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The Devil stands behind my chair and places a hand upon my shoulder.
"You’re too late. You always are. Just give up, Rosie."
The dead girl is splayed across the bed, bloodless fingers still gripping the cord around her neck.
“Fuck off.” I tell him, and suck defiantly on the stub of my burnt-out cigarette.
I can hear people all around us, arguments, evening prayers and television static, and somewhere there’s a teenager singing lullabies to help her baby sister sleep. In high-rises like this humanity presses in upon itself until you can see the whites of its eyes, but none of them know she’s here. None of them notice.
You see me sitting here and probably think that you understand, but the narrative enfolds you, keeping you safe, and honestly we both know you’re clueless. For you this is just make-believe. For me, this is my life. There is no switching off, no escape.
I consider dropping the cigarette onto the bed and letting it all go up in flames. Behind me, the Devil smiles in anticipation, but as ever my better angels are watching, and they pull me back from the brink.
I leave an anonymous tip at the pay-phone downstairs. It’s a pointless gesture, but at least she won’t be alone anymore.
The cross is heavy around my neck, a mark of reluctant faith, and a weapon against the Possessed. Sometimes they take the innocent down with them. What can you do?
My calling is nothing if not conflicted.
"You’re too late. You always are. Just give up, Rosie."
The dead girl is splayed across the bed, bloodless fingers still gripping the cord around her neck.
“Fuck off.” I tell him, and suck defiantly on the stub of my burnt-out cigarette.
I can hear people all around us, arguments, evening prayers and television static, and somewhere there’s a teenager singing lullabies to help her baby sister sleep. In high-rises like this humanity presses in upon itself until you can see the whites of its eyes, but none of them know she’s here. None of them notice.
You see me sitting here and probably think that you understand, but the narrative enfolds you, keeping you safe, and honestly we both know you’re clueless. For you this is just make-believe. For me, this is my life. There is no switching off, no escape.
I consider dropping the cigarette onto the bed and letting it all go up in flames. Behind me, the Devil smiles in anticipation, but as ever my better angels are watching, and they pull me back from the brink.
I leave an anonymous tip at the pay-phone downstairs. It’s a pointless gesture, but at least she won’t be alone anymore.
The cross is heavy around my neck, a mark of reluctant faith, and a weapon against the Possessed. Sometimes they take the innocent down with them. What can you do?
My calling is nothing if not conflicted.
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Flash-Fic-Month Day 24 Challenge - Wordcount: 256
Challenge #10: Crowdsourcing
Element ONE: DEPTH OF FIELD:- "Photographers and filmmakers use a technique called "depth of field." Write a scene in which you move back and forth between two "fields of action." Have two things going on at once-- one involving your characters in the fore ground and a second having to do with the background." Suggested by Twin-Earth
Element TWO: ALL IN A NAME:-"The name of your favorite song is now the name of your story. Write the story without quoting the song." Suggested by FieryDownpour479
Element THREE: MR GORBACHEV, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL:- "One of the challenges should totally include breaking the fourth wall. That would be fun to write." Suggested by Lexi-Cat
Element FOUR: BREVITY IS THE SOUL OF WIT:- Maximum length: 256 words (that's 4^4)."i'd also like to push for a word count based challenge because i love those haha. economy of words is a difficult thing to master but it's so much fun trying." Suggested by TheFellDragon
Overall this was much simpler than I initially thought it would be. Most good stories have background/atmosphere to them anyway, and the fourth wall is easily breached with any household implement. The problem here was those two easy things combined with Element FOUR. Ah you fiend, you ruffian. I had a beautiful beast of a story here and you forced me to chop off not only it's head, but all its limbs too! Still, all's well that ends well.
Being a terrible, fickle person, I rarely have particular "Favorites" in anything, and the ones I do have don't last for long. Luckily while searching for the current favourite Passive by A Perfect Circle, and remembered how much I adore it, still, after all these years. And if that ain't love I don't know what is.
My exorcist character (long time no see) was probably originally spawned while listening Passive, so it's rather fitting all round.
Enjoy the rest of the (for once short) stories for today over here: flash-fic-month.deviantart.com…
Challenge #10: Crowdsourcing
Element ONE: DEPTH OF FIELD:- "Photographers and filmmakers use a technique called "depth of field." Write a scene in which you move back and forth between two "fields of action." Have two things going on at once-- one involving your characters in the fore ground and a second having to do with the background." Suggested by Twin-Earth
Element TWO: ALL IN A NAME:-"The name of your favorite song is now the name of your story. Write the story without quoting the song." Suggested by FieryDownpour479
Element THREE: MR GORBACHEV, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL:- "One of the challenges should totally include breaking the fourth wall. That would be fun to write." Suggested by Lexi-Cat
Element FOUR: BREVITY IS THE SOUL OF WIT:- Maximum length: 256 words (that's 4^4)."i'd also like to push for a word count based challenge because i love those haha. economy of words is a difficult thing to master but it's so much fun trying." Suggested by TheFellDragon
Overall this was much simpler than I initially thought it would be. Most good stories have background/atmosphere to them anyway, and the fourth wall is easily breached with any household implement. The problem here was those two easy things combined with Element FOUR. Ah you fiend, you ruffian. I had a beautiful beast of a story here and you forced me to chop off not only it's head, but all its limbs too! Still, all's well that ends well.
Being a terrible, fickle person, I rarely have particular "Favorites" in anything, and the ones I do have don't last for long. Luckily while searching for the current favourite Passive by A Perfect Circle, and remembered how much I adore it, still, after all these years. And if that ain't love I don't know what is.
My exorcist character (long time no see) was probably originally spawned while listening Passive, so it's rather fitting all round.
Enjoy the rest of the (for once short) stories for today over here: flash-fic-month.deviantart.com…
© 2014 - 2024 The-Inkling
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hi, i wrote a response to this piece for the day 29 challenge. I dunno how i did with the way you picture the world Rosie lives in, but i gave it my best effort ^^
here is the piece if you're interestedand didn't see it in your mention section already
fav.me/d7svvz4
here is the piece if you're interested
fav.me/d7svvz4