Tuesday Tales - Year

 

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “year”. We are back with my new Sci-Fi story. 

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

Dani stared at him for a long moment. Instead of high tailing it out of there, she took a step towards him. Yes, whatever hovered over him terrified her.  Her vision blurred and her head swam. 

She wasn’t going to leave without him. 

She stepped over the poor… She paused for a second to refocus her gaze. The poor guy. It was definitely a man. She steadied her feet and kept going. She grew closer to Ezra and whatever skimmed the murals above them. 

She saw the blur that shot out of the creature a split second before the collision. It didn’t necessarily hit her. Instead, she felt it pop inside her brain, an intense pressure that was there then not leaving a tiny, pulsing migraine in its wake. What just happened to her? She blinked as she felt it settle inside her, leaving her with the sense that she was definitely no longer alone. 

A hiss from the circulation desk brought her attention back to the scene before her. It was accompanied by the clatter of sharp, quick clicking. It sounded like one of those ancient telegraph machines running out of control. Ezra no longer sat dormant on the desk. While he was still cross legged, his back and neck now arched in an unnatural position. His fingers flexed in an almost fist and his teeth were gritted. His face twisted in agony. 

Whatever just happened to her must have angered the swirly cloud monster. The tapping sound drifted away even though they were clearly still there. They were replaced with a soft, almost child-like voice. 

“Who is this? This little one who thinks she is so brave. Year after year you bring me these poison soaked, leathery corpses. Where have you been hiding this tasty morsel?”

Dani frowned. Did she just imagine that the thing talked and it sounded like a seven-year-old? 

Her scowl disappeared and her eyes widened when Ezra choked out a warning. “Leave her alone. Touch her and I promise I’ll destroy you.”

He whimpered as the voice responded. “You’ve tried for more than a decade to get rid of me. How has that gone for you?”

Tuesday Tales - Carry

 

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “carry” (or “carried” in my case). We are back with my new Sci-Fi story. 

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

Except, the door was already cracked open. There shouldn’t be any light coming though except a possible security flood light. Instead, an eerie blue hue emitted from the gap between the two double doors. 

She took a deep breath and nudged the open door enough to slip inside the building. She adjusted her grip on the ring that she carried until each key protruded between the fingers of her fist, just like her mother showed her to do to keep herself safe. She set each loafer down carefully as she crept down the corridor so she wouldn’t make a sound. When she reached the main hall of the building, she froze in her place. 

The green hooded lamps on each table had been turned off before she left that day. They now glowed icy blue. A body sprawled across the middle of the walkway. In the shadows she couldn’t tell if it was a man or woman or if they were alive or dead.

On the circulation desk sat Ezra, his legs crossed beneath him. Somewhere during the night he lost his shirt. His muscular torso was a pale sapphire like the light around him. His veins snaked an indigo path across his flesh. His eyes were closed like he was sleeping while his body shook violently. Somewhere behind him, coming from his body, was a swirl of cloudy tendrils. They looked almost like smoke, like they had no substance. When one collided with a book and sent it crashing to the floor, she knew they were definitely solid. 

A tentacle danced over the person lying on the cold marble floor. It stopped then sharpened to a lethal point. It rose up as if it were about to attack. 

Dani didn’t realize she gasped out loud. She was certain it was all in her head. Everything in the room stopped and seemed to focus on her. Ezra’s eyes popped open and looked at her. 

He seemed in agony as he pried his mouth open. His body tensed and his voice cracked as he cried. “Dani, run.”

Tuesday Tales - Shady

 

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “shady”. We are back with my new Sci-Fi story. 

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

Dani forgot that she then showed the photo to Elise, who then encouraged her to forward it to their manager so it could be posted on social media. She must have left her cell phone on the desk when she sent the picture. It was too bad she figured it out halfway to her apartment. She had to hop off at the next stop in a neighborhood she didn’t know to wait for the next bus to take her back downtown. When she arrived, the crowd that greeted her was far different than the one she was used to during the day. This one was far more ready to party than the business folk who were deep into their daily grind. Everything around her seemed a little suspicious, a little shady. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but it made her uneasy.

She should have just left her device until morning when the library reopened. She could feel something in the air, like some evil was about to escape their prison. The idea was ludicrous, she knew that. It was the fear of a small town girl in a big city. The only reason she came back for it was because her parents were supposed to call like they did every week since she had been in Boston. If she didn’t answer, they would probably send the police. She didn’t need that stress right now. 

It didn’t surprise her that she left it. She couldn’t keep her mind straight lately. Ever since their dinner together a few nights previous, it seemed Ezra was avoiding her at all costs. She found him still curled up on the floor between the bookshelves. However, he no longer stopped by the circulation desk to chat with her. When he did leave, he kept his gaze to the floor and refused to acknowledge her. 

She didn’t know what she said to him. It broke her heart to think that she might have hurt him in some way. By the way the others at the library talked about him, he might not ever give her a chance to fix whatever mistake she made. It twisted her inside, shattered her heart and made her forget all the important things she prided herself on remembering. 

She jogged up the stairs as she pulled the ring of keys free from her bag. The raucous laughter behind her put her on edge. She found the one she needed and leaned down to slip it into the lock. 

Except, the door was already cracked open. 

Tuesday Tales - Careful

 

Welcome to Tuesday Tales! This week's word prompt is “careful”. We are back with my new Sci-Fi story. 

Be sure to check out the other Tuesday Tales by clicking here!

“Seems like a fitting choice, then.” Ezra sat up straight as the waitress came back for their order. Each of them took a quick glance at their menus as they made their choice. She smiled at them and retreated back to the kitchen again before they started their conversation back up. 

“It seems you like books as much as I do,” Dani commented as she carefully raised her water glass to her lips. 

“I’m not sure anyone likes books as much as you do,” Ezra teased. 

Seriously, could someone turn down the heat? Every time Ezra opened his mouth, her face got hotter. “So Egyptian history? That’s a hefty subject to dive into.”

“Actually, I am more into mystery and fantasy.”

Dani took a drink of the ice cold beverage and set it down. “Every time I see you, you have another book about architecture or mythology, all set in Egypt.”

He paused. The way his face twisted and crinkled, it seemed like he was wrestling with something painful. “I guess you could say I have a thirst for knowledge. Among other things.”

Dani nodded towards his glass. “Like beer.”

“Sure. Beer.”

She bit her lower lip as the conversation between them died off again. She was a quiet person and typically felt uncomfortable around others. 

This dinner had suddenly become the most awkward moment of her life. Hopefully they could get past the iciness and start chattering with each other again. 

By the time their plates arrived, it was pretty clear. That wouldn’t be the case. Maybe the dinner invite was a bad idea. Ezra seemed like a great guy. However, he wasn’t about to let her in. Maybe that was for the best. She came to Boston to work. And nothing changed the fact that she was the same Danielle she had always been. 

She didn’t have friends at home. She apparently wouldn’t have them here either.