I is for Icarus [A to Z Challenge 2015]

Another Friday means another flash fiction piece for Flash! Friday. I'm tired and out of sorts today but I just couldn't leave it alone after coming so close last week. It's a like a drug, I tell you. You can  read the actual entry here.

Enjoy and come back tomorrow for the letter 'J' and all the pretties that I am pairing with it....

Icarus

by Jessica Marcarelli

I kneel in the slime left by a thousand rain cycles and hold out my cup. Acid from the atmospheric vents overhead drips over the porcelain rim.

A man stumbles by, his skin blistered like all the other sufferers here. Rumor has it the disease rose from terraforming imbalances as the first miners arrived.

It’s called the Icarus Syndrome, taken from some Lost Earth myth. Named for the hubris of those who can’t leave well enough alone. They sent me. Government officials who can’t let go of a trillion pounds of whatever passes for coin these days out in the ‘verse. I was sent to spy out the ore that will power a thousand worldships.

Except the miners never found it.

And I’m not interested. My hope is in the ship legend told me was buried here. Solar wings on a battered hull. An engine fueled by the same acid falling into my cup. Soon, I’ll sail close enough to the bloated monstrosity of a star this system calls a sun to collect the energy the ship needs to make that one jump all the way back to the ancient world where humanity took its first wide-eyed steps into the void.

This vessel is my ticket home.

F is for Flash!Friday [A to Z Challenge 2015]

 Between work and yesterday's issues, I'm still a bit under the weather, so I'll be making today's letter really simple (thank you to all who wished me well - you're all so kind!).

Today is 'F' so I have decided to cover Flash! Friday's winner announcements. Not only because the weekly challenge rocks but also because of one very personally important little tad bit of a thing....

I got a special mention for my Crucifix story! I've been participating in Flash! Friday for a while now and this is the first time I've gotten even a nod in my direction. This being after an incredibly dry creative period wherein almost nothing has been written. I was truly over the moon about it this morning. It made my day and is such an encouragement to keep pursuing my dreams.

The other runners-up stories and especially the winner's are totally worth a read, too. ;)

Go explore the stories today, my readers, and enjoy another round of mad blog hopping courtesy of yours truly. I will be back tomorrow evening with G for Games....

C is for Crucifix [A to Z Challenge 2015]

Today's post is a story written for Flash! Friday.

For those not in the know, writers from all over the internet meet up each week at Rebekah's blog to write a 200-word max story from a two-part prompt. Winning gets you attention, an interview on the blog, and more attention.

As I perused the other entries, I must say that this one by Mark K. King held me riveted. Such visceral beauty in so little space. Please read it if you have the chance. It's well worth it.

Without further ado, here is my own entry (the word prompt was "blunder"):

Crucifix

by Jessica Marcarelli

The desert sands are unfriendly to a lone runner who carries no provisions. But I can’t stop.

The cat of nine tails tore flesh from bone. The crowds jeered and screamed all around the whipping post. Blood spattered my sandals.

Overwhelming heat suffocates my lungs. I pant for air that will not come. I can’t stop.

He stumbled during his forced march through the streets and I turned away. Someone else took the wooden beam. It might have been me if I had not denied my belief in the scrutiny of the long night before.

My legs begin to shake. Every step drives fresh agony into aching muscles. But I can’t stop.

On the hill of his crucifixion, I abandoned my fellow believers...and him. When the hammers fell and the nails pushed through his wrists, I fled. In fear and revulsion and grief, I ran as if my own grave had opened before me.

Clouds collide overhead. Darkness evaporates the light. Freezing wind scatters the heat. A cry fills the heavens with agony. I collapse into the sands and weep. It is over. He is gone and my last act was to betray him.

Salt and dust fill my tongue as I plead for forgiveness.

Flash! Friday Fiction: Mystic

My writing has lagged in the intervening months since I last wrote. My familiar companions of fear and poor self-worth returned, as I think they must with many artists, and I turned away from creating. While it wasn't the right path to take in the first place (and I really must find a different way of dealing with those old enemies of mine), I found my way out once more.

Flash! Friday prompted me to stretch those atrophied writing muscles once more with the beautiful artwork below.  This isn't my best work or even my favorite (it's not even within the word limit guidelines of the contest). But it is a reminder that not every creation has to be perfect. That's why I'm posting it here today.

Maybe you're also struggling with self-worth or fear of imperfection. I hope it helps you, too, realize that there are far worse things than others seeing a side of us that isn't perfectly groomed and polished. It's okay to be imperfect.

