The 4th Annual
Spooktoberfest was difficult. I didn't realize how hard this was until I worked on my own flash fiction piece.
So many koodos and shout-outs to you wonderful writers who did this challenge and joined in on the fun!
The challenge was to write a 400 max word flash fiction piece using the 13 required items below.
Bad Meets Evil
An
usher handed Charlotte a program with a handwritten note on the front:
To the lady in the leather corset, you look stunning.
She glanced at the usher, but he shook his head
and continued to hand out programs.
Charlotte scanned the audience for her admirer. No
one stood out, except for the people next to her, eating popcorn and sipping coffee. She'd gobble down a mushy banana over that, any day.
On stage, two actors pretended to fish from a
makeshift pier, complete with seaweed.
Charlotte locked eyes with Lawrence. Or, at least, that was his
character’s name in the play. She browsed the pamphlet for his real name—Kole
Kaldwell. Probably not his birth name, either. She aimed the note at him; her
way of asking if he was the author.
He nodded and smiled.
The theater was Charlotte’s refuge from the
outside world, the one place she could escape her demons. She didn’t want to
taint this haven by hooking up with some stranger. She bolted from the theater
and down the steps. The heel of her boot caught on her skirt, causing her to tumble forward.
Kole swooped in and saved her from eating cement.
“Aren’t you missing your play?” She adjusted his
tie.
“It’s worth it.” He pulled her into an embrace.
“You’re breathtaking.”
“So are you.” She removed a poison dart from a
secret compartment in her corset and pricked his skin with it.
At the same time, tingles soared through her arm
until it went numb. She looked at Kole’s hand, which held a sapphire tie-pin.
In her own excitement, she hadn't felt the pierce from it.
Kole slid to the ground, like a discarded
marionette, and Charlotte followed, landing on top. If she could’ve laughed,
she would have. She’d finally met her match, her equal, but didn’t realize it
until they both had paralyzed each other. It was comical, really.
Bats flew
above, and a dog barked.
“What’d ya find, boy?”
She didn’t recognize the voice, and couldn’t see
his face, but that didn’t matter. She was going to be saved. Her eyes grew
heavy until they closed.
Charlotte awoke in a van, bound to Kole with Ace bandages. Bad Meets Evil by Eminem played on the radio.
“You two will make a wonderful addition to my
collection.” The usher stared back at her through the rearview mirror.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
