Friday, September 16, 2011

Flash Fiction Challenge: The Numbers Game


It's that time again!

Time to huff ether and drive a city bus?

No.

Time to flip my underwear inside out to get the extra day?

No.

Time to shake a baby till it stops crying?

No, it's Friday! Which means time for another terribleminds Flash Fiction Challenge. This week the Beardilicious One has asked that we write a 100 word story using only three words chosen from a list of five. The words, chosen by a fusion powered robot of such cognitive power that if you looked directly at its CPU for even a second you would walk away knowing how to speak Japanese, are as follows: Enzyme, Ivy, Bishop, Blister, and Lollipop. I have cleverly embedded three of those words into the following story, I hope you enjoy it.



The End

I was unprepared when the end came. I don't beat myself up about it though. I mean, who prepares for the apocalypse besides tinfoil-hat crazies and the echelon they expect to bring it about? Not that it mattered; it got them anyway.

One hundred thousand people died the first week.

Locked in my lab, I work on a cure. I've isolated the correct enzyme, but my hands won't stop shaking. The veins are black and creeping up my arms like ivy, and I can feel the blisters forming on my eyes. Not much time now. Not for any of us.



7 comments:

  1. Love it. Easy to read, flows well. And I don't need to know back story for it to stand alone. Good job!

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  2. Wow, nicely done, the descriptions hammer home the urgency

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  3. Thank you for the comments. It means a lot to me when people take the time to give me feedback. I'm glad you both enjoyed it!

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  4. Yeah, this is totally different from any of the others. Nice story.

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  5. that was dismally exciting to the bitter end!

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  6. Well you had me from the start - I love dystopic novels so this was right up my alley! I can see this being expanded into a longer piece!

    Now where DID I put that tinfoil hat...

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