Yes, it’s that time again. Here’s the Storytime Bloghop for June. This time we have 12 participants (including me) and their stories. Enjoy. Here’s mine
Lobster One
“Lobster One. Report to base.” The voice from the loudspeaker crackled. The lonely bluish gray crustacean on the bridge sighed. Luckily the trip was nearly over, so he needn’t worry about repairing it any longer. His long-range sensors had already caught the data stream of a suitable planet.
“Lobster One reporting. Possible planet found. Commencing scouting endeavor. Requesting full weapon access.”
“The use of all weapons has been approved. Good luck, Lobster One.”
A few seconds later the vessel slowed and found a place in the orbit of the planet. It looked promising with its wide expanse of water. With a little terraforming it would surely not be a problem to submerge most of the land masses.
Lobster One observed the planet from above for four days. They were the hardest days of his voyage since he had to remain on high alert due to space junk. When is data scan was finally complete, he marvelled at the results. The planet was perfect except for one, minor detail. It held a semi-intelligent species, some kind of ape-like creature walking on two legs mostly warring against each other. Their weaponry would not suffice to stop an invading army from his home planet.
Lobster One decided it was time for a peek. Since the planet’s atmosphere was too thin for his breathing organs he ordered the ships transporter to deposit him in the middle off the biggest ocean. What was that? Why couldn’t he breathe? His handheld scanner showed that he was surrounded by water. He should not have difficulties breathing. Still his intake valves seemed to be clogged. He used up eight of the ten time intervals he could hold his breath to clean the valves and grab a water sample. Then he reprogrammed the transporter to deposit him in a different ocean. Thankfully he sucked in oxygen.
A strange undercurrent caught him unaware and pulled him along. The more he tried to escape the current, the faster it got. More and more crustaceans appeared around him. Although they were a lot smaller than him they resembled each other strongly. Just when he realized that the tiny creatures around him were not intelligent, they were lifted out of the water and dumped onto a big metal surface.
“Oh look, we caught a lobster!” His universal translator managed to make sense of the garbled noises of the ape-man. “Finally something better to eat then shrimps.”
Lobster One froze. These creatures ate crustaceans? What kind of world was this? Where there more predators specialized on cracking exoskeletons? With small sound that the ape-man didn’t even notice Lobster One activated the transporter and returned to his ship.
During the next three hours he set up a new scan with very specific parameters. It took the ship a whole week to complete.
The perfect planet he thought he had found was infested with creatures hunting and eating crustaceans. Commercial calculations showed that even if they eliminated the worst few species the whole ecosystem would collapse. Defeated, Lobster One reported his failure, set course to the next planet, and began to repair the loudspeaker.
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Here are the links to the other stories. Enjoy them and please leave comments. We can only improve our craft if you let us know what works and what doesn’t. Thanks for reading.
Yes, it’s that time again. Remember that my story will only be up for a limited time (let’s say until May 2nd). So if you want to read it, hurry up. 😀
There are many more participants in this bloghop who are listed at the end of the story. Make sure you check out their stories too. Now, have fun:
Wet Kisses
The coarse fabric of the chaise longue itches under my fingers as I lay there with my eyes closed. Why do I have to lie anyway? It isn’t as if I’m ill or so … (a little while ago the rest of the story was still here. Yoon you’ll be able to get it as an eBook)
Remember that here are more stories for you to read:
P.S.: I’ve got a promotion scheduled for “Juma’s Rain” (a YA Fantasy Romance) on the 7th and 8th of May. The price will drop from $4.99 to $0.99 those days. You can’t have it cheaper than that. So bookmark this link where you’ll find my eBook and 150+ on the 7th and 8th of May.
On the last Wednesday every three months, a couple of Indie authors get together for the Storytime Bloghop. We each post a flash story (500-1000 words). This month doesn’t have a theme aside from Speculative Fiction.
If you enjoy my story, please leave a comment. For the other stories follow the links below my story. Now, have fun (although this story is rather dark for my standards).
Scars
I stare at the scars on my arms. The thin lines look crappy. Blood pulses in them — so close to the skin’s surface. I imagine what it would look like if it welled out; blooming dark red on my pale skin. A token of life no-one could mistake. A tiny cut would be enough to prove that I’m still here.
But I’m not gonna do it.
I’ve promised myself. After all, that’s why I’m here, isn’t it?
My gaze wanders through the room, as colorless and empty as my life. Why am I staying? I curl up on my bed. I’d be better off dead. No one would notice anyway. Except for the therapists – maybe. But they don’t count. Neither of them knows what I’ve been hiding in my mattress. So close. So easy to reach. Maybe I should make a cut … a tiny one … in a place where no one will see it.
NO!
No. I don’t want that any more. Breathe! I roll on my back and force myself to lie still. The display of my mobile that’s lying on the table casts a bluish rectangle of light on my ceiling, but I have to strain my eyes to see it. It’s not yet dark enough outside. Maybe I should turn on the light, but my strength has gone. If only the mobile were gone. Everything would be fine then. Or it wouldn’t, but at least I wouldn’t know.
