The night howled, sucked at the windows, and rattled fences. Trees, arched with the onslaught, whipped and branches reached out for anything to unleash their frustration and torment on. The wind pushed against everything, a bully on a rampage, the world its victim.
The cloud shrouded darkness ate away at the edges of the dim pools of light cast by the street lamps. The polka dot glows shimmered in the swaying black. They seemed resigned to their fate, destined to be swallowed and complete the end of all things, but too stubborn to wink out quickly. Fading, little by little, the long hours of the night stretched thin.
A single door on the block creaked open, straining against the arms of the storm, and then banged shut. The hunched man winced in anticipation of the sound even though the echoes of the escape were lost below the fury of the wind. His strained eyes swept the scoured landscape and saw nothing but the traces of lights ominously urging him forward.
The way is here.
It is not safe.
Follow the dancing lights.
If you dare…
………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Okay, I’ve set the scene, what happens next? Leave your ending in the comments or write a post and link it back here. Can’t wait to read what you all come up with.
[…] via WordPress. Prompt: Finish the story The Matticus Kingdom […]
The door opened to a sliver of white light.
“Password?” said a voice with an unidentifiable accent.
“I don’t know.”
“Go away then. We don’t want you here. You cannot enter. No.”
Turning into another doorway he pushed a wet hand into his pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper, the ink smeared with the rain.
She’d be angry at him. He shrugged. They’d be ships that pass in the night.
Once again fate had dashed his dreams. He glanced at his reflection in a dark shop window. It wasn’t a bad face. Despite that his wit and sense of humor had all but left him along with any signal his phone might have had. He’d call her, maybe but he was certain she’d be gone, back with her rich boyfriend with his private jet. She’d forget the nice quiet guy with the nice smile who liked the same books and music he liked. She’d be the one who got away, but then again, he never had her.
When he arrived home he found a girl he knew sitting on his doorstep in a black dress and a wet faux fur coat.
“My apartment flooded,” she told him. “Basement flat. I thought I might stay with you tonight.” She gave him a funny smile and pushed a lock of black hair off of her face. He noticed that her nails were chipped. Then again, her nails were always chipped. She was that kind of girl – the kind who got caught in the rain never quite sure what she was looking for. She was the kind of girl who was always missing opportunities and forgetting where she was supposed to be going.
He smiled back. She wasn’t the girl he was supposed to meet that night, but he figured maybe she was the girl he was supposed to be with.
Oh! Very nice. I like the battles of the fates, the long term over the night, settling verse belonging verse reaching for the stars. Very nicely done, indeed. Thanks for playing along!!
[…] in The Matticus Kingdom, the gauntlet was thrown. Challenge […]
I’m sorry to say that I was unable to ‘finish’ the story. But I added a good bit to it.🙂
http://judahfirst.wordpress.com/2014/07/22/writing-prompt-finish-the-story/
And when can we expect the next chapters in the story?? 😀 You did a great job! Thank you.
If I am able to continue, it will be a miracle! Unfortunately, I am well-known for lots of great beginnings that never end! The number of unfinished projects in my house would astound you.😉
Sounds familiar, actually. My house and your house would probably get along just fun.
Like an episode of “Hoarders”?! lol
Egad! I hope not. But, it’s hard to know, isn’t it? What we live with on a daily basis seems normal to us. Who knows what someone else would think of it.
hehehe, well, I was being quite facetious since I’ve actually become a minimalist. I’m guessing that 25 moves in 27 years will do this to a person. Although, I must admit to a ridiculous amount of boxes storing things I ‘might’ in future need…😉
He continued his crouch and heard the ominous voices. “Trick or Treat…Hey Mister, we know you’re in there. We saw your light blink out. Just give us anything and we won’t egg your house…” The man thought, “Anything?” Now it was his turn to…
Hahahahahah!
Perfect!!
I used to love Halloween. It was my favorite of all the holidays. I would dress up and make a mad dash to grab some candy, and then head home to help hand out candy. Help = become one of the props on the porch and scare the older kids who thought they were too tough to scared.
Also, our house was egged on one occassion, and I would love to have gotten revenge on those kids! 😀
I dare, look at the pretty lights!
