Welcome to the Wednesday Briefers
flash group. The short stories have a maximum of a 1000 word count plus links
at the bottom to the other flashers. The prompts for this week are:
“Brother, can you spare a dime?”
or use: medicine, urn, vast
or “Where were you when...”
or “But you said...”
or write a modern take on a well-known
fairy tale
or use: sushi, hibiscus, kimono.
I’m using “But you said…”
All That He Desires #8
“Are you human? Good or
bad? You called yourself a dark lord. Does that mean you’re… bad?”
Anslee shrugged. “I am neither good nor
bad. I’m called a dark lord because of my features—my dark hair and skin. I’m
not human either, but you already knew that. I am áimear—one
of the dark lords of Opportunity, and you are mine.”
* *
* *
Jules sputtered as the
sports car pulled away from where it was parked. He seriously considered
throwing open the door at the next red light and bailing. He wasn’t entirely
sure why the hell he’d gotten in the car in the first place.
“Yours? Yours? Just what the hell does that
mean?”
“It means I’ve claimed
you as mine. I’ve been looking for a mate and I’m attracted to you, as you are
to me. When you took the opportunity I presented, you opened yourself up to being
claimed by me.” Jules drove through the night as if nothing out of the ordinary
was happening.
“But, but… you just said
you weren’t human! Then how can you be with me? Oh my God, what did I just say?
This is just nuts! Are you listening to
yourself?” Jules was tempted to beat his head against the dash. This was beyond
crazy. “You can’t just up and… do whatever with me. I have rights. This is
America! Jesus, don’t I have a say in this deal?”
Jules shrugged. “Yes,
and you made your choice, remember? It was your choice to take that lotto
ticket.”
“But I didn’t know what taking
that damn thing meant!” Jules wailed.
“Doesn’t matter. Did
you truly believe you’d be getting something for nothing? Really, Jules, did
you not think the whole set up was odd? That there wouldn’t be strings attached?”
Jules slowed and stopped at a red light. “I don’t understand why you’re so
upset over this. I’m giving you a whole new life, will show you things you
could only dream of. Human,” Anslee huffed. “You humans make no sense most of
the time. Why can’t you be grateful for what I’ve offering you?”
“Grateful?”
Then the stark
realization hit he was talking to a being that was not human. Anslee was not only a nonhuman, he seemed to think what
he was forcing on Jules was normal. Did Anslee think every brain cell in his
head had shut down and he’d just bob his head happily and go along? He wasn’t
some animal to be ordered around. Maybe he should just bark and wag his damn
tail. Jules still wasn’t sure what the thing next to him actually was, but his
attitude stated clearly how he felt about humans. On the evolutionary chain he
was below Anslee.
Yeah, and fuck that.
Jules threw the car
door open and bailed. They’d stopped at a red light next to a park on the other
end of town. The park had been built years ago and had woods that back up to
one side. He’d played there as a kid, then later when he was a teen. The woods
were vast, and they gave way to huge tracks of farmland. The good thing was he
could use the farmland and woods as cover to circle back around to his
apartment.
“Jules! Damnations!”
The annoyance—well,
imagine that—in Anslee’s voice, and the screech of tires, had Jules picking up
speed as he ran through the kids play area. Nighttime sounds greeted him as he
sprinted towards the woods. The moon was out and there were very few clouds in
the sky. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Way too much light.
Skirting the monkey bars, he headed straight for the tree line and a well-worn
path he hoped was still there. When he was a teenager, this was here many of
his friends went to make out.
“Still there, thank
God,” he panted, following the path. If he remembered correctly, the path
didn’t go far. Then he’d have to deal with the overgrowth.
Little silvers of
moonlight beamed down through the bare tree limbs giving the woods an eerie
cast. An owl hooted in the distance and Jules shivered as he ran. Was Anslee
following him? He couldn’t hear anything over the pounding of his own heart.
Jules stumbled to a stop, one hand resting against a tree for support, and
strained to listen. Nothing. The crickets still chirped as if it was nothing to
have a human crashing through their woods.
Every B flick horror
movie he’d ever seen raced through his head. Wasn’t this where the actors died
a horrible death? Lovely thought. He didn’t think Anslee would kill him, but he
was sure not to be happy with the little impromptu jaunt through the woods
either.
“Not going there.”
Jules pushed the thoughts aside, filled his lungs and took off again.
Maybe Anslee wasn’t
following him, but he couldn’t see him giving up so easily. Especially when he
had set this whole damn thing in motion. Slowing down a little, he picked his
way through some brush. Earlier, in his mad bash, a branch had wacked him
across the face. Yeah, once was enough, so he was more careful now. He’d get
home and… shit. Get home and what? Pack up a few essentials and take to the
road? Empty out his bank account and spend the rest of his life running? Throw
away his degree while he hoped that… thing… never found him? Okay, so maybe he
hadn’t that this through.
Was he completely nuts?
Jules stopped again.
But what was the alternative? Just give in? While lost in his head he’d covered
more land than he thought, and now he was coming out of the woods. All he needed
to do was get across the farmland and he’d be close to home. This was going to
be the hardest part because the lands were bare this time of the year. He’d be
exposed.
“Shit.” There
was no hope for it. He’d try to stay as close to the tree line as possible and…
pray.
TBC! Make sure to visit the other briefers too. J
~M