„I’m dating Mandy now,“ he wrote. That was it. The end of our relationship with a text message. Who does that? And I’m not even sorry … or angry … it’s not important at all.
I remember what it was like when we first got together. His arms felt so warm on my shoulders. His laugh filled the emptiness inside. But he laughed less and less often. I’m a burden for everyone. I even kill the laughter.
The razor blade in the mattress calls for me. Not with a real voice or so, but I can feel its presence. I try not to think about the comforting and familiar pain spreading from my arm. Soon it would be stronger than the hollow feeling in my chest. Maybe it would finally open the door that traps me in this life. I wonder what’s on the other side. Will I be able to really feel?
The door opens, and Mr Bollart looks in.
“Half an hour to the meeting, Tanja. Are you alright?”
I nod.
“Shall I turn on the light?” He reaches for the light switch, waiting for my answer. I nod again.
“Shall I?”
The room is now too dark, and he probably can’t see me. But maybe I’m not here any more and that’s why he can’t see me. The right corner of my mouth twitches when I ponder what Mr Bollart would say if he turned on the light, and my room was empty.
“Yes, please.” My voice is so low that I barely hear myself, but light floods my room.
“See you in a minute, right?”
“Hmm.” That could mean ‘yes’ or ‘maybe’ or something else. Don’t know. It’s not important. It’s important that he looked in. Into my room. As if it were important that I’d show up.
Most likely he does that with all his patients. They trained him for that, didn’t they? Psychology … must be hard. Nothing for me. I roll onto my side using my arm as a pillow. The wall on the other side of my room has a horizontal line. Maybe there once stood a bed. It looks like it. I wonder what kind of problems that girl has had? All kinds of people come to this institute.
Don’t think about the blade.
Think of other people. Of the fellow inmates.
Louise, two rooms down the corridor for example. She swallowed enough sleeping pills to kill a horse. She cries in her sleep. Tonight I tried to comfort her — wasn’t really successful. I mean, she went back to crying as soon as I returned to my room. Just because they were nasty with her in school. Mobbing … must be horrible. But being invisible is worse. Believe me. I know that from experience. Maybe I should tell her?
Today. During the therapy session.
If I go.
I might also … the razor blade … I feel it as if it were digging into my side. My hand crawls to the rip in my mattress. If I use it now, they’ll take it away from me. And then? I won’t get a new one easily. I don’t want to need a new one. I don’t even want to use this one. Shit world. My hand crawls on, and I can’t stop it.
Someone knocks timidly, and I pull back my hand instinctively. Again the door opens. Louise looks in.
“May I come in?” Her voice trembles as if she’s scared of something. Not of me, surely.
“OK.” I sit up and pull my legs to my chest to make room for her on the bed. The chair from the table to too uncomfortable.
She sits on the far end of the bed and stares at her hands.
“Thank you.”
“What for?”
“For tonight. I felt so lonely, and when you came, it was better.”
Something warm spreads in my belly. I don’t know what it is, but I can feel it. I can FEEL. Without the blade!
“Could we…” Louisa doesn’t look at me. „I mean … would you like to…“ Her hands tighten their grip on each other, and she shivers. “Would you like to go to the session with me?”
All of a sudden, I realize she’s afraid of the answer.
“Of course I’d like to.” I smile. It’s the first time since I came here. If she can find the courage to reach out, maybe I can too. I could start by saying something during the session. Who knows. I might hand in my razor blade some time soon. Or not. We’ll see.
On August 26th, you’re going to get a special treat. A couple of authors (me included) have decided to do a Story-Time bloghop which means you’ll get tons of interesting, well written (I know that for sure), brand new and FREE short or flash stories. All are speculative fiction (SciFi and/or Fantasy), all will be online for one week only. So if you want to read the stories, mark August 26th, come to this blog, read my story, and follow one of the links provided to another story (all blogs will be linked in all posts).
John Byk interviewed me about my eBook Ann Angel’s Freedom and about publishing in Germany in general. If you’ve wondered what I sound like, here’s your chance to listen to me interrupting the moderator all the time (yes, it’s really hard to shut me up when I start).
Also, I forgot to say that my eBook Ann Angel’s Freedom is still free on amazon (any amazon site) until midnight US time (that’s roughly 9 am tomorrow morning in Germany). So if you want it, go and get it before time runs out.
Free sensei and find out more about the mysterious dragon and relic
This is an end snippet for the “Choose Your Own Adventure Bloghop”. If you want to read the whole adventure (or at least a whole path of it, since there are more than one), please click on the start logo.
Free sensei and find out more about the mysterious dragon and relic?
It’s a hard decision but in the end you turn back to Sensei. As long as you had been training with him, he had never done anything without good reason, and he never lied to you either. You put your palms together and bow deeply.
“Sensei, please allow me to open your chains.” You kneel at his feet and start working on the first lock. Sensei sits on a stone, his face calm as always.