How they sparkle and dance in the gloom, calling to you, swaying you forward, to bounce in the dark, lulling you to sleep as you walk, and blinding you to the demons that lurk just beyond.
I sleep as I walk, a scary thought but I carry a sword to surprise the demons that that lurk
A sword of flames and truth, banishing the night and protecting you from rending claws and gnashing teeth, a light that leads the way…. For you the night will still and allow passage.
passage into an unknown world, a world full of giants but not giants as we would see them
giants of intellect, giants of wisdom, giants of feeling and emotion. They lived large. They loved large.
and they had very large homes..
Ah, now we are just dreaming…
What we are? I’m going back to sleep then lol
You were already asleep.
Then why are talking to me?😉
I’m mean like that.
What no evil laugh?!
Yesterday was “evil laugh Tuesday.” Today is game day Wednesday.
I see and what laugh goes with game day?
A cheer, more than a laugh. I’ll say “LA” and you respond “Galaxy.”
Or…
We could just sing “Glory, glory Man United.”
I’ll probably be doing both tonight. When my two favorite teams play each other, what else am I to do?
Sing Glory Glory Woman United…
I’m not familiar with that one… How does it go?
Glory Glory women united
righted
fight it
bustin a move
all night it’s
fun…
Hahaha
Okay. So, Glory, Glory, Man United is a soccer chant, based loosely on Glory, glory, hallejuiah, and the Reds go marching, ON! ON! ON!
(Manchester United Red Devils)
Someone must have written it drunk?! lol
Well, yeah, probably.
😉
[…] Part one: From The Matticus Kingdom who asked us to finish the following story […]
Upstairs a woman started from her slumber at a loud sound. Unsure if the sound had come from a dream or from the darkness that cloaked the house, she nudged at her husband, who was lying next to her still sound asleep…
“Ed!!! Wake up!!! Did you hear that noise?”
“Mmmph… huh? What? What noise?”
“That noise!!! It sounded like a door slamming!”
“It was probably just the wind.. go back to bed, Emily!”
“But… I need to go check on Father! He might have….”
“Impossible, dear, I tied him down to his bed really good this time…”
“But you know how strong the lure of the all night casino is to him! What if he broke free and….”
“Oh, for crying out loud, Emily, let him go blow his money if he wants. I wasn’t planning on a big inheritance from your side of the family anyway…. good night!”
It doesn’t have your elegant prose, but there you have my interpretation of the ending!😀
Who needs “elegant prose” when you have comedy gold?! 😉
Hooray for the lure of the casinos, the flashing lights, the glitz and glamor, the chiming of the machines, the clink of ice in glasses, the sound of cards slapping… Okay, well, now I want to go too!!!
Yeah, me too! Then I look at the pile of bills and go back to my game of high stakes Freecell…
Hah!
Yes, but think of all the bills you can pay when you win big at the casino!!
Aw, I miss my weekly poker game… Had one for nearly five years… and now it’s been longer than that since the last game.
[…] Additional information: Along these lines I found myself answering to a writing prompt on The Matticus Kingdom (a blog you should follow). As usual I wrote about a man who found himself not with the woman he imagined being with but with the woman he should have been with (and it was a good thing.) I keep doing that when I write. Life it like that. So is fiction. Go figure. https://thematticuskingdom.wordpress.com/2014/07/22/prompt-finish-the-story/ […]
[…] July 22 in The Matticus Kingdom, the gauntlet was thrown. Challenge accepted. Here’s the prompt and Chapter […]
Wow, flash fiction … this is something I’d have run with when I was younger. years covering sports and writing a blog have dulled that sense a bit! I really like Juliet’s continuation though …
She did (is doing) a great job, yes!
Awww thank you. I like ALL of them. The variety is wonderful. More prompts please!
I’m thinking of trying to do a new one every Tuesday… We’ll see how long I can keep that going.
[…] is my continuation, my response, to the story prompt I posted earlier this […]
[…] Juliette Kings Jaded Zoe ES […]
[…] July 22 in The Matticus Kingdom, the gauntlet was thrown. Challenge […]