Jeanne d’Arc, 1876. Painting by Eugène Thirion. Public Domain.

Mystic

by Jessica Marcarelli


Françoise clenched the prayer beads close to her lips. “The angels. I hear them, Maman.”

Her mother took one of her hands. “What do they say, child?”

Françoise’s eyes widened as she beheld a gleaming sword held beneath outstretched wings, glowing pink in a myriad of colours too vibrant to describe. “They praise the majesties of le Créateur de l'Univers. They sing of glory and…” her brow furrowed. “And they sing of an army’s march. Now. Tonight.”

The Knight of the Holy Chalice who had come to their cottage on the edge of the Wilds stepped towards her. “But it is an eclipse, mademoiselle. The dead walk this night. My men will be slain by the thousands.”

Françoise turned her eyes from the wondrous scene to the blackness she faced every day. “If you do not go, our worlds will die at the hands of the invader host.”

The knight exhaled. The sound carried with it all the weight of the planets his order protected. “As He wills it. Thank you, mademoiselle. Madame.” His footsteps went to the door and she could hear his voice echoing outside. “The mystic has seen death at Planète Achille."

"We leave at once, milord?" another man asked.

"Yes. And may le Créateur rest those souls who see eternity this night.”

Her mother touched her forehead, her own fingers trembling. “You should rest, my love.”

Françoise faced the visions once more and rubbed her beads. “Not yet. They still need what He may give me. I will keep vigil as they wage war for us."


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Have you participated in Flash! Friday?  Leave a link to your story or blog in the comments - I'd love to check it out.

Flash! Friday Fiction: Water Spirit's Return

Another Flash! Friday participation occurred a month ago and I completely forgot to post my story here. Better late than never, right?

Once again, for anyone not aware of Flash! Friday, writers from all over the internet congregate at Rebekah's blog to write a 160-word max story prompted by a picture and sometimes a phrase, word, or idea that can be included for bonus points. Winning gets you attention, an interview, and more attention.

The following story did not win but I love what I came up with. I hope you do, too.

 Water Spirit’s Return

by Jessica Marcarelli


“Did I ever tell you the one about the vodanoj?” the old man asked. The dinghy rocked as he shifted his substantial weight.

Davor cast his net into the grey waters. “Nope.”

“My majka told me. Hers told her. The vodanoj was said to take the lives of fishermen who weren’t protected. S’why my otac, my father, and his fellow fishers and their djed, their grandfathers, before them wore the crucifix ‘round their necks. Said the water spirit couldn’t sink their boats that way.”

Davor scratched his bare collarbone through his shirt. “You wear one?”

The old man grinned, showing more teeth missing than not. “Got little time for praying myself. You?”

“Nope.”

As the setting sun kissed the surface of the water on the horizon, the boat sloshed to the side again. Neither man had moved. Out of the corner of his eye, Davor saw a webbed hand dig its talons into the side of the boat.

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Have you participated in Flash! Friday?  Leave a link to your story or blog in the comments - I'd love to check it out. 

Flash! Friday Fiction: Obedience

After planning to do so for months, I finally took the time to participate in Flash! Friday.

For those not in the know, Flash! Friday involves a 160-word max story prompted by a picture and sometimes a phrase, word, or idea that can be included for bonus points. You write/turn in the story on Friday and find out what came of it on Monday. Winning gets you attention, an interview, and more attention.

I didn't win, didn't even get an honorable mention, but it was fun to stretch those muscles. I'm glad I did it. Might even do it again. (If you want to join me, check it all out here.)

I've posted my story below, along with the picture prompt, just for the fun of it. Enjoy!

Obedience

 by Jessica Marcarelli


“Give him to me, Siri.”

Siri handed the little boy down to his mother, who stood on the lower lip of the tiered dock.

The man beside Siri handed her a gas mask. “Remember: only when the poison becomes airborne.”

“Yes, master.”

“Don’t follow us. Wait here.”

“Yes, master.”

She held an umbrella over his head as he shimmied down the rope to join his family. All three disappeared into the underground waterway.

A siren sounded. Siri looked out over the village. Silent packages dropped from approaching airships. Houses ignited and a green mist rose with the smoke.

The robotic maid jerked as her legs attempted to move. If she remained, the poison would eat away her synthetic skin, fuse her processors, and she would cease to exist.

But her master had told her to stay. Her preservation protocols could not override her obedience chip.

Siri strapped on the gas mask, raised the umbrella, and watched the approaching green mist.

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Did you participate in Flash! Friday this week? Leave a link to your story in the comments - I'd love to check it out.