“I am in your debt,” he says when the first shackle opens. “My predecessors and I have been guardians for these dragon eggs for centuries. A witch whose biggest dream it was to become immortal killed their mother, one of the last Dragons of Wisdom. To protect her eggs, the dragon wove a cocoon of magic in front of their cave which stops them from hatching. The cocoon can only be entered with the relic. We, the dragon’s guardians, have been protecting the relic from the wicked witch ever since.”
“Surely she isn’t alive any more. You said you’ve been guarding the eggs for centuries.” The next lock opens, and another chain rattles to the floor.
“You are mistaken. The witch entered the dragon’s body. In it, she survived all these years. But to become truly immortal, and to get her original body back, she needs the blood of the newly hatched dragons. She has tried many times to cheat a new initiate into giving her the relic.”
The last shackle clanks to the ground, and Sensei is free. Together, you tiptoe through the dark until you reach the cave with the eggs. The dragon–witch is scratching at the ground below the protective mist without much success. She’s using swearwords that make you blush, and you are suddenly relived you listened to Sensei.
“You will have to defeat her. I’m too old,” Sensai says. “You are the thousandth guardian, and you’re special. I chose you myself. Go and give the eggs a chance to hatch. I’ll fetch the relic.” As he lifts off the ground to fly away, he pushes you forward, and you stumble into the dragon’s lair.
The witch-dragon turns and glares at you. What can you do now? It seems impossible to outmaneuver a witch in a dragon’s body. She rushes you. Luckily, the lair isn’t big enough for her to spread her wings. You slip past her foreleg, and her teeth dig into her own shin. She howls in pain. Before she can turn again, you climb her back looking for a weak point. Sensai had taught you that every creature had a weak point, but where could it be on a dragon?
The dragon twisted and turned on its back. In jumping off, you noticed a black shape stuck to its belly. What was that? You grab a boulder and hurl it at the dragon’s snout. The effort makes you gasp. But you are more successful then you had hoped for. The boulder bounces off the snout and hits the dragon’s left eye. It blacks out. Since you don’t know how fast it’ll recover, you hurry to its underside to look at the black thing. Could it be its weak spot?
Between the glittering scales, an old person with a crooked nose and yellow teeth stares at you, and you step back involuntarily. A soft, warm voice rumbles in your brain.
“Don’t leave me here. You’re the first person to see me.” It sounds much younger than the woman seems to be. Could it be the hag?
“Who are you?” “I am the last Dragon of Wisdom. The witch banned me into her body and claimed mine. Help me.” She held out a hand.
You only hesitate a second when the dragon’s body begins to twitch. As fast as you can, you help the old woman untangle herself from the dragon’s scales and hobble over the belly to a save place in the cave.
“I need to touch my old body’s head,” the woman says in your mind. Although it seems crazy to get closer to the waking dragon, you lift her up and carry her toward the beast. You set her down beside the big head when the eye snaps open. Fire shoots from the nozzle, but the dragon cannot evade the old woman’s arm.
“Finally free.” The voice in your mind vibrates with joy, and the dragon rears up. It twists, turns, and its open jaws speed toward you. Before you can move, it snaps up the old woman. Her last cry vanishes in the dragon’s belly.
The dragon smiles at you. “Thank you, dragonguard. Without your help, I would still be caught in that vile body.” She shivers.
Sensei steps forward and holds out the relic. The jade toothpick with the carved dragon curled around the head is longer than his arms. Sensei bows. “Welcome back, Grande Dame. Do you want to inspect your eggs?”
A thunder-like crack resounds in the cave. You turn at the same time as the dragon. The first egg has split, and a green-scaled head pokes up with the egg tooth still attached to the snout.
“Mheek?” it says.
Another crack sounds, and another one. You think, life surely will be interesting as the guardian of a dragon triplet.
I know I’m late for the last Challenge of Rachael Harrie’s Platform Building Campaign, but the kids are on holiday so I took a week off. I’m just in time though to enter my final story for this challenge. (Read on) »
Brenda Drake organized this blogfest to see if we can create tension in a mere 300 words. I don’t know if it worked but I hope so. Judge for yourself. This is a snippet from my current RiP (Revision in Progress). (Read on) »
The coarse fabric of the chaise longue itches under my fingers as I lay there with my eyes closed. Why do I have to lie anyway? It isn’t as if I’m ill or so … (a little while ago the rest of the story was still here. Yoon you’ll be able to get it as an eBook)
On August 26th, you’re going to get a special treat. A couple of authors (me included) have decided to do a Story-Time bloghop which means you’ll get tons of interesting, well written (I know that for sure), brand new and FREE short or flash stories. All are speculative fiction (SciFi and/or Fantasy), all will be online for one week only. So if you want to read the stories, mark August 26th, come to this blog, read my story, and follow one of the links provided to another story (all blogs will be linked in all posts).
“I am the last Dragon of Wisdom. The witch banned me into her body and claimed mine. Help me.” She held out a hand.
