My Baffling Brain

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy!  I've missed a few letters, but I'm determined to carry on nonetheless! Unrequited I clear my throat. It’s now or never. “Umm, Jasmine?” I call, and my voice breaks. She turns, her perfect blue eyes coming to rest on me, her blonde hair swishing like she’s in a shampoo commercial. “Hi,” she says. “Erm, sorry, I don’t know your name.” “It’s Jeremy,” I say, heat rushing to my face. “I just - I was wondering…” “Yes?” She looks politely bewildered. “Do you want to go out with me, sometime, maybe?” The words come out in such a rush I’m surprised she even understands them. “Oh, I’m sorry, erm, Jeremy. I’m just, pretty busy, what with work and everything…” Her words trail off. “Bye, Jeremy,” she says when I don’t reply. Months of planning, wasted.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Quake It starts off slow; tiny shakes, like someone is thundering up and down the stairs. A picture on the wall slips so it hangs lopsided. The tremors deepen, and the whole house begins to shake. Ornaments fly off shelves, the sound of glass smashing fills the house. We’re at the crescendo now, and it’s like the whole house is alive; furniture moves, doors open and close, cracks begin to form in the ceiling. And then silence. Is it over? No, there are still the aftershocks, though these pale in comparison to the real thing. A couple of surviving trinkets jump from their shelves, crashing onto the floor. Finally all is still, silent. I move through the house carefully, stepping over broken things, making my way back to the bedroom. Still you sleep, soft and warm in bed; no doubt you’ll be annoyed in the morning, when you find out you’ve missed another one.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Poison “I don’t think we should do this anymore.” “What do you mean?” “Us. This. I don’t think we should be together anymore.” She folded her arms and looked down at her feet. “Where is this coming from?” “It’s - nowhere -” “It’s him, isn’t it? What’s he been telling you this time?” “It’s nothing to do with him, it’s entirely my decision.” “Can’t you see he’s poisoned you against me? I can’t believe you’re letting him tear us apart!” “Maybe we were already poisoned. Maybe he just helped me to see it.” She turned and walked away, and didn’t look back.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Necropolis Necropolis. “City of the dead”. A pretty apt name, if you ask me. I wander through the city, taking in the familiar sights and sounds. I don’t make eye contact with any of the others here; we prefer to be alone. I stop in front of one of my favourites; a great stone angel, hands held up to the sky. I’ve always wished I had something like this over my grave; a protector, a guardian. All I’ve got is a tiny stone slab, but I’m lucky to have that. Some of the people here don’t have anything to mark the places where they are buried. I sit next to the angel. It’s up on a hill, so from here I can see the whole cemetery, and everyone in it. A woman walks in the front gate, making her way through the gravestones. She thinks she’s alone, but she’s surrounded. We’re everywhere.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Monster “Monster!” “Freak!” The voices come at me from all sides like knives, voices from former friends and family. “I hereby banish you from this village,” said a deep voice. “Take your abnormality somewhere else!” The men tightly clutching my arms throw me away from them, sending me sprawling onto the ground. “If you are seen here again, we shall show no mercy!” They turn away from me and begin the journey back through the forest, back to their beloved village. “Hey,” said a quiet voice, making me jump. “Who are you?” I asked. He walked into the clearing, followed by a few others. “Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you. We’re just like you.” He grinned, his fangs glinting in the moonlight.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Lucky Lucky. That’s what everyone says. That I was lucky. Is it luck? Sure, I survived. I was barely even injured, just a few grazes here and there. I still wouldn’t call it lucky. Is it lucky, that I wake up every night covered in sweat, remembering the details of that dreaded day? Is it lucky that every waking thought is haunted by those who didn’t survive? I see their faces everywhere; at work, at home, at the shopping centre. Wherever I go they’re there, following me, wondering why I survived when they didn’t, just waiting for the day they can claim me as one of them. I wouldn’t call this lucky. I would call it hell.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! King Next in line to the throne. I’d heard the phrase so often, I hadn’t really thought about what it meant. My whole life, I’ve been looking forward to it; being crowned, being the man in charge. Getting what I want, when I want it. Having an army of people at my beck and call, willing to do anything and everything for me. I was never going to abuse my power, of course. I was just looking forward to having it. But as it turns out, power has its downsides. The loneliness, for one. I’m rarely left alone, there’s always at least two guards following me around everywhere I go, and yet I can be surrounded by people and feel completely alone. You would think being the most powerful man in the kingdom would mean no shortage of company. It’s the opposite: I’ve never felt more alone in my life since becoming King.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Jealous He’s never even looked at me. Not even half a glance as I walk past him in the corridors. He only has eyes for her, with her perfect blonde hair, her eyes bluer than the Mediterranean ocean. It makes me sick. She’s not good enough for him. Maybe if she was out of the way, he’d notice me. That’s all she is; a distraction. If I got rid of her, surely he’d realise that we’re meant to be. If she wasn’t around, we could live happily ever after, like a fairy tale. Time to take matters into my own hands.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Immortal I thought it was a good idea at the time. Who would pass up the chance to be immortal? But the burden of eternal life is a great one. I've watched countless people die - friends, lovers, family - and not been able to do a thing about it. I can’t do it any more. Meet someone, get close, share everything, then one day they're gone and I'm alone again. The world continues to spin, life goes on for everyone, except for me. I may be immortal, but my life was over a long time ago.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Horsemen The four horsemen perched on the hill, looking down into the valley below. One horse stark white, a crown perched on the head of its rider; the second rider, atop a fiery red horse, held a sword; the third rider held scales, his horse darkest black; and the last horse eerily pale, its rider dark in contrast. The lands scattered below them were peaceful in the dim light of dusk, the people in distant towns and villages unaware of the dangerous beings watching them, preparing themselves for what they must do. The setting sun cast a blood red stain on the fields and meadows, almost like an omen of what was to come. As night fell around them, the white rider started down the hill, ready for the beginning of the end.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Gallows She stood straight, proud, clinging on to her innocence until the very end. The only giveaway was her shaking hands, tied in front of her for everyone to see. A baby started crying somewhere in the crowd of people gathered around to watch, and a tear slid down her cheek. Who would take care of her baby now? The black masked hangman led her forwards, and the crowd jeered, throwing things at the woman. Still she stood proud, staring straight ahead, ignoring the people beneath her. He fixed the noose around her neck, and she took a deep breath. Deep in the crowd, a man smirked. It hadn’t been difficult, convincing everyone that she was guilty of his crimes. He felt a twinge of remorse as she dropped, but brushed it away. Better her than him.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Flood Oh god, she’s crying. What are you supposed to do when a girl cries? Oh, right, comfort her. “Um…are you OK?” She looked up at me, tears streaming in a great flood down her face, black from her make up. “Um, I guess not.” She sniffed, and started making those horrible noises people make when they cry. Oh god, what do I do? I tentatively put my arms around her, tensed in case she hit me or something, but apparently this is the right thing to do; she leans into me, still sobbing, and buries her face in my shoulder. All I can think about are the black stains that are no doubt going to be all over my shirt. OK, hug received. What next? I wonder how long it will take before she’s cried herself out. It’s a bit awkward, just stood here with my arms around her while she sobs her heart out. Am I supposed to be doing something else? I pat her back a few times, but it feels weird so I stop. Maybe I s

