literature

FFM 2015: Guardians

Deviation Actions

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Literature Text

“The signs! Look at the signs!” The street preacher cried, shaking his fist at the graffiti on the underpass wall as though any of it made a lick of sense.

Years of buildup had accrued on the concrete, tags and slogans and random pieces of artwork overlapping and interweaving to form a portmanteau of frenzied styles that resembled nothing so much as some infernal homage to the madness of the underworld. Someone had recently written “days be strange” and “Beware of shape shifters” across most of the lower wall in dripping red paint, which was presumably what the crazed man was referencing, but really what was the point.

Beware of shape shifters? Like Myrtle and every other sucker out there in the world didn’t know that much already.

Huddling resolutely into the folds of her ancient tan overcoat, Myrtle adjusted her grip on her plastic grocery bag and shuffled past him, easing her aching joints along the road and up towards the subsidized housing blocks that hunched along the skyline like disenfranchised 80’s youths.

Like most of the city, twenty years of decay had left the area ravaged, a cavernous filthy husk populated primarily by Junkies, shadow djinn and Dream Eaters, who hunched in the dark alleyways and deserted buildings that lined the street and watched with flashing eyes as she made her way along the road. They made no attempt to intercept Myrtle, but then they never really had. It wasn’t that she cut an imposing figure or anything; after all, to them she was just a little old lady, but then much like shape shifters they probably knew that more often than not, little old ladies were the ones you had to watch out for.

When she finally reached the nearest access gate, she found that Mal’akh and the damned dog were already there, waiting for her in the makeshift community parking spot that bisected building Unit’s E and F. The angel had perched himself on the hood of one of the burnt out cars that littered the tarmac and was nonchalantly scratching the mutts ears when she approached.

“You shouldn’t do that. He has fleas you know.” Myrtle warned him.

Mal’akh laughed, glancing over at her.  "Nonsense. He’s a guardian spirit, and guardian spirits don’t get fleas, do they? No they don’t! That’s a good boy.” He cooed, scratching the creatures chin to rapturous effect.

“Maybe they don’t, but this particular one does. Trust me, he leaves them all over my apartment when he sneaks in at night. At this point I might as well just leave the front door open and be done with it.” Myrtle grumbled, but found herself smiling despite herself as the dog ecstatically lolled its head to the side.  

“He just misses you, Myrtle.’ Mal’akh chided. “You know he can’t follow you beyond the boundary, and if he can’t follow you he can’t protect you now can he.”

Myrtle snorted derisively. “I don’t need protecting.”

“Yeah, yeah. Deny it all you want old girl, but everyone needs protecting sometimes, especially in your line of work.” Mal‘akh flashed her a grin and hopped down from the car, gesturing to the grocery bag she still clutched.

“Got everything?” He asked.

Myrtle nodded tersely. “It’s all there. Makeshift ingredients at best, just what I had to hand, but I figure we can make them do the job. Are you sure you want to get involved?” She asked for the hundredth time, but like every time before Mal just smiled.

“Wouldn’t miss out, would I? Now lead on fearless commander, we are at your disposal.” He said, and so she did.

The place was mostly deserted, the residents preferring to stay within the safety of their apartments and avoid the unwanted elements below. The collision of heaven and hell had come as a serious shock to the system for most people, but not Myrtle. She’d always known there was more out there somehow, and her life now was much the same as it had always been, just with a little added flash in the day to day drag.

Their particular quarry resided primarily in the playground and recreational area of the complex, and sure enough Myrtle quickly caught sight of the young local hoodlums crouched behind the chainlink fence of the basketball court. They had placed the old T.V. set in the middle of the trash that littered the court, and the gang sat crouched around the flickering screen with the sound turned up so they could better hear the words. As demonic possession went, a television was fairly unusual. Inanimate, unable to get around etc, but it’s communication skills were fantastic. Even as she watched there was a flash of static and a pale face swam to life on the screen. As if on cue, the children turned in unison to look up at them, their faces hidden beneath blank halloween masks.

There was no backing down now.

“Are you ready.” She asked Mal, as the dog ghosted up beside her and bared its teeth, but he just rolled his eyes and held out his hand.

She couldn’t help but wonder at her proclivity for picking up strays. An exiled messenger angel, a guardian spirit animal on a short range tether and a little old lady with an axe to grind in her local neighbourhood. As crime fighting teams went they could have probably done with some improvements, but one had to work with the tools to hand.

So they made an unlikely trio, fair enough, but at least they tried. And God knows, this neighbourhood needed all the protection it could get.

"Right,' she said, 'off we go then."

Smiling grimly Myrtle removed the hammers from her grocery bag.
Flash-Fic-Month Day 18 - Community Challenge! Wordcount: 958

The challenge was to include:
Bullet; Blue Your opening sentence must be an opening sentence from a flash written by someone else this month.
   (I used “The signs! Look at the signs!” from To Get Out of the Rain by joe-wright )
Bullet; Blue In a creative way, work into your piece the username of another flasher, NOT the same one whose opening sentence you used.
   (Thank you to days-be-strange, shadowdjinni and IntelligentZombie for having such wonderfully useful usernames.)
Bullet; Blue Your piece must use the words from the following list at least three times: "flash", "flasher", "flashers", "flashing", or "flashed"*
Bullet; Blue Your piece must use the words from the following list at least three times: "viva", "fist", "fistpump", "community", or "madness"*

Whew. It was the usual case of late onset panic when one realises one has to tell a rather big story in what should be a very small flash. 500 words of an old lady walking somewhere, then suddenly an exiled angel, a spirit dog and a gang of demon children being controlled by by a posessed television.  Sometimes I really just don't know about myself. :slow:

The rest of today's stories can be read over her: FFM Links- 18 July 2015



© 2015 - 2024 The-Inkling
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WindySilver's avatar
Great work! I really like the beginning! And the ending is cool too! :D