Friday Fictioneers is hosted by the wonderful Rochelle, the undisputed master of what I call Sound Bite Fiction.
She sets the weekly challenge, the standard, and the prompt photo.
The idea, as always, is to write a story of around 100 words based on the picture below, which this week is supplied by good ol’ me.
© C. E. Ayr
No reading again this week, still wandering.
Museums
She laughs, her camera clicking merrily.
She adores Glasgow’s museums.
Kelvingrove is magical, but this one, the Riverside, is her favourite.
Buzzing with noise and life, always packed with school parties, it tells the history of transport in Scotland.
A century and a half of bicycles, cars, trams and buses, trains and planes.
And, of course, ship-building on the Clyde.
Her photos transfer automatically to my computer.
I select the best, forward them to my client.
He views them as a menu.
Because they show more than the exhibits.
I get told which child will fetch the highest ransom.
Now that’s a chilling twist. Nicely done.
Good grief, CE! This one started out so happily, and ended in such evil! You really took me by surprise.
Oh, my word! That was so dark, C. Gives me the chills. You execute it so expertly, I didn’t see that last line coming at all!
This photograph reminds me of the Castle Museum in York that has a couple of Victorian streets set up with rescued shop fronts, carriages, Victorian fire engines, I’ve spent many happy hours there and this museum looks just as engaging
A story that went dark, fortunately my memories of Glasgow are much happier.
I liked you till the last line….
(oh, and thank you for the photo for this week’s FF.)
You know how to make things dark! Well done as always.
An unwitting accomplice. That went dark fast!
what a twist in the end. totally unexpected.
Ah, when the story begins as a slow curve but quickly strikes like a fastball. Zap! Good one, CE.
Dear CE,
Gasp! You took me from light to very dark in a few seconds.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Gosh! I am avoiding this place. But I guess they are everywhere 🙁
Blimey, that rapidly went from ‘lovely I must visit’ to ‘awful must avoid’!
I was happy reading about the digital technology wonders and photos that tell stories about museums & history, and then… the ransom angle came as a shock!
Hope the kids are safe. Museum visits are also dangerous?
Christ, I didn’t see that coming! What a wretched end!! Brilliant stuff
Oh no! I guess she wasn’t just a merry tourist. What a grim twist to the tale!
that was an unexpected last line
Brrr! Well written CE, treading a very fine line…
A chilling twist. Great story.
Ouch… that menu is simply disgusting… but I guess ransom is better than what could happen to a small child.
I will keep my kids close next time I visit! Good stuff.
When read this, my heart sank and a cold chill swept up my spine…as a new mom, this was my greatest fear. Frighteningly well told.