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Escape Just five minutes to go. Stop watching the clock; it’ll just go slower. Ooh, fill out that form, that’ll fill the five minutes, right? Four minutes. You’ve got to be kidding me. Why does time move so slowly when you’re waiting for something? I’ll just tidy my desk, it’s a bit messy. Get rid of that crisp packet from lunch, clear away the crumbs. What?! Still four minutes? There we go; down to three. I feel like I’ve been sat here for 2 hours, not two minutes. Just three minutes then the weekend awaits! Two minutes. Just two minutes left. Make it look like you’re working, though, don’t want Joe to tattle again. One minute. The longest minute I’ve ever experienced. That’s it! Time’s up; I can escape from this nightmare! At least until Monday.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Darkness David hurried down the street, checking his watch: five minutes until sunset. “Well, well, well, look who it is.” David turned slowly to see Kyle and his gang bearing down on him. “Crap,” he muttered. “Hey, Kyle, now’s not really a good time, it’s getting dark so I’d better be getting home…” Kyle smirked. “Aren’t you a little old to be afraid of the dark, Davey?” The gang around him tittered. “I’m not afraid of the dark, I just need to get home before-” “Before what, Davey? Before the monsters come out?” David felt the familiar stirring inside him as the sun finally went down. “Pretty much,” David said, and Kyle’s face twisted in fear as darkness fell around them.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! This one is kind of a follow-on from my A post.  Curse: It happened fairly quickly. People started getting ill; they quarantined the entire village, no one could go in or out. Then they started having hallucinations, saying they’d seen a woman in their house, wearing old fashioned clothes and muttering strange things. Then came the animals; cats, toads, owls, clustered around the homes of those who were sick, waiting, watching. Soon I was the only one who hadn’t been affected by any of this, and I could think of only one reason why: I brought her back. The rest of the village were being punished, even though it was their ancestors who ended her life, so long ago. I was being spared, as I was the one who had given her life again. Everyone was cursed, because of me.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Blank The blank page stares at me, taunting me, laughing at me. Why is this so hard? Just write something. Anything. It doesn’t even have to be something good, just write something! There’s nothing there; my mind is blank as the page I’m staring at, empty. What can I write? They say you can get inspiration from anywhere, but I’ve tried everything; go for a walk, wash the dishes, go for a drive. Still nothing! A blank space where the words used to be, the rusty cogs in my brain groaning from the effort. So what am I going to do? Stare at this blank page for the rest of the day, wishing the words would come? Maybe I’ll try again tomorrow.

I'm doing flash fiction for this year's A to Z challenge, hope you enjoy! Awoken: I approached the old, weathered slab, a cross etched into the stone. I heaved it to one side, panting with the effort. The light from my torch shone on the exposed ground, revealing plenty of dirt but nothing out of the ordinary, but I knew what would be found, buried beneath. The sound of my shovel digging into the hard ground filled the silent night as I worked slowly, careful not to damage anything that might lie under the soil. That’s when I saw it; the top of a skull, gleaming in the light of the full moon above. I extracted it carefully, brushing the soil from the eye sockets. I put it to one side, then carefully extricated the rest of the bones, laying them by the skull. When I’d got them all, I stood back and gazed at my discovery. A big part of our sleepy little village’s history, right in front of me. The bones began to glow, and I backed away, glancing all around to see if some