everything in line and guard the outlying planets and solar systems from entering the Polar Plexis, which belonged to the Delatorians. It was perplexing work and somewhat like playing chess, and whenever he did move something, there were, of course, repercussions with every move he made. Sometimes, entire planets would explode with just the touch of his finger. Still, others would often react in ways he never anticipated at all. In fact, planets CR5 and WXR1 grew so big after being moved that they had to be relocated to different worlds to prevent the other planets from spinning out of control. Worlds, solar systems, and other various universes were quite sensitive when it came to adjustments. Abbefore was one of the few wizarding adjusters still alive, which made him even more of a threat to those who wanted all of the worlds combined for themselves. Many had tried over the centuries to interfere with the delicate balance and structure of the different worlds but none had ever come close to succeeding until now.

Continued here

© 2024 Michelle Cook

Writing challenge: https://afterwards.blog/2024/01/29/afterwards-writing-prompt-4-monday-29th-of-january-time-to-die/

Photo credit: https://afterwards.blog/

Old Gods

~ ~M ~ 5 Comments

Continued from here

Scouring the corridors for any sign of a way out, Darla walked briskly, knowing exactly what the Detainers would do if they found her. She’d already scurried through at least a dozen different passageways, and each adjoining area she found led to even more open-aired hangars. The hangars were full of battle-ready fighter jets and monstrous-sized cargo ships. Each silvery gleaming monstrosity seemed to be floating in unified anticipation of what was soon to come. Flashbacks of the Old Gods kept filling Darla’s mind. How had the world she’d left just a few years ago gone from pleasant rolling hills blanketed in emerald green clover to the current devastation, which was spreading more each day? It was difficult to understand how greed could be the cause of so much despair. And where was Abbefore she wondered, had he escaped and gone back into hiding, or was he now captured along with the others? And with that last thought, a sudden searing pain shot through her arm, and then another nipped at her upper thigh. That’s when the lights went out, the flashbacks disappeared, and with the onset of darkness, the dreams began.

© 2024 Michelle Cook

Continued here

Photo credit: https://afterwards.blog/

Writing challenge: https://afterwards.blog/2024/01/22/afterwards-writing-prompt-3-monday-22nd-of-january-old-gods/

Abbefore

~ ~M ~ 13 Comments

Continued from here.

Incantations danced erratically around the dimly lit room as meteors zoomed in the far distance across the dazzling night sky. Abbefore’s gaze was fixed on an orb perched on a pedestal at his feet, and within the orb’s walls, there appeared to be an electric storm brewing. Flecks of lightning erupted in jagged spurts while a fine silvery mist clouded the interior shell. The effect was mesmerizing, and even Abbefore was not immune to its hypnotic effects. But there was a grand mission at hand, one that could not be forgotten or dismissed without a direct, volatile impact on the entire universe. Abbefore had been assigned to this mission, and he knew that if he did not fail, there was immense hope in restoring the current solar system and perhaps even the surrounding ones as well. Everything was dependent on him now. All the other great wizards were either captured or expired, sent into the great unknown. Fortunately, young Darla had made it out, and as far as he could tell, she was still alive. He could always sense her presence no matter where she was or what world she was in; tied together by an invisible thread, not even the Detainers could hide her from his view.

Continued here

© 2024 Michelle Cook

Photo credit: https://afterwards.blog/

Writing challenge: https://afterwards.blog/2024/01/15/afterwards-writing-prompt-2-monday-15th-of-january-creation/

Ever since…

~ ~M ~ 26 Comments

A sliver of sunlight was all he had as he sat on the cold, stone floor. But the warmth of that thin ray was all he really needed to recall that last day with her. Cowering in the corner of the scanty room, he closed his eyes and allowed his mind to drift to her. She was the only comforting thought he had now, and his memory carried him to the last place they’d been before the world turned upside down.

They’d been sitting in a sunny field surrounded by wildflowers; she’d woven daisies into the shape of a crown and placed the arrangement atop his head. He could still remember the playful look she’d given him as she proudly crowned him king of her heart. Then, in turn, he’d reached down to pluck a dainty flower that was nearly in full bloom and tucked it gently behind her ear. The gesture caused her to giggle, and that sweet melody was a song he’d held onto ever since.

© 2022 Michelle Cook

Photo credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/hand-daisy-flower-finger-302802/

Writing prompt: A sliver of sunlight