Friday Fictioneers is hosted by the wonderful Rochelle, the undisputed master of what I call Sound Bite Fiction.
She sets the weekly challenge, and the standard.
Today’s moody photo by Vijayay Sundaram prompted a surprisingly literal take.
The idea, as always, is to write a story of around 100 words based on the picture, below.
© Vijaya Sundaram
Click here to hear me read the story:
Fireworks
I sit on my balcony overlooking the square.
Today is July 14th, so it is packed with people celebrating, French locals and foreign tourists here for the spectacle.
The fireworks start at 10.30 pm.
The bangs echo strangely around the enclosed space.
The multi-coloured flashes create an air of unreality.
I have an Archer nightscope, which allows me to identify individual faces.
The report from my lightweight Blaser rifle will go unnoticed, of course.
It doesn’t even matter if I miss my selected target.
I will hit the person behind.
I just want to know how it feels to kill.
Ah, another dark, chilling tale told in style!
When you write a tender romance, with no hint of bloodshed, and with only a floating hint of a happy ending, I know something will have changed utterly, and get worried.
(Forgive my late response, but I’m computer-less. Using my husband’s computer right now. Mine is kaput.)
I am a tender romantic, deep down, Ms Dreams.
So I suggest that you show appropriate gratitude to your undoubtedly wonderful husband for his forbearance in the case of your kaput computer.
Or put a pillow over his face while he sleeps.
Man, that’s DARK!
I also enjoyed hearing you read it!
Happy you enjoyed, Emily, thank you.
It is good to know that it adds a little something.
You can find more readings under Current Story and, less surprisingly, Other Readings up at the top.
A chilling character. I love the fireworks creating “an air of unreality.” Well done.
Happy you enjoyed, Emily, thank you.
So, this is his (her?) first foray into the world of carnage and mayhem, by the sound of it. I just hope this assassin gets recruited by the good guys when s/he builds up his/her skill base. Gruesome stuff.
Gruesome is good!
Thanks, Margaret.
Another dark one, C.E. That’s gives me one more reason for not liking crowds. For your character’s sake, I suggest he slip out of the room by a previously chosen route soon after the shooting. Good, even though blood-soaked writing. 🙂 — Suzanne
Thanks, Suzanne, I do appreciate how you seem to get quite involved in the story, give it thought, and then comment meaningfully.
Let’s hope he doesn’t like the feeling.
Bwaahahahaha!
Wouldn’t it be more fun just to wound them and watch ’em flop about, withering in pain? Take out a knee cap here, a left arm there, pretty soon you’ve got the whole crowd doing the Hokey Pokey.
While I very much appreciate how you enter creatively into the spirit of things, Russell, I see a couple of flaws in your suggestion.
Yes, it would be hilarious, and a natural for YouTube, but I really want to kill someone, not just shoot bits off them.
And I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in the Chateau d’If, merci very much.
Oh my. Turning a joyful event and day, into a terrible one for someone. Seems kind of pointless, only because the speaker wants to know how it feels to kill. Seems like he could be one of those scary person’s who likes killing too much.
Oh my!
I think you have summed this up in a couple of sentences, Amanda.
The longer version is much better 🙂 hugs
I dunno, I would frankly prefer to guzzle beer and eat hot dogs.
Each to his own taste, Perry, it doesn’t make you a bad person.
Fat, maybe…
Whoa. Good stuff, C.E. That Blaser rifle sounds pretty promising. And like Al says, you always find interesting ways of killing people. Well put. 😉
Five out of five Bastille Days.
Thanks, WMQ, it is a good enough weapon for the short range required.
You realise I now have to pay Al double his usual fee for that mention?
😀
Chilling… and I think you hit the nail here… curiosity never killed the cat, the cat killed the rat just for fun… I think that’s why killers start.
I bow to your superior knowledge of such people, Bjorn!
Lol, it’s been a while since we’ve had a chapter from compendium of chilling “Assassin’s Tales” 🙂
Oh yes, days at least!
I don’t suppose that he is aiming at the coconut stall. 🙂
No, sir, no fruit was harmed in the writing of this story.
This is going to be a violent week, so it seems. An assassination in the middle of a firework, it’s clever…but scary chilling as well. A little bit too real for me, if I might say so.
Of course you may say so, dear LadyBug, but in only 100 words one has to work to make an impact.
Pure evil, killing just for fun!
Yeah, well, hard to argue that…
🙂
Another victim! I thought the 14th of July celebrations were held on the 13th these days CE 🙂 I understand why you chose for it to happen on the 14th though
I know, drat, and I was aiming for Graham!
And no, not down here, as you can see by the date of the Nice atrocity.
Oh dear, Yes …
Evil. And sadly now a realistic setting. Frightening thought.
Thank you for visiting, GaH, and for taking the time to comment.
You sent a shiver through me!
Then I am happy!
lol Your work here is done 😉
You do this so well. So well, in fact, that I’m glad there’s a body of water between us. There is a body of water between us, isn’t there… 🙁
Yes, I expect so, but is it La Manche, Le Canal du Midi or the Tweed?
Mais t’inquiètes pas, I would never harm anyone whose writing gives me so much pleasure and inspiration.
This is chilling. So well crafted, I could believe it was written by the killer!
He has a damaged hand, he just dictates now.
Dear CE,
Yikes!!! I can’t help but wonder about you sometimes. You’ve painted a clear picture of a demented human being. I saw flashes of his face amid the fireworks. Chilling and well written.
Shalom,
Rochelle
You still wonder, m’lady?
But I sparkle with your praise, thank you.
Dark tale indeed
Thank you
A chilling last line. Great scene setting and we can all imagine the terror that follows. Great write.
Cheers, Iain, much appreciated.
A “killer” last line
Ba-Boom!
Are you sure you aren’t actually an hired assassin? Even a part time one? A chilling story, C, moving from a joyful night of celebration to a mindless, thoughtless death scene. Scarily true, too – murders have come about for this very motivation. Great writing as always 🙂
Hush, Lynn, sometimes you are not the only person who stumbles in here!
I like ‘chilling’, and I love ‘Great writing as always’.
Thank you
My absolute pleasure 🙂
So much more satisfying when you hit the target, and the giggles when the one behind falls down and the look of confusion the face of the one you’ve missed.
Another fun story.
Fun?
Always fun when CE finds new and interesting ways to kill people 🙂
Thanks, Al, sometimes one corpse is as good as another.
All good fun!
And don’t mind Lady R, she is a bit old fashioned when it comes to random acts of carnage and indiscriminate bloodshed.