5-Jan-2018

  • 0

5-Jan-2018

Must include:

8-Suspense/Thriller

6-Side Character

1-Earth(ish)

13-Toenail Clippings

6-Humanity vs Nature

Okay guys, I’ve got the flu, so it could be worse, but it could be better.

Plus, I was super unhappy when Toe Nail Clippings came up. My hubby’s idea, and he insisted I include it. And, of course, it came up first thing. He’s going to laugh and laugh at me.

Remember, here’s the original post on Flash Fiction Friday!

* * *

I watched as the man’s huge fist swung at Trey. He ducked, of course, grinned and then attacked his assailant with what could only be described as vigor.

The man’s lackeys were slowly circling behind me. I rolled my eyes, reached into my pocket and pulled out my stun gun. We needed them alive. I almost felt annoyed about that.

The first lackey, a tall woman brandishing a whip, approached. Just like Indiana Jones, I raised my gun and fired.

The sizzle of electricity jolted from the barrel, and the woman went down twitching. I took the other two out as well. By the time I was finished, Trey had their leader on the ground.

“Did you kill him?” I asked, keeping my eyes moving.

“Naw, just knocked him out.” Trey sniffed and glanced around. “You didn’t leave anymore for me, Sally?”

“Not this time, we’re in a hurry.”

“True.” Trey squat down and wiped his bloody knuckles on the man’s shirt. He then checked each and every pocket. A cell phone went flying over his shoulder. Pack of gum. Car keys. Chapstick. Finally, Trey drew out a small Ziploc bag. “Got it.”

I made a face.

Trey laughed. “What, they’re just toenail clippings.”

“And we just spent how many months tracking them down?”

“Too many.”

I made a face at the man as he shoved the baggie into his own pocket and moved to one of the goons I’d taken down. He once again squat.

“Time to get some information.”

It turned out that the goons didn’t know much, but they did know where they were supposed to meet their boss. We circled the block twice before parking. Thick fog made the surrounding warehouses dark, looming shapes that might pounce at any moment. I repressed a shiver as I buttoned my coat and followed Trey.

The warehouse indicated by the goons rose before us, just another dark shape in the shifting gloom, but it somehow seemed more menacing than the rest. A far away siren sounded, and something scraped the sidewalk from the direction we had come. I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans and stayed close to Trey, who didn’t even seem to notice.

When we got to the side door, Trey reached out and tried it. The latch didn’t budge. He looked over his shoulder and gave me the “You’re up,” look.

Locks. I could pick locks. I unsholdered my pack and reached inside. My fingers brushed against the correct bundle immediately. The familiar shape and texture of the tools brought me comfort, and as I drew them out my mind drew away from the fog, and what could be hiding within it, to the task at hand.

A quick inspection told me that it wasn’t a fancy lock. In fact, I was surprised that it was so old. Usually something like this would be an invitation for petty thieves and vandals to come inside and take whatever they wanted.

“Just open it,” Trey growled.

I sighed and set to work. Locks were like any other puzzle, once you understood the pattern, the rest was easy. It took me less than a minute before the latch clicked open.

Trey pulled me back—like I was going to go in there first anyway—and retrieved his gun from the holster under his arm. I shoved my tools into my pack and put it on.

I had expected darkness from beyond the door, but instead bright light streamed out through the crack, illuminating the fog around us and making everything else invisible.

Music accompanied the light, hitting me like a wave of heat. It sounded like jazz. Very metallic jazz. I winced as the volume increased when Trey slipped through the opening. I steeled myself and followed.

It took a minute for my eyes to adjust. Instead of a cavernous warehouse, a winter wonderland sat inside the space, complete with snow, ice sculptures, a skating pond and a twenty foot tall snowman. A gazebo lay beyond the snowman,  and housed the man we were looking for.

“Stay back,” Trey said.

I kept one eye on Jack Frost and nodded.

He wasn’t the Jack Frost, but he’d built a persona strong enough that people believed he was.

But I knew better.

“Frosty,” Trey said, slowly moving down the icy path toward the gazebo.

“Do I need more goons again?” Frosty asked. His handsome face and crystal blue eyes regarded us with amusement.

“You’re not going to need goons anymore,” Trey said.

“Really?”

“Really.” Trey reached into his pocket and pulled out the Ziploc bag. He let it dangle as it swung back and forth. “You’re done.”

It had been a long time since I’d seen Jack mad. He rose from his thrown of ice and stormed toward us.

“Uh-uh,” Trey said, backing up. He waggled a finger. “Stop right there or this little bag goes poof.” Trey pulled out a lighter and a flame danced to life.

“You think I’m afraid of a little fire?” Jack asked.

Now that Jack was sufficently distracted, I squat down and started drawing in the snow. It only took me a few seconds—I’d memorized the pattern long ago—and as Trey got thrown across the room, going right through the snowman, I put the single toe nail clipping in the center of the circle.

“Hey Jack,” I said as I stood.

His head whipped around, and he glared at me.

“Time to go home.”

His hand turned toward me, and his fingers glowed blue, but before he could let his spell go, I snapped my fingers.

One minute he was there, and the next he was gone. Replaced by a flurry of snowflakes that turned in a whirlwind and then slowly fell to the ground.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Trey struggled to his feet. “Next time can you do that before he throws me?”

* * *

Feel free to join in the fun. Post your stories below! (Keep it clean, people, this is a PG-13 space.)


Leave a Reply

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 28 other subscribers

Top Posts & Pages